10 BEST 3rd Party Sony A7IV Lenses

today we're giving you 10 awesome third-party lenses for your sony a74 now these are full-frame lenses that will work on any of course sony full-frame camera but my go-to these days is the sony a74 so that's what we're going to talk about and i have used all of these lenses extensively and can completely vouch for them through my reviews so yeah that's how i have experience with them you see a lot of them here but let's get into why you might want to consider a third-party lens over a native and maybe why you might want to stick to native opposed to going to a third party now number one of course is budget a lot of third-party lenses are significantly cheaper they're going to be a great option if you're just getting started or if you're on a budget you don't want to spend a ton well third party is definitely gonna be the way to go in terms of budget friendliness now a second reason to consider these lenses is gonna be the warranty typically brands like tamron and sigma are gonna give fantastic six seven plus year warranties opposed to the sony's just one so that's definitely something to factor in especially when it comes to price and yeah peace of mind is a really nice thing now third performance well actually a lot of third-party lenses actually perform just as well if not better in some cases than the sony counterparts now having said that sony is the native experience and there are some functions and features that just are not available for third-party lenses not surprisingly now these days there are some amazing features that you might want to take advantage of with your native lenses like focus breathing compensation shooting speeds for your camera and for sony cameras a lot of them are actually capped at 15 frames per second shooting where your sony lenses can shoot 20 or even 30 frames per second so definitely consider that if shooting speed is a factor for you and finally a thing to consider is the resale value of these lenses typically your native sony lenses are going to be a lot better when it comes to resale value they really just don't depreciate that much in the current market which is crazy so you can rest assured that if you do want to shell out for the money for your native sony lenses you're probably going to be able to sell them for a decent buck when the time comes so having said all that let's dive right into our 10 awesome third party lenses that you should consider for your sony a74 number 10 is the tamron 28 to 200 f 2.8 to 5.6 this is a really interesting lens from tamron and honestly if you're looking for one lens that can do it all for travel it's not quite a professional caliber lens that can do pretty much everything you're looking for on a budget well this is definitely something to consider on first inspection the feel and look of this lens is quite good it's very very similar to the 28 to 75 and the 17 to 28 of course with the lens hood installed it measures five and three quarter inches and fully extended is just under eight inches with the lens hood off for travel it's just four and a half inches long and weighing only one and a quarter pounds makes this a great travel and all-around lens for pretty much any use the zoom ring is a pretty decently small throw for what it is and is quite stiff and confident the focus ring is smaller and turns easier and like most of tamron's newer lenses the manual focus experience does leave something to be desired it does have a single zoom lock switch which is the only button or switch that you'll find on this lens it is made with a mainly plastic or composite material which does feel good for what it is but you might notice that it picks up smudges and scratches quite easily on the front you'll find 67 millimeter filter threads as well as tamron's patented coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back a nice sturdy tight-fitting metal mount as well as the inclusion of a little rubber gasket for weather sealing overall the build is decent and the features are a bit lacking but this is a very well priced lens and there's always going to be give and take now i don't want you to be confused here this lens is absolutely going to keep up with the majority of the things that you throw at it i always do my best to test them in the most stressful situations so you don't have to but for the average photographer this thing's going to be great for pretty much everything you can shoot portraits with it you can shoot landscapes and with its impressive minimum focus distance you can shoot macro leg shots even at 28 millimeters i love how tamron's engineering some of its newer lenses to give us these capabilities it really makes them fun and this lands one of the most versatile that you can buy here's an example of that in action you can see that you can actually get quite a bit closer at 28 millimeters allowing for some really interesting perspectives although it only has seven aperture blades you can get some really nice transitions and blur backgrounds and take advantage of that f 2.8 when you're up close to your subjects check out the focal range to see exactly how versatile this lens really is it's quite impressive for a