8 Best Lenses for Sony a7II [2024 Update!]

The Sony a7II is still a great camera, but now it’s got a budget-friendly price! Whether you’re picking this up as a beginner photographer or a pro looking for an affordable second body, you’re going to need the best lenses for Sony a7ii.

If you want to cut to the chase, the single best lens for the Sony a7II is the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II lens. It’s the perfect all-around choice for just about every style of photography.

However, we’ve got 7 other lenses you should check out!

1. Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II Lens: Best Overall Lens For Sony a7ii

If you want the best overall lens for Sony a7ii cameras, you need the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II lens.

What makes this lens the best all-around lens for Sony a7ii? It all comes down to features and versatility.

This is the second edition of the Sony FE 24 to 70 mm lens. It’s lighter and smaller than the previous version of this lens which is great especially if you’ve got a day-long shoot ahead of you.

It’s also got everything you’d expect in a high-end lens. You got fluorine coating to protect the glass as well as multiple optical elements to preserve the quality of your pictures. Speaking of the quality of your pictures, it’s got an 11-bladed diaphragm which gives you buttery-smooth bokeh.

You’ve also got some high-tech features like a zoom smoothness switch and other programmable buttons. The zoom smoothness switch allows you to change from a tight to a responsive zoom ring which is ideal depending on the type of shooting you’re doing.

This is also the best travel lens for Sony a7ii. When you’re traveling with a camera lens, you want to make sure you have everything all in one convenient package. This lens lets you cover everything from landscape to portrait without having to carry multiple pieces of glass with you.

There is one downside to this lens that is worth talking about.

If you’re looking to save a little money and get a lens that’s just about as good, you can always get the first edition of this lens. It’s got nearly all of the same features and still delivers incredible results today.

Yes, the new version is technically better, but we’re talking about margins here rather than a huge shift in quality. You’ll definitely get better images with a new lens, but you could save up to half the cost when buying the previous version of this lens.

No matter which version of this lens you ultimately pick, you’re going to be getting one of the best pieces of glass that Sony offers.

Pros

• 22% lighter than the first model
• 18% smaller than V1
• Fluorine coating for extra durability
• Zoom smoothness switch
• 11-bladed diaphragm

Cons

• The first version of this lens is still great

2. Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM Lens: Best Lens For Videography Sony a7ii

We picked the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM for the best lens for videography Sony a7ii. Videography uses a lot of skill and this lens lets you flex while building up the core skills you need to create amazing videos.

Let’s take a look at what this lens does to become the top pick for our best Sony a7ii video lenses.

There are a few features about this lens that make it the perfect choice for people looking to do videography.

The first thing that we have to look at is the construction of this lens. It’s got an f/1.4 aperture as well as an 11-bladed diaphragm. This means it is going to have an amazing low-light performance while being able to also do great close-up work.

The autofocus motor is a blessing for people looking to shoot video. It’s got near-silent operation which is great for not messing up your on-set audio. It’s also fast and responsive which means it can keep up with demanding action scenes.

While we picked this as our best vlog lens for Sony a7ii cameras, it does have a few downsides.

The first downside of this lens is that it does not have any zoom features. You could just as easily buy the first lens on this list which can be zoomed in or out to a 35 mm focal length.

This means you’re going to have to use the old street photographer saying of “zooming with your feet.” You’ll have to physically move closer, or further, from your subject when you want to zoom.

The fact that this is a prime lens does improve its performance in low-light conditions. It also lets you focus on getting clear images with great composition rather than worrying so much about the zoom.

Another thing that you need to consider is that there are cheaper versions of this lens available. These include both different 35-millimeter prime lenses with Sony as well as with third-party brands.

Those lenses are going to offer very similar performance to this one. This one is by far and away the best, but the other options still offer a lot.

If you’re looking to break into videography, this is the perfect lens to throw on your Sony mirrorless camera and get filming.

