The Best Tamron Lenses for Sony a6500 (new releases!)
Who said you had to use a Sony lens on your Sony a6500?
Definitely not me!
To be fair, some Tamron lenses even outperform the Sony lenses. But which ones?
Let me show you the best Tamron lenses for Sony a6500!
No Time to Waste? Here’s My #1 Favorite!
- Large focal range
- Great value for money
- Fast f/2.8 lens
The Best Tamron Lenses for a6500 – Comparison Table
In this guide, I’ve selected 3 lenses as the best Tamron lenses for Sony a6500.
One of them is the best overall, that I’d recommend for everyone as it fits the most situations. Then we have a wide-angle lens, and a telephoto lens.
To make it easy for you, here they are side by side in a comparison table:
Product Reviews – The Best Sony a6500 Tamron Lenses
While the best options for Sony a6500 lenses has long been Sony lenses, this has since changed with many lens manufacturers creating new products for this camera line.
In fact, Tamron has an entire range of lenses for Sony E-mount: no less than 11 lenses, that all fit the Sony a6500.
I understand it can be hard to decide which of all of these Tamron lenses is best for you, and this is the reason I’ve created this guide.
Here’s my shortlist of the best Tamron lenses for Sony a6500:
🥇 Overall Best Tamron Lens: Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8
📏 Wide-Angle Tamron Lens: Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8
🔍 Telephoto Tamron Lens: Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3
Let’s see the reviews!
The BEST Tamron Lens for Sony a6500: Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8
- World’s first high-speed standard zoom lens for APS-C cameras with the focal length range of...
- Outstanding optical performance with 16 elements in 12 groups featuring two GM (Glass Molded...
- Upgraded VC effective in combination with Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras, leveraging AI for video...
Focal length: 17-70mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/16
Weight: 525g (1.16 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 74x119mm (2.9×4.7″)
Filter size: 67mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: yes
Let’s start these reviews with the #1 best Tamron lens for Sony a6500: the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8.
It’s a fantastic lens, so much that I’ve ranked it #1 zoom lens AND #1 travel lens for a6500.
The large focal range from 17 to 70mm will cover most situations, and this makes it a lens that can sit on your camera for the whole day.
It’s a fast lens, with a f/2.8 max aperture, and it has great image quality across the frame.
The downsides are first the heavy distortion produced on 17mm, but it’s easily fixed in post production, so it doesn’t bother me too much. Second downside bothers me a bit more; it’s a heavy lens, and quite bulky when compared to other. However the large focal range makes it so that it can be the only lens you carry around.
Great value for money
Large focal range
Fast f/2.8 lens
Great sharpness even at f/2.8
Heavy distortion at 17mm
Heavy & bulky
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
See how the lens performs in the field, mounted on the a6400 (you can expect similar results on your a6500):
Best Wide-Angle Tamron Lens for a6500: Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8
- F2.8 ultra wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras
- Compact and lightweight for superior usability (3.4" long and 11.8 oz.)
- Close focusing capability with MOD of 5.9" at 11mm and 9.4" at 20mm with 1:4 Max. Mag. Ratio at 11mm
Focal length: 11-20mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 to f/16
Weight: 335g (0.74 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 74x86mm (2.9×3.4″)
Filter size: 67mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: no
The second Tamron lens that I recommend for the Sony a6500 is the Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8.
Just like the 17-70mm above, this one is also a fantastic lens. It took the spot of #1 wide-angle lens for Sony a6500 since its new release in mid-2021.
It’s the first wide-angle zoom lens for Sony a6500 with a f/2.8 max aperture, and has great sharpness across the frame, even better than the Sony model at f/2.8 and f/4.
Great focal range
Fast f/2.8 lens
Great sharpness
Weather sealed
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
Best Telephoto Tamron Lens for a6500: Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3
Initial tests point to better performance, so I’d wait and get this one instead.
It’s not yet available on Amazon, but already available for pre-order on B&H.
- Compact and light weight for easy shooting
- Stylish premium grade exterior design
- VC anti-shake mechanism for steady shooting
Focal length: 18-200mm
Aperture range: f/3.5-6.3 to f/22-40
Weight: 459g (1.01 lbs)
Size (Ø x L): 69x102mm (2.7×4″)
Filter size: 62mm
Format: crop
Autofocus: yes
Image stabilization: yes
And finally, the third and last Tamron lens in my shortlist. The Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 is the best telephoto Tamron lens for the a6500.
It has an impressive focal range, from 18 to 200mm. This truly is a versatile lens, perfect for beginners who are yet unsure how which focal length is best for them, and perfect if you don’t want to carry multiple lenses.
Image quality is definitely on the low-end of Sony a6500 lenses; I wouldn’t use it for big prints/big digital pictures. But for everyday use it does the job.
Impressive focal range
Compact compared to other options
Poor image quality
👉 See price + reviews on Amazon or on B&H Photo
Final Thoughts
So there you go, now you know which Tamron lenses are the best Tamron lenses for Sony a6500!
Overall my #1 favorite is the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8, and this comes from reviewing the full line of Tamron e-mount lenses.
It’s a solid lens, that performs well across the board: large focal range, f/2.8 aperture, and great image quality.
