The best Sony wide-angle lenses in 2023: widen your horizons, literally!

best Sony wide-angle lenses
(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Looking to expand your lens collection, and the amount you can fit in frame? One of the best wide-angle lenses can be an essential addition to your kit bag, allowing you to fill the frame with your subject. You can produce a wide perspective that's perfect for landscapes, cityscapes and architecture. Wide-angle lenses are also often nice and small, making them ideal for travel and for shooting situations where space is limited. For example if you’re shooting indoors and constrained by walls and other obstacles, a wide-angle lens can be a massive help.

Get close to your subjects and a wide-angle lens can also let you exaggerate perspective to give your shots more visual impact. With so much to offer, a wide-angle lens is one of the best Sony lenses you can get if you're still building your lens collection. But whatever kind of lens you’re buying, it always pays to get a good one. Thankfully you don't have to pay over the odds, and many great lenses are available for discounted prices.

One thing to bear in mind, however, is that a lens's focal length does depend on the camera you pair it with. Full-frame lenses (with 'FE' in the lens name) are designed primarily for Sony A1-, A7- and A9-series cameras,  but can also be fitted to A6000-series E-mount APS-C cameras. However, the 1.5x crop factor of an APS-C camera will extend the lens's focal length by 50 per cent. So, for example, a Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master lens mounted on an A6000 body will produce an 'effective' focal length of 18-36mm, meaning the lens won't fit as much into frame as it could if fitted to a full-frame camera.

In this guide we've included FE-mount full frame lenses lenses, followed by a specific section for E-mount lenses designed specifically for Sony APS-C cameras.

Here’s our guide to the best-buy wide-angle lenses for Sony cameras available right now, with lenses from Sony as well as respected brands like Sigma, Tamron and Samyang/Rokinon...

Best wide-angle lenses for full-frame Sony cameras

These are the best Sony wide-angle lens options for full-frame mirrorless cameras: Sony A1, A7, A7 II, A7 III, A7 IV, A7R, A7R II, A7R III, A7R IV, A7R V, A7S, A7S II, A7S III, A7C, FX6, FX9, A9, and A9 II…

(Image credit: Future)
Sony FE lenses don't get any wider, or any better, than this

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 17/14
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: 4x XD Linear Motors
Stabiliser: No
Min focus distance: 0.28m
Max magnification: 0.14x
Filter thread: N/A
Dimensions (WxL): 98x137mm
Weight: 847g

Reasons to buy

+
Impeccable image quality and handling
+
Ultra-wide maximum viewing angle

Reasons to avoid

-
Non-removable hood
-
Very expensive

Following on the heels of Sony’s FE 12-24mm f/4 G zoom, the new G Master edition delivers the same ultra-wide viewing angles but goes an f/stop wider in aperture. The f/4 lens is still on sale and a lot cheaper, so don't rule it out. By necessity, the front optical elements of this f/2.8 version are considerably larger but the lens is reasonably lightweight and easily manageable. It certainly goes large in terms of performance, with outstanding image quality and rapid autofocus, making it well worth the typically high asking price for a G Master lens. Before, the Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master was the widest f/2.8 G Master lens in the Sony range, but the new Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master has stolen its crown.

Read more: Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master review

(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
This lens is as good as it gets for a full-frame wide-angle zoom

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 16/13
Diaphragm blades: 11
Autofocus: DDSSM
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.28m
Max magnification: 0.19x
Filter thread: 82mm
Dimensions (WxL): 89x122mm
Weight: 680g

Reasons to buy

+
Sumptuous image quality
+
Impeccably well built

Reasons to avoid

-
No Optical SteadyShot
-
Expensive to buy

Featuring exotic glass that includes two ultra-high-precision XA (Extreme Aspherical) elements, the Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master was Sony’s top-quality wide zoom until the arrival of the even wider Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master. Having said that, many might find the 16-35mm range just a little more usable, and it does take conventional filters where the 12-24mm lens does not.. Other highlights include nano-structure coatings, a keep-clean fluorine coating on the front element, and extensive weather-seals. There’s a fast and constant f/2.8 aperture and, when stopping down, the aperture remains extremely well-rounded thanks to an 11-blade diaphragm. The DDSSM autofocus system is incredibly accurate and the lens also features a customisable focus hold button on the barrel. For outright quality, this is the best Sony lens for landscapes, interiors, travel and other subjects where space is tight.

