Sony Alpha a7iii is a premium full-frame camera with powerful features and functions. However, it does not mean you have to buy an expensive lens to further enhance its performance. Even a budget lens can help you create stunning images and videos with this camera. Therefore, our guide will cover the best budget lenses for Sony a7iii for you to easily find one for your camera.
Sony a7iii is a behemoth of a camera, offering features like 24 megapixels sensor, high ISO range, 10fps burst rate, long battery life, extremely fast and accurate autofocus, 5-axis image stabilization, 4K videos, and much more. You would obviously think that such an expensive camera would also require an equally expensive lens to give its best.
In reality, a budget lens is enough to give a further boost to the performance of this already brilliant camera.
Best Budget Lenses for Sony a7iii
The following are the top lenses to get for Sony a7iii if you have budget constraints. Despite being cheap, these lenses deliver superb performance in most aspects such as low light images, autofocus, image stabilization, photo and video quality, aperture, and so on.
| Image | Lens Name | Focal Length | Aperture Rate | Lens Type | Check Price |
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 | Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 |
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 | Sigma 16mm f/1.4mm |
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 | Sony - FE 50mm f/1.8 |
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 | Samyang SY14M-E 14mm f/2.8 |
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 | ony 28-70mm f/3.5-5 |
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| Check Price |
 | Sigma 70mm f/2.8 |
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 | Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 |
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 | Sony SEL35F18 55mm f/1.8 |
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 | Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 |
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 | Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-5.6 |
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Let us start our list with our first lens without wasting any further time.
1. Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS: Best Budget Zoom Lens for Sony a7iii
Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Wide Angle Zoom lens is an affordable lens with superb zooming capabilities. It can automatically increase the zoom range to 24-70mm and that is why, it is a popular lens among landscape, wildlife, and nature photography.
The maximum aperture is more than enough to create beautiful images in low light. Add excellent bokeh effect to the mix and you can make your subject truly stand out.
Sony SteadyShot stabilization combines with automatic ISO modes to ensure steady and smooth images even in low light. There is also no ghosting or hazy effects in the images.
Similarly, you can combine SteadyShot with Sony sensor-shit image stabilization to remove blurs and ghosts from handheld shots.
The lens features four aspherical and one ED glass element for multiple aberration reductions as well.
Extra low dispersion glass keeps the glitches and aberration to a minimum. You don’t need post-processing to remove these blemishes from your photos.
Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 is also a lightweight camera thanks to the variable aperture.
All in all, it is one of the best zoom lenses for Sony a7iii on a budget. Similarly, it delivers excellent stabilization as well as zooming capabilities.
2. Sigma 16mm f/1.4 Wide Angle Lens: Best Wide Angle Lens for Sony a7iii
You must consider Sigma 16mm f/1.4mm Wide Angle if you are looking for spectacular low light performance and good focal length to shoot stunning images.
The extremely high and fast f/1.4 aperture delivers fantastic images with crisp and sharp details in low light. Similarly, it has an 83.2° angle of view courtesy of 16mm focal length, allowing you to cover a wide area. As a result, you can take perfect landscape, wildlife, nature, and sports images and videos.
Another nice feature of the lens is its fast and accurate hybrid autofocus. The stepping motor is not only quiet but also helps in fast and smooth focusing while shooting images and videos.
The lens also a multilayer coating to eliminate ghosting and chromatic aberration. It comprises 16 elements in 13 groups as well as 9 rounded diaphragm to further improve the quality of the pictures.
The small and lightweight lens is easy to carry, also making it a perfect choice for travel, outdoors, and action photography.
3. Sony – FE 50mm f/1.8 Standard Lens: Best Budget 50mm Lens for Sony A7iii
Sony – FE 50mm f/1.8 is the lens for brilliant macro landscape photos as well as portraits. However, it is suitable for a wide range of photography types due to its wide aperture and a host of other features.
The lightweight and compact lens is not only compatible with the Sony A7 series but also with NEX cameras. The wide 7-blade circular aperture enables beautiful defocusing effects and creates stunning defocused bokeh as well.
The f/1.8 wide aperture ensures brilliant photos in low light. It internally stabilizes and smoothens colors, eliminating the need to use manual ISO modes.
Focusing is also quiet and accurate because of the DC brushless motor.
The built-in aspherical elements minimize coma and aberration. Similarly, the double-glass configuration removes distortion and field curvature. The lens produces extremely curved and sharp images both for landscape and portrait photography.
The lens works with APS-C sensors where it has a focal length of 75mm and a 32° angle of view.
Metal mounts make the lens very sturdy and look sophisticated. The rubber around the metal protects it from splash and sands.
In short, Sony – EF 50mm f/1.8 is among the best cheap Sony lenses for a7iii. Yet, it delivers superb camera performance for landscape and portrait photography. Similarly, it produces sharp stills without cutting corners.
