The 6 Best Sony A57 Lenses [2021]

An outstanding mix of compact size and lightweight. The built-in autofocus motor is quieter and more accurate than older lenses that rely on the physically coupled autofocus drive system.

Rounded aperture blades allow you to close down to f/4 and still have an almost completely circular aperture. The result is attractive bokeh and more versatility in controlling depth of field. An excellent Sony A57 lens

Slightly faster compared to the Minolta or Sony f/1.8, nevertheless, that can definitely make an impact when you are shooting without much light. That naturally comes at an additional cost.

It is still a small and light lens that balances nicely on the A57 and can fit into nearly every camera bag.

A slightly lower priced solution is the Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4. Bear in mind that they can be very difficult to track down in usable condition. It also was designed with coupled autofocus, which is worse than lenses that have built-in motors.

Sony showed off with this lens. The ZA (Zeiss Alpha) signifies that Zeiss manufactured the lens exclusively for the Sony A-mount vs designs that get used on multiple camera systems.

This is a brilliant lens. Corner-to-corner sharpness with spectacular color that creates amazing portrait photos.

A potential downside is that it's a little bit on the heavy side as a result of being built like a tank and it can feel slow to autofocus. Keep in mind, that you'll find those same problems with any f/1.4 85mm lens.

The Rokinon is a low-cost possibility that is convenient to buy. Cost savings come from the fact that the lens is manual focus.

At f/1.4 manually focusing will need lots of practice. Stopping down to f/2 or f/1.8 will make focusing much easier and you'll still get smooth bokeh.

In terms of price, this lens fits between the others. Finding a used copy in better than acceptable condition can at times be difficult as a result of a small available supply.

The lens does have autofocus, but it uses a mechanical coupler and is driven by an in-camera body motor. This makes it slow to autofocus and fairly loud.

The lens is an older 6 lens element Double-Gauss design. That's not a negative as the lens provides a unique appearance that is not able to be made using a modern-day lens.

While still creating wonderful results, this is a cheaper alternative. It's not a pro lens, so so long as you do not need all the bells and whistles, it is a good lens.

As a mid-range telephoto zoom, it gives you a terrific zoom range for taking images of wildlife, sports, and children outdoors.

Image sharpness is good and the autofocus is fast. It's made out of plastic, which helps cut down on weight.

This qualifies as a super-telephoto lens. It's an outstanding inexpensive option among Sony A57 lenses when you want lots of reach.

It's only 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) in diameter, 4.8 inches (12.2 cm) long, and comes in at 1 pound 2 ounces (510g). While not considered light, many professional telephoto zooms are many times heavier.

For a little bit better capabilities take a look at the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM ED G-Series, but expect to pay nearly twice the price.

Incredible value for the money if you want to take great wide-angle images that a kit zoom cannot capture. Distortion, especially of vertical lines is small or non-apparent unless you are trying to get a distorted perspective.

As well as being outstanding at shooting gorgeous landscapes, it is also a terrific lens to travel with. The angle of view is wide enough so that when you come across something you'll be able to get everything you see into the Sony A57's frame.

A well-corrected lens that does a great job of minimizing lens distortion. Additionally, a great deal of effort has been put into minimizing flare and internal reflections.

The result is a terrific lens that is well suited for architecture, astrophotography, and landscape photography. The lens has a rear focusing system which means the front doesn't rotate meaning you won't have any problems using a circular polarizer or different filter.

It does not have very fast autofocus, but the focus clutch means it's an excellent selection for manual focusing. A pull or push of the focus ring will switch the lens from auto to manual focus.

The Tokina is faster when compared to the Sony 11-18mm, which is definitely not a huge deal for architecture or landscape photos. Where you'll notice an improvement is with astrophotography. That's a situation where you would want to take advantage of the 1-to-2 stop advantage the Tokina supplies.

A 50mm isn't the best for 1:1 magnification because of the short working distance. At that level of magnification, the front of the lens will need to be around 2 inches (5 cm) away from the subject.

This compared to other macro A57 lenses, it does well at close-up, copy work, and tabletop photography.

The lens gives you the option to get closer to a subject than a standard 50mm, and that is great for nature photography if you want to fill the frame with a smaller sized subject, for instance, a flower.

In addition to having autofocus, the focus ring feels great when manually focusing. Closed down two or more stops and you will get tack sharp photos.

In addition, be cautious when getting this lens as it's manufactured in a variety of camera mounts.