Read more: Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM review

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)
A compact ultra-wide-angle zoom with a fast, constant f/2.8 aperture

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 13/11
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: RXD
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.19-0.26m
Max magnification: 0.19x
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 73x99mm
Weight: 420g

Reasons to buy

+
Fabulous image quality
+
High-grade weather-sealed construction

Reasons to avoid

-
Fairly limited overall zoom range
-
No optical stabilizer

Neatly picking up the baton from Tamron’s 28-75mm standard zoom, this 17-28mm lens takes you into ultra-wide-angle territory. It very much follows suit, with the same high-end, weather-sealed build quality, fast and constant aperture rating, quick and virtually silent RXD (Rapid eXtra silent stepping drive) autofocus system and, best of all, the same terrific image quality. Corner-to-corner sharpness is particularly impressive for an ultra-wide-angle lens, even when shooting at the widest aperture. It doesn’t quite match Sony’s 16-35mm lenses for maximum viewing angle but it comes very close, and it’s great value at the price.

Read more: Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD review

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)
A pricey prime, but you get what you pay for

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 14/12
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: Stepping motor
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.19m AF, 0.18m MF
Max magnification: 0.2x AF. 0.22x MF
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 74x85mm
Weight: 373g

Reasons to buy

+
Super-wide viewing angle
+
Astonishingly excellent image quality
+
Refined handling

Reasons to avoid

-
Fairly expensive to buy

There’s a raft of 20mm ultra-wide-angle prime lenses for E-mount full-frame cameras but for a long time, they’ve only been available from independent manufacturers like Sigma, Tamron, Samyang/Rokinon and Tokina. Sony finally joined the fray with its own rather fabulous 20mm f/1.8 lens. It has a tough, weather-sealed construction and a top-grade optical path. High-speed autofocus combines with excellent handling, helped by the inclusion of a high-precision manual focus ring, a customisable autofocus hold button and an aperture ring with a de-click switch. Image quality is absolutely phenomenal in all respects, with stunning sharpness, gorgeous colour rendition and absolutely minimal coma, distortion and colour fringing. It’s a pricey lens, but you get what you pay for.

Read more: Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G review

(Image credit: Future)
A great value ultra-wide prime lens

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 10-9
Diaphragm blades: 7
Autofocus: OSD
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.11m
Max magnification: 0.5x
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 72x64mm
Weight: 220g

Reasons to buy

+
Exceptional sharpness
+
0.5x macro capability

Reasons to avoid

-
Not the fastest AF
-
Barrel distortion needs digital correction

Tamron offers a trio of wide-angle primes for Sony full-frame E-mount cameras, with 20mm, 24mm and 35mm focal lengths. But if you're going to go wide, it may as well be the widest of the bunch. All three lenses share a common aperture rating of f/2.8 and a filter size of 67mm. The primes have a tough act to follow, as we’ve been hugely impressed with the Tamron 17-28mm and 28-75mm constant-aperture f/2.8 zooms. Keeping in step, this 20mm lens is very lightweight in build and price tag, but goes large on performance with sumptuous image quality.

Read more: Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 review

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)
Another stellar 20mm FE-mount prime - you're spoilt for choice!

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 13/11
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: Yes
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.22m
Max magnification: 0.15x
Filter thread: 62mm
Dimensions (WxL): 70x72mm
Weight: 370g

Reasons to buy

+
Compact but sturdy
+
Metal barrel, hood and cap
+
Aperture control ring

Reasons to avoid

-
No aperture ‘de-click’ facility
-
Noticeable distortion if uncorrected
-
No focus distance scale

Smaller and lighter than Sony's 20mm f/1.8, yet almost as fast, Sigma's 20mm F2 is a simply superb wide prime. Despite being such a lightweight lens, it features a robust, full-metal construction and high-quality optical path. Intuitive handling combines with impressive image quality: the Sigma delivered very good levels of sharpness in our real-world tests, right out to the corners of the frame even when shooting wide-open at f/2. Vignetting is quite severe at apertures wider than f/5.6 but in-camera corrections are generally available for this as well as for distortion. Autofocus is fast and near-silent, based on a stepping motor. Overall, this is an ideal ultra-wide-angle lens for architectural interiors, sweeping landscapes, astrophotography and more besides.

