The best way to showcase the image capturing strengths of a Sony A7 III is to treat the camera to the best lenses money can buy. The full-frame 24.2 Megapixel Exmor R sensor in the A7 III is always going to excel, no matter its E-mount optics, but it’s only the best lenses that will render expansive scenes on this camera with stunning clarity.
So, what does the right lens mean for a photographer? Is there one holy grail prime barrel of advanced optics that’ll outshine all others in every shot composing gig? Let’s put it this way, one lens might be perfect for fast autofocusing and subject tracking while another produces striking bokeh and dramatic depth of field falloff effects at a wedding shoot. Some tech savvy is required to know which is which.
Rather than stick to one prime lens, no matter how fully-featured, photographers adopt a best optics for the assignment approach. That way, the best lens is also always the right lens, too.
Based on that philosophy, our staffers have kindly run the best lenses for the Sony A7 III through their paces. We’ve whittled them down to the below shortlist.
Standingdesktopper's pick
- Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II G Master Lens
- Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens
- Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G Ultra-Wide Prime G Lens
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens
- Sony Zeiss Distagon FE 35mm F/1.4 ZA Lens
- Sony Sonnar FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA ZEISS Lens
- Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM OSS II Telephoto G Master
- Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6 G OSS Telephoto G Lens
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II G Master Lens
As with all of the lenses on this list, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II is engineered to project high-resolution still images and video on the full-frame sensor of the Sony A7 III. It’s earned its place in this collection because it delivers all-around workhorse performance on wildly contrasting assignment setups.
Capturing memorable landscapes, the lens produces crisp, clear images straight across its 24-70mm focal length, never creating ghosting or flaring, due to the nano AR coating II. If the photographer switches to a wedding composition, the ED aspherical elements eliminate chromatic and spherical aberrations while using the barrel’s 11-blade aperture diaphragm to create artistic background bokeh.
Even action shots are catered for, with four silently operating XD linear motors snapping the hybrid autofocus system of the A7 III into an immediate and solid lock in fractions of a second. Our reviewer found this focus locking feature and the low light f/2.8 low light performance two of the most compelling reasons to add the lens to our shortlist.
Tester Inside Scoop – We can see this lens becoming a lasting part of our equipment bag because of its standard manual zoom and pleasing physical layout, complete with two customizable focus hold buttons and a smooth-turn manual focus ring. The aperture iris lock and ring-click aperture switching also felt like professionally oriented additions.
For all its optical attributes, it weighed in at a featherweight 24.6 oz, barely 5” long lens. This meant no tripod overbalancing, which was good news for our insurance people, as it contains 15 groups of 20 elements, five of which are aspherical.
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens
While this might seem like an unusual choice, there’s a good reason for its inclusion. One member of our small review team is a keen nature photographer with an eye for miniature subjects. Knowing this, we assigned her the Sony A7 III test camera and its attached Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens. Butterflies were her tiny subjects to be framed for this review.
A breakdown of the lens is easy enough to establish. The 90mm focal length is ideal for close-up photography, and the large f/2.8 aperture size allowed plenty of light in when framing these beautiful insects in enclosed spaces, usually against tree bark or a vibrant green leaf. The “OSS” label was particularly useful, as it proves a built in lens stabilization system is at work, assuring sharp focus of tiny wing detail.
Apart from optical steady shot (OSS), the full-frame optics barrel features a handful of beautifully engineered switches and sliders. A focus limiter control restricts object focus when conducting close-up work. An AF/MF switch is also included, since macro photography is one of the few assignment types where user control is chosen, probably due to the unpredictable nature of these mini subjects.
Tester Inside Scoop – There’s always a fear a rare butterfly or beetle will take flight when a threatening camera barrel appears overhead. Canceling out these concerns, the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 macro used a quiet Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave Motor (DDSSM) for its autofocus duties, plus a sliding focus ring, to silently observe shy insect life on the forest floor.
