Best small lenses for your Sony full frame E-mount camera in 2023
You’ve got a Sony camera with an E-mount, say a Sony A7 III, an Sony a6000 or something similar? You also don’t enjoy lugging around big lenses? We’ve compiled this list to help you choose the smallest and good lenses for the E-mount system.
There are two main categories we’ll be looking into: Prime lenses and zoom lenses. Prime lenses are lenses that only have one focal length, meaning the field of view is always the same. Zooms on the other hand can change their focal length and thus their field of view. Due to the complexity of zooms they tend to be bigger than prime lenses and also usually also allow for more light to reach the sensor and greater seperation for your subject.
In this article we’ll only look at full frame lenses, so if you have the mentioned Sony a6000 or similar camera your field of view will be tighter. A 24mm lens on a full frame camera will look like a 35mm lens would look like on a full frame camera on an ASP-C camera. There are tons of articles on the internet if you search for the term “crop-factor”. In short: You can use full frame lenses on your APS-C camera, your field of view is tighter than it would be on a camera with a bigger sensor.
For you APS-C users there is one lens we’re great fans of and want to mention it in this list: It’s the Sigma 18-50 2.8! For what it does it is exceptionally small while offering great sharpness and also a big aperture. And it’s only around $500 so a bargain as far as good lenses go (The Sony equivalent Sony 16-55 2.8 may be slightly better optically and has a broader focal range, it’s also more than double the price!)
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Enough of the chatter, let’s jump right into our list of the best small lenses for full-frame cameras!
Best small zoom lenses
Zoom lenses for full frame cameras tend to be quite large - even the ones that conventionally considered small. For example the Tamron 28-75 2.8 G2: With it’s length of 4.6” or 117.6 mm it’s smaller than some of it’s competitors. But in absolute terms it’s still quite a chunk of gear. The Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN aims at the same category of users but with a length of 4.1” or 103.5 mm it’s still not what someone would consider small. We picked out two options for the best small zoom lenses beginning with our champion lens:
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
The Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD may be a handful to pronounce but it’s not just super small with a length of just 3.4” or 86.5 mm. Full frame zooms don’t really get any smaller than this. And on top of that the aperture is a bright F2.8 and this lens may have one of the most compelling focal ranges there is. It starts at 20mm which is very close to ultra-wide and goes to 40mm which is close to what’s considered a normal focal length. If you want to take telephoto images you’re out of luck but if you’re just out and about in a city or landscape environment or don’t really know what you’re going to shoot this range is a really good bet. The Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is also really sharp, weather sealed, takes front filters and doesn’t break the bank at around $800.
Sony announced this lens alongside the Sony A7C - a rangefinder-style wonder of smallness in the full frame world (It took first place in our article for best travel camera under $2000 in 2023). In it’s travel state - meaning collapsed - the Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 is only 2.6” or 66 mm in length! It’s really tiny while still giving you a focal range of 28mm, which is somewhat wide, but not really, to 60mm which is somewhat telephoto, but not really. The Aperture range is also really dark, especially when compared to our previous entry, the Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD. Everything else on this lens is also very Ok: Ok sharpness, Ok Autofocus, Ok weather resistance… Nothing to write home about. But - at least according to Sony - it’s the smallest standard-zoom for a full frame camera! You wont get a smaller zoom than this, albeit you’ll have to compromise on some aspects of the lens.
Best small prime lenses
Prime lenses for the Sony system are plentiful but not all of them can be called small. A Sigma 35mm 1.2 is everything but small. We’ve compiled a small list of primes from slight telephoto to normal to wide and to ultrawide that are truly tiny but definitely worth the money. We’ll start on the long end and will work ourselves toward the wide end.
Best small telephoto and normal lenses
Samyang 75mm F1.8
You’ll see a lot of Samyang lenses on this list for one simple reason: The company has a line of lenses which they call their “tiny”-series. The Samyang 75mm F1.8 is one of the newer entries in the series and measures only 2.7” or 69 mm in length. Compared to one of it’s closest rivals, the Sony 85mm F1.8 which is 3.2” or 82mm you do shave off quite a bit of size. Yes, the focal length is a tad shorter but you basically get the same image quality, a custom switch and some degree of weather resistance. The build quality is not quite as nice as the Sony 85mm F1.8, but it’s lighter: 13.1oz/371g for the Sony 85mm F1.8 and only 8oz/230g for the Samyang 75mm F1.8. So in short: The Samyang 75mm F1.8 is cheaper; smaller and just as good as it’s direct competitor.
You really can’t talk about compact Sony lenses without mentioning their old and trusted Sony FE 50mm 1.8. Not only can it be had for under $250 dollars, it’s also only 2.3” or 59.5 mm in length while weighing only a measly 6.6 oz / 186g. Sony’s own 55mm F1.8 Zeiss is both longer and heavier, while being more than double the price. And no other 50mm comes close to the Sony. It’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, especially wide open, and is does suffer from aberrations here and there. It’s a lens with character, you could say, but a small one.
