9 Weather-Sealed Primes to Pair with Your Sony Camera This Winter

Last Updated on 11/01/2019 by Chris Gampat

These weather-sealed primes will put up with whatever Mother Nature throws at you this winter.

When the air becomes cold, and the snow and freezing rain start falling from the sky, many photographers will head inside. But there are those of us who are brave enough (or stupid enough) to head out into the elements. When we go outside, we need to make sure our gear can withstand cold temperatures, blowing winds, and precipitation. If you’re a Sony shooter who likes to get outside when the going gets rough, check out these nine weather-sealed primes that will get the job done for you.

Whether you like to shoot landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, sports, or wildlife in trying conditions, these weather-sealed primes will not let you down. Attach them to a weather-sealed Sony camera and they will do exactly what you ask of them. They will produce sharp images and focus quickly. You will likely quit working before any of these lenses do. If your photo job requires you to be out during the winter, or if you just like to create surreal winter scenes, these weather-sealed primes are for you.

 

Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Fast aperture
• Weather sealing to a point
• Fast autofocus performance for the most part
• Nice bokeh
• Sharp, surprisingly sharp

Cons

• To be honest, nothing

Buy now ($399): Adorama

 

Zeiss 21mm F2.8 Loxia

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Weather sealing
• Smooth focusing but not too smooth to prevent you from focusing quickly
• The option to have a clickless aperture
• One of the best lenses to work with Sony’s focus peaking
• Solid image quality
• Small size
• Makes your Sony A7 series camera seem like an old school SLR in some ways

Cons

• Expensive

Buy now ($1,499): Adorama

 

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
• Impressive minimal focus distance of 0.79 feet (0.24 meters)

Cons

• Slight color fringing (easily mitigated in post-processing)

Buy now ($1,398): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: While Sony’s Full Frame cameras have robust weather sealing, Sony’s APS-C cameras aren’t quite as tough. Don’t worry though, you can still shoot with them if you use affordable yet highly effective rain and weatherproof covers. These covers slip over your camera and lens, and secure to your gear with pull strings. The tight fit stops any dirt, debris, and moisture from touching your camera. Keep a few of these affordable covers in your camera bag or in your pockets just in case the weather takes a turn for the worse.

 

Sony 35mm F1.8 FE

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Small
• Cost-effective
• Weather sealing
• Sharp; very sharp
• Beautiful bokeh
• The best colors we’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, we wish Sony gave us a working distance and zone focus scale for street shooting

Buy now ($748): Adorama

 

Zeiss 40mm F2 Batis

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Weather sealing
• Beautiful image quality overall, but not as good as some other Zeiss lenses we’ve used
• Versatile, we’re glad Zeiss made this lens
• Autofocus is good enough for professional work
• Look at that bokeh!
• Not badly priced

Cons

• Not as well built as some other lenses we’ve used
• Not as sharp as we’d expect a Zeiss to be
• Autofocus is a bit slow for fast-paced street photography but not really for photojournalism

Buy now ($1,124): Adorama

 

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Excellent sharpness
• Gorgeous bokeh
• Lightweight & compact design
• Fast and accurate autofocus
• One of three widest maximum aperture (f1.4) lenses currently available for Crop Sensor Sony E Mount (besides Sigma’s own 16mm and 30mm offerings)
• Dust and splash-proof design with a rubber gasket integrated found around the lens mount
• 35mm equivalent focal length of 84mm very nearly matches the 85mm focal length preferred by many portrait photographers
• It’s less than $500

Cons

• Lacks optical stabilization
• Pincushioning is especially noticeable in RAW files, although correctable during post-production
• While mountable to Full Frame Sony Mirrorless cameras, the lens will only work in crop sensor mode

Buy now ($429): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: One thing for sure is that if you’re out and about when the weather is doing nasty things, your lenses are going to get dirty. The front element of your weather-sealed primes will get covered with water, dirt, and dust, and if you don’t keep on top of things, your images will take a massive hit, and you’ll be spending hours in post removing specs of dirt from your pictures. Keep a small lens cleaning kit either in your pockets or in your camera bag so that you can tend to your lenses as needed. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to get a cleaning kit that will serve you well.

 

Sony 85mm F1.8 FE

 

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 ($548): Adorama

 

Sony 135mm F1.8 G Master

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Excellent image quality
• Preferred focal length for portraiture
• Dust and moisture resistant
• Sturdy magnesium alloy construction
• Lighter than most 135mm lenses on the market

Cons

• Lacks stabilization
• Priced higher than Sigma’s 135mm f1.8 Art lens

Buy now ($2,089): Adorama

 

Sony 600mm F4 G Master OSS

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

• Build Quality
• Lightweight (sort of)
• Fast-focusing
• Image stabilization
• Weather sealing
• Nice, sharp image quality

Cons

• So big
• Expensive

Buy now ($12,998): Adorama