Take Better Photos With The Best Lens For Sony a6500

Photo by Fábio Alves on Unsplash

If you have the Sony a6500 Digital Camera, you obviously have great taste. This is a powerful camera with lots of features and it takes beautiful photographs. But the best way to truly showcase the power of your Sony camera is by purchasing the right lens.

With the best lens for Sony a6500, you will dramatically improve the quality of the photos you take. This applies to any kind of photography. If you shoot a lot of different subjects and cover a broad range of focal lengths, you might even need a handful of quality and affordable lenses to keep your photography game sharp.

If you’re unsure of what kind of lens is best for your camera, you need to consider the types of subjects you mostly shoot. If you’re a portrait photographer, you’re going to want something like a medium-range lens that gives you an outstanding bokeh effect with all your photos.

If you’re more into wildlife photography and landscape photography, you need something with a wide angle that can capture huge scenes. You should also consider how many action shots you take. If you’re using your a6500 for sports photography or something similar, you’re going to need quick autofocusing to capture intense moments.

Today we’re looking at the five best lenses for the Sony a6500, and we guarantee you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.

1. Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

First on the list is one of the most expensive lenses we’re going to be talking about today. It’s also one of the most impressive lenses from Sony. This is a wide-angle zoom lens that is ideal for landscape photography, adventure photography, and even for portrait photography. You can shoot close at F2.8 to capture extremely sharp targets with dynamic backgrounds and very smooth bokeh. But you can also do so much more.

You get premium sharpness across the frame and an extremely fast autofocus. The camera is built solid, it’s surprisingly lightweight, and there is a lot of technology that has gone into the development of the lens. Controls are simple, you get high resolution from corner to corner, and it’s designed specially to fit with APS-C cameras for an easy and manageable lens system.

Pros

• Ridiculously High Resolution
• The Current Standard for Quality
• Premium Optical Design & Strong Body
• Lightweight & Portable
• Gorgeous Bokeh for Portraits

Cons

• Super Expensive
• The Lens is Rather Large

2. Sony 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS E-Mount Zoom Lens

This standard zoom lens from Sony is quite honestly one of the best products they have ever made. There is probably not a better-reviewed camera lens anywhere on the Internet. If you are looking for a lens to take with you in everyday situations – something that can take amazing landscape photos, great photos of architecture, ideal portraits of your friends, and even zoom photos of faraway animals, this is it. The lens really does everything very well. It actually takes away the hassle of needing to carry a lot of different lenses with you. If you’re a semi-professional and want a versatile lens that you can walk around with, take with you on vacation, and bring along on professional photography gigs, this is it.

Some of the things that make this Sony lens so great include optical image stabilization, an advanced 7-blade circular aperture, incredibly fast and precise AF, extra-low dispersion glass elements, a 7.5x high magnification zoom, and the ability to work very well even when taking videos. This lens basically does everything you could ever ask for.

Pros

• Quiet AF
• 5x High Magnification Zoom
• 7-Blade Circular Aperture
• Optical Image Stabilization

Cons

• Model is a Few Years Old

3. Sony 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS Super Telephoto Lens

A super telephoto lens is going to work great for any type of wildlife photography. This particular model from Sony has been optimized to give you the absolute best image quality with your APS-C camera no matter how far you zoom. And zooming is an absolute breeze with this model, which has a maximum focal length of 350mm. That is pretty incredible. And when you add the incredible zoom range with the incredible mechanical design, the convenience of the entire package, and the mobility of the lens, you get one of the best options on the market right now for your Sony a6500. Plus, this model is not overly expensive. It’s actually very affordable, and this makes it so much more desirable.

A few more features you can expect are optical image stabilization, a quiet motor that can rapidly bring your images into focus, and a lightweight design. The lens is even dust and moisture resistant, making it one of the better pieces of equipment for taking with you on safaris or out into the wilderness when trying to get that perfect wildlife shot.

