Sony Alpha SEL18200 E-Mount 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Lens (Silver)

great

I've barely had this lens off my Nex-5n since I got it. The contrast, sharpness, and color rendition are superb. Although it adds considerable heft to the camera, it's easy to handle and is still lighter than an equivalent DSLR/lens.Physically, it's a treat for the eye and hand. The metal outer shell is perfectly machined and the rubber zoom and focus rings are grippy. Manual operation is very smooth. The autofocus and Optical Steady Shot are silent.The optical performance exceeds my expectation. I use it regularly as a wide-macro lens: It's perfect for my business, which often requires close-up images of circuit boards. I also enjoy nature photography, and a typical flower or leaf easily fills the frame while working at a comfortable distance. I have uploaded some photos that show the range from widest to maximum telephoto, demonstrating the excellent resolution, even when handheld.The lens is larger than the Nex-5n body, which is a problem on a couple of my tripods. The body of the lens hits the front portion of the tripod, so I made a spacer that attaches to the camera and to the tripod. I've posted some pictures in the gallery.Although the lens covers the full range of the 18-55mm kit lens, it's not a complete substitute. For one thing, the kit lens is much smaller and lighter, and is just as fast in its light-gathering abilities. At full wide angle, the kit lens exhibits much less barrel distortion than the 18-200mm. For architectural or geometric backgrounds or subjects, the 18-55mm is a much better choice. Once you've zoomed in a little with the 18-200, everything is nice and square.If you use flash, the accessory HVLF-20S flash is essential. It's taller than the included Nex flash and far more powerful. There is no lens shadow, even at full zoom.Some other reviewers have been hampered by the f/6.3 aperture when fully zoomed, but I haven't had any difficulty with that. When shooting flowers and such, I often stop down further and my shutter speed in open shade is still 1/30 or so. The Nex's quality at higher automatic ISO speeds more than offsets the limited aperture, at least in my applications.This lens, coupled with the Nex-5n camera, makes me look like a better photographer than I am.Update: I have had a few instances in low light where the autofocus just loses its mind and goes hunting all over the place. In some cases I've shot a dozen similar shots, but one more of the same will have a difficult time focusing. As a result, I've used manual focus a number of times, and I'm pleased to report that it works smoothly, with just one finger, while you grip the zoom ring.By the way, if you lose the hood (I bought mine used and it came without a hood), several sources list the ALC-SH0008 as the correct replacement, but this is wrong. The correct hood is  Sony ALCSH109 Alpha Lens Hood for the SAL2875 Lens . Sony ALCSH109 Alpha Lens Hood for the SAL2875 Lens

While the image quality may not be as good as top fixed focal lens cameras, it is still very good for the images I make. Being able to zoom from 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent) to 200mm (300mm FF equiv) makes it a universal go to travel lens. I practically don't take it off, except for some architectural/city photography when I use the SONY 10-18mm zoom lens for very wide angles. If I had to use only one lens, this would be it!

If you had to have one lens - this would be it. Great range 18mm- 200mm and pretty sharp considering it is a zoom lens.It is big and heavy compared to the camera. If you want to stay compact for walking around, use the kit lens that is 16-50 but the IQ and of course the range won't be as good. The downsides - the cost ~approx $800 - shop around I got an openbox/demo for about half. The lens is big and heavy and unless you use the lock on it, the lens will slowly slide out (zoom in) if pointed down. If you are going to use it with a flash - you'll need a flash extender as it partially blocks the little flash unit on the alpha cameras. True to the other reviews, in low light it can have a hard time focusing (especially zoomed in) - in bright light - no issues.

I use this on a SOny A6600 and truly incredible clarity, speed and focus !!!!!!!!