The best lenses for Sony A6000 cameras will help you to expand the possibilities of your camera. When you buy a new Sony A6000-series camera like the Sony A6600, it will likely come bundled with a kit lens. This is OK for when you start taking photos, but soon you might want a wider zoom range, a faster aperture, better image quality, or all three!
The best lenses for Sony A6000-series cameras come in different sizes, including standard zoom lenses, wide angles, telephotos, and prime lenses. You'll find a range in this guide, and we've tested and reviewed almost every lens so that you can be sure our recommendations are accurate. Find out more about how we test at the bottom of the guide.
The lenses is this guide are appropriate for the entire Sony A6000 series of cameras, from the A6000 up to the A6700.
Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews Editor. He has used practically every interchangeable-lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium-format cameras, so he has the expertise to select the best Sony lenses for you.
That wide aperture means you can achieve some dream-like bokeh blur, and autofocus and image quality are top-notch too. Read more below…
The best lenses for Sony A6000, A6100, A6300, A6400, A6500, A6600 and A6700 in 2024
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Best everyday lens for A6000 cameras
(Image credit: Matthew Richards/Digital Camera World)
If you like the focal range of your kit lens but want to make a leap to something offering better image quality, this is it right here. The Sony E 16-55mm f2.8 G lens is a sublime optic, with a constant f/2.8 aperture that gives you amazing shooting flexibility in all different lighting conditions. Images are sharp as a tack across the board; there's a little barrel distortion at the very widest end, but it's easy to correct with software.
The lack of optical image stabilization might be a shame for some, but equally, that would only serve to bump up the price of the lens, and we think the cost is well-judged where it is. For day-to-day shooting on a Sony A6000 camera, this is fantastic – and if it's too expensive, check out our next entry...
Sony's pro-level 16-55mm f/2.8 is a great lens, but it only has a 3x zoom range and it's pretty heavy. For half the cost you can get the Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS.
It's cheaper than the 16-55mm G, it's got image stabilization built in and its zoom range is way longer with an equivalent span of 27-202mm. The lens is also compact and portable and still performs well at its telephoto end.
It has a narrower, variable aperture from f/3.5-5.6 but you'll only notice that in dimmer lighting. Like a lot of lenses, this one relies on digital as well as optical corrections, so you may need to check your raw processing software is applying a correction profile. This is a great lens that we use all the time.
Tokina's ATX-M 11-18mm f/2.8 E goes straight in at number one for wide-angle lenses. What it lacks in features such as optical image stabilization, it makes up for with its fast aperture, quality build, and high performance.
For such an ultra wide-angle lens, there is very little distortion and what there is can easily be corrected. Color fringing is negligible, and sharpness levels are excellent across the entire image frame.
It's only slightly heavier and a little more expensive than the Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS, so if the aperture is more important than stabilization it could be worth the extra cash. With its virtually silent autofocus, refined finish and impressive image quality, it really is excellent value.
The Samyang AF 12mm f/2.0 E somehow packs into an impressively lightweight 224g body. At a price significantly lower than a lot of Sony's native offerings, this is a tempting lens for any A6000 photographer who wants to expand their repertoire a little. Its wide perspective (18mm equivalent) is hugely versatile and can be very effective once you get used to using it.
The fast f/2 aperture rating also makes the lens useable for astrophotography. Handling of the lens is good, with a pleasingly robust build quality that's also weather sealed.
There is some lateral chromatic aberration in the corners of frames, and a little barrel distortion, but all of this is easy enough to correct. This is an impressive lens for the price and the size and makes for a solid addition to any A6000 stable.
Considering how new this lens is and its impressively broad telephoto zoom range, the price it's set at is incredibly reasonable. The Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS is well-suited to a huge range of fast-paced photographic genres like wildlife and sports, making it a perfect partner for the speedy A6000 cameras.
Its optical design includes an aspherical element and three extra-low dispersion elements, all of which contribute to superb image quality right through the zoom range. Controls are customizable too, and Optical SteadyShot expands usability in low light. This is a fantastic lens for a good price.
