13 BEST Lenses for Sony a7IV to Buy in 2024

📸 Quick Summary: The best lenses for Sony a7IV?

Image	Product	Features
	🏅 Editor's Choice Best All-Around Lens Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 GM II Lens	Features Great general range Fast aperture Lightweight	Check PriceRead Our Review
	💰 Great Value Best Budget All-Around Lens Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 G2 Lens	Features Affordable Very Sharp Fast aperture	Check Price
	🏅 Editor's Choice Best Landscape Lens Sony FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM II Lens	Features Versatile wide focal range Lightest and most compact of its kind Produce sharp images	Check PriceRead Our Review
	Best Budget Landscape Lens Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 Lens	Features Very lightweight and compact Affordable Great build	Check PriceRead Our Review
	Best Video Lens Sony PZ 16-35mm F4 G Lens	Features Power Zoom Internal Zoom Lightweight & Compact	Check Price
	Best Vlogging Lens Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Lens	Features Versatile focal range Compact & Light-weight Fast aperture	Check Price
	🏅 Editor's Choice Best Portrait Lens Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Lens	Features Beautiful bokeh Sharpest 85mm Lens Most compact & lightweight in its class	Check PriceRead Our Review
	Best Budget Portrait Lens Sony FE 85mm f1.8 Lens	Features Beautiful bokeh Great image quality Cheap and light	Check Price
	Best Street Lens Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM Lens	Features 35mm, perfect for street photography Compact & Light-weight Fast aperture	Check Price
	Best Budget Street Lens Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Lens	Features Versatile focal range Compact & Light-weight Fast aperture	Check Price
	Best Astro Lens Sony FE 14mm f1.8 GM Lens	Features Super Wide field of view Fast aperture Compact	Check Price
	Best Wildlife Lens Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 G Lens	Features Great telephoto range Compact & Light-weight Weather-sealed	Check Price
	Best Budget Wildlife Lens Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 Lens	Features Very Cheap Lightest telephoto lens Great Image Quality	Check PriceRead Our Review

👍 What Makes for a Good Travel Lens for Sony a7IV?

For me, what makes a good travel lens is the lens that strikes the perfect balance between high-quality glass, weight, and features that will help me take great photos in any situation I might find myself in, without hindering my ability to travel around effectively.

I'll be including lenses for different travel situations and shooting styles that reflect the type of traveler you are, such as street photography, wildlife, and general purpose. Additionally, I'll provide budget alternatives that will help your Sony a7IV reach its full potential.

Of course, feel free to mix and match and see which travel lenses fit your needs the most. Let's begin with the most important travel lens of all, the best all-around general-purpose lens that every travel photographer should have in their kit.

🌎 Best All-Around Travel Lens

Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 GM II Lens: This is, hands down, the best lens you can get for travel with your Sony a7IV camera. The Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens is an updated version of the wildly popular but old Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM lens, bringing new features and technologies to an all-purpose lens while keeping it lightweight and compact.

The focal range of this lens is also extremely versatile, allowing you to go wide at 24mm, which is great for architecture and landscape. Meanwhile, you have the option to zoom in at 70mm and shoot portraits.

The Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 GM II lens's optical performance is also outstanding with its corner-to-corner sharpness, excellent build quality, and with its fast aperture at F2.8. The lens can produce some stunning bokeh and subject separation while allowing you to capture sharp images even in poor lighting conditions.

The best part about this lens is its form factor. Sony called this lens the world's lightest Full Frame F2.8 constant aperture standard zoom lens, weighing only 690g, which is unheard of for such a versatile lens.

For those of you who are looking for the best and lightest travel lens to buy for your Sony a7IV, this is the one to get. It is a little expensive, but considering the impressive quality-to-size ratio, I think it is worth the price tag. This lens is truly the one lens to rule them all.

Looking for a complete review of this lens? Check out:A Traveler's Review: Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens

🌎 Best Budget All-Around Travel Lens

Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 G2 Lens: For a cheaper alternative, the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 G2 lens is also highly recommended for those of you who are looking for a great all-around travel lens that is affordable while retaining 85% of the quality of what you get from premium lenses like the Sony GMaster lenses.

