I’ve photographed with dozens of lenses in my career and I’ve had the experience to use many of them for various genres of photography as well. Choosing the right lens is like choosing a single favorite movie. It’s almost impossible, but hopefully this guide can help you in choosing lenses for street photography.

It's now May 2021 and I've come back to update this blog with some additional lenses (again!), that I've had time to use both at the start of 2020 (pre-pandemic) and during the pandemic, all of which are manual lens additions. Below are now NINE lenses from ZEISS, that I think street photographers would enjoy and should consider for their Sony Alpha E-mount cameras.

If you're someone who may not be able to afford ZEISS lenses right now, then this blog will still be helpful for you. Follow the focal lengths listed here to help guide you on what to look for in the brand of lenses you choose to utilize. If you're someone that's using a crop camera sensor, such as APS-C then use the crop factor of "x1.5" and divide that by the focal lengths here in this blog, to figure out what focal length equivalent you'd need for your camera system.

Sony α9, Batis 1.8/85mm

1. Batis 1.8/85mm

The Batis 85mm was the first ZEISS Batis lens I ever purchased for the Sony E-Mount. It’s an incredible lens for it’s focusing speed, color reproduction and sharpness.

Many may not think about this lens, because it’s an 85mm. The beauty of this lens is for that very thing! It not only gives you beautiful compression but a great separation between you and your subject. This is useful for a photography like me, who’s shy and may not feel 100% comfortable in front of people. This lens can sort of build a photographer’s confidence if they’re just starting in street photography.

Being a f/1.8 aperture lens also makes this a great low light choice, which is useful for images I capture underground on the New York City Subway. This lens is weather sealed, allowing you to continue photographing outside in the rain or snow, something I do quite often with it.

In the event you’re photographing with one of the Sony cameras without in-body image stabilization you’ll also gain Optical Steady Shot with this lens. If your camera does have IBIS you’ll gain an advantage in the amount of stops you’re able to photograph, before noticing camera shake.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Batis 2/25mm

2. Batis 2/25mm

This was one of the first ZEISS only Batis lenses produced for the Sony E-Mount, along with the Batis 85mm. This pair of lenses are beautiful lenses, with the Batis 25mm showcasing that stellar focusing, color reproduction and sharpness as the Batis 85mm.

It’s quite a light and compact lens, allowing it to be a comfortable lens to photograph with for hours. While it may not be the fastest 25mm for the E-Mount it still provides an f/2 aperture, which is plenty for a lens of this focal length.

Some may say this lens is too wide to be considered for street photography, but just as the 85mm is one many don’t consider and happens to be a stellar option the 25mm is just the same. The intent use of this focal length shouldn’t be on close images and more on capturing people within the environment you’re photographing. I use this for a lot of my reflection images, where people may be walking past a puddle and I frame it so they’re in the image along with their reflection. Once you take time to utilize this lens you’ll think differently about your compositions and will be quite surprised to what this lens can capture for street.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α1, Sonnar 1.8/55mm ZA

3. Sonnar 1.8/55mm ZA

This was the first ZEISS full frame lens I purchased for the Sony E-Mount. This is a Sony/ZEISS co-branded lens; which ZEISS approves of the lens design and the lens is manufactured by Sony to ZEISS’ specifications. I’ve now switched out some of my other Sony/ZEISS branded lenses for the ZEISS only lenses (Batis and Loxia), but this is the one prime I refuse to ever sell! To this day this is still one of the most amazing lenses for E-Mount you can ever obtain! It may not have the best in class for focusing, like many of the other lenses I’ve mentioned here but the image quality is what’s stunning from this lens! It has a very distinct look to its reproduction in contrast, which comes off with sort of a deep but matte like look with vibrant colors!

This is your typical street lens choice, the 50mm-ish focal length. It’s a good single lens choice if you could only obtain one lens, due to your budget or wanting to travel light and not take a lot of gear out with you. It’s one of the most compact lenses I discuss and packs a weather sealed body, making this a solid no-brainer option for anyone considering a lens to buy for street photography.

As I mentioned earlier this lens isn’t the best in focusing like the Batis lenses, but if you utilize a more selective focusing approach then you can really position this lens to focus like a charm. For the images I photograph with it I rarely have major issues with that, and it does a fairly good job. These days you can find this lens for a very inexpensive amount, below $700-800 and sometimes even lower if you’re lucky!

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α1, Sonnar 2.8/35mm ZA

4. Sonnar 2.8/35mm ZA

This lens was also among my first full frame lenses I acquired for the Sony E-Mount system but sold a year or so later only to reacquire it in late 2022. The reason I purchased this again was nuts actually. I was looking up lenses on Facebook Marketplace for my cousin when I spotted this lens for $275! I didn't have a need for this lens at all, but I bought it that second! Coincidentally enough this lens has gone on to become a lens I use often now! In a second run I utilize this lens more than when I first purchased in 2016. Imagine that.