more detailed look at this lens and every lens on the list make sure you check out my full in-depth review on each now the tamron 28 to 200 is a winner in my books and i'd completely recommend it so number nine on the list has been one of my go-to portrait lenses for several years now it's the samyang 85 millimeter f 1.4 af this is a really solid lens it's incredibly sharp beautiful fast f 1.4 bokeh and yeah really not a heck of a lot to complain about especially for the price now this lens subs have a plastic construction contributing to its lightweight 568 grams and it's only about four inches long it is weather sealed which is nice to see and i will mention that i did find a few quality control issues when it did come to this lens so if you don't get a perfect one the first time it might be worth checking out a second one now here are some photo examples of this lens it does render some beautiful results as you can see here i ended up shooting an entire wedding with it so i am confident with this lens for sure now as far as autofocus is concerned like i said it is quite impressive it's not the world's best but it is nearly silent and quite accurate in my experience number eight on the list is for you sports and wildlife shooters if you want to get a bit of reach to nothing too crazy i check out the sigma 100 to 400. this is a really cool and lightweight option that really doesn't break the bank it's not going to be the best for really fast-moving subjects but it is a sharp and like i said affordable great warranty lens you should definitely check it out for what it is it's a decent size and weight measuring ten and a quarter inches with the lens hood installed 13 and a quarter fully extended and only seven and three quarters without it weighs in at just about exactly two and a half pounds meaning that it's quite reasonable for you to take it traveling or hiking or whatever you're gonna do with it it's also got a zoom lock switch as well as a few other conveniences including an automatic manual focus switch a zoom limiting switch a focus hold button and a mode selector for your image stabilization of course it does extend as it zooms but it is a well balanced lens with most of the weight towards the back of the lens the manual focus ring turns quite easily and its performance is nothing to write home about although you can dial it into your liking using sigma's dock however it's also sold at an additional cost on the front you'll find 67 millimeter filter threads along with sigma's proprietary coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back a nice heavy duty metal mount with a very small and thin rubber gasket but hey it's there so it is technically weather sealed here's a few of my favorite shots that i've taken with this lens to show you just how versatile it really is and that's probably my favorite thing about the 100 to 400 focal length you can pretty much bring it anywhere it's discreet and light enough to travel with and it's more than capable for wildlife and my friends the birds but is it good for anything else of course it is it's great for landscape environmental portraits and because this lens is so sharp you don't have to be scared of shooting the details if you're wondering how close you're going to be able to get to your subjects this lens does have a variable minimum focus distance on the wide end it's about 112 centimeters or 44 inches or so and when you zoom in the telephoto side of things is going to be about 63 inches or about five and a quarter feet so it's not quite as good as the g master per se but you can get in and get some decently close looking shots on your subjects with nine aperture blades the bokeh and background separation of this lens is actually quite nice for me but let me know what you think down in the comments so what else can it do can you shoot portraits sure it can and you're gonna get some really nice compression at those longer focal ranges it really is a versatile and do-it-all lens if you ask me number seven on the list is a third-party ultra wide lens and there really isn't a ton still to this date we are spoiled with lenses these days with a lot of focal ranges but ultra wide stuff really not too much it's the tamron 17 to 28 f 2.8 this is going to be a great budget friendly very sharp with a little bit of a limited focal range lens but yeah this is definitely worth a second look it's great for photos and video let's dive in and check out this lens so here we are looking at the physical aspects of this lens and as you can see it is very reminiscent of the 28 to 75 the classic but just ultra wide it's a great size and definitely a great weight very transportable and it's going to be great to throw in your bag and have when you need it at just under 4 inches long without the lens hood and weighing only 420 grams this is a great video as well as photography lens as you can see it has a great short throw from 17 to 28 but that is quite limited in terms of a zoom's focal range now the manual focus experience is nothing outstanding and both the zoom and focus rings turn nicely and have a nice grip to them on the front you'll find 67 millimeter filter threads that are very