It seems only yesterday, many photographers are not very happy with the selection of lenses offered by Sony. We fell in love with their mirrorless cameras but most of us had to use Canon lenses using Metabones or Sigma MC11 Canon to Sony adapters because of the lack of choices for Sony native lenses. Today, with the portfolio of lenses offered by Sony as well as companies like Zeiss and the GM series; that is no longer true. The fact is; Sony offer some of the highest quality of lenses at a very competitive price range in the market today.
When it comes to Portrait Photography, the capabilities of the lens should never be compromised. Getting the right lens has somewhat been more important than the camera body. We are going to help you to make the best pick and discuss the best portrait lens for Sony Full-Frame cameras. Of course, needless to mention, to get the most out of these lenses be sure to check out our Portrait Lightroom presets to add some mojo to your photos.
Top three Sony portrait lenses worth a try.
55mm F1.8 ZA
55 mm F1.8 ZA can be considered as the prime lens for Sony full-frame camera. This 55mm lens emerged on the forefront way back in 2013 and has been very popular until today. Let us look at some of the key highlights of 55 mm lens here. Buy from Amazon
Great coverage
The 55mm lens can easily deliver about 50 mm coverage for the normal perspective.
Superior focal ratio
The focal ratio is about f1.8 to isolate the subject against any blurred background.
Good quality coating
What you will truly like about 55mm is that it has Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating. This lens has minimum flare and aberrations due to anti-reflective coating and the aspherical elements.
Fast aperture
The 55 mm lens has got quite a fast f/1.8 aperture and has an excellent resolution for those photographers who need high-performing normal length prime.
With the f/1.8 aperture, it becomes easy for you to work in the low-light conditions. You can easily go for images with the shallow depth of field due to the f/1.8 aperture.
Efficient autofocus motor
The user can easily achieve a focus distance of about 1.6 through the internal focus design and autofocus motor of the 55 mm lens.
Impressive design
The design of the lens is also quite impressive. The appreciative element is that the lens is quite compact. It has a filter thread of about 49mm. The barrel measures about 64 mm in diameter, and the weight is about 281 g.
Another aspect that should be discussed about 55mm lens is that it is moisture and dust resistant. This lens has a circular diaphragm of about 9 blades. This is why it can easily offer a rounded and smooth bokeh.
Sample Photos
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens
If you are looking for a user-friendly macro lens, then 90 mm lens is the best selection money can buy. It works well with the mirrorless cameras due to its unique autofocus system. Buy from Amazon
Features and other elements you will appreciate about 90 mm lens
Easily fits on the E-mount Sony bodies
What is worth appreciating about 90 mm is that it can easily fit on the E-mount Sony bodies and APS-C. Do not that if you use 90 mm lens on Nex-7, then it should provide a great field of view of about 135 mm because of the APS-C sensor.
Offers sharpness
Another thing that we need to discuss here is that the 90 mm lens is quite sharp. It provides the required sharpness even at aperture f/2.8.
No distortion
The 90 mm lens is optimized in a way that it does not have any distortion at all.
Efficient in macro work
This lens truly excels in the macro work. At a focusing range of about 28 cm, this lens offers 1:1 reproduction.
Superior quality focus limiter switch
The 90 mm lens has a focus limiter switch. This switch has about three settings. One setting is for the unrestricted autofocus operation. The other two settings are used for limiting the range of the autofocus movement. This helps to speed up the operation process.
Sample Photos
Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM
If you are looking for a prime lens with the focal lengths between 70 to 105 mm, then 85 mm lens would be a perfect choice! This lens works well for head to shoulder; medium shot photos. The truth is that the bokeh-loving portrait photographers will not be able to let go of these lens by any means. Buy from Amazon
Features and other elements you will appreciate about 85 mm lens
Low distortion
The appreciative element about 85 mm is that it offers a very low distortion of about 0.27%.
Improved sharpness
85 mm lens offer excellent sharpness at its’ full aperture.
No Chromatic aberrations
You will not have to deal with any Chromatic aberrations when you opt for the 85 mm lens. This is one of the reasons that you can look forward to a beautiful image with 85 mm lens.
Overall the 85 mm lens offers high brightness. Additionally, this lens is well-sealed and solid in its construction. The 85 mm lens offers a beautiful background blur also.
Has the max aperture
The 85 mm lens provides the max aperture. The advantage of a wide aperture is that light can pass through the lens with ease and can reach the imaging sensor. This lens has an aperture ring also. This is why the users can manually choose an aperture.
Suitable for landscape photography
Another aspect worth discussing 85mm lens here is that the focal length can be used for the landscape photography also.
Sample Photos
Comparing the lens
Now, that we have discussed the top three portrait lens, it is important to compare them as well. When you are looking for a compact lens, then in this case 55 mm will best suit your needs.
If we compare the 55mm with 85 mm, then the 85 mm lens is a bit heavy, and they are big. When we compare the 90 mm lens with the 55 mm and 85 mm, then the 90 mm can be termed as truly versatile.
The reason is that the 90 mm lens gives a lot of choices to the photographers. If you want architecture, landscape or portrait images, then 90 mm works well for all these images. However, you will have to bear up with the high price if you decide to go with the 90 mm lens so you will have to keep this aspect in mind when buying this lens. Though the 90 mm lens is expensive the truth is that it is worth the investment for sure.