Top 3 Sony Lenses for Wedding Videography in 2025

The Ultimate Beginner & Budget-Friendly Guide to Building Your First Wedding Filmmaking Kit (with Luxury Upgrades for Later)

Three professional Sony E-mount lenses for wedding videography, showcasing their sleek design and quality optics.

From One Wedding Filmmaker to Another…

Hey there! If you're reading this, chances are you're either just starting your journey into wedding videography, or you're looking to level up your lens kit — and let me tell you, you're in the right place.

I’m a five year seasoned wedding videographer full of real-world experience, hauling gear in hot summer ceremonies, filming vows in dim candlelit barns, and dancing backwards in heels at receptions with a gimbal in hand. I’ve been scrappy. I’ve rented gear, bought secondhand lenses off Facebook Marketplace, and cried over soft ceremony footage shot with the wrong lens at the wrong time.

This blog post? It’s the one I wish I had when I started.

Who This Guide is For

New wedding videographers looking to build a starter kit
Sony shooters (A7 III, A7 IV, FX3, etc.)
Creatives on a tight budget who want smart gear decisions now, and room to upgrade later
Anyone who wants to understand why certain lenses work best for weddings

Let’s get into it — and by the end, you’ll have a kit list, upgrade ideas, and pro tips to help you film your first wedding with confidence. 💍

📸 Prime vs. Zoom Lenses — What You Need to Know

Before we dive into the specific lenses, let’s cover one of the biggest decisions you’ll face: prime vs. zoom. Both have their place in your kit — and the best filmmakers know when to use which.

Lens Type	Pros	Cons
Prime Lenses (Fixed focal length like 35mm, 50mm, 85mm)	- Extremely sharp - Lightweight - Wide apertures (great for low light) - Beautiful depth of field (bokeh) - Forces creative framing	- Fixed = less flexibility - Need to switch lenses more - More physical movement to frame shots
Zoom Lenses (Variable focal length like 24-70mm, 70-200mm)	- Versatile focal range - Less lens swapping - Ideal for unpredictable moments (ceremonies, speeches)	- Heavier & bulkier - Often pricier - Slightly less sharp (in budget models) - Slower apertures in affordable models

TL;DR? Zooms are your safety net for fast-paced moments. Primes are your magic wands for intentional beauty shots.

🥇 Top 3 Sony Lenses for Wedding Videography in 2025

Let’s build your foundational kit — starting with budget picks that punch above their weight, then offering luxury upgrades you can invest in later.

1. Sony 24-105mm f/4 G OSS – Best All-Around Starter Zoom

💡 Use For: Getting ready, wide reception shots, ceremonies, portraits

This lens is insanely versatile. If you're working with one camera, this could realistically be your one-lens wedding solution.

✅ Pros:

Incredible focal range from wide to telephoto
Optical Steady Shot (great for handheld)
Sharp and reliable
Affordable compared to 24–70mm GM

❌ Cons:

f/4 is a slower aperture (needs more light)
Not as creamy or shallow depth-of-field as f/2.8 lenses

Runner Up: Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS

💰 Beginner Buy Tip: Skip the hype over f/2.8 unless you're constantly in low-light. With Sony’s excellent low-light performance, f/4 can be more than enough.

✨ Luxury Upgrade:➡️ Sigma 24–70mm f/2.8 Art (cheaper than Sony GM, sharper than the 24–105)➡️ Sony 24–70mm f/2.8 GM II (lightweight, sharper, weather-sealed pro-grade zoom)

2. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art – Your Storytelling Prime

💡 Use For: Prep shots, bride & groom portraits, gimbal b-roll, detail shots

This is my ride or die lens. I use it on my gimbal, for handheld prep scenes, table decor, you name it. The 35mm focal length gives a cinematic feel — wide enough for context, tight enough for emotion.

✅ Pros:

Incredibly sharp wide open
Beautiful color rendering (warmer than Sony)
Much cheaper than Sony 35mm GM
Great manual focus ring (better than Sony’s)

❌ Cons:

Still not great for distance (like ceremony coverage)
No OSS (but works great on gimbals or stabilized cameras)

Runnner Up: Sony 35mm FE f/1.8

💰 Beginner Buy Tip: The Sigma version is HALF the price of Sony’s GM and looks just as good.

✨ Luxury Upgrade:➡️ Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM — lighter, weather-sealed, native autofocus➡️ Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM — for tighter spaces or ultra-wide scenes

3. Sony 85mm f/1.8 – The Telephoto Queen on a Budget

💡 Use For: Vows, speeches, portraits, ceremonies from the back of the room

If I could only bring one telephoto lens to a wedding, it would be this one. It’s light, fast, and incredible value for under $600.

✅ Pros:

Gorgeous compression & background blur
Sharp wide open
Perfect for discreet ceremony or toast coverage
Lightweight!

❌ Cons:

No OSS
Not ideal in very dark spaces unless you’re using a light

Runnner Up: Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS Lens

💰 Beginner Buy Tip: This is the tele lens to get if you’re starting out. It handles portrait duty like a champ, too.

✨ Luxury Upgrade:➡️ Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM — dream-level bokeh and build➡️ Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro DG DN — stunning dual-purpose lens for details and distance

💎 Bonus: Vintage Lenses or Filters for a Film Look

If you want to add soul, softness, and character — try one of these hacks:

📷 Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 Vintage Lens

~$100 on eBay + adapter
Soft, nostalgic, dreamy flares
Full manual focus and aperture
Use for beauty shots, portraits, or golden hour couple sessions

🔍 Black ProMist Filters or Dehancer Plug-In

Promist adds halation & softness in-camera
Dehancer lets you customize film looks in post
Perfect if vintage glass isn’t your thing, but you still want that vibe

🧰 Your First Wedding Videography Kit: A Complete Starter Build

Here’s a sample beginner setup that can shoot an entire wedding:

Gear	Model	Purpose
Camera	Sony A7 III or A7 IV	Great low-light, 4K, stabilized
Zoom Lens	Sony 24-105mm f/4 G OSS	All-purpose workhorse
Prime Lens	Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art	Gimbal or handheld beauty shots
Telephoto	Sony 85mm f/1.8	Ceremony, portraits, compression
Audio	Sony TX650s, Zoom H1n, DR-10L	Redundant mics for safety
Stabilization	Gimbal (Zhiyun or DJI RS), monopod	Smooth shots
Filters	ND or Promist (67mm threads recommended)	Light & bloom control

🎒 Pro Tip: Try to keep filter thread sizes consistent so you don’t need to buy multiple ND filters.

💬 Final Words of Encouragement

If you're feeling overwhelmed — breathe. You don’t need the $3,000 G Master lenses to make beautiful wedding films. You need:

Smart lens choices
Solid storytelling instincts
A willingness to learn and adapt

Start scrappy. Rent what you can’t afford yet. Buy used. Master framing and lighting with what you have. When the time is right, you’ll know exactly what to upgrade — because you’ll know what you’re missing.

And when you land that first highlight reel that makes the bride cry (happy tears, of course)? It won’t matter if you shot it on a budget lens.

It’ll matter that you told their story beautifully.