This helpful shopping
guide is brought to you
by our friends over at Squarespace.
What's going on Hybrid Shooters?
It's Jason Vong and welcome
to my full frame lens
buying guide for your Sony Alpha cameras.
Before we dive right into this video,
there are a couple of elephants
that we gotta address in the room.
In this video, I will not be recommending
any specific Sigma or Rokinon
lenses and here's why.
I'll start off by saying Sigma
lenses are fantastic lenses.
They produce incredibly
sharp images and best of all,
they are relatively
inexpensive alternatives
to Sony and Zeiss lenses.
However, there are a few
drawbacks to Sigma lenses.
Although a lot of them are available now
as native E-mount lenses,
they were still originally
designed for DSLR cameras,
hence their bigger sizes.
To some shooters,
it defeats the purpose of
using a mirrorless system,
if the setup is still big and heavy.
On top of that, the auto
focus with these lenses
are not on par with Sony and Zeiss lenses.
The auto focus is decent
at best, but not as smooth
and sometimes it can be unreliable.
So I'll say this, if you're
a hobbyist or a professional
dealing with static to
slow-moving subjects,
Sigma lenses are great options
if you don't mind the size.
If your job, however, relies on fast,
accurate, critical focus, stick
with Sony and Zeiss lenses.
As for Rokinon lenses or
otherwise known as Samyang lenses
in certain countries,
I personally haven't
used any of those myself,
but I did hear a lot of
great things from other users
who have shot with the 35 one
four, and the 85 one four.
Vice versa, I didn't hear
a lot of great things
from users with the 14mm
lens and the 15mm lens.
Some people are saying
they're not as sharp as they should be.
I would say,
if you're still very curious
about Rokinon lenses,
I would urge you to
keep doing your research
before committing to buying these lenses.
In case you are here for
quick recommendations,
I'll name off a few lenses in categories
I often get asked about.
If you want more details
about each of these lenses,
and other types of lenses
not mentioned here,
use the helpful time codes
in the description box
below to skip to them.
The best overall type of lens
on the budget in my opinion
is the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8.
The most versatile zoom lens
would be the Sony 24-105 f/4.
The best general prime
lens with amazing bokeh,
the best to walk around
with for casual photography
and for foodies, would
be the 24mm or the 35mm.
The best versatile prime lens
would be the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8.
And the best portrait prime lens
would be the Sony 85mm f/1.8.
Whew, okay, let's get into
the nitty-gritty of things.
We'll start off with prime lenses first.
Now prime lenses are generally
just one focal length.
They usually have crazy fast aperture
that gives you nice
background blur and separation
between your subject and the background.
Otherwise known as the mystical bokeh.
People often say, prime lenses forces you
to be more creative, and challenges you
to zoom with your feet to
get some interesting shots.
At the end of the list, I'll talk about
some of the best pairings
of these prime lenses.
Obviously, you don't want to get them all,
I'll talk about how certain focal lengths
will complement each other for
certain types of situations.
All right, let's start off with
the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8,
an uber-light, ultra-sharp,
ultra-wide angle prime lens.
This is gonna be great for landscape,
interiors, architecture,
real estate and travel.
I've even seen some people use this
for astrophotography as well.
For videos, this would
be great for vlogging,
because it's wide enough
to fit you into frame.
Now I personally love
using this lens on a gimbal
to get some nice, wide establishing shots.
This 18mm prime lens has
been part of my arsenal
for a couple of years now and I love it,
it's still one of my
favorite lenses to this date.
Moving on to the brand new
Sony G Master 24mm f/1.4.
This is brand new from Sony and of course,
with the f/1.4 aperture combined with
the lens' close focusing capability,
you'll get some nice, buttery
bokeh-licious photos at 1.4.
A fun fact about this lens is that
this is the lightest 24mm 1.4
lens in the market right now.
Lighter than Canon, lighter than Nikon
and lighter than Sigma.