4. Samyang SY14M-E 14mm f/2.8: Great Lens for Landscape Photography
Samyang SY14M-E 14mm f/2.8 is yet another affordable wide-angle lens on our list. It is a lightweight and compact lens weighing only 1.2 pounds. The wide-angle lens with a high aperture of f/2.8 is and 115° angle of view is ideal for landscape photography.
The minimum focusing distance of 11” or 0.28m only also makes it a perfect choice for outstanding macro photographs.
Two ED lens elements ensure clear and sharp images by keeping ghosts, flares, and, aberrations at bay. Similarly, there is little to no distortion resulting in crisp and detailed images.
The f/2.8 ape is wide enough to capture excellent low-light photos. However, the lens is no match for Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 and Rokinon 50mm f/1.4 when it comes to taking beautiful photos in the dark.
Another drawback of the lens is the lack of built-in image stabilization. Therefore, we recommend using a camera stabilizer or a tripod while taking images. The autofocus is particular fast though, helping you to track and focus objects accurately in quick time.
In general, Samyang SY14M-E 14mm f/2.8 is a great choice if you are into the landscape and macro photography. It is cheap but packs a lot of features for taking sharp and clear images.
5. Sony 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6: Best Lens for Sony A7iii Video and Photography
Sony 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 is a sensible choice if you are in search of a standard zoom lens. It offers excellent focusing of nearby and distant objects as well as mid-range zooming.
It creates a superb bokeh effect to remove minor blurs caused by handheld shooting. Similarly, it has an equivalent focal length of 35mm with optical zoom.
The extra-low dispersion glass maintains extreme color depth and high contrast throughout the focal range.
The ED glass ensures sharp and crisp images of faraway objects by canceling out chromatic aberration. The SteadyShot image stabilization further removes camera shakes and steads the images.
The linear stepping motor offers quiet, accurate, and smooth focusing of the objects. The controlled access of the focus ring and a quiet motor also make it a great lens for videography.
With the right settings, the lens allows you to create breathtaking portraits and photographs.
In short, Sony 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 is among the best budget lenses for Sony a7iii in terms of mid-range zooming.
6. Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Art Deco Macro Lens: Best Sigma Lens for Sony A7iii
Sigma 70mm f/2.8 is a highly impressive lens in terms of picture quality and sharpness. You don’t need any converters to use it with an E-mount lens because it is compatible with them by default.
The Art Deco Macro lens enables you to take spectacular 1:1 images both in bright and dark conditions using its wide aperture of f/2.8. Needless to say, the macro shots have extreme details and precision as well.
Similarly, images of wildlife, bugs, and flowers are sharp and steady even if you are shooting them from a distance. The versatile focus-by-wire ring technology helps you take excellent landscapes too.
The nicest feature of the lens is the ability to use manual focus even in autofocus mode. It further allows you to fine tune the focusing of your subjects. The quiet brushless DC motor facilitates a wide-angle of rotation while minimizing focal distortions and lens aberrations.
The pioneering two-group focus allows you to easily switch between distances as well as shooting modes. Similarly, you can switch between macro and normal photography in a jiffy.
The affordable lens has an ergonomic design besides sturdy hardware in general. The brass mount construction makes the lens durable and reliable.
Sigma 70mm f/2.8 is the one of the best budget lenses for Sony a7iii if you want a single lens to capture distant and near objects. It has tremendous macro capabilities besides a good focal length for faraway objects.
7. Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8: One of the Best Tamron Lenses for Sony A7iii
Available for around $800, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 is the most expensive lens on our list. However, it is worth its price as it offers exceptional image quality and great value for money.
It is an everyday travel-friendly zoom lens, weighing only 550g. It also offers massive improvements on the Sony a7iii kit lens that is Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.6-5.6. The most obvious upgrade is the faster and constant aperture of f/2.8. Therefore, the lens delivers spectacular images in low light besides creating a mouthwatering bokeh effect.
The lens also excels when it comes to shooting videos but its main suit is the fantastic image quality. Stills are sharp with impressive color contrast throughout the zoom range. It maintains edge-to-edge sharpness even at f/2.8.
Autofocus is very accurate, quiet, and fast and the distortion is kept to the minimum. It is also a good lens for macro shots courtesy of the closest focusing distance of 0.62ft. Similarly, you can take brilliant shots of faraway objects using the maximum magnification ratio of 0.34x.
The major shortcomings of the lens are vignetting when shooting at 28mm and visible color fringing at corners. However, you can remove these blemishes in post-processing.
It is difficult to find such an affordable zoom lens that offers top-notch performance without costing you a lot of money. Of all the a7iii lenses on our list, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 offers the best value for your money as well.
