The Best Sony E-Mount Mirrorless Lenses You Should Buy First

If you want to get serious about photographing sports or wildlife — subjects that are often far away and moving quickly — a telephoto zoom with a wide, constant aperture is the answer.

This is one of the pricier lenses we recommend, but the results are worth it, and this glass will last a long time if you don’t abuse it.

If you need seriously sharp images all the way out to 200mm, want to limit your depth for field for portraiture when shooting events or sports, or plan to go telephoto in wet or dusty situations, the Sigma 70–200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports makes more sense than our everyday zoom pick.

Its performance matches its price. The Sigma 70–200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS makes the most of the 61-megapixel sensor in the α7R V we used in our tests. It also focuses quickly, keeps up with tracking fast-moving subjects, and delivers razor-sharp images throughout its zoom range. Better still, its optical image stabilization reliably yielded sharp shots of static subjects at 1/4 second, and sometimes even slower.

It’s ruggedly built. The lens barrel is made of magnesium alloy covered by strong plastic, a combo that gives the lens a solid feel. Fluorine coating on the front element helps ward off smudges, while gaskets add resistance to water and dust at the control rings, around all switches, and at the chromed brass lens mount. The hood even has a rubberized front so you can stand the lens and camera up on concrete with extra peace of mind.

It includes convenient controls. Befitting a lens of this level, there are switches for autofocus on/off, two stabilization modes (normal and panning), and a three-way “custom” switch to let you access Dynamic View (C1), Moderate View (C2), or normal view for image stabilization in the EVF.

Another switch can restrict the lens to focusing nearer or further than 9.8 feet, which prevents the lens from racking through the entire focus range to find your subject. Yet another lets you de-click the aperture selection ring, which videographers will appreciate.

Sigma also includes two customizable buttons that match the ones found on Sony’s lenses and can be configured in the camera menu to control settings like ISO, focus mode, AF lock, and much more.

It has only minor drawbacks. Sony’s fanciest camera bodies gatekeep superfast burst speeds for first-party lenses, so if you own an α9 or α1-series camera and shoot a lot of sports or wildlife, you may want to spend more for Sony’s 70–200mm f/2.8.

Also, Sigma only makes teleconverters for its L-mount lenses, so you won’t be able to push this lens to reach up to 280mm (1.4x) or 400mm (2x) with those add-ons. If you want that option, you’ll have to go with Sony, too.

If you want to shoot distant subjects with an APS-C Sony camera, the E 70–350mm f/4.5–6.3 G OSS is the best choice. It’s true that you can use a full-frame lens, and that may make sense if you want a faster maximum aperture, but you will pay in size, weight, and dollars.

This lens provides reach that rivals some of the longest reasonably sized full-frame lenses. Plus, it’s sharp and includes optical stabilization to help deal with the slow shutter speeds that its relatively narrow maximum aperture creates.

Its images are crisp. Even at full zoom, an equivalent of 525mm, this lens pulls in images with admirable detail. From the rictal bristles on the face of a sparrow, to the tiny stamen in the central disk of a sunflower, we were impressed with the small elements of our subjects it could capture.

Images also look great at 70mm (105mm in full-frame terms), and though it’s at a less-than-ideal maximum aperture of f/4.5, you could use that setting for portraits if you don’t have a dedicated portrait lens on hand.

The 5x zoom spans a vast telephoto range. This is the only zoom available for Sony E that goes past 300mm and isn’t made for a full-frame camera. It starts at an equivalent of 105mm, which is already telephoto, and reaches all the way to a 525mm equivalent. Plus, it packs down to 5.6 inches and weighs just 1.4 pounds.

It focuses closer than you’d expect. Even at its 525mm-equivalent maximum zoom, this lens focuses closer than 5 feet from your subject, and it gets even closer — 3.6 feet — at 105mm equivalent. It doesn’t magnify the way a macro lens does, but it’s easier to work with for portraits than some telephotos with a longer focusing distance.

It’s weather sealed. Like the ɑ6700 we tested it with, the 70–350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS is resistant to moisture and dust, so you can confidently bring it out in adverse conditions. You wouldn’t want to submerge it, but if it starts raining mid-shoot, you can nab a few more shots before heading for cover.

It’s optically stabilized. As you’d expect with a long telephoto, the 70–350mm includes optical stabilization that works in conjunction with the sensor-shift stabilization in more-recent Sony APS-C bodies. This lets you capture sharp photos of static subjects, even when using significantly slower shutter speeds and hand-holding the lens.

The maximum aperture range is slow. Most consumer zoom lenses produce smaller apertures when they zoom in, which means slower shutter speeds or a higher ISO when shooting fast-moving action. This complicates birding and many sports, where shutter speeds of 1/800th second or faster are common.

If you’re after extreme sharpness, a fast constant aperture, and don’t mind the price and size, you can use our full-frame pick on an APS-C body. It will feel unbalanced on a smaller APS-C camera body, though, and doesn’t offer as much reach.