common among tamron lenses these days as well as their patented coatings to help with ghosting and flare now the overall length of this lens does not extend as it zooms but the front element does protrude out of the housing which is a little bit questionable when it comes to design on the back you will find a nice confident metal mount with a little rubber gasket for confidence when it comes to weather sealing overall for build it's quite decent and the absence of buttons and switches along with image stabilization definitely helps to keep the cost down a great overall little package next up in terms of autofocus it's not perfect but will keep up with the majority of things you're throwing at it for me it's gonna perform a little bit better in photography rather than video but it is a very capable video lens as well here are some shots that i've taken with this lens to show you the versatility and yes it's incredibly sharp so no complaints in that regard in terms of optics it's batting out of its price range for sure just don't expect it to keep up with the most intense and fast moving subjects and here's a look at the rather limited focal length of this lens 28 all the way down to a very wide 17 millimeters we are still a little bit limited when it comes to ultra wide autofocus lenses so i am happy to recommend this one to you and i consider it if you're in the market next up if you're a burger on a budget and you're looking to get some crazy reach out there not break the bank and get some fantastic results i would definitely check out the tamron 150 to 500 this is a newer lens and it does not disappoint especially for the price so the overall size for what this lens is is quite good with the lens hood installed not extended this lens measures 10 and 3 8 inches long and fully extended it goes out to 13 and 3 8 inches long with the lens hood off for travel it measures eight and one quarter inches long and fully extended it measures 11 and one quarter inches long so not bad for a 500 millimeter telephoto lens the mentioned adjustable tripod collar is lightweight and arca swiss compatible and i love to see this included from tamron something that you don't get with the comparable sigma 100 to 400 as far as buttons and switches are concerned you do get a focus limiting switch an automatic manual focus switch an image stabilization on and off switch and of course a three mode selector switch depending on what you're shooting there is also a zoom lock switch but only available to use at 150 millimeters or completely unzoomed but you do have the option to lock at any focal length by pulling up a little bit on the zoom ring as expected this lens does extend as it zooms but does have a nice quick quarter turn throw allowing you to have quick target acquisition from 150 all the way up to 500 the grippy zoom and focus rings turn easily and accurately on the front you'll find 82 millimeter filter threads as well as tamron's patented coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back you'll find a sturdy metal mount with a nice little rubber gasket for additional weather sealing and tamron has gone above and beyond to make sure that this lens is well weather sealed and so far i can vouch for this lens in a lot of nasty conditions as well as just about every other tamron in the lineup next up let's have a look at the incredibly impressive and lightning fast autofocus of this lens featuring tamron's vxd focusing motors only found in the 70 to 180 right now this thing is crazy fast i personally find it a lot more impressive in photos rather than video but that's not really uncommon in this type of a lens now here's a bit of video and a lot of photo examples for you to show you exactly what this thing is capable of now optically this lens is just fantastic especially for the price point it does fall apart a little bit with extremely fast moving subjects like birds in flight for the majority of subjects that you're going to encounter it's going to perform fantastically overall the performance of this lens is quite impressive especially for the price in fact the whole build and package itself is pretty good number five on the list i have to do it it's a macro lens it's the sigma 70 millimeter f 2.8 macro now this lens is a very very sharp and quite capable macro lens if you're just getting into macro it's going to be a great option for you it's got great manual control and like i said it's insanely sharp so definitely for the value for money it's really good in terms of macro lenses so if you're looking to get into that and take some great photos well i'd consider that one now i wouldn't recommend this lens for video work it is quite loud as you'll see in a second when it comes to focusing and quite slow for auto focus in terms of manual focus where in macro you'll typically get your best result it does perform quite well and allows you some very precise control now this is going to be a great first macro lens in my opinion being sigma's art lens it is quite well built but does have a kind of weird design but the overall compact nature and decent weight of it makes it a good little package now it does have an automatic manual focus switch as