The Best Sony Lenses for Concert Photography: Zooms and Primes

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Benefits of 1st-Party Sony Lenses:

  1. Better performance: Since Sony designs the lenses, they usually bring better performance, such as increased frames per second, full compatibility and usually better autofocus, being faster and more accurate in most cases.
  2. Build quality: I’m not saying that the other lenses are poorly made, but the Sony lenses have a premium feel, including weather sealing and mostly being very resistant to the conditions they’re put into.

The Best Sony Lenses for Full-Frame Cameras in Concert Photography:

I always try to carry a minimum of 2 lenses for a concert, one covering a wider angle and one covering a tighter angle. For some shows I’ll carry 3, that cover almost the whole range, allowing me to take from full stage shots to face closeups or shots from a very long distance such as from a balcony or front of the house.

Best Sony Zoom Lenses for Full Frame Cameras:

Wide Angle shot
  1. Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM: This lens is perfect for capturing the whole stage and crowd photos on the wider range, and the 35mm allows for a lot of flexibility when needed.
    • Pros: Wide-angle versatility, fast f/2.8 aperture for low-light performance, excellent sharpness and contrast
    • Cons: Expensive, some distortion at the widest focal lengths (easy to fix in Lightroom)
  2. Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM: If I had to take only one camera, this would be it. It does cover some wide-angle capabilities and a good zoom range.
    • Pros: Versatile focal range, constant f/2.8 aperture, fast and accurate autofocus
    • Cons: Heavy and bulky, expensive
  3. Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS: Almost everyone can recognize this lens from a distance due to its white tone. The range is incredible and at 2.8 at 200mm, you can get great close-ups with background separation. And combined the camera stabilization with the lens, it’s perfect for handheld shots.
    • Pros: Excellent reach for distant subjects, fast f/2.8 aperture, built-in optical image stabilization
    • Cons: Heavy and bulky, expensive

Best Sony Prime Lenses for Full Frame Cameras:

Although I prefer using zoom lenses during concerts due to their versatility, sometimes I carry some primes, as they offer two big advantages: size and maximum aperture. They’re usually lighter and allow even more light to get inside the sensor, making it even better for the low-light conditions of most concerts.

  1. Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM or f/1.4 ZA: Those are must-have lenses, and their aperture are great, enabling very creamy bokeh and low light. I’m giving here two options, as the 1.2 is quite expensive and the 1.4 ZA is considerably more accessible without much compromise.
    • Pros: Excellent low-light performance, beautiful bokeh, sharp and contrasty images
    • Cons: Expensive (especially the f/1.2 version)
  2. Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM:
    • Pros: Ultra-wide perspective, fast f/1.8 aperture, excellent sharpness and minimal distortion
    • Cons: Expensive
  3. Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM:
    • Pros: Excellent reach for tight portraits, fast f/1.8 aperture, exceptional sharpness and bokeh
    • Cons: Expensive

The Best Sony Lenses for APS-C Cameras in Concert Photography:

More recently, I’ve been shooting exclusively Full Frame, but I still believe the APS-C cameras are a great alternative for concert photography. They’re lighter, smaller and cheaper, with some compromises during low light compared with a full-frame camera.

The Best Sony Zoom Lenses for APS-C Cameras

  1. Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS:
    • Pros: Ultra-wide perspective, built-in optical image stabilization, compact and lightweight
    • Cons: Slower f/4 aperture, some distortion at the widest focal lengths
  2. Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G:
    • Pros: Versatile focal range, fast f/2.8 aperture, excellent sharpness and contrast
    • Cons: Expensive, no built-in optical image stabilization
  3. Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS:
    • Pros: Excellent reach for distant subjects, built-in optical image stabilization, compact and lightweight
    • Cons: Slower variable aperture, not as sharp as more expensive telephoto lenses

The Best Sony Prime Lenses for APS-C Cameras

  1. Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS:
    • Pros: Versatile focal length (52.5mm full-frame equivalent), fast f/1.8 aperture, built-in optical image stabilization
    • Cons: Not as sharp as more expensive prime lenses, some chromatic aberration
  2. Sony E 20mm f/2.8:
    • Pros: Wide-angle perspective (30mm full-frame equivalent), compact and lightweight, affordable
    • Cons: Slower f/2.8 aperture, some distortion and vignetting
  3. Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS:
    • Pros: Short telephoto focal length (75mm full-frame equivalent), fast f/1.8 aperture, built-in optical image stabilization
    • Cons: Not as sharp as more expensive prime lenses, some chromatic aberration

3rd Party Alternatives

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are always 3rd party alternatives for every one of those lenses, and I’ll cover them soon.

Keep in mind, that even though using a Sony lens on a Sony camera has benefits, some of the 3rd party lenses are not far behind, with brands such as Tamron and Sigma providing excellent image and build quality and most frequently being more accessible financially.

I have been using mostly a combo of two Tamron Lenses (17-28mm f/2.8 and 35-150mm f/2-2.8) for most of the concerts that I’ve shot. I have used Sony lenses on specific occasions.