The previously mentioned Sony FE 50mm 1.8 is not to your linking? Take a look at the Samyang 45 mm F1.8. It has better image quality than the Sony, while being a hair bigger: The Samyang 45 mm F1.8 comes in at 2.43” / 61,7 mm and 5.71oz / 162g. Slightly bigger but lighter than the Sony but it’s sharper in all areas of the lens, has way less aberrations and distortion, in short a winner. It will set you back a little further but roughly $350 are basically a bargain for a lens of this quality.
Fancy yourself a lens without autofocus but with outstanding imange quality and unique rendering? The lens should also have a massively huge aperture? The Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.2 and it’s brothers all fit the bill while being tiny for what they do. You do lose autofocus but you gain everything and more back with tactile feel, build quality and of course image quality and aperture. These lenses do come at a price, but a quick look at the second hand market will tell you: The price you pay will most likely be pretty close to what you could sell them for. The lens is an all-metal construction, transmits all important data like focus distance and aperture to the camera and will give you just the most amazing out-of-focus areas in your images. The size and weight of 2.3” / 59,3 mm and 14.8oz / 420g are just spectacular for a lens with an F1.2 aperture and such a rigid construction. The price of around $800 may bring you down to earth or might just let you say: Wow, that’s quite the deal!
Best small wideangle lenses
Samyang 35mm F1.8
The Samyang 35mm F1.8 is really a small and versatile lens: It’s wide but still let’s you get a good emphasis on your subject. The aperture of F1.8 is also really good. So what’s not to like and why didn’t you pick the Sony FE 35mm F1.8? We’ll tell you! The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 costs more than double the price of the Samyang 35mm F1.8 while only being marginally better in terms of image quality. In terms of size and weight they are roughly in the same ballpark: The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 comes in at 10 oz / 280g and 2.6” / 66 mm while the Samyang 35mm F1.8 weighs 7.4 oz / 210 g and measures only 2.5” /64 mm. Keeping up with our list of small lenses the Samyang 35mm F1.8 wins out while having roughly the same image quality. We do have to mention that the build quality of the Sony FE 35mm F1.8 probably is more durable.
If we were only allowed to recommend one lens for this article we would choose the Samyang 35mm F2.8 without any hesitation! This lens is downright miniscule and these are not typos: A length of 1.3” / 33 mm and a weight of 3 oz / 85 g. You won’t even notice it on your camera. It still has a bright aperture of F2.8, takes filters and really sharp images. There is some darkening of the corners, called vignetting, but there are no other real flaws to this lens. It’s also usually under $250! The Samyang 35mm F2.8 has one main competitor and that’s the Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar T FE ZA - which is usually more than double the price while having all the same strength and weaknesses in terms of image quality. It’s also, surprise, slightly smaller and heavier while having a little bit nicer build quality.
If you don’t like the 35mm focal length or just need a wider lens, the Samyang 24mm F2.8 is basically the same lens as the Samyang 35mm F2.8. The focal length is a little shorter, meaning a wider angle of view, and the vignetting is a little bit stronger. The size difference is also tiny - just like the lens: It’s 1.46” / 37 mm in length and weighs only 3.2 oz / 93 g. There are really no lenses that are similar to this lens and it makes a great addition to standard zooms such as the Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN (A pretty small lens for what it does…), as these lenses often don’t go wider than 28 mm.
Best small ultrawideangle lenses
Samyang 18mm F2.8
Another Samyang lens? Well yes! They do make amazing small lenses and this Samyang 18mm F2.8 is no exception. While 18mm on a full frame camera is not the widest lens this little gem takes front filters and - fitting to our theme - is really small for what it does. This autofocus lens measures in with a weight of 5.1 oz / 145 g and a length of 2.4” / 61 mm. It can also take front filters and produces stunning images: They’re sharp and detailed even in the corners. The lens does suffer, like it’s siblings (Samyang 24mm F2.8 and the Samyang 35mm F2.8) from some vignetting but that’s about as negative as you can be about this lens. Oh, and it may not be wide enough for your taste…
If the Samyang 18mm F2.8 wasn’t wide enough for your taste the Venus Laowa 11mm f/4.5 FF RL surely is. With a focal length of just 11 mm on a full frame camera this lens offers an ultra-ultra wide angle of view of 126° while not being a fisheye lens! It can even take 62 mm screw-in filters! This lens of superlatives weighs only 8.9 oz / 254 g and comes with a length of 2.5” / 63 mm, making it suuuper tiny considering your alternative it usually a zoom such as the Sony 12-24 F4. When buying the Venus Laowa 11mm f/4.5 FF RL you should be mindful of two things: It’s a manual focus lens and it doesn’t have electronic contacts, meaning aperture and focal length will not be saves in your images and won’t work right out of the box with your image stabilization system of your camera. From the same manufacturer you can also get a Venus Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D - bigger and brigther - and also a couple of ultrawideangle zooms: The Laowa 10-18 mm F/4.5-5.6 FE and the Venus Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6. Both are pretty small for what they do but their image quality isn’t anything to write home about…
With the Sigma 17mm F4.0 DG DN we were saving the best for last - this is also the newest lens in our selection. It’s our favorite because of the following: It’s a looker while having autofocus and probably the best image quality you can find in our little list here. All that with a pretty bright aperture of F4.0 and autofocus! It’s not quite as wide as we’d like, but the crickets are prophesizing a manual focus 15mm F5.0 lens in the near future so stay tuned!