well as a focus limiter switch but unlike the sony 90 millimeter macro it does lack image stabilization the focus ring is big grippy and turns very easily maybe a little bit too easy sometimes as i find myself regularly blowing past my subject on the front you'll find a tiny 49 millimeter filter thread on the back a confident metal mount with a nice rubber gasket for weather sealing as you can see there the autofocus is obnoxiously loud and the manual focus is a very slow experience now the optical quality of this lens is where it really shines and it's definitely an upgrade over using extension tubes i would stick to macro photography with this lens rather than venturing out into normal photography with it for best results there are newer and of course more expensive macro lenses at this point but for just getting started and for the whole package i recommend this one to you number four on the list is the classic sigma 24 to 70 f 2.8 dg dn art lens this is a great overall lens it is a few years old now but it definitely still is up there with the newer stuff it is a fantastic choice for both photo and video and yeah it's a bit bigger and heavier than some these days but a great great performer often compared to the tamron 28 to 75 the sigma is just a little bit bigger heavier and offers a few more bells and whistles along with a better build it does have a programmable focus hold button as well as an automatic manual focus switch and a lock switch as you saw it does extend as it zooms but does offer a relatively short throw and the manual focus experience is quite polished making it great for video on the front you'll find a large 82 millimeter filter thread as well as sigma's patented coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back a confident metal and weather sealed mount now when it comes to performance this lens does perform extremely well when it comes to photos and videos the autofocus of this lens after a few updates is confident quick and of course silent optically this lens is very good great sharpness great contrast and color with 11 aperture blades it has absolutely beautiful bokeh and it's fast constant f 2.8 means it's going to be a great low light performer as well the 24-70 is such a classic and useful focal range zoom lens sigma's done a great job with this lens keeping the price where it should be as well as provide the performance that you expect out of an art series lens having used this lens personally now for a few years tens of thousands of photos and countless hours of video i can 100 recommend this lens to you being that this lens is a few years old now i'd like to see it picked up on sale which it does go on from time to time number three on the list is the newer samyang 135 millimeter f 1.8 this is a beast of a lens when it comes to portraits you're definitely going to want to check out this lens if you are into portraits or want to get into portraits on a budget this is definitely worth a second look the size and the weight of this lens are good for me and it's worth noting that this lens is just under half a pound less than the g master and that's pretty substantial when you're toting this thing around all day for convenience it does have a customizable focus hold button a mode switch and a focus limiting switch in terms of feel the manual focus ring feels fantastic it's tactile and does have a separation from the lens it's not too tight and it's not too loose it's just right on the front you'll find a large 82 millimeter filter thread design as well as samyang's ultra multi coating which is going to help with ghosting and flare in order to achieve higher contrast when working in strong lighting conditions on the back there's a metal mount and luckily also a nice rubber gasket for confidence when it comes to weather sealing so overall for the build and features i think samyang is going in a great direction here and i'm happy with everything that's included next up we'll have a look at the performance and i'm happy to say starting with the autofocus that it is pretty darn good here in video it is very consistent this is not the fastest focusing lens but it is very confident and consistent here are some continuous shots tracking a moving subject and yes it does perform quite well like i said it's not the fastest but it's going to be adequate in the majority of the situations i wouldn't choose this lens for particularly shooting things like birds and flight per se but you're probably going to be using this thing for portraits and whatnot anyways so for autofocus performance as a whole it's great it's quick and it's basically silent this lens is just really nice to work with it's well balanced and i know that it's going to perform when i need it to from everything to portraits and still life family stuff and just shooting stuff for fun it's going to give you incredible sharpness and of course with its 11 aperture blades and fast f 1.8 aperture it's going to give you beautiful bokeh and autofocus backgrounds it's also worth noting that you can get relatively close to your subject with a minimum focus distance that's just over two feet with everything going for this lens including the price it's