The Best Budget Lenses for Sony a6400 (under $200/$300/$400)
Trying to find a lens for your Sony a6400, but you’re on a budget?
I’ve reviewed the best budget lenses for Sony a6400, and in this guide I share with you the top budget picks, for different focal lengths.
All of the lenses included in this guide are below $400 (which is my definition of “budget” for a6400 lenses).
And there’s even 1 great pick under $200!
Let’s dive right in.
No Time to Waste? Here’s My #1 Favorite!
- Excellent image quality
- Fast f/1.4 lens
- Human-eye focal range equivalent
The Best Budget Lens for Sony a6400 – Comparison Table
Sure, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is the best overall budget lens you can get for your Sony a6400.
But hey, depending on your own definition of “budget”, and on your shooting style, there might be a better pick for you out there.
So to make it easier for you to quickly compare your options, I’ve created a simple comparison table. It compares the best overall budget lens with the best budget wide angle and the best budget lens under $200:
The Best a6400 Budget Lenses – Product Reviews
The Sony a6400 is a great mirrorless camera, that has proven to be of exceptional value for the price of $900; which makes it a great option for the budget-conscious photographer.
But then you need to get a nice lens to get in front of your Sony camera body, and this when things start to get spicy. You’re looking at a 50% to 100% increase in your budget, because man can lenses get expensive!
Don’t despair!
If you want to keep costs low, I’ve got great news for you: there are several nice lenses that you can get for under $400, under $300, and even under $200!
I’ve picked for you the best for a variety of shooting styles:
🥇 Overall Best: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN
📏 Budget Wide-Angle Lens: Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN
💰 Best Under $200: Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
🔍 Budget Telephoto Lens: Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
Let’s see the reviews!
The BEST Budget Lens for Sony a6400: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN
- SONY E-mount
- With nine rounded aperture blades, a stepping ring motor, and compact design
- Perfect paring of high performance and pricing, Contemporary compactness, Art line Image Quality
Focal length: 30mm
Aperture range: f/1.4 to f/16
Weight: 265g (0.58 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 65x73mm (2.55×2.89″)
Filter size: 52mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: no
Honestly there are plenty of affordable lenses out there for the Sony a6400. But they don’t come close to the stellar image quality of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN.
The pricing of this 30mm prime lens is still a surprise to me, as I feel it could definitely be priced much higher.
When looking at sharpness and image quality, this lens is downright excellent. It opens up to f/1.4, perfect for portrait, action shots and night photography, and it creates a smooth & creamy bokeh.
At 30mm, it’s a 45mm full-frame equivalent when mounted on the a6400; very close to the classic 50mm nifty-fifty, known to be the right focal length for most situations.
The low price could imply there are many negative points to this lens, but in fact there aren’t that many. The main one is the lack of image stabilization; the f/1.4 aperture makes up for it for photos, but still lacking for video work.
Excellent image quality
Fast f/1.4 lens
Human-eye focal equivalent
No image stabilization
No weather sealing
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
See examples of shots you can get with this lens mounted on the a6400:
Best Wide Angle Budget Lens for a6400 : Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN
- Compatible with Sony E mount cameras
- Perfect for nature & event photography
- Large f/1.4 aperture for superb lowlight performance
Focal length: 16mm
Aperture range: f/1.4 to f/16
Weight: 405g (0.89 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 72x92mm (2.84×3.63″)
Filter size: 67mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: no
The second lens I’ve chosen for a a6400 budget lens is the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN.
It’s the best budget wide-angle lens, perfect if you’re planning to shoot mostly landscapes or architecture.
As you’ve probably noticed, it’s the same series as the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN, my #1 recommended budget lens for Sony a6400. They both have the same pros & cons, with 2 main differences.
First the obvious: this is a wide-angle lens, with a 16mm focal length. It’s better for landscape/architecture photographers, but the 30mm will fit most situations, hence the #1 ranking.
And the second difference is the price; at around $350 it feels a bit expensive for a “budget” lens, much more than its 30mm sister. However most quality wide-angle lenses for the a6400 are around $800-$1000, and for its low price-point the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 is a budget lens that definitely doesn’t feel cheap.
Excellent image quality
Fast f/1.4 lens
Quick & accurate autofocus
No image stabilization
No weather sealing
On the expensive side for “budget”
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
Best Sony a6400 Lens Under $200: Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
- E-Mount Lens/APS-C Format - 24-75mm (35mm Equivalent) (White Box, Kit Lens)
- Aperture Range: f/3.5-5.6 to f/22-36 - One ED Element; Four Aspherical Elements
- Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization - Power Zoom Mechanism
Focal length: 16-50mm
Aperture range: f/3.5-5.6 to f/22-36
Weight: 116g (0.26 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 65x30mm (2.55×1.18″)
Filter size: 40.5mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: yes
Still feel like the options above are too expensive?
Well, I promised I would include a lens below $200 in this selection. The Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS is the best value for money budget lens for the Sony a6400, with a low price under $150!
It’s the perfect lens for beginners and budget-conscious photographers alike. It has a nice focal range, from the wide-angle 16mm to a nice 50mm zoom, which will be perfect to cover most situations.
The lens is very small, and lightweight. It sits nicely on the Sony a6400, which is a tiny camera, and they go perfectly together.
Obviously the image quality on this lens is pretty poor, especially compared to the 2 choices above, but still good for digital use and small-size prints.
Best value for money
Large focal range
Light & compact
Image stabilization
Poor image quality
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
Best Budget a6400 Telephoto Lens: Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
- Wide zoom range (82 - 315mm 35mm equivalent) ideal for sports or nature;Aperture blades : 7
- Internal focusing for smooth, quiet operation - perfect for video capture.Direct manual focus with...
- Optical Steady Shot image stabilization for stable video capture and low light performance
Focal length: 55-210mm
Aperture range: f/4.5-6.3 to f/22-32
Weight: 345g (0.76 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 64x108mm (2.51×4.25″)
Filter size: 49mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: yes
And finally we have the Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS, the last selection for this list of the best Sony a6400 budget lenses.
“Budget” and “telephoto” aren’t 2 words that you usually see together, as telephoto lenses are usually pretty damn expensive. But under $300, this lens is the perfect budget pick for anyone looking to get a long focal length.
The focal range is quite impressive, from 55mm all the way to 210mm, making it a versatile lens. It even comes with built-in image stabilization, which comes in handy when shooting at the long focal lengths.
I’m rating the image quality on this lens as poor, in fact it’s the same image quality as the Sony 16-50mm reviewed above. But for such a low price, this is undoubtedly the best telephoto lens you can find for your Sony a6400.
Incredibly cheap for a telephoto lens
Huge focal range
Image stabilization
Poor image quality
Sharpness loss from 135mm+
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
Final Thoughts
And boom! Who said camera lenses had to be expensive? You now have a great selection of the best budget lenses for Sony a6400 to choose from, with an option for each shooting style.
Overall my favorite budget lens for the a6400 is the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN.
At 30mm (45mm full-frame equivalent) it’s the perfect focal range to cover most situations. The image quality is downright excellent, and the max aperture of f/1.4 makes it a fast lens producing beautiful bokeh. I wouldn’t be surprised to find this lens at 2 times the price, so for sure a great deal.
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