8. Sony SEL35F18 85mm f/1.8: Best Portrait Lens for Sony a7iii
Sony SEL35F18 85mm f/1.8 is one of the best lenses for a7iii in many aspects. It is much better than Samyang 85mm f/1.4 manual focus lens but costs twice as much money as well. Still, it is quite an affordable lens, available only for $479.
Primarily designed for Sony Full-Frame cameras, the lens can also work with APS-C sensors. In the latter case, it has an effective focal length of 127.5mm, excellent focal coverage for portraits.
The best feature of the lens is the autofocus. It does have manual focusing but only experts with a sharp eye should use this feature. Coming back to autofocus, it is powered by a Double linear autofocusing motor, ensuring accurate and fast tracking of the objects.
The larger and fast f/1.8 aperture means the lens delivers spectacular images in low light. It also creates a delightful bokeh effect, blurring the background to highlight the subject.
The low dispersion element reduces aberration and distortions, further improving the image quality.
Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 is a great budget lens if you want to create fascinating portraits and beautiful bokeh effects.
9. Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8: Best Budget Prime Lens for Sony a7iii
Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 is a wonderful everyday prime lens with fantastic low light performance and excellent image quality.
Weighing just 280g, it is the lightest lens on our list, also making it an ideal travel and outdoor lens. The ability to switch between manual and autofocus is highly impressive for such a small lens.
The wide f/1.8 aperture means it is the perfect lens for night photography or astrophotography. It delivers amazing pictures of the night sky as well as celestial objects like stars, galaxies, and Northern Lights.
The built-in image stabilization ensures steady images. Similarly, images have brilliant sharpness and contras thanks to the new optical design.
The overall focusing is fast and quiet, ideal for shooting movies. The autofocus operation is superb, to say the least.
The lens is also compatible with Sony APS-C cameras where it has an equivalent focal length of 52.5mm.
Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 is a dependable, affordable, and worthy lens to consider depending on your photography preferences and needs.
10. Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3: Best Budget Telephoto Lens for Sony a7iii
You must consider Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-5.6 if you are looking for a good sports lens. However, you can also use the multipurpose lens for landscape and astrophotography because of its sweet focal range.
The aperture features an automatic focus ring for high-contrast and sharp captures. Similarly, the circular aperture blades create a beautiful bokeh effect further adding to the beauty of wide-angle shots. Therefore, it is easier to highlight your subject while defocusing everything in the background.
It may be one of the best budget lenses for Sony a7iii video courtesy of Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. It superbly stabilizes videos of all kinds, resulting in smooth and steady footage. Gyro sensors detect the tiniest of movements quite admirably and adjust shots in microseconds.
The magnifying ED glass reduces low color saturation and chromatic aberration better than anything else. Similarly, the lens increases saturation levels and improves image contrasts in distant videos and images.
The maximum magnification ratio of 0.23x also makes it a great lens for telephoto shots.
The only problem with the lens is the rather long minimum focusing distance of 3.28 feet. Therefore, it struggles to capture near-field objects beautifully.
How to Buy the Best Budget Lens for Sony a7iii?
Purchasing a budget lens doesn’t mean you should compromise on image quality. You still need to consider quite a few factors while choosing an affordable lens for Sony a7iii.
Aperture
One of the most important considerations is the aperture. Sony a7iii itself delivers beautiful images in low light conditions. Therefore, you can pair it with a lens having a wide and fast aperture such as f/1.8 or even f/1.4 to further complement its performance.
Image Stabilization
Image stabilization is necessary for keeping your handheld shots steady and smooth. It minimizes camera shakes and removes blurs and distortion from your pictures. Although Sony a7iii has a built-in 5-axis image and a lens with IS can further enhance stabilization
Build Quality
The lens you buy should be sturdy, dependable, and durable. It is hard to find affordable lenses with weather-sealing or moisture resistance but some cheap lenses offer these features. Similarly, try to buy a lightweight and compact lens that is easy to carry.
Compatibility
Sony a7iii is compatible with a wide range of lenses. Therefore, it should not be a problem for you to find a compatible lens. However, you must also determine whether or not the lens’s features can enhance the performance of the camera.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can E-Mount lenses be used on the Sony a7iii?
Sony E-mount lenses are compatible with Sony a7iii. They offer faster shutter speeds, excellent low-light performance, and fast autofocus.
- Are E-mount lenses compatible with A-mount cameras?
No, E-mount lenses are not compatible with A-mount cameras.
- What is the ideal focal length for wide-angle photography?
The ideal focal length for wide-angle photography is 14-35mm.
Final Thoughts
With this, we conclude our guide to the best budget lenses for Sony a7iii. We hope you are now better informed about which lens to buy for Sony a7iii according to your requirements, preferences, and photography style after reading this article.