Out of the myriad of lens options to use with Sony a6000 for traveling and outdoor event photography, zoom and prime lenses top the chart.
Travel lenses for Sony a6000 comprise mainly of zoom and prime lens-types, that is why photographers hardly ever bother wasting their budgets on standard lens-type for traveling, or kit lenses at least.
The full-frame capture capacity of the Sony a6000 mirrorless body with an appropriate lens makes it a lucrative pick for traveling and night-mode photography.
Here’s our selected list of travel lenses for Sony a6000 that are fully compatible and packed with powerful components needed for outdoor photography.
Best Compatible Travel Lenses for Sony A6000 in 2022
- Sony E Alpha 16-55mm F2.8 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
- Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 All-In-One Travel Zoom Lens
- Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G Telephoto Lens
- Sony E 35mm F1.8 Wide-Angle Prime Fixed Lens
- Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens
- Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens
1. Sony E Alpha 16-55mm F2.8 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
Sony 16-55mm is more than a standard zoom lens for traveling purposes. Its large aperture range and highly sophisticated elements contribute to sharper and more in-depth landscapes, highly focused portraits, and pixel-perfect event shootings.
Features
- Sony E 16-55mm is highly attributed to its G Lens optical design. A long focusing range and landscape photography modes recreate flawless photos without carrying additional weight to the overall lens design.
- G Lens contains two aspherical and three ED glass elements to track down the length and brightness of captured objects with perfect accuracy.
- The aperture range is between F2.8 to F22. The circular diaphragm is designed with a 9-blade near-circular design to avoid direct light aberrations and recreates a soothing bokeh effect.
- The aperture is assisted with the fastest linear motor to focus and defocus foreground and backgrounds with precision and clarity.
- For instant focusing and manual controls, Sony E 16-55mm has an AF/MF switch along with a linear response MF control ring.
- The focus ring can be rotated manually during manual photography and videomaking with excellent accuracy, thanks to the LR sensor that freely rotates it.
- G Lens technology optimizes images with Nano AR coating to cancel out the most common aberrations and blurring effects. After your camera freezes the picture, Nano coating instantly removes flare, ghosting effects, and reflections inside the image. The resulting image will be noise-free and perfect for post-capture editing with clean and sharp graphics without cutting any corners.
Pros
- Focus hold button included for accurate focusing
- XD linear motor controls focus and zoom in a snap
- Switchable auto & manual mode selection
- Features quick focusing modes
Cons
- 16-55mm cannot be used exclusively for prime-mode photography
- Compatible only with Sony E-mount cameras
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2. Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 All-In-One Travel Zoom Lens
For all-purpose travel photography with everything from spectacular wide-angles to satisfying portraits, nothing is better than a Sony 18-200mm lens for E-mount Sony cameras.
The lens works on full-frame E-mount camera bodies with a complete 35mm shooting capacity. Sony SEL’s lowest focal range drops to 18mm for landscape shooting, and its highest range exceeding to 200mm for wildlife telephoto pictures.
Features
- Sony E 18-200mm is the most sophisticated and lightweight zoom lens for travel. It is designed extremely lightweight to be carried anywhere in a traveling bag.
- The image stabilization makes shootings crisp and adorable without ruining photos taken in a hurry. You won’t need a tripod anymore, thanks to the built-in image stabilization and instant shot technology in Sony 18-200mm.
- For telephoto, the zoom lens carries an 11x zoom ratio without compromising on contrasts, contour, and sharpness. The lens barrel holds multiple lens elements and components to straighten up a dismayed photo to a fine-tuned result.
- For portrait modes, the aperture is made as circular as it must be. To deliver the smoothest bokeh effect, the circular aperture is designed with a 9-blade configuration and a nearly round diaphragm shape with multi-stop settings. It enables accurate focusing and defocusing whenever needed in manual modes.
- Throughout its focal length, the image quality and contrasts remain intact with embedded elements within the Sony E 18-200mm lens.