Other features of note reported by our butterfly enthusiast were the lack of chromatic aberration, a consequence of the aspherical glass elements, and zero ghosting, which was due to the nano AR coating. Inside the barrel, 11 groups of 15 lens elements and a perfectly spherical aperture work in tandem to create superb macro images.
Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G Ultra-Wide Prime G Lens
A fixed focal length wide-angle participant jumps onto the list. The Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G covers a wide field of view. Without needing to swing the camera around to cover an expansive space, it pulled in light at a 94° ultra-wide angle, making it a match for group shots in weddings, epic landscape compositions, and architectural assignments. We took the lens to church, literally to see how well it performed.
The ultra-wide 12 group, 14 element E-mount lens did a fine job of capturing the vaulted ceilings and late afternoon light angling through stained glass windows. The Sony A7 III also has superb low light sensitivity, ISO 100 to 51200, and the f/1.8 aperture, with 9-blades, had no trouble catching highlights and shadow detail in this softly lit, moodily diffused lighting as it struck the grand religious architectural features inside the church.
Determined not to rely too heavily on the 14-bit RAW output of the A7 III, and its BIONZ X image processor, we pushed the optics to their limits. The bokeh created was subtle, but the wide-angle nature of the lens elements made it difficult to create dramatic focus falloff. No matter, the customizable focus hold button and two super-fast xD (eXtreme Dynamic) autofocus motors more than made up for this potential shortcoming.
Tester Inside Scoop – Ultra-wide angle lenses are built for group shots and deep vistas anyway, so we weren’t concerned about depth of field effects. On the other hand, churches are notoriously hard to light. Our tester observed, thanks to the advanced aspherical elements, that even dimly illuminated shots were edge-to-edge evenly bright, with no distortion or corner dimming in evidence.
The Sony FE 20mm f/2.8 ultra-wide is also a superior lens selection when working an astrophotography assignment, its 94° frame coverage pulling in stars from across the sky and the milky outlines of the galactic arm as unforgettable stills that could grace any glossy stargazing magazine.
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens
For those wishing to look outside the Sony E mount lens ecosystem, the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art is a worthy contender for best lens for the Sony A III that isn’t actually a Sony product at all. Appearance-wise, it’s obviously a different aesthetic. Does that mean the optics are less capable? We’d say no, not at all. It’s every bit as dustproof and as waterproof as any of the other lenses on this list, and it’s packed with similarly specced features, too.
A wide manual focus ring feels a little different to the touch than a comparable Sony lens. Moving a little back from the wide end of the barrel, three recessed controls fall intuitively under our reviewer’s finger. There’s the expected slide switch to turn off autofocus, a rounded focus lock button that can be assigned a customized function, then a zoom lock control, a feature that prevents lens creep when the optics go back in the equipment bag.
On completing the test, this time on a short landscape assignment, the high-speed AF stepping motor inside the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art lens performed rapid, consistent subject locks without any buzz or motor whine. The nano porous coating on the glass elements also did a fine job cutting back on image blurring and ghosting so that subject outlines retained their sharp edges.
Tester Inside Scoop – Although not made by Sony, this E-mount product from Sigma produces outstanding image quality. The 19 group, 15 element optics package, a mix of well engineered low dispersion glass and aspherical elements, assures accurate color depth and superior image quality at all times.
Even at the mid-telephoto 70mm focal length, this glass kept lines straight on the Sony A7 III, opening up a world of creative possibilities for portrait and event photographers who demand minimal distortion across the frame. Reviewer approved, this is a best-in-class third-party product.
Sony Zeiss Distagon FE 35mm F/1.4 ZA Lens
Sony has partnered with Zeiss to create a select collection of premium E-mount lenses. The Sony Zeiss Distagon FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA is the result of this collaboration. The indicated super-wide aperture stamped onto the barrel suggests low light performance that’s second to none, but we’re immune to such statements. Call us pessimists, we don’t take anything at face value, which is why the Sony Zeiss Distagon was subjected to some of our harshest testing routines so far. Let’s take the Sony A7 III for a walk at night.