Pros

• Phenomenal Zoom
• Easy to Use w/ Many Features
• Dust & Moisture Resistant
• Quiet, Linear Motor
• Lightweight & Sturdy Design

Cons

• Little Bulky
• External Zoom Extends Pretty Long

4. Neewer 35mm F1.7 Large Aperture Manual Prime Lens

If you really want a quality budget lens, you might want to think about using a third-party manufacturer. This fantastic 35mm manual prime lens from Neewer is one of the best. It costs under $100, it has a nearly perfect bokeh effect, it works very well when taking photos indoors, and the manual focus rings are actually pretty easy to use. You get great sharpness, you obviously can’t beat the price, and it’s an ideal lens for beginners who don’t want to spend too much money. Of course, at such a low price, you generally get what you pay for. But in this case, you actually get a lot more than what you pay for. It doesn’t have the best ISO, so it’s not ideal for nighttime. But it is a great prime lens that you can use in lots of different situations.

The lens comes multi-coated for exceptional image quality. It uses premium optical glass that gives you superb image sharpness with every photo. The lens is also compact and smartly designed, perfect for street photography and portrait photography. It uses a durable metal body, so you know it’s reliable in harsher conditions. But it can still be easily adjusted so that you don’t struggle when taking photos.

Pros

• Less Than $100
• Smooth Focusing
• Ideal for Landscape Photography
• Fits Most A-Series Cameras
• Durable Metal Body

Cons

• ISO Not Great
• Manual Focus

5. Sony E-Mount 20mm F2.8 Prime Fixed Lens

Last on the list is a fantastic little prime lens made specifically for APS-C type cameras, just like the Sony a6500. In fact, this is a great addition specifically for the a6500. It’s lightweight, it’s an excellent lens, and it’s wide enough if you’re doing some vlogging. It’s not overpriced, it’s extremely convenient, and it is one of the better lenses to take with you on a short vacation. You can use it in almost any situation. Of course, it’s not the most powerful lens in the world. But the amount you pay and what you get out of it, it’s definitely a great deal.

In terms of raw power, this lens gives you a 20mm focal length with a huge aperture that is definitely going to appeal to the more experienced photographers. The lens gives outstanding resolution, phenomenal image quality, and it lets in lots of light so that you can take amazing photos in the darkness. That’s because this lens uses 3 aspherical elements that work to achieve superb contrast all the way to the edges of your images. But where the lens really shines is with its thick, pancake design. It’s excellent for bringing with you on the go because it weighs basically nothing.

Pros

• Wildly Affordable
• Small & Sharp
• Works Well at Night
• Convenient to Use
• The Ideal Travel Lens

Cons

• Not Ultra Powerful
• Not Great for Video

Final Thoughts

To take professional photographs, you need to have the right lens for your Sony camera. All the lenses we talked about today are fantastic, but some of them are better at certain jobs. You always want to keep in mind that particular lenses are designed for particular effects.

For example, if you’re looking to take great snapshots, you want a zoom lens that’s super light, compact, and easy to carry around with you. A compact zoom lens will allow for fast zooming and focusing so that you can respond instantaneously to a sudden photo opportunity.

And if you’re dealing with a lot of portraits, it’s recommended that you have a lens with a huge aperture so that you always get a shallow depth of field. This allows the fabulous blurring effect so that you can focus attention on your primary subject. For this, you typically want a medium telephoto lens. However, a prime lens with a large aperture will also work. Macro lenses will work as well, plus they are great for taking pictures of bugs, flowers, and other small targets.

You can take landscape photos with all kinds of different lenses. But the best is going to be a very wide lens because the wider the angle, the better the ability to capture a scenic panorama on a massive scale.

The best way to deal with sports photography is with a telephoto lens that has a focal length of at least 200mm or higher. These are ideal when you can’t be right up close with the sporting action. A lens with a large aperture will let in more light so that you have a higher shutter speed and can capture the quick movements of all your favorite players.

Finally, if you’re into wildlife photography, you need a super telephoto lens. There really isn’t any other option. With a super telephoto lens, you get exceptional brightness and very quiet autofocusing. This will allow you to take beautiful portraits of wild animals even when you can’t get close to them.