Some great uses for the
24mm would be landscape,
environmental portrait,
street photography,
you'll be using the surrounding
to give context to your image.
This will be great for weddings as well.
If you're looking to build
up your lens collection,
I can't think of any other better lens
than this 24mm right here.
It's gonna be a great
general photography lens
and a great lens to walk around with.
And for my video shooters,
you have an option for
a clickless aperture,
that means you can turn
this aperture ring here
and it'll give you that gradual
change in your exposure.
And of course, because this is light,
this is gonna be perfect for
lightweight gimbals as well.
Moving onto the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4,
another great prime lens
to start with as well.
This one in comparison to
the 24mm will be a bit hefty.
But that f/1.4 aperture will be worth it.
Similar to the 24mm, this is
gonna be great for weddings,
landscape, environmental
portrait and street photography.
It's also gonna be a
great travel, walk around,
general photography lens as well.
Actually, come to think of it,
I think it was the first lens
that I started with when
I switched over to Sony.
And again, we're gonna be going
over the pairings of lenses.
Obviously, you don't need to have a 24mm
and a 35mm in your collections,
so we'll talk about some
of the best pairings,
complementary focal lengths
to either of these lenses.
Moving on to the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8,
the nifty fifty, the uber-sharp 1.8 lens.
The popular focal length
for full frame lenses
that just sits in right between
in the spectrum of things.
Generally, people like
using the 55 for portraits,
for artistic shots, I
mean, look at that bokeh.
It gives you separation between
your object and the background.
And it's perfect for weddings as well.
While some people would say
they prefer a wider lens for landscapes,
the 55 is not bad for that
type of photography as well,
because it doesn't make
objects view too far away.
This is also a crazy
expensive 50mm prime lens,
but I promise you, it is worth the dollar,
if you have the budget for it.
I've come across a lot of Sony shooters
who have this in their bag,
and they can vouch how amazing
this little prime lens is.
All right, let's rewind back a little bit
and talk about the Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2.
Now that's the lens that's
shooting this video right now,
so I'm gonna cut to a B-roll.
The reason why I waited until
now to talk about the 40mm
is because this is a great alternative
to the 35 and the 50mm,
because it draws the best
aspects from both lenses.
It has that wide aspect of the 35,
and that portrait aspect of the 50.
If that makes any sense.
So it shares a lot of
the same applications
as the 35 and the 50.
Plus, this lens is
capable of close focusing,
so you can get in nice and tight
and get some detailed shots.
And this is the lens that I've been using
for the past few YouTube videos.
I like to get a wide
shot of the product first
and then punch in tight to get details
of the text, logo or the buttons.
Seriously, this is a very versatile lens,
something that I wouldn't normally
be able to get with the 55mm.
This is a brand new lens
coming out from Zeiss,
the reason why I have is because they were
gracious enough to loan it out to me
for a month to make a review on it,
but once my rental period is over,
I'm confident to say that
I'll be picking up my
40mm right afterwards.
Moving on to the Sony 85mm f/1.8
and damn, is this the best 85
that you can get for the price.
Now I did a comparison between this
and the G Master f/1.4,
wow, almost like two years ago,
was it two years ago now?
Holy crap, that's been a while.
Unless you really pixel peep,
the results of the 85 one eight
and the 85 1.4 are gonna
be very, very similar.
And mind you, the 85 1.4
G Master is about $1800.
This one right here, 600 bucks.
You can probably pick this
up for 500 bucks, actually.
What is the 85 good for?
Generally, this is a great portrait lens.
Great for model shots,
great for family portraits,
gonna be great for weddings.
And to be quite frank
with you, this is actually
my favorite lens to do
street photography with.
Not only does this lens give
me that nice separation,
but also that compression
to make my subject
feel like they're a lot
closer to the background.
Seriously, cannot highly
recommend this lens enough.
Okay, I forgot to throw this in here,
but the best macro lens
would be the Sony 90mm f/2.8.