The 4.5” length of this prime barrel felt a little long, but the 22.3 oz. heft kept everything finely balanced. Neon lighting and dark alleys created challenging low light conditions, but a switch to the f/1.4 aperture setting kept shots bright and ISO noise low, allowing us to play around a little with the shutter speed.
Everything else, color depth and clarity, was taken care of by the Zeiss T* coating and the Sony AA (Advanced Aspherical) element, keeping distortion and image aberration at bay very effectively. On top of that, as interesting subjects rapidly moved through the night time street, the silent operation of the DDSSM (Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave Motor) produced zero noise, making the lens a good match for the Sony A7 III and its 4K HDR movie mode.
Tester Inside Scoop – The 8 group, 12 element construction of this lens features a 9-blade aperture, good for pleasing bokeh effects. The aforementioned Zeiss T* lens coating was effective when it came to unlocking the lens’s potential as a high-clarity, ghost and flare killing 35mm powerhouse that excels in challenging light conditions.
Three aspherical elements, one of them advanced (AA), kept our roving tester on his toes as he navigated dark streets and bright store fronts looking for ever more difficult night compositions. He never did find a shot that this optics assembly couldn’t handle, delivering contrast-rich highlights and nuanced skin tones, even in the trickiest blackout-like corners of the street.
Sony Sonnar FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA ZEISS Lens
Zeiss’s involvement in a Sony E-mount optical design is on display again, this time in the Sony Sonnar FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA Zeiss lens. The gaping wide aperture is again in evidence, creating opportunities in dim lighting conditions, and a check mark can be put down for the Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating again. It adds depth and dimension to still images and video shoots, removing the ghosting and flaring that would otherwise wash out details and rob a scene of deep contrast.
Photographers are known to assign 55mm prime lenses prominent roles in event assignments. For instance, the mid-range focal length works well in portrait shoots, tightening the frame slightly around the bride and groom. Meanwhile, using stop down, the circular 9-blade aperture diaphragm creates dramatic subject falloff and mood-enhancing bokeh on the full-frame sensor of the Sony A7 III. For a stolen kiss between a happy couple, expect the fast autofocus to snap home as soon as their lips lock.
His eye pulled out from behind the 2.3 million dot OLED EVF (Electronic ViewFinder) for a moment, a close tester inspection of the lens chassis showed off its minimalist design. Sony badge on one side, Zeiss on the other, the ribbed focus ring had no buttons or dials to block easy access. Seams also felt tight, which is just as well, what with the dustproof and moisture resistant build being listed in the product brochure. Quiet and fast, wedding photography keeps its fly-on-the-wall reputation when using this compact little lens.
Tester Inside Scoop – Weighing in as a lightweight 10 oz barrel, with 5 groups of 7 elements mounted inside, the Sony Sonnar FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA Zeiss is a remarkable full-frame prime for its size. Three aspherical lenses are included in that optics architecture, creating pin-sharp, aberration-less stills and cinematic 4K video footage.
Without forcing one of our reviewers into a wedding dress, we have used the lens at some smaller events, and its performance was sublime across the board, producing deep contrasts and vibrant color depths. Better yet, no matter the dimness of an intimately illuminated event, the lens produced sharp photographs. No blur, no washed out pictures, compositions were reliably focused and color balanced.
Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM OSS II Telephoto G Master
It’s a bit of a mouthful, and probably not a realistic option if money is an issue, but the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II is a tempting purchase where telephoto assignments are concerned. It’s also an 8” long cylindrical giant, a little like a coffee cup on steroids. But this is what professional photographers get for this investment. First, there’s exceptional sharpness across the entire focal length, from 70 to the far 200mm telephoto end. Next, OSS II (Optical SteadyShot II) is integrated into the lens, so shaky far off compositions retain their sharp edges.