- ED elements remove chromatic aberrations, light infringements, and sharpens the color quality of the taken image. Also, AA elements reduce spherical aberrations and add depth, precision, and alignment to results.
Pros
- Super ED glass and AA elements to reduce pre-shooting aberrations
- Internal focusing take perfect shots at all lengths
- Highly sophisticated optical image stabilization
- Noiseless micromotor for zooming
Cons
- Expensive lens
- Lacks a few basic lens buttons
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3. Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G Telephoto Lens
Sony E 18-105mm is designed truly for E-mount Sony cameras. It is made with high contrast modes and excellent sharpness quality throughout the zoom range. For traveling, Sony SELP features a 6x zoom range that fits well in both the wide-angle and telephoto modes.
Features
- Sony’s all-purpose zoom is powered with G Lens technology to match perfectly in all the full-frame camera bodies.
- The optical strength keeps equal quality throughout the focal length range from 18mm to 105mm in normal modes. The equivalent focal range can be extended up to 158mm in 35mm frames.
- The aperture range remains the same throughout the landscape and zoom modes with its F4 maximum aperture settings. The aperture blades are seven in total, making the edges nearly round for aberration-free photography.
- To minimize flare and ghosting effects, cutting-edge ED glass and AA elements are embedded inside the lens barrel for crisp photos in bright and night modes.
- Two ED elements and three Aspherical elements systematically cancel out axial aberrations, ghosting, and low contrasts in bright lights. AA elements retain depth ratios and keep object size the same as the original.
- For further improvements, attach a lens hood to the lens front to cancel out ghosting effects and enhance overall image contour. Sony E 18-105mm features a linear stepping motor for noiseless zooming in videography modes.
- With effective image stabilization, the movement adjustment sensors diminish blurring to near-zero. They sense the slightest movements in handheld modes and adjust lens alignment accordingly.
Pros
- High zoom range, up to 6x for all-purpose photography modes
- A plethora of embedded sensors for post-capture touch-up
- Quiet linear stepping motor for gentle zooming
- G lens technology fits inside a wide range of cameras
Cons
- Limited angle of view in wide-angle modes.
- A bit pricey.
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4. Sony E 35mm F1.8 Wide-Angle Prime Fixed Lens
Sony E 35mm F1.8 is an excellent alternative lens for wide-angle photography, especially for traveling. It is lightweight, compact, and can be carried anywhere when traveling without adding weight to the luggage. The prime lens is made with a non-zoomable design.
Features
- The fixed 35mm focal length though adjusts to all the photography modes at appropriate distances.
- Apart from its wide-angle specialty, 35mm takes breathtaking portraits with deep blurs and isolated foregrounds. The prime lens shoots full-frame photos from a minimum focus distance of up to 0.3m.
- For blur-free captures, Sony E 35mm features a built-in SteadyShot image stabilization that controls ghosting effects almost instantly after taking a shot.
- For further enhancements, eight elements are arranged in six groups inside a Sony lens with full-frame optimizations. Two ED glass and AA elements minimize flares and aberrations to naught.
- The aperture opens to F/1.8 at maximum. With a 9-blade diaphragm structure, the captured pictures are highly optimized in contrast, sharpness, color saturation, and object size.
- The switchable M/A mode on the lens barrel makes photography simpler for users. Capture milky way night shots or wildlife landscapes by playing around with the manual settings or simply switch to AF mode for hassle-free auto-focus photography.
Pros
- The lens could be used concurrently for wide-angle and portraits
- Full-frame E-mount camera lens
- The spacious angle of view
- 9-blade aperture design
Cons
- Supports only a specified range of cameras
- Expensive lens for beginners
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5. Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens
If you are looking for an interchangeable lens for Sony E mount and Canon cameras, Sigma 16mm is the most valuable of lenses in the market.
It has a wide viewing angle, a pretty large aperture, and a greater number of elements for a perfect photograph. The 35mm equivalent full-frame camera lens offers 24mm equivalent results in APS-C format.