Best budget super-telephoto lens for A6000 cameras
(Image credit: Sony)
6. Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
Best low-cost telephoto zoom for Sony A6000
Specifications
Mount: Sony E
Effective focal length: : 82.5-315mm
Elements/groups: 13/9
Diaphragm blades: 7
Optical SteadyShot: Yes
Minimum focus distance: 1.0m
Filter thread: 49mm
Dimensions (WxL): 64x108mm
Weight: 345g
Reasons to buy
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Serious telephoto reach
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Long ‘effective’ zoom range
Reasons to avoid
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Narrow aperture at long end
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Sharpness drops off
If the Sony 70-350mm lens above is a little outside your price range, this 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS lens should do perfectly. Its maximum zoom range is a little shorter, but thanks to the 1.5x crop factor of the A6000 and other Sony APS-C format E-mount camera bodies, the lens gives an ‘effective’ zoom range of 82.5-315mm in full-frame terms, so it still gives a pretty powerful telephoto reach at the long end.
This lens is light and compact for a telephoto, mostly thanks to the fairly narrow aperture rating, which shrinks from f/4.5 to f/6.3 as you extend through the zoom range. Physically, it enables a much better balance on an A6000 camera, though sharpness drops off a bit at longer zoom settings and could be better at the widest available apertures.
So called 'pancake' lenses are really popular for street and travel photography because they extend only a small distance from the camera body and can stow away in small bags or even jacket pockets. A mere slip of a thing, this pancake lens measures just 63x20mm and weighs a mere 69g.
The effective focal length of 35mm is ideal, and the outfit is small enough for you to shoot candidly without drawing attention to yourself. Like almost all prime lenses it lacks Optical SteadyShot but the f/2.8 aperture rating is faster than that of most zoom lenses.
The only catch is that, when shooting wide-open, sharpness is merely good rather than great and vignetting (darkened image corners) is quite noticeable. At apertures of between f/4 and f/8, though, the image quality really comes alive.
This is both a nifty fifty and an affordable macro lens with 1:1 magnification. It’s not a Zeiss or a G Master, so it’s designed as an affordable workaday lens for amateurs and enthusiasts. That’s not to say it’s a poor performer – far from it – but with no aperture ring and a modest f/2.8 maximum aperture, we would characterize this more as a macro lens than a 50mm (even though that is the focal length).
If what you want is a fast 50mm prime for regular use, you would probably cross this off the list – but a great choice if you want to photograph insects, flowers or anything else where you want to get in really close for big magnification. Be warned that this lens is showing its age in terms of its autofocus performance!
An 85mm-equivalent portait lens for Sony APS-C cameras
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Super-fast f/1.4 maximum aperture
Reasons to avoid
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No image stabilization
Portraiture and still-life can be a struggle with a crop-sensor camera, especially if you want nice creamy bokeh, giving a sumptuous smoothness to defocused areas. With an effective focal length of 85mm on a Sony A6000-series body, this becomes a classic lens for portrait photography, at a competitive price.
The f/1.4 aperture rating of the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN | C lens gives you full control over depth of field, allowing you to create beautifully blurred backgrounds, to isolate your subject. In our tests, we remarked that it’s well-built but small and light, and feels right at home on a compact mirrorless body. Even so, it goes large on performance, with rapid autofocus and superb image quality.
How to choose the best lens for Sony A6000 cameras
All A6000-series cameras use the Sony E lens mount. Sony’s own E-mount lenses have either FE or E in their model names: all work on A6000 cameras. Very broadly speaking, an FE lens will be heavier and more expensive than an equivalent E lens, but deliver better image quality. E lenses (again very broadly) will tend to be smaller and lighter.
For shooting at shorter focal lengths and wider angles of view – specifically kit lenses or ultra-wide zooms – you are probably better off with an E lens. The APS-C crop factor of A6000 cameras means that FE lenses offer a reduced angle of view, curtailing their wide-angle capability with the smaller sensor.
If you are buying a third-party E-mount lens, check whether the lens is designed for use with APS-C Sony cameras like the A6000 series, or with full-frame Sonys.
The lens experts in our testing lab run a range of tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.
We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the centre of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths.
There's more to it than just the technical side, though! Beyond the lab, our reviewers test lenses in real-world environments – and sometimes on professional shoots! We work with lenses both indoors and outdoors, in studio conditions and in natural light, with as many different subjects as is possible (or appropriate – there's no point testing a landscape lens' ability to shoot a portrait!).
We take into account everything from handling and ease of use to speed of autofocus and the overall quality of the images produced.
Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