Pros

• 11-bladed diaphragm
• f/1.4 aperture
• Dual XD Linear AF Motors
• Internal focus
• Weather sealed

Cons

• No zoom
• Cheaper options available

3. Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Lens: Best Budget Lenses For Sony a7ii

Now it’s time to show off the best budget lenses for Sony a7ii.

The Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 lens is one of the best lenses for Sony a7ii—especially if budget is your biggest concern.

This lens is also the perfect choice for the best lens for street photography with the Sony a7ii. Street photography is all about staying mobile and capturing shots in the moment. A budget 50 mm prime lens is going to be one of the best choices you can make when it comes to shooting street photos.

This is because this lens can also handle portraits as well as the wider angle shots you need to capture a cityscape. While it only has a 7 bladed diaphragm, it’s still more than capable of capturing great bokeh and stunning images.

The budget is really the thing that we need to focus on here. This lens costs next to nothing as far as high-quality camera lenses go. Best of all, you really don’t need to compromise much when it comes to quality here.

There are plenty of professional photographers using this lens for pay to work.

With that said, there are a few drawbacks that we need to look at. This lens isn’t perfect and sacrifices had to be made in order to meet the budget that we’re getting.

We already mentioned that the diaphragm only has seven blades compared to the 11 blades we see on Sony’s more expensive lenses. This is going to take out some of the sharpness of your shots as well as reduce the quality of the bokeh that you can get in your portraits.

This lens also has fewer optical elements as well as fewer coatings. This means that you’re more likely to get chromatic aberrations and other distortions when using this lens.

All of these downsides are really just sacrifices you’re making to get a lens in at the budget price. You are still going to be getting one of the best lenses out there, it’s just not as good as the GM version of the 50 mm lens.

If you want to save money and pick up one of Sony’s best prime lenses, this is the one you need to get.

Pros

• Extremely budget friendly
• f/1.8 aperture
• Easy to use
• Streamlined features

Cons

• Only a 7-bladed diaphragm 
• Fewer optical elements
• Fewer coatings

4. Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM Lens: Best Sony a7ii Landscape Lenses

Our choice for the best wide-angle lens for Sony a7ii needed to be able to cover landscapes while still allowing for some great flexibility. The Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM lens is more than the best Sony a7ii wide-angle lenses, it’s also able to handle different styles of photography.

This lens is also one of the best choices out there when it comes to wide-angle photography. You’re really not going to be missing much when you use this lens to go wide.

That aperture is great for wide-angle shooting. You don’t need to go nearly as bright as some portrait lenses, but you still need it to be able to control your aperture to get the right shot composition.

The bonus features like the focus hold and autofocus switch give you plenty of onboard options. It will let you change your settings on the fly.

This lens is also weather-sealed. We generally consider that mandatory for a landscape photography lens. If you’re going to be outdoors taking pictures of landscapes, you need to know that your lens can at least stand up to some rain and other environmental hazards.

The autofocus motors on this lens are also uniquely quiet. This is going to come in handy when you’re shooting outdoors, and you don’t want to disturb the natural environment.

This lens can even double as your everyday camera lens. If you keep things at the 35 mm focal length, this lens can handle everything for street photography to some video.

The downsides of this lens come in when we look at the fact that the widest it can go is 16 mm. If this lens really wanted to be an all-in-one wide-angle lens for Sony cameras, we would need it to go out to at least 14mm to give us that artistic fisheye look.

This lens is also fairly expensive. That has to come into consideration when we’re looking at how much we’re going to be spending on our camera equipment.

Pros

• Crisp f/2.8 aperture
• Focus hold and AF/MF switch
• Weather sealed
• Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave AF Motors
• 7 different optical elements
• Can even double as an everyday lens

Cons

• Could be able to go wider
• Expensive

5. Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens: Best Sony a7ii Telephoto Lenses

The best Sony a7ii telephoto lenses are all about handling the unique demands of telephoto photography. The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS is able to handle all of those unique demands and do so much more.

