Sony has the largest range of native and third party lenses. As a full time portrait and wedding photographer, I photograph with a kit of fast prime lenses. What I love about working with the Sony ecosystem is the range of budget lenses available. Wether you are a professional photographer, hobbyist or getting started in photography, there is a lens available for anyone at different price points.

I've included 8 budget prime lenses for Sony that I recommend for photographers. Watch the video below to see unedited, 100% crop sample images of these budget lenses. I share portrait photography behind the scenes examples of what it's like using these lenses in a real world scenario. I also share the pros and cons of each of these budget friendly lenses.

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Budget 35mm Lenses for Sony FE Mount

1. Sony FE 35mm F1.8

The Sony 35mm f1.8 FE is a small and lightweight lens. It's the sharpest lens of this list today and can be used for portrait photography, street photography, landscape photography and as a daily lens. Watch the video to see comparison images between the Sony 35mm f1.8 vs Zeiss 35mm f1.4.

Below are portrait photography sample images of the Sony FE 35mm f1.8. These images are edited with my Amalfi Lightroom Preset Pack, you can see the unedited, 100% crop of these photos in my video.

2. Rokinon/Samyang AF 35mm F1.4 Sony E Full Frame

This Samyang 35mm f1.4 is a slightly larger lens, very similar in size to the Zeiss 35mm f1.4. While autofocus performed well during our portrait photoshoot on the Sony A7C, it does tend to miss focus occasionally on the eyes. I find that this lens - along with many of Samyang's lenses - is optically beautiful.

Not only are they similar in size, the Samyang 35mm f1.4 and Zeiss 35mm f1.4 are optically similar as well. Watch my video to see unedited comparison images from both lenses.

Below are some portrait photography examples taken on the Sony A7C and Samyang AF 35mm F1.4. These photos are edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset Pack for a moody finish on this blue hour portrait photoshoot.

3. Rokinon/Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 Sony E Full Frame

The Samyang 35mm f1.8 is another small and lightweight lens, making it a great option as an every day lens. I used this 35mm on both the Sony A7C and Sony A7III full frame camera bodies.

We have 2 Samyang 35mm lenses in budget lenses for Sony I recommend. If you are wondering if it's better to go for an f1.4 or f1.8 lens, I've included side by side examples of each lens in my video. From my experience, there is not a significant difference in bokeh between both lenses. When you’re using a 35mm for photography and specifically portrait photography, you are after that more environmental look where you can see more of the background. Both lenses work well in this situation.

Below are the portraits I've taken on the Sony A7C + Samyang 35mm f1.8. These photos are edited with my Mountains Lightroom Preset Pack. You can see the photos I took on the Sony A7III + Samyang 35mm f1.8 in my video.

Budget 50mm Lenses for Sony FE Mount

4. Rokinon/Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 Sony E Full Frame

The Samyang 50mm f1.4 is slightly smaller than the Samyang 35mm f1.4 but not as small as the other lenses in this list. This lens performs similarly to the Samyang 35mm f1.4. While it performs well out in the field, it does occasionally miss focus on the eyes.

I've read a lot of negative reviews and seen so many complaints about the autofocus of the Samyang 50mm f1.4 in particular. However, I did not experience this during my portrait photoshoot with this lens on the A7C. An important point to note is that I am using both the Samyang 35mm f1.4 AF and Samyang 50mm f1.4 AF on a newer Sony camera body - the Sony A7C. The A7C has significantly faster eye-AF compared to the Sony A7III and also makes use of subject tracking. Due to these features, both these Samyang lenses may perform better on an A7C compared to older Sony camera bodies.

Below are the photos I’ve taken on the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 + A7C. This was during the same blue hour shoot above with the Samyang 35mm f1.4 AF. These photos are also edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset Pack.

5. Carl Zeiss Sony FE 55mm F1.8 

The Zeiss 55mm f1.8 is tied as my favourite lens in this budget-friendly Sony lens list. You can watch a complete point of view behind the scenes using this lens on the Sony A7C at a portrait photoshoot. I have also put this lens in a head to head comparison with it's more expensive upgrade on the Sony A7III. Watch the Zeiss 55mm f1.8 vs Zeiss 50mm f1.4 lens comparison here.

The only drawback of this lens for me is the lens flare. I purposely shoot without a lens hood for the low contrast and lens flare effect in my creative portraits. While I think the Zeiss 55mm f1.8 has an interesting and fun lens flare, it does tend to appear in awkward positions in my portraits, usually covering my subject's face. And remember, using a lens hood won’t always shield a lens flare when shooting directly into the sun.

Below are my portrait photography samples of the Zeiss 55mm f1.8 on the Sony A7C. These portraits are edited with my Earthy Lightroom Preset Pack. Watch the video to see unedited, 100% crops of these portraits.

Budget 28mm Lenses for Sony FE Mount

6. Sony FE 28mm F2 Lens

The Sony 28mm f2 was my first small and budget friendly lens purchase. I bought this lens for travel photography and vlogging. You can watch one of my vlogs filmed on this lens in Austria here. I used the Sony 28mm f2 in Austria for both vlogging, video and travel photography.

The Sony 28mm f2 is the optically weakest lens of all the lenses in this list today, but I still think it's a great budget lens option. This budget lens would primarily be used for travel photography, street photography, landscape photography and video.

Although it's an unconventional focal length for portraits, with the right framing and composition, you can achieve some great results. Below are portraits I've taken on the Sony 28mm f2 with the Sony A7III, these photos are edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset Pack. You can watch the complete behind the scenes of this portrait photoshoot here.

Budget 85mm Lenses for Sony FE Mount

7. Sony FE 85mm F1.8

The Sony 85mm f1.8 is a great lens option for portrait photographers. I put this lens head to head against the GM 85mm f1.4 in a lens comparison video that you can watch here. The results were incredibly close when you consider the price difference.

My only drawback with this lens is the background can look busy with the more cluttered bokeh. Below are portraits I've taken on the Sony 85mm f1.8 with the Sony A7III. These photos are edited with my recently updated Sea Spray Lightroom Preset Pack.

8. Rokinon/Samyang AF 85mm f1.4 Sony FE Full Frame

The Samyang 85mm f1.4 is another amazing budget friendly lens option for portrait photographers. This is the 2nd lens tied for first price as my favourite from this list! In my opinion, this Samyang rivals the Sony GM 85mm f1.4 lens which is a high end and expensive lens. I've included unedited comparison images from both lenses in my video.

You can see unedited, 100% crop sample images from the Samyang 85mm f1.4 AF on the Sony A7III in the video below. You can also watch the full behind the scenes video of this dreamy, back lit portrait photography session here to see how we captured all these images.

These photos are edited with my Fall Lightroom Preset Pack.

If you enjoyed this video and blog post, you should check out my review of 3 small, lightweight and budget friendly Sony G lenses.