I got a zoom lens that I've wanted since forever, E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS (SEL18200)!
*This article includes ad links.

I chose the a6000 because I wanted to take pictures of racing cars and wild birds, so I had planned to get a telephoto lens soon after.

I've been trying to take decent pictures of them with the kit lens by cropping high-resolution pictures. However, I also enjoy taking pictures of my cat, Sora, not just far away things. So I bought a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths.

Why I chose the E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS

For the a6000, I had three lenses from Sony and one from Tamron I could choose from. They are all the same focal-distance lenses.

If your budget is tight, Tamron [18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC] would surely appeal to you because it's the cheapest among the four.

From Sony, [E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS LE] is also inexpensive.

Sony also offers [E PZ 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS]. This one has power zooming, which I think is beneficial for those who film.

First, I left [E PZ 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS] out of my list. It was way beyond my budget, and it weighs as much as 649g (1.43lb). In addition, I have no immediate plans for filming. 

Tamron [18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC] was the next lens I ruled out of my list. From a Tamron user, I heard that its AF was slower than that of Sony's, and the resolution was okay but not brilliant.

That leaves only two more lenses, [E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS] and [E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS LE]. 

I was doing further research when I found out that [E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS LE] wasn't capable of "fast hybrid AF", which is the definite advantage that the a6000 has. What's the point of a6000 without the high-speed AF?  So I have to go with the [E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS]!

My camera is a Sony a6000. 

Impression

It has been only ten days since I bought this lens, but let me share the things I have noticed about it so far. I compare it with the kit lens [E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS].

Advantages
・Long focal length
It may be pretty obvious, but you can get close to the subject at 200mm (effective 300mm). In addition, the a6000 has a "digital zooming" feature, which zooms in a part of the photo by cropping the image and then enlarges the result back to the original size.

At 200mm (effective 300mm), you can get as close as this. The distance from this house, Kobuntei, was approximately 800m (a half mile).

Then you can get even closer if you use digital zoom. You can see the plum blossoms are in bloom in this image. The stabilizer was in effect, so it was easy to take this picture in focus. However, the image quality gets lower. 

I wrote about the zooming in this post>>SUPER GT Rd3 Motegi GT300 Class

・Vibrant images
Although it has the same maximum aperture, f3.5, as that of the kit lens, it seems that you can get more vibrant images through it. Maybe it's because the diameter of the lens is 67mm as opposed to 40.5mm of the kit lens, and that enables the lens to take a lot more light into the camera.

Aperture: ƒ/6.3,  Focal Length: 200 mm,  Exposure Time: 1/320, ISO: 3200

On that day, it was raining and so dark that I had to have the light on to read a newspaper or something.

・Exceptionally beautiful images
I had thought "the focal length would be the only difference with the same maximum aperture", but I couldn't have been more wrong. Sharp details with vibrant colors are what you can get through this lens.

Aperture: ƒ/5.6,  Focal Length: 57 mm,  Exposure Time: 1/40, ISO: 800

・Crazy fast AF
That's exactly the reason I chose this lens, so the AF should be fast. That said, it's awesome to be able to capture the subject in motion without any lag. It's as fast as the kit lens in my opinion.

Photo by Pamagami
Aperture: ƒ/6.3,  Focal Length: 178 mm,  Exposure Time: 1/1600, ISO: 500

・Zoom lock
If you walk with the camera hanging around your neck without the lock, the lens will stick out by about 1cm. Although it never falls out when you're shooting downwards, it's nice to have the lock switch.

・Quicker Face Detect
When I was shooting on a kit lens, face detect didn't work quickly or didn't work at all at times, but this lens enables it to work more quickly and precisely. (It even recognizes a monkey ornament's face.)

・A part of the base is made of plastic
Although it may not be a deciding factor when choosing this lens, but I really appreciate the plastic part on the base of the lens. It prevents the lens from scratching the table when you put it down as well as protects the lens itself. 

The arrow indicates the plastic part of the base.

Weak points
・I knew it but it's still heavy

 Other things I have noticed
・Different shape of light
I found the different shape of sun light at the minimum aperture (f22) from that of kit lens.

↓ Here's the image with the kit lens.

Aperture: ƒ/22, Focal Length: 16mm,  Exposure Time: 1/13, ISO: 1000

↓ Here's with the new lens.

Aperture: ƒ/22, Focal Length: 18mm,  Exposure Time: 1/60, ISO: 125

They weren't taken under the exact same conditions, but I think you can see the difference.

・Heavy zooming ring 
It took only a couple of days until I got used to it, and once I have, it no longer bothered me. You can pull out the lens easily by rotating the ring when you're holding the camera downwards, and pull it back in when you're holding it upwards.

・Uses a little more battery

Lens protecting filter

I got a lens protecting filter, Marumi Exus 67mm. I heard that it was dust-free and the colors were natural.

I'm not saying that finger prints won't show up on it, but it's definitely easy to wipe it clean. It was ￥4600, but considering it's protecting the lens that's worth ￥70,000, it's actually quite cheap.

The color is neutral, so you would never know it is on your lens.

That's all that I have noticed so far.

I'm going to take a lot of pictures with this lens, and am very looking forward to the moments I can capture. 

3年使って色々気付いた点、撮れた写真をまとめたレビュー記事>>快速オートフォーカスの万能ズームレンズ【Sony E18-200 F3.5-6.3 OSS (SEL18200)】使用3年レビュー

Take a look at the photos I took with this lens>>HERE


スポンサーリンク