Last Updated on 07/24/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
The new Sony a7r IV, when paired with any of these lenses, will become a landscape photography beast.
Landscape photography is such an amazing genre of photography. You get to be outside in nature, you can get some great exercise, and you get to see some stunning scenes where the light takes your breath away. As cameras have become more powerful, and as lenses have improved optically, it’s easier than ever to capture that stunning light as it hits the landscape in front of you. The new Sony a7r IV has a huge 61 Megapixel sensor and insane levels of dynamic range. It could quickly become one of the best cameras for landscape photography, especially if paired with any of the six lenses listed in this roundup.
You can use a variety of lenses for landscape photography. From primes to zooms, and wide focal lengths to telephoto, the sky is the limit. Fortunately, there are great lenses with native Sony E mount support that will help you capture stunning scenes with ease. Check out six great lenses that are perfect for landscape photography below.
Venus Optics Laowa 15mm F2
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Lightweight
- Good metal exterior
- Clicky aperture
- Not a large lens at all
- Feels nice in the hand
- Sharp image quality
Cons
- Something about it doesn’t feel completely, perfectly solid. If you shake it about a bit, the lens feels and sounds like something is a bit loose.
Buy now ($849): Amazon
Tokina 20mm F2 FiRIN AF
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Good image quality
- Fast-focusing abilities in good lighting
- Nice bokeh
- Small
- Lightweight
Cons
- We’re still trying to understand why there are two versions of this lens
- Why is there no weather sealing?
Buy now ($799): Amazon
Pro Tip: One of the most important accessories for landscape photography is a good tripod. You need to be able to trust that your tripod is safe and can handle the weight of your gear. It also helps when it’s sturdy while also being lightweight. One of our favorite tripods for landscape photography is the Vanguard VEO2 235CB. It’s everything we mentioned and more, and the best part is that it’s super affordable.
Sony 24mm F1.4 G Master
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- Weather sealed
- Superb image quality
- Outstanding edge to edge sharpness, even when shooting wide open
- Dreamy, circular bokeh
- The impressive minimal focus distance of 0.79 feet (0.24 meters)
Cons
- Slight color fringing (easily mitigated in post-processing)
Buy now ($1,399.99): Amazon
Sony Zeiss 16-35mm F4 OSS
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Super sharp from edge to edge
- Excellent color rendition
- Overall distortion is kept down as well as possible, but at times was a bit too much for us to handle
- Fairly compact body
- Solid build quality
- Image stabilization will prevent even the most jittery coffee fiend from not getting a blurry shot
Cons
- Only f4
Buy now ($1,348): Amazon
Pro Tip: Do you want to take your landscape photography to heights you’ve only dreamed about? Have you ever wished you could be taught by some of the best landscape photographers around? John Greengo is an award-winning landscape photographer who has an amazing masterclass about the subject. In this class, you’ll learn about perfect compositions, how to capture the stunning light you see, and how to photograph a variety of scenes. There’s nothing better than spending on self-improvement, and with this course that’s exactly what you’ll get.
Sony 24-70mm F2.8 G Master
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Excellent image quality
- Well built
- Lots of versatility
- Sharp output
- Fast autofocusing abilities
- Fairly compact for what this lens is
Cons
- We’ve seen better bokeh, but this isn’t horrible.
- Tends to be heavy, though not as heavy as Nikon’s and above everyone else’s offerings
Buy now ($2.198): Amazon
Sony 70-200mm F4 OSS
Here are the pros and cons from our full review:
Pros
- Superbly sharp wide open
- Optical stabilization works like a charm even with an older camera body
- Fast-focusing abilities, again even with an older camera
- Creamy bokeh, but we personally prefer what a prime lens can do
- Internal zooming
- Fairly compact size
Cons
- Only f4
Buy now ($1,398): Amazon