These are the best Sony lenses for night photography when you want clean high-ISO files, tight star and point-light rendering, fast, reliable AF, and disciplined flare for city streets, blue-hour skylines, light trails, handheld night portraits, and occasional astro—and here’s what to look for as you buy: prioritize fast apertures (ƒ1.2–ƒ1.8 primes; constant ƒ2.8 zooms), strong wide-open control of coma/astigmatism and sagittal flare (for stars and streetlights), coatings that resist ghosting, quiet linear/XD AF that locks in dim scenes, OSS (paired with IBIS) when you need slower handheld shutters, minimal focus breathing if you film, and consistent front diameters so one high-quality VND and a mild diffusion filter fit your kit; keep hoods handy to block oblique light and reflections from glass. Full-frame prime heroes: FE 24mm ƒ1.4 GM (blue-hour cityscapes, environmental night portraits, disciplined points of light), FE 35mm ƒ1.4 GM (storytelling streets with dimensional pop), FE 50mm ƒ1.4 GM (clean subject separation under neon), FE 20mm ƒ1.8 G (travel-light night vistas and interiors), and FE 14mm ƒ1.8 GM (nightscapes with tight star shapes); portrait-forward nights excel with FE 85mm ƒ1.4 GM and FE 135mm ƒ1.8 GM for creamy backgrounds and controlled speculars. Ultra-wide and standard zoom workhorses: FE 16–35mm ƒ2.8 GM II (sharp, agile, great for architecture/light trails), FE 12–24mm ƒ2.8 GM (dramatic breadth with disciplined corners), FE 24–70mm ƒ2.8 GM II (bread-and-butter range with excellent close-focus for detail B-roll), and FE 70–200mm ƒ2.8 GM OSS II (compressed city layers and stage scenes with excellent OSS); lighter options that still hit: FE PZ 16–35mm ƒ4 G (video-friendly power zoom, stop down for points) and FE 24–105mm ƒ4 G (stabilized walkabout—lean on IBIS/OSS and modern noise handling). Budget-friendly full-frame options: FE 35mm ƒ1.8, FE 50mm ƒ1.8, and FE 85mm ƒ1.8—compact, fast AF, and strong once you learn their wide-open sweet spots. APS-C shooters get premium night tools with E 11mm ƒ1.8 (tight interiors and night alleys), E 15mm ƒ1.4 G (crisp “normal-wide”), E 35mm ƒ1.8 OSS (52-eq stabilized normal), E 16–55mm ƒ2.8 G (pro mid-range), and E PZ 10–20mm ƒ4 G for gimbal-friendly video; mounting FE 24/1.4 or FE 20/1.8 on crop yields stellar light-gathering with tidy corners. Practical buyer tips: build a two-prime spine (24/1.4 + 50/1.4 or 35/1.4 + 85/1.4) and add a 16–35/2.8 for light trails and architecture; test flare and coma at your working apertures before committing; standardize thread sizes for one VND (video) and consider a mild diffusion filter (⅛) for halation on portraits—skip CPLs at night (they cost light and rarely help); lighter glass means longer, steadier sessions. Night-shooting tips: use Eye AF for people, expose for faces and let speculars clip gracefully, start around ƒ1.4–ƒ2.8 and stop 1/3–2/3 stop for eyelash-sharp results, run Manual or TAv with Auto-ISO and a minimum shutter (≈1/125–1/250s for people; slower for static scenes if stabilized), brace against posts for 1/5–1/2s handheld cityscapes with OSS/IBIS, and for light trails use ND only if you need longer than base ISO allows; for astro, focus via magnification on a bright star, follow NPF (more accurate than 500-rule), and add a slight stop-down if corners need discipline; block stray light with your hand/hood, watch banding under some LEDs (time shutter or use anti-flicker), and keep firmware current so AF and breathing compensation behave in the dark; whether you’re chasing neon streets, glowing skylines, quiet alleys, or the Milky Way on a moonless night, the best Sony lenses for night photography combine fast glass, tight aberration control, and quiet, confident AF—so your images stay sharp, clean, and beautifully lit.