Tamron has recently upgraded and released a new version of its popular Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 with new glass and technology, improving upon the optical and autofocus performance while keeping the price the same as the previous version. This makes it one of the best budget all-around travel lenses out there.

Even though the focal range is not as wide as that of the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 lens, you are ultimately paying less than half the price of the Sony lens. If you do not shoot at 24mm as often, there is no better option out there than the Tamron lens.

For more budget Sony lens options, check out:10 Best Sony Budget Lenses To Buy In 2024

🏔️ Best Landscape/Architecture Lens

Sony FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM II Lens: If you are looking for a lens for your Sony a7IV to film landscapes and architectures on your travel, the Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II, the latest iteration of its beloved versatile wide angle lens, is just hard to beat.

With the super-wide focal length of 16mm, you will be able to capture more of the landscape and architecture you are seeing allowing you to get a perspective that you wouldn't be able to replicate with other lenses, not even the all-purpose lenses like the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens.

As you could come to expect with the new Sony GM lenses, the image quality produces with this lens is extremely sharp from corner to corner at almost all the focal range. The F2.8 aperture allows you to use the lens in any condition which is great for travel as you are often shooting in an uncontrolled environment. This lens is also perfect if you like shooting during sunrise or sunset, as well as astrophotography. Really, a one lens to rule them all.

Not to mention the fact that Sony was able to reduce the weight by approximately 80% while improving the sharpness, the autofocus speed, and minimum close focusing distance. It is a better lens than its previous version that I used to recommend in every way.

This lens allows you to cover the ranges the general all-purpose lens like the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens can't capture which makes it a perfect secondary lens to go with your all-around lens.

For a complete review of this lens, check out:A Traveler's Review: Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM II Lens

🏔️ Best Budget Landscape/Architecture Lens

Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens: Once again, the G Master lenses are not cheap, and it may not be reasonable to purchase them, especially if you are just starting out. So, for those of you who are searching for an excellent but affordable architecture/landscape wide-angle lens for your travels, I highly recommend taking a look at the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN lens.

Even though the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN lens is cheaper than the Sony 16-35mm lens, the Sigma lens delivers excellent image quality that is quite comparable to Sony's GM lens in most situations, but in a much lighter and compact package, making it perfect for travel.

Unlike the Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 lens that I recommended earlier, the Sigma lens does go all the way to 16mm, which makes it great for many travel applications. The lens doesn't go as tight as the Sony GM with its 35mm focal range, but I am happy to sacrifice the tight focal range for a lens that is more compact and lightweight.

Best of all, the price of this lens is more than half of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, making it one of the best value wide-angle lenses you can get. With such an extremely attractive price point, this Tamron lens even had a Sony avid fan like myself think twice about buying the 2000+ USD GM lens over the 900~ USD Sigma lens. If you are looking for an affordable landscape/architecture lens for your Sony camera, this lens is a great option to consider.

For a complete review of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8, check out:A Traveler's Review: Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens

🎥 Best Video Lens

Sony PZ 16-35mm F4 G Lens: If you are mainly a video shooter and you are looking for a travel lens that is wide enough to shoot landscapes and architecture, and lightweight enough to be used on a gimbal, the Sony PZ 16-35mm F4 G Lens is definitely worth your consideration.

The Sony PZ 16-35mm F4 G Lens is a new series of power zoom lenses that allows you to electronically control your zoom, allowing you to capture smooth footage while zooming in and out. This is a valuable feature for video shooters.

The lens also has an internal zoom barrel that doesn't extend or collapse while zooming, allowing you to utilize the zoom feature on a gimbal without having to rebalance it every time you zoom.

With the power zoom feature and its versatile focal range, you can perform some really cool video tricks with it as well, like the cinematic dolly zoom technique that is often used in Hollywood films by famous directors like Alfred Hitchcock, etc.

