When it comes to expanding our horizon as a photographer, one of the greatest additions to our photography gear arsenals is a great telephoto lens. However, since there are so many options available out there for Sony cameras, ranging from 70mm all the way to 600mm, it can get extremely overwhelming, especially for new Sony camera owners.
To help make it easier for you, I have decided to compile a complete list of all the greatest telephoto lenses for Sony cameras and divide them into each use case with different budget levels for you to choose from. The list is based solely on my personal experience shooting with Sony mirrorless cameras for more than a decade.
From landscape to bird photography, from 70mm to 600mm reach, here are the 10 best Sony telephoto lenses you can buy for your Sony cameras. Let's start off by looking at the quick summary of all the lenses I listed here and all their unique features in the table below:
- 📸 Quick Summary: The best Sony Telephoto lenses to buy
- 👍 What Makes for a Good Travel Telephoto Lens for Sony Cameras?
- 🏔️ The Best Landscape/Portrait Lens
- 🏔️ The Best Value Landscape/Portrait Lens
- 🏔️ The Best Budget Landscape/Portrait Lens
- 🐯 The Best Wildlife Lens
- 🐯 The Best Budget Wildlife Lens
- 🦅 The Best Bird Photography Lens
- 🦅 The Best Budget Bird Photography Lens
- 🎸 The Best Event Lens
- The Best Range Lens
- 💃 The Most Versatile Lens
- Further Reading for Photography
📸 Quick Summary: The best Sony Telephoto lenses to buy
👍 What Makes for a Good Travel Telephoto Lens for Sony Cameras?
For me, what makes a good travel telephoto lens is the lens that strikes the perfect balance between high-quality glass, weight, and features that will help me take great photos in any situation I might find myself in, without hindering my ability to travel around effectively.
I'll be including lenses for different travel situations and shooting styles that reflect the type of traveler you are, like street photography, wildlife, and general purpose. Additionally, I'll provide budget alternatives that will help your Sony cameras reach their full potential.
Of course, feel free to mix and match and see which travel lenses fit your needs the most. Let's begin with the best landscape/portrait lens:
🏔️ The Best Landscape/Portrait Lens
- Extremely sharp
- Very fast autofocus for a telephoto lens
- Optical Stabilization
- Relatively lightweight
- Support teleconverter
- Very expensive
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens: If you are into landscape and portrait photography and are looking to buy a telephoto lens for that, the best one to get is the Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II lens.
This lens is an updated version of the old Sony FE 70-200mm GM lens, featuring a faster autofocus mechanism, a lighter body, and an improved optical performance. With its versatile focal lengths of 70-200mm, you can use this lens to capture close-up shots of objects that may be difficult to approach, such as distant mountain peaks and people.
The lens comes with a fast aperture of F2.8, allowing you to capture incredibly sharp images even in the poorest lighting conditions. Not to mention, its new autofocus system enables you to keep up with fast subjects like birds, and its optical stabilization should help to smooth out your photos and videos, especially when zoomed in.
If you are looking for the best telephoto lens to buy for your Sony cameras, the Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II is a complete package that is hard to beat. Hit the link below to check out the recent price.
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens money can buy. Perfect for most telephoto applications.
🏔️ The Best Value Landscape/Portrait Lens
- Affordable
- Compact and Lightweight
- Optical Stabilization
- Not the fastest autofocus
- No teleconverter support
Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 G2 Lens: For those of you who are looking for a budget-friendly telephoto lens, the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 G2 lens is the best option if your budget is around 1,300 USD.
This lens is the newest version of the beloved Tamron 70-180mm lens, and it remains one of the lightest and most compact telephoto lenses you can get at the moment, with its fast aperture of F2.8, a weight of 866 g (1.91 lbs), a form factor that is no bigger than a small APS-C telephoto lens, and the addition of an optical stabilization system that will come in handy when shooting at 200m, you just can't beat the value-to-feature ratio of this lens.
It is a lens designed specifically for those looking for a fast telephoto lens that is travel-friendly, fast enough to capture action shots, and, best of all, light on the wallet. If you do not mind the lack of 20mm on the further end, the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 G2 lens is a great alternative to the more expensive Sony GM lens, which is more than doubled the price of the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 G2 lens. Hit the link below to check to the latest price:
To sum it up, this is the best budget telephoto for most telephoto applications.
