Photographers love prime lenses. Once you take a good look at the gorgeous photos they can deliver, you’ll be hooked. Indeed, they also provide the most light-soaking abilities, much better than zoom lenses for sure! We dove into our Reviews Index and our Sony FE lens guide. Here are the best prime lenses for portrait photography with Sony cameras.
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Pro Tips on The Best Prime Lenses for Portrait Photography With Sony Cameras
Here are some pro tips on using the best prime lenses for portrait photography with Sony cameras.
- What makes these the best prime lenses for portrait photography with Sony cameras? They tend to produce flattering images of people. The ones we’re showcasing are zoom lenses for portrait photography on the Sony FE camera system. And specifically, we’re focusing on telephoto lenses.
- The Sony system has excellent autofocus for portrait photography. Just use the face and eye detection. If you’ve never used it before, it’ll feel like cheating.
- Portrait photographers typically reach for prime lenses because of the better image quality and shallower apertures, but these lenses aren’t bad.
- Make sure you’re using image stabilization if you’re shooting at the longer end.
- Want a sharper portrait? Get a flash or a circular polarizer. Both are capable of making an image look sharper.
- We’ve reviewed the best prime lenses for portrait photography with Sony cameras. In fact, we’d only ever recommend products we’ve reviewed. Lucky for you, we’ve fully evaluated pretty much all Sony E mount glass. Keep this in mind as you use this roundup.
Sony 24mm F1.4 G Master
- 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)
In our review, we said:
“The Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master is a lens many photographers will want to add to their shopping list, regardless of their specialty. Whether you’re a landscape photographer, an astrophotographer, a street photographer, or even a portrait photographer, there will be situations where the 24mm f1.4 G Master will shine.”
Sony 35mm F1.4 GM
- Lighter than competing lenses
- Fits in the palm of my hand
- Spectacular images
- Weather-sealed
- De-click aperture ring
In our review, we said:
“The Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM is a joy to use, and the photos are a joy to look at. I found little to complain about. The lightweight design is excellent; the de-click aperture ring a pleasure to spin. The weather-sealing handled some light snow. I love both the colors and sharpness of this lens, while distortions and flare are kept to a minimum.”
Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master
- 11 Aperture blades are the most of any autofocus portrait lens made so far
- Big, but very balanced with the Sony a7
- Aperture control around the lens is nice
- Fast autofocus performance
- Nice color rendition for portraiture
- The best bokeh of any 85mm lens I’ve tested.
- Weather sealing
- Wonderful for skin tones
In our review, we said:
“This lens has fantastic sharpness, class-leading bokeh, good construction, weather sealing, fast autofocus performance, and lots to offer the high-end Sony shooter. You honestly couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Sony 100mm f2.8 G Master OSS STM FE
- Fast focusing
- Great build quality
- Sharp output
- Pretty good price point for what you’re getting
In our review, we said:
“This lens is a bokeh monster: the Sony 100mm f2.8 STM G Master OSS lens has 11 aperture blades, an f2.8 aperture, and then throw in the 100mm focal length factor.”
Sony 135mm f1.8 G Master
- Excellent image quality
- Preferred focal length for portraiture
- Dust and moisture resistant
- Sturdy magnesium alloy construction
- Lighter than most 135mm lenses on the market
In our review, we state:
“Thanks to the pair of dual XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors found within the Sony 135mm f1.8 G Master, its autofocus system acquired and maintained focus swiftly, accurately, and consistently throughout our time with it. In rare instances in extremely low light and/or low contrast environments, the lens will hunt, but almost all autofocus lenses will experience this to some degree and the 135 almost always nailed focus. The included Focus Range Limiter is a welcomed addition and will come in handy to minimize the amount of work the lens needs to do to focus on your subject.“
Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master
- Fast to use on both the Sony a7r III and the Sony a7r IV
- Weather sealing
- Nice render
- Very sharp
- Wow, Sony actually listened to us and allowed a little bit of flare in. Bravo!
- I actually think that over $2,000 is a fair price
- Pretty lightweight
In our review, we state:
“The Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master is a fantastic lens overall. The autofocus performance is quick and accurate in lots of cases. It will serve street photographers, portrait photographers, and any other professional or passionate photographer well. As we saw, it’s going to also stand up to the elements pretty well. Within the FE lens lineup, it’s the fastest aperture lens. It also has incredibly smooth bokeh, sharp optics, and decent color. Personally speaking, I like it more on the Sony a7r III. We don’t need more megapixels. In all my years, I’m shocked that I find myself saying that.
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