Not to mention the sharpness you get from the lens, which will go a long way for a high-resolution camera like the Sony a7IV. There is simply no better video lens to get for your Sony a7IV than this one.

🤳 Best Vlogging Lens

Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Lens: If you are looking for a lens to vlog your travel with your Sony a7IV, the Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 lens is a great lightweight lens that performs extremely well while being reasonably priced and extremely flexible with its unique 20-40mm focal range. This allows you to be more flexible while vlogging, making it a perfect starter lens to begin your travel vlogging career.

The lens weighs only around 367g, which is half the weight of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, another popular vlogging lens, making it much more comfortable to hold for a long period of time while vlogging.

It also has a reasonably fast aperture of F2.8, which will allow you to throw your background out of focus a bit and create the beautiful bokeh effect while you vlog. It will also enable your viewers to focus on the subject, whether it be you or a product you are reviewing.

It is a versatile lens that is made for vloggers, and if you are looking to buy one for your Sony a7IV, the Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 lens is hard to beat.

😃 Best Portrait Lens

Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Lens: This lens is probably the most lightweight and compact 85mm F1.4 lens out there. It weighs about 630g (22.2oz), which is 200g less than the Sony GM lens. It is only slightly larger than the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 but provides a wider aperture, which is mind-boggling.

This lens produces beautiful bokeh, as you can expect from a lens with such a wide aperture. It is also considerably sharper in most use cases compared to other 85mm lenses, even sharper than the Sony 85mm F1.4 GM lens. Best of all, it is almost 700 USD cheaper!

Of course, there are some drawbacks to having such a small and lightweight body like pincushion distortion, but this can easily be fixed in Lightroom. And for the size and weight you get, it is totally worth the sacrifice.

I do not know how Sigma does it, but they really knocked it out of the park with this lens. And if you are looking for the best portrait lens for travel, there is no better lens than the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens.

Looking for a complete review of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art lens? Check out:A Traveler's Review: Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens

😃 Best Budget Portrait Lens

Sony FE 85mm F1.8 Lens: Even though the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens is the best portrait lens to get, it is not as light or affordable as this lens. If you are looking for a travel portrait lens that is the most compact and lightweight, yet capable of producing stunning bokeh, the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 is a much better option for you.

The Sony FE 85mm F1.8 lens weighs only 371 grams, making it a lightweight setup when paired with your Sony a7IV. It costs around 550 USD retail, which is almost half the price of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens.

It is also capable of producing sharp images as you can expect from Sony native lenses. Even though the aperture is one stop less than the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens, the depth of field produced with this lens is still stunning. It allows you to capture a person in tack-sharp detail and throw the rest of the background out, creating one of the most satisfying subject separations ever.

For such a compact size and an affordable price point, it is hard to beat the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 lens when it comes to the price-to-quality ratio. If you want to save some money, I highly recommend you go for the Sony 85mm F1.8 lens and use the money you saved to invest in other lenses instead.

🚶‍♂️ Best Street Photography Lens

Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM Lens: In street photography, you will be running around shooting moving subjects that often move spontaneously. You will need a lens that has the most natural-looking focal length, is unobtrusive, and extremely fast. That is why I recommend the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 lens.

The Sony FE 35mm F1.4 lens has a focal length of 35mm, which is closest to what our eyes see. Therefore, the photos you capture with this lens will have a more natural look and feel that will resonate more with human eyes.

With its compact size, lightweight, and unobtrusive profile, you can easily blend into the crowds and take photos of spontaneous moments while traveling that you wouldn't be able to capture with bulkier lenses.

The fast aperture also helps with the run-and-gun style of shooting that comes with street photography, which is why the Sony 35mm F1.4 lens is the best lens for street photography to get for your Sony full-frame cameras.

🚶‍♂️ Best Budget Street Photography Lens

Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Lens: For the best value lens for street photography, I have to give it to the Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 lens. The lens has a unique focal range of 20-40mm, which covers the classic 35mm length while allowing you to be more flexible and react to the fast-changing situations of street photography.