🏔️ The Best Budget Landscape/Portrait Lens
- Amazing range
- Very lightweight and compact
- Affordable
- No stabilization
- Not compatible with teleconverters
- Slow aperture
- Can struggle to focus sometimes
Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 Lens: For those of you who are looking for a more compact and affordable option for a wildlife lens, I can't recommend the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens enough.
They have managed to give us a 70-300mm focal length, which is great for wildlife, allowing you to bring the animals closer without scaring them away, while keeping the weight low at only 544 grams. Additionally, it costs less than 500 USD. That is an impressive feat in my opinion.
In order to keep the lens lightweight and affordable, they had to omit a few features such as the custom buttons, plastic build quality, and optical stabilization (OSS). However, with the in-body stabilization (IBIS) features available on most Sony full-frame cameras nowadays, the lack of OSS is not as big of a deal anymore.
Tamron lens is also known for producing tack-sharp images, which is also the case for this lens too. If you are looking to get into wildlife photography and do not want to spend 2,000+ USD for a lens, the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens is hands down the best lens to get.
To sum it up, this is the best affordable telephoto lens to get if you enjoy landscape photography.
🐯 The Best Wildlife Lens
- Very versatile range
- Compact size for the range
- Works with teleconverters
- Quite heavy
- Variable aperture
- Expensive
Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 OSS GM Lens: If you are looking for the very best telephoto lens to get for wildlife photography, and money and weight are no object, then the crown has to go to the Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM lens. This lens has an incredible focal length of 100-400mm, which will allow you to bring your subject much closer than any other lens.
The Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens is not a small or compact lens in any sense, but relative to the reach it gives you, this is as small as it gets. The lens is also one of the sharpest Sony lenses out there, allowing you to capture crisp and clear images of wild animals like birds or the big five during a safari trip.
If you have a little bit of space left in your backpack, $2,500 USD to spare, and are looking for the very best wildlife lens with great reach, this is the one to get.
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens to get if you enjoy wildlife photography and looking for a lightweight solution.
🐯 The Best Budget Wildlife Lens
- Very versatile range
- Well-built
- Quite heavy
- Slow vaariable aperture
- Doesn't work with teleconverters
Sigma 100-400mm f5-6.3 DG DN Lens: For those who are looking for a telephoto lens but do not want to spend $2,200 USD on the Sony GM lens, the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN lens offers a great budget alternative that is more travel and wallet-friendly than the GM lens.
The lens is designed as an entry-level telephoto lens, and it comes in this handheld-friendly form factor that weighs only 1,100 g (2.43 lbs), a benefit you usually don't get from a lens with this much reach.
The lens performs really well for its price. It comes equipped with optical stabilization, which is essential when shooting at this range, and a fast and quiet autofocus mechanism that will help you capture those sharp wildlife shots you have always wanted. However, the aperture is quite slow, so be sure to use this lens when the light condition is good enough.
Despite its downsides, at only $899 USD retail, this Sigma lens is a steal, especially for its surprisingly great performance, lightweight and compact form factor, and the super-telephoto reach you can get from it. If you are looking for an affordable super-telephoto lens, the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN is the one to get.
To sum it up, this is the best budget telephoto lens to get if you enjoy wildlife photography and looking for a lightweight solution.
🦅 The Best Bird Photography Lens
- Extremely versatile range
- Well-built
- Support teleconverters
- Quite bulky
- Slow vaariable aperture
Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens: Sometimes, you just need as much reach as you can get, especially when it comes to bird photography. If you are looking for the longest telephoto lens you can get, the Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens is the one to get.
With the incredible reach of 600mm, this is the longest lens you can get before the lens becomes too big to be used handheld. The lens ranges from 200-600mm, allowing you to be flexible with your subject without having to switch lenses.
The lens also works with the Sony 2x teleconverter, allowing the zoom to reach a whopping 1200mm and capture all the fine details of the world to your heart's content.
If you are looking for the longest possible telephoto lens for your Sony cameras, the Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens is the way to go, as long as you don't mind the size and the slower aperture.
