In my decade long career, I’ve photographed with dozens of lenses, across various genres of photography. Choosing the right lens can sometimes be confusing, as there’s hundreds of lenses out there and many new ones being released every year.

Here’s a look into 12 full frame lenses that I think are great to consider for your landscape needs.

Sony α1, Loxia 2.8/21mm

1. ZEISS Loxia 2.8/21mm

This is one of my latest additions to my lens collection and has been one of my most used lenses for half a year now.

The Loxia 21mm is a fully manual lens, utilizing a conventional lens design that actually has a mechanical focusing versus the fly-by-wire manual focusing capability on the auto-focusing lenses. That means you’re able to fine tune the focus perfectly with this lens, something that’s impossible on fly-by-wire lenses switched to manual focusing.

This is one of the best lenses I have in my bag now. The Loxia lenses in general are phenomenal and I consider these the baby Otus lenses (the top of the line ZEISS lenses), as their reproduction of images is noticeably unique and excellent for my landscape work.

I’ve since gone to this lens as my primary landscape lens, retiring my Sony/ZEISS 16-35mm lens. I wanted to move to a completely prime lineup and that’s the only zoom lens I still own. I was noticing in my images that I wasn’t utilizing the 16-20mm range much and that sole purpose of that lens was no longer a priority anymore.

Some may not consider this lens, because it’s a manual. For anyone capturing landscapes you actually would benefit from manual focusing and this lens is one of the best lenses you could utilize. It may be a bit costly for most, but it is a lens worth it’s price tag.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Vario-Tessar 4/16-35mm

2. ZEISS Batis 2.8/18mm

Many landscape photographers swear by the Batis 18mm and for good reason. This is great wide angle at 18mm, with a 2.8 aperture, making it a useful lens for low light situations.

The colors and sharpness are wonderful from this lens. It’s certainly something that’s not a surprise with any ZEISS Batis lens for that matter. This lens is also weather resistant, making this a suitable choice for any photographer looking for a lens that can endure the elements.

Purchase this lens by clicking the link below:

Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony α9, Loxia 2/35mm

3. ZEISS Loxia 2/35mm

Just like the Loxia 21mm this lens is one of my newest additions and it’s been a primary lens for the past half a year as well.

This is an exceptional lens in its image reproduction. I’ve utilized this lens on all of my cameras, from the Sony Alpha 9 to my Sony Alpha 6000. This lens probably sees more usage across the board than any of my other lenses. It’s great on the full frames and then gives me a great 50mm range on the APS-C crop body cameras as well.

The Loxia 35mm is a very compact lens, making this one you’d want if you’re wanting to pack light and not have a lot of heavy gear with you. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve lately switched to using the Loxia lenses over the Batis lenses, especially if I don’t need any auto-focusing.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Batis 2/25mm

4. ZEISS Batis 2/25mm

The Batis 25mm is a great compact and lightweight wide angle lens option. Before the addition of the Loxia 21mm this lens was usually the one you’d find on my lens the most. Like any ZEISS it has great sharpness and beautiful color reproduction.

Like the Batis 18mm this lens is a weather sealed lens as well. This is a great choice for anyone also seeking a fast aperture prime lens, as this is the fastest aperture prime you’ll find in the native ZEISS lenses lineup.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α1, Loxia 2/50mm

5. ZEISS Loxia 2/50mm

For some this lens may be a bit too long for landscape usage, but it can come in useful for those instances where a longer lens is needed for far away captures, such as the above image example.

This is the lowest cost Loxia lens you can obtain, just under $1,000. There’s many 50mm prime lenses out there and buying a manual one around that price might not make sense for most, but it’s a quality prime lens and worth it’s price. As mentioned earlier, anyone photographing landscapes may be utilizing manual focusing anyways and this is a lens you’d want to have for that!

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Batis 2/40mm CF

6. ZEISS Batis 2/40mm CF

If you can’t ever decide between a 35mm or 50mm lens, then the 40mm Close Focus lens from ZEISS is one to consider!