Features
- Sigma’s DC DN lens has a wide aperture setting with a maximum number of f-stops. The aperture is made nearly spherical with 9-blade settings to efficiently capture more light when needed.
- The maximum aperture diameter is F/1.4 for night modes. The minimum aperture range is set to F/16 for daylight photography.
- To diffract direct sunlight or other lightings, Sigma supports a petal-shaped lens hood made of rubber and plastic materials.
- The hood minimized reflections and add life to the lens by protecting it. A sigma glass-ceramic protector can also be placed on the lens front to protect lens filters.
- Sigma 16mm F1.4 prime lens has 16 elements in 13 groups for axial and longitudinal aberrations, unwanted blurs in autofocusing modes, flares, and frame size reductions.
Pros
- The lens is interchangeable with multiple camera bodies
- A perfect lens for night light photography
- Smooth and quick AF
- Comprises 16 elements in all
Cons
- Not a great choice for portrait photography
- Heavy and large-sized
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6. Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens
Sigma lenses are a perfect fit for Sony E-mount cameras for portrait and landscape photography.
Sigma’s 65mm prime lens is a non-zoomable version for traveling purposes. Sigma’s smooth and quiet autofocus with contemporary videomaking elements will make your travels worth it.
Features
- Sigma 56mm is lightweight and compact and easily fits inside your camera bag without adding extra width and volume. The focusing is precise and fast.
- When focused via AF or manual modes, the eye autofocusing never lets the focus out, even when the object is rapidly moving. For handheld modes, the optical image stabilization technology keeps adjusting image position with the moving object.
- Though night light photography is not as promising in Sigma 56mm prime lens. The lens is made exclusively for daylight landscape modes with sharp graphics and smooth transitioning.
- The full-frame sizing never crops a photograph when mounted on any supported camera. Also, the color contrasts and aberration removals are meticulous in Sigma 56mm.
Pros
- Supports full-frame (35mm equivalent) photography
- Eye autofocusing for capturing moving objects
- Wide aperture range with multiple f-stops
- Minuscule and lightweight
Cons
- Limited usage (only for daylight)
- Lesser control on the lens body
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Conclusion
For traveling and outdoor photography, complementary prime lenses are mandatory if you are a professional or aspiring to be one.
For beginners, handling prime lens may seem difficult or restricted with the angle of view adjustments and minimum distance ratios from the object. For that, it is recommended to try a zoom lens to get familiar with the different viewing angles from far objects and wide focusing adjustments.
All the traveling lenses are lightweight and fit easily in a bag’s side pocket. If you are low on budget, buying a bit bulky lens with everything nearly the same as its lightweight equivalent will not be an issue. Also, a zoom lens would be feasible if the lens is intended to be used for multiple occasions later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sony A6000 mirrorless camera supports a wide array of lens types in its interchangeable body. Sony A6000 can be used with all kind of zoom, prime, and telephoto lens range.
Sony A6000 comes along with a 16-50mm zoom kit lens. The lens features an equivalent focal length of 24-75mm, and it can be used for all photography modes, from portraits to landscape and event photography.
The kit lens comprises ED glass and Aspherical elements along with Optical SteadyShot image stabilization technology for sharp and contrast-rich photographs.
Yes, Sony a6000 extends the focal lengths of the attached lenses with its integrated 2x digital zoom technology. Sony’s native digital zoom does not affect overall lens zoom quality.
For low light, the aperture must be highest. As the aperture range is marked in denominator values, so the maximum aperture would be the lowest number shown in aperture settings. For example, in a zoom lens with an aperture range between F/2.4 to F/22, the maximum aperture would be F/2.4.
Sony 18-200mm has the best zoom capacity that captures everything from distant valleys to minute botanic shots. Sony 18-200mm syncs perfectly with Sony A6000 mirrorless camera for full-frame shootings in wide zoom ranges.