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens to get if you enjoy bird photography.
🦅 The Best Budget Bird Photography Lens
- Extremely versatile range
- Well-built
- Heavy and bulky
- Slow vaariable aperture
- Doesn't support teleconverters
Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN Lens: If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Sony 200-600mm super-telephoto lens with the same reach but way more affordable, the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN lens is definitely worth a look.
This lens has an incredible range of 150-600mm, and it is relatively compact and lightweight, especially when you compare it with the Sony 200-600mm. Amazingly, Sigma was able to make this lens lighter and still give it more reach than all the other competing lenses.
The autofocus may not be as fast as Sony native lenses, but for such a lightweight and compact body and a bargain price of 1,300 USD, it is hard not to recommend the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 lens for those who are looking for a budget wildlife lens.
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens to get if you enjoy bird photography.
🎸 The Best Event Lens
- Extremely versatile range
- Very fast aperture
- Heavy and bulky
- Quite expensive
- Doesn't support teleconverters
Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 Lens: I know some of you might not consider this a telephoto lens since it begins at the wide 35mm, but with its long end reaching over 100mm, this lens can be used in place of other telephoto lenses for a variety of applications. Also, this lens is as close to magic as it gets when it comes to lens manufacturing; it almost defies the laws of physics. It is hard to impossible not to recommend it on this list.
Tamron achieved the impossible with their new lens, providing an incredibly versatile yet highly fast zoom lens that covers the 35-150mm focal lengths, all the while ensuring it remains almost as fast as prime lenses with its variable F2-2.8 aperture.
This incredible feat of engineering might even render your all-purpose lens useless, with its focal length going as wide as 35mm and an incredibly fast aperture of F2.
With such reach and a fast aperture range, this lens is one of the best lenses you can get for wedding photography or other indoor events where you often find yourself shooting in poor lighting conditions, like at a concert.
It is a little heavy and bulky, so it isn't great for travel. However, for other applications where you don't have to hand-hold the lens all day, the Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 lens is definitely hard to beat.
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens to get for events and concerts, especially in low-light.
The Best Range Lens
- Covers the most focal range
- Heavy and bulky
- Slow variable aperture
- Doesn't support teleconverters
Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Lens: And Tamron did it again with their crazy ideas and unusual focal length. This time, they are giving us the 8-time zoom capability with the Tamron 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 that allows you to go from the relatively wide 50mm focal length for normal shots all the way to the super-telephoto territory of 400mm.
One minute, you are shooting a subject near you, and another, you are shooting faraway subjects like a flying airplane above your head, without having to change the lens. It's not very fast, but if you are looking for a lens that covers a wide focal range to give you the versatility you can't get from other lenses, this is the lens for you!
To sum it up, this is the best telephoto lens to get for events and concerts, especially in low-light.
💃 The Most Versatile Lens
- Great macro range
- Works with teleconverters
- Lightweight
- F4 might not be enough for some
Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS Ⅱ Lens: And the most versatile range goes to the new Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro lens, which is the first zoom telephoto macro lens Sony has ever released. With the already versatile range of 70-200mm, the ability to shoot half macro at 200mm allows you to get up close and personal with small subjects you might encounter when you travel, like insects or flowers.
The lens is also compatible with the Sony FE 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, which the previous version, the Sony 70-200mm F4 G lens, doesn't have. That increases the versatility of this lens even more, allowing you to zoom in to 400mm with the 2x teleconverter. Also, when using the teleconverter, you will also be able to shoot life-size 1:1 macro at all focal lengths, which is unprecedented.
Another cool thing about this lens is that since it no longer has internal zoom, Sony was able to reduce its size by almost 20%, at only 150mm in length, allowing you to easily pack it in your camera bags without eating up space, which is perfect for travel. Not to mention, they were also able to shave off the weight a bit to 794g compared to its predecessor and yet still managed to add more features.
If you are looking for a single lens to shoot landscapes, macros, and wildlife, all in one, you just can't beat the Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS Ⅱ lens, especially when you pair it with the Sony FE 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.
To sum it up, this is the most versatile telephoto lens you can get with a macro capability.
Want to take your photography game to the next level? Here are some resources to help you upgrade your work and photography gear:
Further Reading for Photography
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