With its compact size, lightweight, and discreet body, you should be able to blend in with the crowd and allow yourself to take awesome street photos without sacrificing flexibility. Best of all, the lens is very affordable at the retail price of 680 USD. Given the amount of flexibility you will get with this lens, you are definitely getting your money's worth here.

The lens also comes with an F2.8 aperture, which should be fast enough for the run-and-gun style of shooting that comes with street photography. With such a great price point, incredible flexibility, and the discreteness of its design, the Tamron 20-40mm lens is the best value street photography lens to get for your Sony full-frame camera.

⭐️ Best Astrophotography Lens

Sony FE 14mm f1.8 GM Lens: When it comes to astrophotography, you are going to need an ultra-wide-angle lens that will allow you to capture the landscape together with the stars, giving your image a sense of scale. Additionally, you'll need a fast aperture to retain the sharpness of stars when shooting in pitch black.

The Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lens is designed to do just that. With its ultra-wide focal length of 14mm, you will be able to capture the stunning landscape in all its glory while also retaining the expansiveness of the night sky, all in one frame.

The fast F1.8 aperture will also allow you to capture sharp images of the Milky Way without having to crank up your ISO, all the while allowing you to keep your shutter speed at a reasonable value to prevent star trails.

This lens is probably the widest and fastest lens you can get for your Sony a7IV. If you are into astrophotography and looking for the best lens to capture the Milky Way, this is the best one to get.

🐯 Best Wildlife Lens

Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 OSS G Master Lens: If you are looking for the very best telephoto lens to get for wildlife photography and money and weight are not an issue, then the crown has to go to the Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 G Master Lens. This lens has an incredible focal length of 100-400mm, which will allow you to bring your subject much closer than any other lens.

The Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens is not a small or compact lens in any sense, but relative to the reach it gives you, this is as small as it gets. The lens is also one of the sharpest Sony lenses out there, allowing you to capture crisp and clear images of wild animals like birds or the big five during a safari trip.

If you have a little bit of space left in your backpack, $2,500 USD to spare, and are looking for the very best wildlife lens with great reach, this is the one to get.

🐯 Best Budget Wildlife Lens

Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 Lens: For those of you who are looking for a more compact and affordable option for a wildlife lens, I can't recommend the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens enough.

They have managed to give us a 70-300mm focal length, which is great for wildlife, allowing you to bring the animals closer without scaring them away, while keeping the weight low at only 544 grams, and it costs less than 500 USD. That is an impressive feat in my opinion.

In order to keep the lens lightweight and affordable, they had to omit a few features such as the custom buttons, plastic build quality, and optical stabilization (OSS). However, with the in-body stabilization (IBIS) features available on most Sony full-frame cameras nowadays, the lack of OSS is not as big of a deal anymore.

Tamron lens is also known for producing tack sharp images, which is also the case for this lens too. If you are looking to get into wildlife photography and do not want to spend 2,000+ USD for a lens, the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens is hands down the best lens to get.

Looking for a complete review of the Tamron 70-300mm lens? Check out:A Traveler's Review: Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 Di III RXD

Further Reading for Photography

Looking for more photography articles like this? Here is a collection of articles you might like:

• For a complete list of travel lenses to buy for Sony Full-Frame cameras, check out: The Best Travel Lenses For Sony Full-Frame Cameras.
• Looking for the best Sony zoom lenses to buy? Here are the 18 Best Sony Zoom Lenses to Buy in 2024.
• To expand your horizon as a photographer, you are going to need a telephoto lens in your kit. Here are the 10 Best Sony Telephoto Lenses to Buy in 2024.
• For the best image quality, you just can't beat images shot on prime lenses. Here are the 10 Best Sony Prime Lenses to Buy in 2024.
• For the best budget Sony lenses to buy, check out: 10 Best Sony Budget Lenses to Buy.
• If you are a food photographer, check out: 3 Best Food Photography Lenses for Sony.
• Old but gold, the Sony a7III has been one of the most popular cameras Sony has ever produced. If you own one of these gems and would like to breathe new life into the camera, here are the 13 Best Sony a7III Lenses for Travel.
• For vloggers and content creators out there, if you own the Sony ZV-E1 camera and are looking for a lens to pair it with, check out: 13 Best Sony ZV-E1 Lenses for Travel to Buy.
• Looking for new lenses to buy for your Sony a7C II camera? Check out: 13 Best Sony a7C II Lenses for Travel to Buy.
• For the best lenses to buy that can handle the high-resolution sensor of the Sony a7C R, check out: 7 Best Sony a7C R Lenses for Travel to Buy.
• One of my favorite Sony cameras, the Sony a7C, is a lightweight and compact camera that is made for travel. Check out some of my favorite lenses for the Sony a7C: 13 Best Sony a7C Lenses for Travel
• If you have the Sony a7RV and are looking for a high-quality, sharp lens to pair with it, here are the 7 Best Sony a7RV Lenses for Travel to Buy.
• The Sony a7RIV is one of the best landscape photography cameras out there, and it comes with a massive 62.2 MP sensor that requires lenses capable of retaining sharpness on such a large canvas. To help guide you, here are the 7 Best Sony a7RIV Lenses for Travel.
• Despite its age, the Sony a7RIII, a 42.2 MP landscape camera, is still used by many. If you are one of those people and are looking to spice it up a little, why not get a new lens and breathe new life into your beloved camera? Here are the 7 Best Sony a7RIII Lenses for Travel.
• King of travel filmmaking, the Sony a7SIII is a fan favorite for filmmakers on the road and if you own one of this beast, be sure to check out the 7 Best Sony a7SIII Lenses for Travel.
• If you just bought the Sony FX3 and want to buy some new lenses to take your storytelling skills to the next level, check this out: 7 Best Sony FX3 Lenses to Buy.
• Wondering which Sony Mirrorless camera is right for you? The Best Sony Travel Cameras to Buy in 2024.
• Just bought a new Sony mirrorless camera? Check out: 15 Tips & Tricks For Your New Sony a7C, a7III, and More.
• For the best hybrid travel camera to buy, the Sony a7R V, with its 61-megapixel sensor and video capabilities, is hard to beat. Check out my review here: A Traveler's Review: The Sony a7R V Camera
• Looking for the very best full-frame travel camera to buy for your next trip? How about the Sony a7C, the smallest full-frame camera with EVF in the world! Check out my review: A Traveler's Review: The Sony a7C Camera
• The king of travel lenses has arrived. The Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens is hands down the best travel all-purpose zoom lens I have ever owned. Here's why: A Traveler's Review: Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens.
• Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II OSS lens is, hands down, the best telephoto lens to get for your Sony cameras, but it comes with an extremely high price tag. Here is a complete traveler's review of the lens: A Traveler's Review: Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II OSS Lens.
• Looking for a lightweight and affordable landscape/architecture travel lens that is also extremely capable? Here is A Traveler's Review of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens.
• Looking for the best travel portrait lens to buy for your next trip? You can't beat the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens.
• Looking for a compact and lightweight travel telephoto lens for wildlife and landscapes? You are going to love this lens. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens.
• Ever wondered what a full-time travel blogger like myself carries in my camera bag? Check out: What's In My Camera Bag in 2024?
• Wondering which Sony Mirrorless camera is right for you? The Best Sony Travel Cameras to Buy in 2024.
• Just bought a new Sony mirrorless camera? Check out: 15 Tips & Tricks For Your New Sony a7C, a7III, and More.
• Bought a new camera and not sure what camera accessories to buy? Check out: 12 Best Sony Camera Accessories You Should Buy.
• Want to start a YouTube channel and looking to buy new cameras for travel vlogging? Check out: 8 Best Cameras For Travel Vlogging to Buy.
• Want to learn how I was able to take so many good pictures of myself while I travel solo? Check out: How To Take Great Pictures of Yourself.
• For more photography resources like this, visit my Photography page.