a clear winner in my book number two on the list is the legend it's the tamron 28 to 75 g2 this is the second generation of this lens a lens that serve many people very very well known for its performance its sharpness and its lightweight this is just an overall fantastic lens so definitely check it out this lens is a great size measuring five and three quarter inches long not extended and without the lens hood it's only four and one eighths inches long if you do extend it of course it does extend as you zoom and you're looking at only six and a half inches a quarter inch less than the original now in this version tamron's added a focus set button which traditionally would be known as a focus hold button but it's much more than that and using tamron's new lens utility software you can make this lens do a ton of amazing things from changing it to an automatic manual focus button picking an a to b point of focus changing your focus ring to an aperture ring changing your focus ring direction and several other features that really let you take the customization of a lens to a level that we've never seen before absolutely phenomenal there are no other buttons or switches on this lens and both the zoom and focus rings have been upgraded with a new tactile feel which does give it an overall better feel of quality it does take some getting used to and feels a bit more like a g master lens than your typical tamron like the original this lens utilizes 67 millimeter filter threads and of course does have tamron's front element coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back a confident metal mount with a rubber gasket for additional weather sealing overall a great build and definitely some welcome features over the original and here's a look at how it performs in terms of photography this is 31 shots in succession shot on the a7 3 in high plus 10 frames per second and it keeps up very very well all but the second to last photo being in perfect focus and it's off by just the tiniest little bit this is of course a stressful situation for this lens wide open like any but i can say confidently that it's going to be a great performer for photography here's some test shots that i've taken with this lens and i gotta say it's like second nature after owning the version one it's just really a great lens all around and i really enjoy it and now with the added features it's just that much better i really love the 28 to 75 focal length the absence of 24 millimeters has never been an issue for me it's literally a step backwards and if that does make a difference for you maybe consider something like a 16 to 35 instead if you're really needing those wide shots now a few things to note here in terms of chromatic aberration it controls it very well even better than the original it also has nine aperture blades like the original but in my opinion the beautiful bokeh of this lens has been further improved and 2.8 of course isn't the fastest lens on the planet but well you be the judge which one do you think looks better and number one on the list one of the most impressive and one of my favorite lenses to date it's the tamron 35 to 150 f2 to 2.8 an absolute marvel with incredible performance throughout the range and yeah i just can't say enough about this lens it's phenomenal now in terms of size it is a hefty beast and does extend as you zoom not extended with the lens hood on you're looking at about seven and three quarter inches long fully extended with the lens set on you're looking at nine and three eighths inches long without the lens hood extended is seven and seven eighths and for transport without the lens hood or extension you're looking at only six and one quarter inches long now it is also quite heavy at about two and a half pounds but there is a ton packed into this lens as you'll see shortly in performance here now in terms of buttons and switches this lens does have quite a bit more than your typical tamron it does have three programmable focus set buttons or traditionally called focus hold buttons an automatic manual focus switch and a three custom dial switch the overall build of this lens is very good it feels a lot more substantial than some of the earlier models now you definitely can't miss the exposed usb type c which of course is weather sealed as tamron promises now this does contribute to this lens's amazing flexibility to do with those focus set buttons and that custom switch to take advantage just plug your lens into your computer and launch tamron's new utility software from here you'll be able to customize those focus set buttons to do incredible things including the ability to assign a specific function from your camera a focus preset change your a to b focus with just one click change your ring function from focus to an aperture ring and overall have more and easier control over your camera and lens you can also dial in your manual focus settings to your likings including linear or non-linear operation as well as the direction of focus you can also easily and quickly update your firmware now back to a few more physical things about this lens its manual focus ring does feel good and it has a great sense of control