I use this lens for many of my YouTube videos now, but more importantly a lot of photos for my cityscapes, landscapes and street. It's extremely lightweight and compact, making for an excellent travel companion. Yes, there are many lenses with faster apertures out there now, but this is a lens you can't beat - especially for the price!

Being so compact it's a great fit for smaller camera bodies like the Sony a7C series and the APS-C camera bodies. You will have a crop factor giving you more like 50mm from it but that's a great range for street photography as well.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Batis 2/40mm CF

5. Batis 2/40mm CF

This is the newest lens by ZEISS and a lens I’ve now been utilizing in the place of my Sonnar 1.8/55mm ZA lens. It’s a perfect fit in-between the Batis 25mm and Batis 85mm lenses and those who utilize a 35mm and 50mm lens and may want to take just one lens out but can’t decide between those two. What makes this lens an excellent choice to consider is this being a CF (Close Focus) lens. It’s not a macro lens, but you’re able to focus up to 24cm, which is exceptionally close. It’s rare these days where I take my dedicated ZEISS macro lens and only take this lens for the few occurrences, I may need a close-up image of a subject.

Just like the other Batis lenses this one has beautiful images, from its colors to its sharpness and has a weather sealed body that’s ready for being out among the elements.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α7R III, Loxia 2/50mm

6. Loxia 2/50mm

This is a fun lens choice and one that old-school shooting photographers will enjoy quite a bit. The Loxia 50mm is a full manual lens that’s designed for Sony E-mount use. Unlike the other lenses this lens is not full weather sealed, but it does include a gasket seal on the rear of the lens, making for a tight connection of the lens to the flange of the camera.

What I love about this lens is the beautiful bokeh (background blur) and the perfect contrast you obtain from this lens. For those who may not like the fly-by-wire focusing system of most lenses available for the E-Mount will appreciate this lens for not being that. The focus is fully mechanical, with the actual focusing distances on the lens for accurate focus adjustments.

What’s unique as well is a De-Click feature, allowing for smooth aperture adjustments. This is ideal for cinematographers.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α7R II, Loxia 2/35mm

7. Loxia 2/35mm

This is a new addition to my collection, which I obtained from ZEISS at the end of the 2019 year. I brought this into use for street photography a few months later and my goodness, what an amazing lens this has been!

This lens, along with the above 50mm are lenses most consider to be the ideal "street photography" lenses, so it's no surprise to this being an excellent lens to have. It's a lens I utilize just about as much as my Batis 85mm. It's a good walk around lens, as it's not too wide or tight and can capture a multitude of things.

I also brought back my APS-C crop cameras this year (Sony Alpha 6000 and my new Sony Alpha 6400) and utilize this lens on those cameras quite often. With the crop factor you're obtaining a 50mm focal length range with this lens. Also like the Loxia 50mm, this too is a full manual lens that’s designed for Sony E-mount use. It's also not weather sealed, so be cautious when using this lens in inclement weather.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α9, Loxia 2.8/21mm

8. Loxia 2.8/21mm

This is my second newest lens addition to my street collection and one that's been an excellent companion. This lens is one that I'll utilize in place of the Batis 25mm (there is a Loxia 25mm lens, with a f/2.4 aperture, but I chose the 21mm for it being a different focal length and one that's wider), when I'm wanting a true manual shooting experience. Yes, you can use the Batis 25mm lens in manual mode, but anyone that really knows lenses will know that that's not a true manual experience and having a dedicated manual lens is the way to go to do that accurately.

What I love about the 21mm Loxia is it's compact size. It's far smaller than the Batis 25mm, so I tend to pick this lens over the Batis quite often. I also enjoy the image quality from the Loxia lenses a bit more than Batis, but having both the Batis and Loxia lenses to choose from when I need one over the other is great for me.

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

Amazon | B&H Photo | Review

Sony α1, Loxia 2.4/85mm

9. Loxia 2.4/85mm

Recently I added to my ZEISS Loxia collection, with the Loxia 85mm lens. It's now the manual counterpart to my Batis 85mm and the lens I've now gravitated to over that lens, as I've returned back to manual lenses for my photography once again and utilize automatic for very few assignments

This is a rather unusual lens, being that it's a f/2.4 aperture lens. Why utilize such a lens, when I own a lens in this focal range that's a f/1.8 aperture? It's because it's a fully mechanical lens. Lately for street photography I've gone to a more manual approach. I feel more excitement and connectivity with the images that I capture when I utilize manuals. Even though this is only a f/2.4 aperture, that is plenty for this type of genre honestly. I usually photograph very different with these lenses than the automatic Batis ones, where I will stop down my aperture on these more, where the Batis lenses I tend to keep wide open most of the time.

The Loxia 85mm is a much smaller lens, but longer than the Batis (especially when the included metal lenses hood is attached). Having options in my collections makes it more exciting, in the days I find photographing street with a manual being what I'm feeling or going with the automatic focusing lens instead.

Purchase this lens by clicking the links below: 

Amazon | B&H Photo

I hope this blog was informative and gives you some additional choices in lenses to consider for street 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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