This will give you a
1:1 magnification ratio,
so if you like to take
photos of insects, flowers,
toys or rings, this
will be the lens to get.
And it can also double as
a portrait lens as well.
All right, so let's go ahead
and move on to pairings,
how I would pair up these prime lenses.
Obviously, there are a
lot that I've talked about
and it's probably not too
feasible to own them all.
So, these are designed in a way
where they're not too similar
in their focal lengths.
Otherwise, it would be very repetitive.
For example, if you shot
with a 24mm and a 35mm,
you're gonna get a very
similar field of view.
Vice versa, if you shot with a 24mm
and then shoot something else with an 85,
you're gonna get two
different sets of images.
So here are my recommendations.
I would pair up the Zeiss Batis 18mm
and the Zeiss Batis 40mm.
That 18mm is gonna give you that nice,
wide establishing shot
and then you can punch in
for details with the 40mm
and its close focusing capability.
Another pairing would be
the 24mm and the 55mm.
In the same vein, you get a
wide and you get a closeup.
The last pairing I would suggest
is the 35mm and the 85mm.
It's actually a very popular combination
for wedding and event photography.
Alternatively, you can sub
out that 35 with the 40mm
to get nice closeup shots
of the rings and details
and the 85 for the portraits.
And actually, the 85
would go really nicely
to the two previous combinations
that I suggested earlier.
If you need a telephoto option.
Before I get into my
zoom lens recommendation,
I just wanna give our
friends over at Squarespace
a quick shout-out first.
I'm sure you've heard by now,
Squarespace is the all-in-one solution
for anybody looking to
create a beautiful website,
without the pain and hassle of
knowing any coding, like me!
I personally use Squarespace
to house my portfolio work
that I can quickly send
off to potential clients
where they can see all of
my most recent wedding films
and my best of the best photos.
With Squarespace easy to use interface,
creating a portfolio is as
simple as click and drag.
Just ask Vivian, she did
this for me, actually.
You could choose from their
many clean templates to get started.
Check out squarespace.com for a free trial
and see how easy it is
to set up your website.
And when you're ready to launch,
go to squarespace.com/jasonvong
to save 10% off your first
purchase of a website or domain.
Now, back to our regular programing.
All right, moving on to zoom lenses.
And what's good about zoom lenses is that
they cover a wide variety of
focal lengths in just one lens.
Zoom lenses are great in
a run-and-gun situation.
Let's say you're shooting an
event, a concert or a wedding,
or you're traveling, you can
quickly get different looks
with zoom lenses on the spot.
As opposed to using prime
lenses, let's just say,
if you're shooting with
a wide angle prime lens,
but then you need to quickly
switch to a tight closeup shot,
you would have to swap out
lenses and depending on
what type of situation you're
in, it may not be possible
or it may be really time consuming.
So having zoom lenses will allow you
to be quick on your feet.
Oh and before I get into it,
all of my recommendations
for the zoom lenses
have constant aperture,
meaning that if I zoom from one end
of the spectrum to another,
the f-stop stays the same.
Most kit lenses have a variable aperture,
meaning that on the wide
end, let's say a 28 to 75,
that 28 could be at f/3.5
and then that 75 could be
like a f/5.6 or something.
So if you bought a Sony kit and
it comes with that kit lens,
that's the variable aperture
that you're working with.
So what I really like
about these zoom lenses
is that they don't change
when I zoom out to a
different focal length.
If I'm at 16 f/2.8 on this
lens, it's gonna stay 2.8
if I zoom in to 35.
All right, so let's go ahead
and start off with the best
ultra-wide angle zoom lens
and that is the 16 to 35
f/2.8 G Master from Sony.
I really, really, really love this lens.
I love using it for vlogging,
I love using it for gimbal work,
this lens is seriously,
incredibly, incredibly sharp.
It's ridiculous how sharp this lens is.
