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Features

7 E Mount Primes Under $800 All Sony Users Need to Know About

Brett Day
No Comments
10/19/2019
4 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Tokina 100mm f2.8 FiRIN review product images f2, ISO 400, 1-80s,ILCE-7RM3, FE 35mm F1.8

There are a ton of quality E Mount Primes that cost under $800 and perform like they should cost so much more.

The library of E Mount primes continues to grow at a rapid pace. Sony shooters can choose from a wide range of glass that ranges from dirt cheap to incredibly expensive. While we all want the best, they aren’t always within our financial reach, and that’s okay. Current lens technology has reached the point where even incredibly affordable glass is razor-sharp and can produce terrific images. Unless you need the best of the best for your work, you’ll find that E Mount primes under $800 will be more than sufficient for most purposes. In this round-up, we will take a quick look at seven of our favorite E mount primes that cost under $800.

Whether you’re looking for E Mount primes for landscapes, environmental portraits, street photography, wedding photography, photo walks, portraits, or macro work, this list has a lens for you. Not only will these E Mount primes be easy on your wallet, but they will also seriously impress you with their build quality, image quality, distortion control, bokeh, and color reproduction. Check out seven of our favorite E Mount primes that cost under $800.

 

Viltrox PFU RBMH 20mm F1.8 ASPH

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Affordably priced
  • Solid metal construction with smooth tactile feedback
  • Beautifully creamy bokeh
  • Excellent image quality with minimal distortion
  • Supports filters when using the dedicated lens hood

Cons

  • Lacks weather sealing

Buy now ($399): Adorama

 

Sony 28mm f2

 

e mount lenses

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very sharp at any aperture
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • Nice, small size
  • Lightweight

Cons

  • Metal build on the exterior, though almost hollow feeling because it’s so lightweight

Buy now ($448): Adorama

 

Sony 35mm F1.8 FE

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Small
  • Cost-effective and under $1,000
  • Weather sealing
  • Sharp, very sharp
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • The best colors I’ve seen from a Sony lens
  • Can focus very closely
  • Fast aperture
  • With AF-C on the Sony a7r III, it is fast enough for street photography

Cons

  • Though this is minor, I wish Sony gave us a working distance and zone focus scale for street shooting

Buy now ($748): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: No matter how much your lens may have cost, one thing you’re going to need to do to keep your E Mount primes in tip-top shape is clean them regularly. Our lenses get exposed to dirt, dust, debris, water, and grease all the time. If we don’t clean them after each use and also give them a deep clean at least bi-weekly, we run into problems with them. Pick up an affordable lens cleaning kit and keep it in your camera bag. Clean as you go and you will prevent any problems before they happen.

 

Rokinon 50mm F1.4 AF FE

 

e mount primes Rokinon 50mm 1.4

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Contrasty images
  • Sharp photos
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • Metal feeling build on the exterior
  • Autofocus that works pretty darned well

Cons

  • Autofocus isn’t as fast as Sony’s
  • Really wish it had weather sealing, but the price point isn’t really for that
  • Pretty big

Buy now ($499): Adorama

 

Sony 85mm F1.8 FE

 

e mount primes Sony 85mm f1.8

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great image quality
  • Fast-focusing with the Sony a7r II and in good lighting, it will focus quickly with the Sony a7
  • Nice feel; though not as great as the G Master 85mm f1.4 lens
  • Weather resistance built-in
  • Compact size

Cons

  • Honestly, not a darn thing

Buy now ($598): Adorama

 

Rokinon 85mm F1.4 AF FE

 

e mount primes Rokinon 85mm f1.4

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • More affordable than Sony’s higher-end option
  • Good image quality
  • Smooth bokeh
  • Sharp image quality
  • Nice colors

Cons

  • Lacks weather sealing. This has been a consistent problem of Rokinon’s. Editor’s Note: Rokinon has updated their specs to say that there is weather sealing

Buy now ($699): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: While these lenses are utterly fantastic in the image quality department, you will have to keep in mind that some of them do not feature weather sealing. This is sometimes the trade-off between the more expensive glass and more affordable options. However, having said this, there is no need to worry. With a cheap yet highly effective weatherproof rain cover, you can take any non-weather sealed lens into inclement weather with no worries.

 

Tokina 100mm F2.8 Macro FiRIN

 

e mount primes tokina firin 100mm

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Good optical quality
  • Images are nice and muted
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • Sharp
  • Affordable

Cons

  • No weather sealing

Buy now ($599): Adorama

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