Read more: Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN | C full review

(Image credit: Future)
Great value for everyday shooting, and long into the night

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: 11-8
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: Yes
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.19m
Max magnification: 0.21x
Filter thread: 58mm
Dimensions (WxL): 65x70mm
Weight: 230g

Reasons to buy

+
Highly impressive image quality
+
Customizable controls
+
Tough weather-resistant construction

Reasons to avoid

-
Not quite distortion-free
-
Minor vignetting when wide-open

Small and lightweight for a 24mm f/1.8 lens, this Samyang lens nevertheless feels strongly built and incorporates weather-seals. It also packs a real punch, with fast, virtually silent and consistently accurate autofocus, as well as excellent image quality in all respects. Handling is enhanced by a customizable autofocus hold button and a customizable dual mode switch, while the neat LED illumination makes infinity focusing easy for use as an astrophotography lens. The combination of a wide viewing angle and fast aperture rating further enhances the appeal to astrophotographers, but this lens is just as useful for everything from sweeping landscapes to architectural interiors. As usual, this Samyang lens is also available under Rokinon branding in North America, as the Rokinon 24mm F2.8 AF Sony E.

Read more: Samyang AF 24mm F1.8 FE review

(Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)
An ideal everyday fast, wide-angle prime

Specifications

Mount: Sony FE
Elements/groups: TBC
Diaphragm blades: 11
Autofocus: Stepping motor
Stabilizer: No
Min focus distance: 0.27m AF, 0.25m MF
Max magnification: 0.23x
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 76x96mm
Weight: 524g

Reasons to buy

+
Twin XD AF motors
+
Outstanding optical quality

Reasons to avoid

-
Fairly expensive
-
Not big… but not exactly compact

While the Sony Distagon T FE 35mm f/1.4 has been around for a while now, Sony's now got another fast 35mm prime in the shape of the FE 35mm f/1.4 G Master: a premium option that sits above the older optic. A mix of an ultra-fast maximum aperture and modest wide-angle focal length mean it's a very versatile lens, suited to anything from portrait and weddings, to landscape and astrophotography. As you'd expect, it isn't cheap, but it delivers a spectacular optical performance. It's not the smallest 35mm prime we've seen, but the handling really impressed, with a perfectly weighed ‘de-clickable’ aperture ring, to the smooth and light focus ring. A lovely lens, but it inevitably comes at a hefty price.

Read more: Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master review

Best wide-angle lenses for E-mount APS-C cameras

These are the best Sony wide-angle lens options for APS-C-sensor mirrorless cameras: A6000, A6100, A6300, A6400, A6500, and A6600…

Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 E

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)
The best value fast aperture wide-angle lens for Sony APS-C cameras

Specifications

Mount: Sony E
Elements/groups: 13/11
Diaphragm blades: 9
Stabilizer: No
Minimum focus distance: 0.19m
Maximum magnification: 0.1x
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 74x74mm
Weight: 335g

Reasons to buy

+
Wide maximum viewing angle
+
Constant f/2.8 aperture
+
Compact and lightweight

Reasons to avoid

-
Fairly limited overall zoom range
-
Not weather-sealed

The Tokina atx-m 11-18mm f/2.8E is the fastest, wide-angle lens you can get for Sony APS-C cameras such as the Sony A6600 or the Sony ZV-E10. What it lacks in stabilization it makes up for in speed and quality. When we tested it in the lab we found it produced very little distortion and color fringing even at the furthest corners of the image. For a compact, lightweight lens weighing just 335g, it's big on performance and delivers sharp, crisp images all the way from f/2.8 up to f/22. While the zoom range is a little limited, it's perfect for someone who shoots a lot of astrophotography or landscapes. Virtually silent autofocus also makes it a great wide-angle lens choice for videographers but it doesn't feature an aperture control ring or lens function button which isn't surprisingly considering the price.