This was a team effort, testing the Sony FE 70-200mm and its OSS II functions. A late evening landscape shoot pushed the large optics and their 14 group, 17 element build, exhaustively and comprehensively over all commonly used focal lengths. A sweet spot somewhere in the 85mm to 135mm was then used towards the end of the shoot for a series of background isolating portraits. The results were, to say the least, extraordinary.
As big as the zoom lens is, its meager 37 oz weight wasn’t difficult to handle. A tripod stabilizing fixture is located on the lower curves of the barrel, a series of switches on the side, then there’s a charcoal gray focus dial, easy to reach despite the size of the lens. A closer look at those switches felt a little intimidating, but they were just primarily to turn OSS on or off and to turn the autofocus off. The functions tied to the other switches were basically for locking the iris, de-clicking the aperture, and providing focus lock functionality.
Tester Inside Scoop – Mentioned several times, and by different members of our small team, this is a versatile telephoto lens that’s light enough to carry long distances. Counting the pros off on our fingers, there are XA (Extreme Aspheric) and Aspheric lens elements to eliminate distortion and chromatic aberration. Super ED and ED elements, four xD linear high-speed focusing motors, an 11-blade aperture, the presence of mind to keep such a high fidelity product lightweight and well-balanced, the list goes on and on.
Videography work, due to the silent and smooth AF, is another talent worthy of mention. Using Sony A7 III oversampled 6K, the footage is zoomed without jitter or noise. Downsampled to an S-Log3 rich dynamic range movie, the OSS stabilized video looks every bit as good as a production-ready film camera’s output.
Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6 G OSS Telephoto G Lens
Looking to go farther than a 200mm focal length? With a blast of fanfare music, we introduce the Sony FE 200-600mm F/5.6 G OSS telephoto. If the previous product looked like a large coffee cup, this one is more like a miniature bazooka. Again, it’s a heavy investment, but its elongated size is matched by exceptional telephoto performance, plus the kind of clarity and detail that an ace wildlife photographer demands.
The controls on this extra-long white cylinder are as follows: A range limiter switch focuses on a reduced zoom length, keeping photographers in touch with a distant subject. There’s also the OSS, Optical SteadyShot switch, and multiple focus lock buttons, each located at convenient spots along the length and breadth of the barrel.
Five extra low-dispersion elements are built into the optical assembly, there to maintain resolution across the entire telephoto length, then there’s a single aspherical element and numerous other image correction glass segments, all of which add up to a full 17 group, 24 element package of densely aligned glass. The obligatory tripod stabilizing mount, an important feature in such physically long lenses, is also incorporated.
Tester Inside Scoop – Already impressed by the far-zooming, high resolution image clarity made possible by this telephoto product, we discovered that there are also two telephoto converters available for those who want to flex their image zooming muscles. They pushed the maximum focal length of the Sony FE 200-600mm up to 840mm or 1200mm. The 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters are optional purchases.
The OSS (Optical SteadyShot) kept shakiness out of 600mm subject compositions, and Sony’s proprietary DDSSM (Direct Drive Super Sonic wave Motor) AF system did the rest, keeping everything in-frame pinpoint sharp, and it was quiet, too.
Tips for Nailing the Right Lens for Your Sony A7 III
There’s no question about it, the Sony A7 III is a remarkable camera that any budding professional would be proud to own. Even a keen amateur enthusiast can take advantage of the creative freedom that comes from 14-bit RAW still images and 4K HDR, as intelligently locked by a 693 point phase detection, 425 point contrast detection AF system. What the camera can’t do, as it has no control over your buying habits, is operate at its best when it’s paired with inadequate interchangeable optics.
More than buying the best lenses for that Sony heavyweight, though, purchase lenses that suit your shooting style and the kind of fun projects you’ll be shooting. Buy that medium zoom or far-reaching telephoto, perhaps after tucking away several months of disposable income, and find a prime lens that frames the type of compositions you love.
Let’s face it, with names like Sony and Zeiss in the E mount mix, you’ll always have quality buying options at hand, so read through this post a second, or third, time to find the optics that suit your unique vision.
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