to it the zoom ring is actually a very short throw less than a quarter of a turn from 35 all the way to 150 millimeters for fast target acquisition it's also worth noting that this lens is not image stabilized on the front you'll find a large front element with 82 millimeter filter threads along with tamron's patented coatings to help with ghosting and flare on the back a nice confident metal mount with yes a rubber gasket for weather sealing protection now here's a size comparison for you between this lens and the 7d to 180 f 2.8 and the new 28 to 75 f 2.8 g2 now this is definitely one of tamron's bigger lenses but they've done a great job at packing a ton of quality and features into this lens if you told me a few years ago that i could have a 35 millimeter f2 and 150 f 2.8 in the same lens i think i would have told you you're crazy but here we are next up we're jumping into the auto focus of this lens and i'm happy to say that it is a beast when it comes to autofocus utilizing tamron's newer vxd focusing motors it's very quick and it does not disappoint even in video here under stressing circumstances you can see that even focus breathing is actually really well controlled and although i wouldn't recommend this lens too much for gimbal work because of its size it's very very capable in terms of video here's another look at the speed as well as the accuracy in a horribly lit situation this is a very very extreme low light situation and it's a hundred percent flawless i cannot get over the performance of this thing in low light specifically so though again although a little bit big i can 100 recommend this lens for video and here is our auto focus test in terms of photography with the subject running rate at us which can be quite stressful for a camera this is 150 millimeters wide open at f 2.8 i am using my sony a7 iii here so definitely not the newest or the fastest autofocus and out of 50 pictures here it keeps up incredibly well all but five in perfect focus and the five that did miss were right at the end and i was probably pushing the limits of the minimum focus distance but it also did nail the very last photo here's a look at the misses and you can see it's really not by much but overall a fantastic and reliable performance in terms of autofocus here's some test shots that i've taken with this lens and i have to say that it's fast becoming one of my favorites i just wanted to speak to the versatility of this thing and yeah i do say that sometimes with different focal lengths but this lens is in just a different category of its own i wanted to share a multitude of situations here and just show you what this thing is capable of if you want to shoot portraits go ahead you can shoot them at 35 millimeters wide open at f2 or 150 millimeters at 2.8 it's just phenomenal it's gonna be a great portrait lens and it's wide enough to be a great storytelling lens 35 millimeters is a great focal length on its own throw in that f2 and everything in between 150 millimeters and you're covered for just about everything in terms of bokeh this lens does have 9 aperture blades which do contribute to its beautiful autofocus backgrounds and transitions and i personally am a really big fan and i'm really happy with the results that i've been getting out of this thing now with every lens there is compromise and one aspect of this lens that does fall a little bit short is unfortunately its minimum focus distance and its maximum magnification ratios now it is variable in both cases with the minimum object distance being 13 inches on the wide side and 33.5 inches on the telephoto side of things now this is a big difference from a lot of tamron's newer lenses that offer almost macro light capabilities like the 70 to 180 giving it some extra versatility well unfortunately it's just not the case with this lens so it looks like there's the trade-off between an incredibly versatile aperture and focal length or some extra magnification ratio overall this lens is definitely one of my favorites and i think will be for quite some time even though the price is a bit hefty i cannot recommend this lens enough to you so there you have it guys there's 10 awesome third-party lenses for your sony a74 or any full-frame camera that sony makes these lenses will not let you down i really hope you enjoyed this video if you want to pick any of these lenses up i'll drop affiliate links down below for you if you did like it make sure you hit that like and subscribe button and like always make mistakes be yourself and get out there and take some more pictures see you next time

Channel: Stefan Malloch

Views: 71,241

Keywords: stefan malloch, best a7iv lenses, a7iv sony specs, sony a7iv announcement, a7iv camera, sony a7 iv, best sony a7iv lenses, best sony a7iv lens, best lens for a7iv, best zoom lens for sony a7iv, best all around lens for sony a7iv, best portrait lens for sony a7iv, a7iv len, a7iv best lens, a74 lens, a74 best lens, sony a74 lenses, a7iv, a7iv sony, a74 sony lens, best lens a74, a7iii lenses, best a7iii lens, best 3rd party lenses for sony a7iv, best 3rd party a7iv lens, a74

Id: UnudBzgeGSo

Length: 29min 54sec (1794 seconds)

Published: Mon May 16 2022