The Best Sony General-Purpose Lens for 2021
What is the ultimate Sony FE (full-frame, E-mount) general-purpose lens?
- Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens
- Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens
- Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens
- Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens
- Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 Lens
About Sony General-Purpose, Standard Zoom Lenses
Nearly everyone needs a general-purpose zoom lens — also referred to as a standard/normal zoom lens or a walk-around lens.
Typically, this is the most important lens in your kit. You leave this lens on your camera for everyday needs. With this lens, you photograph your family and all of life. You capture events with this lens. You travel with this lens. You hike with this lens. This lens is responsible for the preservation of your most precious memories.
Because this lens will probably be your most-used, because this lens will capture what is most important to you, and because the quality of the lens makes a huge difference in your photographs, I highly recommend buying the highest quality standard zoom lens you can afford.
A critical factor in lens selection is the focal length range, and I consider the heart of the general-purpose focal length range to the angles of view provided by the approximately 28-70mm focal length range on a full-frame camera. Here is a focal length comparison illustrating a superset of the suggested minimum range:
Here are my recommendations.
The Best Sony Full-Frame General-Purpose Zoom Lenses
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1. Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens
Sony’s Best Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens
Because of its all-around capabilities and features, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens is the go-to lens for many, including the most advanced professionals. The most-needed focal length range is fully covered with good image quality. The wide f/2.8 max aperture advantages this lens for stopping action in low light, making it an ideal choice for photographing action sports and low light events. The f/2.8 aperture is also useful for creating a strong background blur, allowing the subject to be isolated from a distracting background. This lens’s autofocus system performs very well, and the wide aperture enables reliable low light AF performance. The Sony “GM” build quality ensures enduring performance. The biggest drawback for this lens is its price tag — this is not an inexpensive lens.
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2. Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens
Excellent Image Quality, Close-Focusing Capabilities, Excellent Build Quality, Great Focal Length Range, Fast Autofocus, Optical SteadyShot, Weather Sealing
Though it lacks the wide f/2.8 aperture, the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens adds significantly to the long end of the general-purpose focal length, and it also adds Optical SteadyShot. Lighter weight, smaller size, and lower price are additional advantages this lens has over the Sony FE f/2.8 lens, and somewhat surprisingly, the f/4 lens is slightly sharper in most comparisons. The optical performance combined with the rest of this lens’s features, including good weather-sealed build quality, make it a prevalent standard zoom lens choice.
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3. Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens
Excellent Image Quality, Incredible Value, Nice Build Quality, Compact, Lightweight
It is not often that I recommend choosing a camera to gain access to a lens, but the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens is such an incredible value that this is one of those scenarios. For a very low price, this lens provides a wide f/2.8 aperture over the entire focal length range. This lens is capable of very impressive image quality, rivaling even the Sony FE 24-70 f/2.8 and FE 24-105 f/4 OSS lenses. Everyone can appreciate the small size and light weight of this lens, and Tamron’s (USA) 6-year warranty is unsurpassed. While I prefer the 24mm focal length to be available on my general purpose lens, this lens’s overall package makes me willing to overlook that aspect. The Tamron 28-75 is simply a great all-purpose lens and a great deal.
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4. Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens
Strong Value, Solid Performer
The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens, with a focal length range that encompasses the most-used angles of view, is a great all-around lens choice. This lens is well built and functions as beautifully as it looks. With a wide aperture, the 24-70 DN Art lens is ready to tackle low light scenarios, and the image quality this lens produces is very sharp, especially for the low price.
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5. Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens
Nice Image Quality, Great Value, Nice Build Quality, Compact, Lightweight
As the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens is added to the recommendations list, it is the smallest and lightest Sony-mount lens covering this focal length range. When those attributes are important, this also affordable lens gets the nod.
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6. Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 Lens
Tiny, Ultra-Light, Affordable, Very Good Image Quality, Short Focal Length Range
The Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 Lens first arrived as an affordable kit lens, but this lens’s performance exceeded expectations for such. This tiny ultra-light lens is ready to go everywhere you go, without holding you back in any way. The FE 28-60 is a great option to have in any kit, including alongside other general-purpose lenses.
Other Important general-purpose Lenses
While the general-purpose/normal/standard zoom lens is going to get the most use by the typical photographer, a kit of lenses will work best for most. Here are the most-recommended next-lenses to buy:
- The next lens that most people want in their kit is a telephoto lens. The versatile telephoto lens will typically get used for capturing sporting events, performances (think kids and grandkids), portraits, wildlife, landscapes, and much more.
- Then get your wide-angles covered. Wide-angle lenses find use in many photography scenarios, including landscape, architecture, and tight spaces (often indoors).
- Most people will want to add a macro lens to the kit. The range of subjects available for a macro lens is endless, and few lenses are more fun to use.
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