Entering the world of interchangeable lenses can be a daunting task. You have finally figured out how to use your Sony camera with the kit lens, and want to expand your creative horizons. But now, which lens do you buy first? This guide simplifies the process of finding the best lenses to buy for your Sony camera as a beginner – and will hopefully help you make an informed decision that suits your photography preferences and budget!

Why Upgrade Beyond Your Kit Lens?

If all you have in your camera bag is your camera kit lens, either an 18-55mm or a 28-70mm, that’s a good place to start but there are many benefits to using dedicated lenses. Using a dedicated prime lens with larger maximum apertures will give you, in addition to beautiful blurred backgrounds, a much better performance in low light situations. Using a destination zoom will give you plenty of reach for photographing distant subjects easily. Knowing which lens type to use based on your interests is the important first step to capturing better images.

The Essential First Lens: Sony 50mm f/1.8

With its low price point, excellent image quality, and ability to teach you the basics of photography, the Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 is the best first lens for most beginners.

Why it’s great for beginners:

• Wide f/1.8 aperture, which makes for dreamy background blur
• Small and lightweight
• You’ll have to zoom with your feet and improve your composition
• Very versatile for portraits, street photography, and everyday shooting
• Sharp image quality and good enough for lenses up to 3x the price

It’s also important to note that the 50mm focal length is the equivalent of human vision which translates to easy use. The wide aperture will allow you to shoot without flash in low-light situations and create a fantastic shallow depth of field effect that separates your subject (in-focus) from the background (out-of-focus).

Best Budget Option: Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS (APS-C)

For APS-C users, A6000 series, you won’t find a better deal than the Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS ($400-450). A 35mm lens (52mm equivalent on APS-C) will give you a natural perspective, like shooting with a 50mm lens on full-frame.

Here are the best features:

• Optical stabilization (OSS) can be beneficial for handheld images so shots are less blurry.
• Versatile all-around focal length for APS-C sensors
• Fast and accurate auto-focus
• Weather-sealed body

The Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS is useful for: street photography, environmental portraits, travel stories, etc. The stabilization feature is a helpful tool even for budding photographers by allowing them to develop steadiness in shooting.

Best Versatile Zoom: Sony 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

While some photographers suggest prime lenses for beginners, zoom lenses provide the flexibility to explore and find beginner’s favorite focal lengths. The Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS ($350-400) is a good usable range for nearly every scenario.

Great for:

• Travel photography when you don’t want to swap lenses
• Events and family gatherings
• Landscape photography that requires multiple view points
• Figuring out your preferred focal lengths

This lens has a usable range like kit lenses, but generally speaking, the optical quality would be better than a kit lens. If you shoot a combination of anything and everything, and you want the most versatility when shooting, then you should absolutely consider this one.

Best Portrait Lens: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

Want to dive deeper into portrait photography? The Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 ($550-600) produces professional results while being affordable for a beginner.

Benefits of Portraits:

• Flattering compression of the face
• Wide aperture for beautiful background separation
• Sharply enough for professional clients
• Comfortable distance from your subject

The 85mm focal length is ideal for headshot and portrait photography. Longer focal length compresses the shape of your face in a flattering way while the f/1.8 aperture blurs the background to a smooth, creamy color that can make the subject a clear star of the photograph.

Best Macro Option: Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro

Are you interested in close-up images of flowers, insects, or products? The Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro ($500-550) represents a completely new world, and is priced lower than you might think for entry level use. Macro lens has its advantages:

• 1:1 magnification provides life-size detail
• It can double as a good standard prime lens
• Compact, easy to carry every day
• Sharp throughout the frame from minimum to infinity distances

The lens will help develop your patience and precise shooting, resulting in sensational detail unseen to the naked eye. The 50mm focal length makes it usable for normal images when shooting macro is not applicable, providing additional utility over a longer focal length macro.

How to Choose Your First Sony Lens

Think about these questions before you decide to pull the trigger:

What do you photograph most? If you mostly photograph other people the most sense is the 50mm f/1.8 or 85mm f/1.8 (see the section on lenses). If you are a landscape photographer you would lean toward a wide-angle lens. If you cover a bit of everything, maybe the 28-70mm zoom (read: adding the lens on).

What is your budget? The 50mm f/1.8 offers the best bang-for-the-buck as it provides stunning image quality with a very low investment. If your budget is $500-600, the 85mm f/1.8 gets you into a professional-grade lens for under $600.

What camera do you have? If you have an APS-C camera, you would want to look for E-mount lenses that are specifically built for crop sensors, like the 35mm f/1.8 OSS. If you have a full-frame camera, you want to make sure to select FE-mount lenses.

What do you hate about your current lens? If you don’t like the low-light performance of a current lens, it may be worth investing in a lens with very wide apertures (f/1.8). If you want to get closer to that distant subject, think about a telephoto zoom.

Using Our Lens Recommendation Tool

Not quite sure which lens is best for you? Use our interactive lens finder tool found above. Simply answer a few questions about your photography style, budget, and camera body, to get personalized suggestions for the entire Sony lens line-up.

The tool takes into account more than basic specs—it will even factor in your experience level, typical shooting situations, and requested features like image stabilization or macro capabilities. It’s the same as having a really knowledgeable photographer helping you choose!