This is a great everyday versatile lens for its focal length. What makes this lens an even better option is it’s close focusing capability. It’s not a macro lens, but in offering a close focusing capability it gives most people enough for an up-close image that wouldn’t be possible with any other lens that isn’t a macro or with the focusing of this lens.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Batis 1.8/85mm

7. ZEISS Batis 1.8/85mm

I’m sure some may be wondering why an 85mm lens is listed in this, but you’d be surprised where such a lens comes in handy! Most know me for using this lens for my street images, but this is also a lens I love having for landscapes. You may have to be a bit more decisive on your compositions, but that’s what makes it a great lens, compared to the wider angle lenses.

At f/1.8 it’s a great fast aperture lens and offers amazing focusing speed. As always the sharpness and colors are beautiful, which is apparent in the photo above.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Vario-Tessar 4/16-35mm

8. 16-35mm (Sony/ZEISS & G Master)

The 16-35mm is a common lens for anyone, especially landscape photographers. If you’re looking for a zoom lens option that covers that wide angle focal length range then this is your go to lens.

If you’re looking for something a bit better in low light then you’d want to look at the Sony G Master version, which is an f/2.8 aperture. If that’s not a big deal for you and you’re stopping down your aperture anyways then the Sony/ZEISS would be perfectly fine, with it’s f/4 aperture.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

ZEISS: Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony α7, Vario-Tessar 4/24-70mm

9. 24-70mm (Sony/ZEISS & G Master)

Like the 16-35mm the 24-70mm lens is another common zoom lens choice for photographers. If gives you that wide to telephoto range, so if you need something of reach you’ll get that with this lens.

Again, if you’re looking for something a bit better in low light then you’d want to look at the Sony G Master version, which is an f/2.8 aperture. If that’s not a big deal for you and you’re stopping down your aperture anyways then the Sony/ZEISS would be perfectly fine, with it’s f/4 aperture.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

ZEISS: Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony: Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony α9, Sony 4/12-24mm G

10. Sony 4/12-24mm G

I’ve had the opportunity to use this lens quite a bit, prior to leaving Sony and joining ZEISS towards the end of 2019 and on one of my Sony trips in 2017 to Acadia National Park in Maine.

This was a lens I gladly welcomed, as it’s the widest lens ever from Sony in their 14+ year existence. That alone makes it a solid option for a landscape photographer, needing or wanting the widest full frame lens possible. There are now other lenses in this range out there, but this would still be my choice for an ultra-wide angle option.

Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α7R III, Sony 2.8/24-70mm G Master

11. Sony 1.4/24mm G Master

If you’re looking for a great wide angle and a great wide angle for astro and night photography then this lens is the best choice out there.

This is a new addition in the G Master line from Sony and it’s a phenomenal lens! What I love about this one is that it’s a 1.4 aperture lens that’s still a compact lens and only a 67mm diameter filter thread. This, along with the Sony 100mm STF lens are my two favorites in Sony’s GM line. These are two lenses they did a very good job with.

Purchase this lens by clicking the link below:

Amazon | B&H Photo

Sony α7R III, Loxia 2.8/21mm

12. Sony 1.8/20mm G

This is one of Sony’s latest lenses in their premium G series lineup and a good lens to consider for landscape. It’s similar in range to my primary lens, the ZEISS Loxia 21mm, but the aperture of this lens is faster at 1.8 vs 2.8 and is an auto-focusing lens.

Purchase this lens by clicking the link below:

B&H Photo

          Sony α9, Sony 4/12-24mm G

          Sony α9, Batis 1.8/85mm

          Sony α7R III, Loxia 2/35mm

          Sony α7R III, Sony 2.8/24-70mm G Master

          Sony α7R III, Loxia 2.8/21mm

I hope this blog was informative and gives you some additional choices in lenses to consider for landscape photography. What lenses do you presently use or have considered? Share with us in the comments below. If you have any more questions, leave a comment below as well.

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