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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Features

The 5 Best Cheap Lenses for Sony E-mount

Chris Gampat
No Comments
06/05/2015
3 Mins read

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony 28mm f2 lens review product photos (1 of 7)ISO 4001-30 sec at f - 2.5

Sony has had a mirrorless camera system for a while. Originally called the NEX system, it has since been incorporated into the Alpha system. The company originally had only APS-C cameras, but they were the first to give the world full frame mirrorless cameras for the E-mount. However, the full-frame E-mount lenses are more expensive and much newer. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t find affordable options out there.

In our reviews of reviewing lenses, we’ve compiled lots of information from our Reviews Index and around rounding up our favorite E-mount lenses that won’t break the bank.

Sigma 30mm f2.8 DN

julius motal the phoblographer sigma 30mm 2.8 nex

In our review, we state:

“Both lenses are quite sharp, even when shot wide open at F2.8 but sharpness does drop off a bit as you head towards the corners. Stop either lens down to F4 and the entire frame sharpens up nicely. I found only a few images that I felt needed sharpening and these were images with tough lighting situations (e.g. shooting into the sun) where general contrast was lacking.”

Buy Now $199: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony 28mm f2

Sony 28mm f2

In our review, we state:

“The Sony 28mm f2 has incredible image quality, and it goes to show that folks that tend to snub their noses at Sony lenses should give them another look. The Sony 28mm f2 is not only sharp, but offers very good color, beautiful bokeh for a lens this wide, and very little in the way of image quality issues. Wide open, it will vignette a bit, but you can creatively embrace this. You’ll also face some distortion which will need to be eliminated in post-production or through camera settings. But that’s what you need to expect with a lens like this.”

Buy Now $448: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sigma 60mm f2.8 DN

60mm 28 020413sigma

In our review, we state:

“Autofocus is blazingly fast and quiet to boot. From taking street portraits which allowed me to take my time to walking down the street and shooting from the hip, the Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN kept up quite well. Focusing was accurate for the most part, but not as consistent as I would have liked. I found myself either very pleased or disappointed with pictures in Lightroom. Even if the camera says you have the focus nailed, I found several shots were either a tad soft or either missed slightly. However, when it hits, it hits and I was generally pleased with the results.”

Buy Now $209: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony E 50mm f1.8 OSS

Sony 50mm f1.8 OSS

In our review, we state:

“I was extremely impressed with the NEX 50mm f1.8. Of all the lenses I’ve tested so far, it has the best image quality for the system. The fact that I was able to use it for a professional product shoot also blew my mind away. Generally, I leave all of that to my 5D Mk II but the fact that I did it with this little camera makes me thrilled for the mirrorless future. Additionally, it also makes me wonder how many people may already be shooting professionally with mirrorless cameras already.”

Buy Now $248: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony 20mm f2.8

Sony 20mm f2.8

In our review, we state:

“Perhaps the strongest quality about this lens is its color rendition. The 20mm f2.8 is super punchy when it comes to colors. That means if you’re shooting wildlife or random street scenes, you’ll be in for a treat. In fact, it kind of reminds us a bit of Fujifilm Velvia, but not quite.”

Buy Now $348: Amazon | B&H Photo

 

20mm f2.8 50mm f1.8 best camera cheap lens sony e mount
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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