The 16 to 35 is a great walk
around lens that can be used
for general photography,
landscape, nature, architecture,
giant group shot, street
and environmental portraits.
Even though this is the
best lens in my opinion,
this is also a very, very expensive lens.
So I'm gonna suggest
you a few alternatives.
If you really need a wide angle lens
with that f/2.8 aperture,
again, there's the Zeiss Batis 18,
you just won't have that
versatility of a 16 to 35.
Otherwise, the Zeiss 16 to 35 f/4
is also a great alternative as well.
And some people would argue that
when you're shooting that wide anyway,
you don't need an f/2.8 aperture,
you would want something
like an f/4 anyways.
But seriously though, this
is one of my favorite lens
in my collection and one
that I use a whole lot.
I would say I would use this
lens with the 55 and the 85
a whole lot whenever we go out traveling
and it's what I have been using to shoot
a lot of my YouTube videos as well.
For example, this Cuba
video that we've shot
for the Tamron 20 to 75 review was shot
almost exclusively on
the 16 to 35 G Master.
Seriously, this thing is awesome.
All right, moving on.
The best mid-range zoom
lens and coincidentally,
we just talked about the
Tamron 20 to 75 f/2.8 lens
and my God, is that lens solid.
If you need a mid-range zoom
lens and you are on a budget,
the Tamron 20 to 75 is the one to get.
Because this is a mid-range zoom lens,
it's incredibly versatile.
You can do street photography, portraits,
travel, weddings, you name it.
Now my only complaint
of the 20 to 75 is that
28, is it really wide enough?
In my opinion, it's not as
simple as just taking a step back
to get the shot, you're just
not getting that wide look.
But I'm willing to overlook
that because it is a small lens.
If you also feel the
28 is not wide enough,
go ahead and pick up one of
the ultra-wide angle lenses
that I've recommended.
A great mid-range alternative
zoom lens would be
the 24 to 105 f/4 lens from Sony.
In my opinion, that's
the one-and-done of lens,
the only lens that you need,
the lens that's gonna bring you
from point A to point B, from 24 to 105.
It is a fantastic lens
to have for traveling,
and for events as well.
Now I know some people are
gonna ask me about my thoughts
on the Zeiss 24 to 70 f/4.
To be honest with you,
for the dollars that you're
spending for that lens,
you could use it and buy
the Tamron 20 to 75 f/2.8
or even go for the 24 to 105 from Sony,
just because you have that extra 105.
I feel like the dollar
spent is just better
on those two lenses instead
of the Zeiss 24 to 70.
All right, moving on to the
best telephoto zoom options.
We'll start off with this one right here,
the 70 to 200 f/2.8 G Master from Sony.
I personally own this
lens and I guarantee you,
it's flippin' sharp.
70-200 is terrific for
portraits, weddings, sports
and even action photography.
It has a long reach that will allow you
to capture the action up close,
without actually being up close.
And this lens generally pairs up nicely
with a mid-range lens like a 24 to 70.
Unfortunately, it is a highly priced lens,
if you need a telephoto
alternative with a 2.8 aperture,
there is the Zeiss Batis 135 f/2.8,
which is a thousand dollars cheaper
but still incredibly sharp.
You do, however, lose out on
the versatility of the zoom lens.
Otherwise, if you're okay with an f/4,
the Sony 70 to 200 f/4
is still just as good
and just as sharp.
However, if you need even more of a reach,
there is also the Sony
100 to 400 G Master.
Pair it up with a Sony A9
and you'll be ready for any sports,
any wildlife and any aviation photography.
All right, hopefully
this has helped you guys
make the best decision in picking out
which lens is right for you.
And don't forget to let me know
which one you end up going
with after watching this video.
And feel free to let me know
what you guys think of my recommendations.
And if you need help selecting
your next full frame camera,
check out my buying guide right here.
Thanks for watching guys,
I'll see you guys in my next video, peace!