Telephoto lenses get you up close to the action without you having to be physically close. This is ideal for wildlife photographers as well as sports photographers who can’t get too physically close to their subjects. As far as telephoto lenses go, this lens has a wonderful aperture that’s going to give you stunning images whether you are taking pictures of rare birds or professional athletes.

We picked the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS as the best zoom lens for Sony a7ii and the best telephoto lens.

Technically speaking, any lens can be a zoom lens as long as you can change the focal length. You don’t have to be a telephoto lens just to be able to count as a zoom lens, but you get some of the best utility out of telephoto zoom lenses. Being able to switch between 100 mm and 400 mm focal lengths really changes how you approach photography.

What makes the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS one of the best Sony a7ii zoom lenses?

When we start working with the ultra-telephoto range, it helps to have a little extra support from the lens in order to manage what we’re doing. This lens features a zoom torque adjustment ring that allows you to add more resistance to the zoom ring and have finer control when you zoom in to your subject.

This lens also has a focal range limiter. This allows you to set a limit to the focal ranges you change between when you zoom. This is great for keeping things tight on your subject without over or undershooting.

Even though this is one of the best lenses made by Sony, there are still a few problems that we need to talk about.

The first thing that we’re going to look at is that this lens is very expensive. We’re looking at a piece of specialized equipment, and you’ll be paying a premium for these features.

This lens also has no wide-angle utility. That means it’s not going to be very useful when it comes to taking wedding photos, street photography, or most other common photography styles.

The last downside we have to talk about is the fact that this lens is huge.

Mirrorless cameras have gotten so much smaller and so much lighter. This lens is massive when connected to these small cameras and this means you’re going to need a tripod to support it.

Either that or you’ll have to get creative and learn new ways to hold your lens rather than holding the camera itself.

Pros

• Weather sealed
• Zoom torque adjustment ring
• Optical steady shot image stabilization
• Internal focus
• Focus range limiter

Cons

• Expensive
• No wide-angle utility
• A specialized lens
• This lens is huge

6. Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Lens: Best Sony a7ii Prime Lenses

Now let’s look at one of the best Sony a7ii prime lenses. The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is our pick for not just the best 50mm lens for Sony a7ii, but the best overall prime lens for this camera.

50 mm lenses have a legendary reputation when it comes to photography. This is considered one of the natural focal lengths that mirrors what the human eye sees on a daily basis. This means that it takes incredibly naturalistic photos and just about any setting.

This lens has an amazingly sharp aperture which delivers excellent bokeh and doubles as a great choice for portraits.

The versatility of this lens means that just about everyone can use it. 50 mm is a classic for street photography, portraits, and wedding photography. This is great for artists, hobbyists, and working professionals who need a reliable prime lens.

The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is also your go-to pick for one of the best Sony a7ii travel lenses.

When you’re traveling, you don’t want to take too many lenses with you. There’s something a little disconcerting about carrying thousands of dollars of photography equipment on your next trip.

Why not just take one lens that can cover most of everything? This 50 mm prime lens will let you handle countless different shooting situations while on vacation. You can even get clever and use panorama edits to use this lens as a wide-angle photography lens for landscapes.

If you only had to pick up a single prime lens, it definitely needs to be this 50 mm from Sony. However, not everything is perfect with one of the best ones out there.

When it comes to the downsides of this lens, there’s really not that much to talk about.

Easily the biggest drawback to this lens is the fact that you can get a budget alternative that delivers on almost all of the key features that the expensive version has. You lose out on the extra buttons and a little bit of performance, but you’re still getting a lens that delivers absolutely crisp results.

If you’re looking to pick up single-handedly one of the best 50 mm lenses on the market today, this is the one that you want to pick.

Pros

• Bright f/1.2 aperture
• 11-bladed diaphragm
• Nano AR II and Fluorine coatings
• Four XD Linear AF Motors
• Weather sealed

Cons

• Budget options available

7. Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens for Sony E-mount: Best Sony a7ii Macro Lenses

Our pick for one of the best Sony a7ii macro lenses actually comes from the third-party brand Sigma.

