In this article, we are going to be taking a look at a number of lenses for the Sony FS5 that we feel will offer you the best bang for your buck while helping you get the most out of your videography as possible.
Due to there being such a large price and spec spread when it comes to lenses we have decided to give a short summary of each of the lenses that we have chosen at the start of the article. That said, we will be covering each of them throughout the article in greater detail to offer as much insight to our readers for each product as possible.
Here is a short overview of the lenses that we have chosen to feature in this article, each of them will work with your Sony FS5 without issue and all of them have an excellent reputation:-
- The Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm – At the time of writing, the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm is the cream of the crop for the vast majority of peoples budgets. As you may expect, it has the price tag to match but it ticks so many boxes and offers so much that it is hard not to places it top of the list.
- Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm – The Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm is actually the predecessor to the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm above. Although it is an older lens, it still ticks the majority of boxes while also coming with a lower price tag.
- Tamron SP 24-70MM – Although there are many FS5 users who are Sony purists, the Tamron SP 24-70MM has carved out a dedicated following with many feeling that it is the best run and gun lens for the sony fs5. It’s middle of the road functionality and price tag also help make it popular.
- Sigma 24-105mm – Moving into the sub $1000 lenses, the Sigma 24-105mm is a popular choice for many Sony FS5 users. That said, we would like to point out that this lens is not parfocal putting some people off.
- Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm – Finally we have the cheapest lens on our list, the Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm. The entry-level price tag and moderate functionality of the lens has helped it earn a sizable core user base of FS5 owners. It also makes a decent backup lens for professional videographers in case their primary and secondary lenses go out of action.
Table of Contents
The Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm
The built-in automatic lens correction of the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm when used with a Sony camera such as the FS5 helps keep your recordings sharp and clean. The lens communicates with the camera to help decrease or repair any optical flaws and the results of this system can actually be quiet significant.
The specs of this lens have made it very popular with people videoing documentaries, interviews, weddings, and various other events with many people choosing it as their run and gun lens of choice. Its excellent range combined with the fact is a true f4 aperture lens that won’t darken your recording while zooming helps make the lens the ideal choice for most recording situations.
Speaking of zooming with the lens, the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm is a parfocal lens allowing it to stay focused on your target even while you change its focal length preventing you from losing any focus while recording.
The video below offers an independent overview and opinion of the performance and abilities of the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm lens.
Gone are the days where you had to rely on the internal servo motors and you can now manually focus the lens at will as you please. That said, the internal servo motor focus system is still in the lens and has had a few tweaks to improve its capabilities.
We would also like to point out that although the Sony SELP18110G 18-110mm is an excellent product, its optical steady shot capability is not phenomenal. Additionally, the lenses near limit of only one meter may make it a poor choice depending on what you are recording.
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The Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm
The lens comes with an eight-speed semi-manual zooming feature via the internal servos. You are able to increase or decrease the speed of the zoom by how hard you press the servo zoom buttons but even when the button is fully pushed, zooming is not fast enough for snap zooming.
Fully manual zoom is available on the Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm but there is a slight delay between you starting the manual zoom and the lens kicking in and starting to actually zoom. This can lead to some clips feeling slightly unnatural or strange so if you are recording video, chances are that you will be using the servo zoom instead.
No matter what setting you choose to zoom with, the lens will remain almost silent. This can make it the ideal lens if you need to record shy animals or use your camera to record sound as you zoom.
The video below offers a third-party, independent overview of the Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm.
The autofocus on this lens is surprisingly good, especially in good light and even when tracking an object that is moving quickly. That said, the autofocus can be slightly slow if you are recording in either low light or with a shallow depth of field.
The lens can also utilize Sonys lens compensation technology to communicate with modern Sony cameras and auto compensate for any shading or image-based issues. That said, the majority of video recorded through the Sony SELP28135G 28-135mm is very crisp and clear anyway.
Although a lens hood is included as standard, it can be a little difficult for you to attach at first. This is due to the only indication guide being a small, sometimes hard to see line that is easy to miss even when you know where it so keeps this in mind during your shoots.
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The Tamron SP 24-70MM
Unlike some competing lenses around this price point, the Tamron SP 24-70MM comes with a very effective image stabilization included as standard. The weather and dust proofing for the lens is also very high quality and up to standards usually reserved for much higher price point lenses.
The video below offers a third-party overview of the Tamron SP 24-70MM as well as showing a large number of sample shots taken using the lens.
The zoom range allows you to use the Tamron SP 24-70MM as your go-to video lens for everything from recording wise open vistas in the distance to close up interviews with people and everything in between.
The lens casing is made from high-quality durable plastic to allow the lens to take a knock or two while recording with it and help prevent it from taking any damage or losing any performance. That said, it can be a little heavy for some and it is also slightly on the large side when compared to other Tamron lenses.
The manual zoom of the lens seems to be a point of discussion as some people have reported that they feel the manual zoom is not very smooth and sometimes clunky while other people have reported the exact opposite. One thing most people do seem to be able to agree on is that the manual focus ring is very smooth and easy to use.
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The Sigma 24-105mm
When it comes to the Sigma 24-105mm there are many things that have led to people within the community mentioning how they feel the lens is actually underpriced for what you are getting. The lens has a stunning build quality that feels very good considering its price point. Additionally, the majority of the manual functions on the lens are very smooth although this does slightly increase its weight.
The image below offers a third-party overview of the lens that you may find useful.
The flare control on the lens is also on point making little work of any clips you need to take into the sun or a bright light. Although the Sigma 24-105mm does come with build in image stabilization, it is not as good as the technology in the Tamron SP 24-70MM covered above. That said, we do feel that the Sigma lens does make up for this due to its sharper image quality.
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The Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm
The lens has a very high build quality and is actually very light for its size. Both the manual focus and manual zoom are smooth and easy to use with little to no resistance when using them. The focusing is quick and very quiet too with the power zoom feature allowing for smooth zooming but it is at a set speed that you are unable to speed up or slow down.
The manual zoom does have a slight delay but the vast majority of people would not notice it in real life situations or recordings so it is not really a problem, especially for the low price tag of the lens. Another surprising feature of the Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm is its image stabilization. It is actually very effective for both video and photographs and outperforms some higher price point cameras.
The video below is from a third-party photographer/videographer and we like to share their views on the lens to offer as many opinions to our readers as possible.
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