Read more: Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 E full review

(Image credit: Samyang)
A high-quality wide-angle prime that's affordable and versatile

Specifications

Mount: Sony E (APS-C)
Elements/groups: 12/10
Minimum focusing distance: 0.19m
Maximum magnification ratio: 0.09x
Filter size: 62mm
Dimensions: 70x59mm
Weight: 224g

Reasons to buy

+
Images look fantastic
+
Fast, like A6000-series cameras

Reasons to avoid

-
APS-C only
-
Very minor fringing/vignetting

Given that Sony's A6000-series APS-C cameras are built for speed, it makes sense to get a lens that can keep up with them. Step forward, Samyang's AF 12mm F2.0 E, a highly capable Sony E-mount lens with super-snappy autofocus, and enough image quality to make the most of those APS-C sensors. The previous 12mm f/2 from Samyang was manual-focus only, which doesn't really suit the vibe of the A6000 series, so it's good to see this new optic correcting that issue.

Images from the Samyang AF 12mm F2.0 E look fantastic, with excellent sharpness even when shooting wide open. You might notice some lateral chromatic aberration throughout the aperture range, but this can be easily corrected in-camera; same goes for the minor vignetting and fringing that can crop up occasionally. This lens really punches above its weight for an optic at this price, and is a tremendous addition to the kit-bag of any Sony APS-C user.

Read more: Samyang AF 12mm F2.0 E full review

(Image credit: Matthew Richards/Digital Camera World)
The best 'pro' wide zoom for Sony APS-C cameras

Specifications

Mount: Sony E
Elements/groups: 17/12
Diaphragm blades: 9
Autofocus: XD linear motor
Stabilizer: No
Minimum focus distance: 0.33m
Maximum magnification: 0.2x
Filter thread: 67mm
Dimensions (WxL): 73x100mm
Weight: 494g

Reasons to buy

+
Excellent image quality
+
f/2.8 maximum aperture
+
24-83mm equivalent focal range

Reasons to avoid

-
No optical stabilization

There is an older Sony Vario-Tessar T E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS which is cheaper and lighter than this lens and has optical stabilization, but the maximum aperture is f/4, so the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G is, we think, the best 'pro' lens for Sony APS-C cameras. As a standard lens with a classic zoom range, the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G ticks nearly all the right boxes. It delivers sumptuous image quality with fabulous sharpness and contrast, along with pleasant bokeh. Handling is very refined, with the addition of a customizable focus hold button, strong build quality and weather-seals. Autofocus is super-fast and deadly-accurate. The only downside is the lack of optical stabilization.

Read more: Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G full review

(Image credit: Sony)
Super-wide lenses for Sony APS-C E-mount cameras are rare...

Specifications

Mount: Sony E
Elements/groups: 10/8
Diaphragm blades: 7
Stabilizer: Yes
Minimum focus distance: 0.25m
Maximum magnification: 0.1x
Filter thread: 62mm
Dimensions (WxL): 70x63.5mm
Weight: 225g

Reasons to buy

+
Optical stabilization
+
Relatively compact
+
Constant f/4 maximum aperture

Reasons to avoid

-
Not cheap

There aren't too many ultra-wide zooms out there for Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras, but this offering is conveniently compact and lightweight while still packing a punch with good overall performance, a constant f/4 aperture rating throughout the zoom range, and 3-stop optical stabilization. The latter is quite rare on an ultra-wideangle zoom lens, and very useful if you have one of Sony's un-stabilized A6000-series cameras. In terms of image quality, centre-sharpness is excellent throughout the zoom range but corner-sharpness is relatively lackluster at 10mm, even when stopping down the aperture. Thankfully, color fringing is pretty negligible at any combination of focal length and aperture setting, even towards the corners of the image frame, and distortion is quite well controlled.

Read more: Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS full review

How we test lenses

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

We test lenses using both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-word testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics.

Read more:

• These are the best Sony cameras to buy right now
• Discover the best lenses for Sony A6000 cameras
• We list the best mirrorless cameras you can get
Sony A7R IV vs A7R III vs A7R II : what are the differences?

Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 


His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 


In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.