Sigma makes some of the best lenses for Sony a7ii—especially if you’re looking to save some money!

This lens delivers pretty much everything that you’re going to be looking for when it comes to taking macro photography. Let’s take things step by step, but we look at why this lens came out on top.

The first thing that we should check off our list is the mandatory specification you need to see on a macro lens. Every good macro lens has at least a true 1:1 magnification. This means that you’ll be taking true-to-life-size pictures of your macro subjects.

This lens has a one-to-one magnification which is precisely what we’re looking for.

This lens is also weather-sealed, has six optical elements, and has multiple coatings. This means that it’s tough enough to handle the often strenuous commands of macro photography.

Anyone who’s taken macro photography for any length of time knows that one of the biggest challenges is light in your shots. This lens has an f/2.8 aperture which will make light in your macro photos a little easier.

This lens also comes from the Sigma brand. They are noteworthy for their incredibly affordable lenses. You’ll be paying about a third or a fourth of what you’d pay for the name-brand macro lens when you shop with Sigma.

This does also lead us to the first downside that we have to talk about when it comes to this macro lens.

Since this isn’t a Sony brand lens, it’s not going to be for people who are brand purists. If you’re looking to make sure that all of your gear is Sony, you’ll have to spend a little more money to get the name-brand equivalent.

You’re also going to run the risk of having some compatibility issues. This lens currently works great with Sony’s cameras, but future updates might wind up changing some of the technological features like autofocus and any built-in buttons.

Pros

• True 1:1 magnification
• 10.2″ minimum focal distance
• Weather sealed
• Six optical elements
• Multiple coatings
• f/2.8 aperture
• Affordable

Cons

• Not Sony brand

8. Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM Lens: Best Sony a7ii Portrait Lenses

Our pick for the top of the best Sony a7ii portrait lenses is the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens.

This lens really has everything when it comes to being one of the best portrait lenses out there. It’s got several optical elements and a coating designed to protect the lens and deliver amazingly clear portraits.

You’ve also got an 11-bladed diaphragm which is going to deliver some of the best bokeh out there.

85 mm is also one of the best focal lengths for taking portraits. Many photographers consider this to be the focal length that you need to be at to take pictures that don’t distort the human face.

As this is the best 85mm lens for Sony a7ii cameras, it needs to deliver prime lens features.

This means that this lens also has a responsive supersonic autofocus motor that’s sure not to disrupt your portrait subjects.

Not everything is perfect when it comes to this portrait lens for Sony mirrorless cameras. Let’s take a look at a few of the things that hold this lens back from being at the top of our list.

The first thing that we need to look at is that there are more affordable options available. You have third-party 85 mm lenses as well as cheaper versions from Sony that have slightly worse features.

You could save a significant amount of money and do without some of the niceties like the de-click switch or a few optical elements.

Ultimately, it comes down to how much you want to spend versus how many features you want to have in your lens.

85 mm is also a focal length that is specialized for portraits. While there are a lot of creative things that you can do with an 85 mm lens, it really shines when taking portraits and portraits alone.

It’s going to be tricky to use this lens for other styles like street photography or general travel or hobby photos.

However, if you pick up this lens to take portraits you’re going to have some of the cleanest images in town.

Pros

• Nano AR Coating
• 4 optical elements
• De-click switch
• 11-bladed diaphragm
• Weather sealed
• Linear Super Sonic Wave AF Motor

Cons

• Cheaper options available
• Specialized for portraits

Conclusion – Which lens should I buy for my Sony a7II?

Our top pick goes to the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II lens. It’s just got everything you need for your first lens for Sony’s mirrorless cameras. If you’re looking for something more specific the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens is the best for portraits while the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens is exactly what you need for serious sports or wildlife photography.

Let us know which of the best lenses for Sony a7ii cameras you picked from our list! If you’re looking for the right lens for Canon, Nikon, or other Sony cameras, check out our other articles!