4 Great, Weather Sealed, Prime Lenses for the Traveling Photographer

Looking to travel light, but not skimp on protecting your kit with weather sealed lenses? Here are some good options. 

Travel photography is an interesting segment of the photography world. It is a project that requires versatility from a photographer’s kit while at the same time requires the footprint of that kit to remain as minimal as possible to reduce added fees and weight. As such, many travel photographers, or photographers who will be traveling, often reexamine their kits, looking for any way to add versatility while reducing their footprint and weight.

These weather sealed prime lenses will pair perfectly with your existing camera, providing you with excellent image quality without compromising on being able to handle the elements.

Editor’s Note: in an earlier version of this posting, we mistakenly included the Tokina FiRIN 20mm f2. We’ve since removed it and apologize for this editorial oversight.

Zeiss 25mm f2.4 LOXIA

On the wider end for the Sony system we have the third party Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4. This manual only lens is a great option for those wanting a lens that can take a beating, doesn’t look flashy, and is relatively compact. In our full Zeiss 25mm f2.4 lens review we had the following to say about the lens…

“The Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 has both a metal body and weather sealing built into it–something that we’ve come to expect from many of the Zeiss lenses out there on the market at this point. In this case, this lens is also very compact in its design and shape. Indeed, it’s built like what I’d call a companion lens: a lens that you basically mate to your body and never take off. For street photographers, travel photographers, and landscape photographers, the combination of weather sealing and solid build construction is almost a no brainer. To be able to take this lens out into the rain and have effective zone focusing without necessarily needing to bring an umbrella is really nice.” Read our review

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Tamron 45mm F1.8

Admittedly a somewhat odd focal length in today’s lens industry, the Tamron 45mm f1.8 offers Canon and Nikon shooters a fast, image stabilized and weather sealed prime lens that is incredibly versatile. It is not the most compact weather sealed prime lens available for the DSLR systems, but one we hold in high regard, and we had the following to say about it in our full review…

“With nine aperture blades, a metal build, a nice feel in the hands and weather sealing, this lens has a lot going for it–especially for only $599. That’s an affordable price point for sure, but it’s also a lens for those of us not reaching for higher fruit.” – Read our full Tamron 45mm f1.8 review

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Fujifilm 23mm F2

A much more compact option, Fujifilm’s XF 23mm f2 is part of Fujifilm’s compact weather sealed f2 prime series. The lens is sharp, fast to focus, lets in plenty of light, and won’t take up much room in your bag. It’s hard to not recommend this lens to Fujifilm shooters who require a kit that takes up as little size/weight as possible. In our Fujifilm 23mm f2 review we had the following to say about it…

“The speed when focusing with this lens on the X-Pro2 is very impressive. It’s by far the absolute best lens in Fujifilm’s lineup for street photography and candid shooting due to its autofocus speed. When the focusing point is at its smallest, it will be a bit slower. But increase it and what it become a complete speed demon. With that said, let the camera choose its own focusing point and it will seriously surprise you with how fast it focuses.” – Read our full Fujifilm 23mm f2 review

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Sony 35mm F2.8

If you are planing to build your travel photography kit around the Sony full frame mirrorless system then one lens you will no doubt want to consider heavily is the FE 35mm f2.8. This lens is small, compact, weather resistant, and has excellent image quality. In our full review of this lens we had the following to say about it…

“It’s an incredible lens. On the A7 it will focus like a speed demon. On the A7r it will resolve more detail than your mom will want to see in her face. Then when you’re all done with that, you can take it out into inclement weather with no problems. Then there is your excellent color rendition and class leading sharpness.” – Read our full FE 35mm f2.8 review

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