In this review, Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS Optical Steady Shot, E-mount I will abbreviate as Sony E 18-55. In Radozhiv there was already a brief overview of this lens with a camera NEX-5but recently he again fell into my arm and I decided to do a separate review. Unfortunately, the appearance of the Sony E 18-55, which I visited in the review, wants the best, therefore, as illustrations of the appearance of the lens, I took images from official press releases, as well as from other open sources. Show  Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS In shortThe Sony E 18-55 is a universal stock lens for Sony NEX / Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor. This lens most often came with a camera, such lenses are called 'whale' and they are considered the simplest with the smallest set of features. However, kit lenses have a bunch of positives, one of the most important being the low cost when buying a camera and lens kit. Sony E 18-55 is well assembled, with a very quiet and fast focusing motor, a quiet stabilizer and the expected image quality. Threefold zoom makes the Sony E 18-55 a very convenient solution for beginners and amateurs. The obvious drawbacks are the high cost of the lens when purchased separately from the camera, as well as minor optical drawbacks. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-5R HistorySony E 18-55 was introduced 11 May 2010 of the year and is one of the first three lenses for Sony mirrorless cropped cameras with an APS-C sensor. Simultaneously with Sony E 18-55, two more lenses were introduced: Sony E 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 OSS и E 16mm f / 2.8. Even the instructions for all three lenses are the same. At the same time, the first two Sony NEX mirrorless cameras were introduced: NEX-3 и NEX-5... Originally there was only a version of the Sony E 18-55 in a silver case. Version Sony E 18-55 in a black case appeared only with the exit NEX-7 24 August 2011 year. 12 September 2012 a similar lens was introduced Sony E 3.5-5.6 / PZ 16-50 OSS Power Zoom with electronic zoom and much more compact size when folded. 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ OSS cannot be a replacement for Sony E 18-55, it is rather its complement. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS can also be found under the name Hasselblad E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSSsubmitted by 18 September 2012 years for cameras Hasselblad lunar and Hasselblad Lunar Limited Edition. March 24 2014 years the lens was released Sony E 18-50mm f / 4-5.6that came with the camera a3500. In 2016, this lens was discontinued. Sony E 18-50mm f / 4-5.6 is not a logical continuation of the Sony E 18-55 or Sony E 16-50, as it lacks a built-in stabilizer, has a significantly weaker assembly and a much simpler optical design. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS in a black version of the body Main technical characteristics of Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS:Review Instance Name Near the front lens E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS 0.25m / 0.82ft Ø49 ′ On '3.5-5.6 / 18-55 Optical Steady Shot E-mount' case ID plate 'MODEL SEL1855' Basic properties
Rumor has it that the version of the lens in the black case is optically better than the version in the silver case, but I do not believe in these rumors. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-5N AssemblySony E 18-55 was made in Japan and Thailand, there are no significant differences between lenses from different countries. The touch is pleasant and reliable. The retractable frame ('trunk') consists of 1 section. The trunk is plastic and, over time, may begin to hang out a bit (a small backlash appears, which is not critical). The lens has metal bayonet mount. The zoom and focus rings are also made of metal, most likely some kind of magnesium or aluminum alloy is used. The zoom and focus rings have very thin notches between which dust and dirt can easily clog. These notches are quite easy to damage, for example, to scratch. Metal scratches over time begin to significantly spoil the appearance of the lens. The change in focal length is smooth. Unlike many other kit lenses of the 18-55 class, the Sony E 18-55 trunk moves linearly - with increasing focal length it moves forward and vice versa. With other kit lenses, floating zoom is most often used, which is why the lens takes the smallest sizes at the average focal length, and the largest at the minimum and maximum focal lengths. The trunk of the Sony E 18-55 does not spontaneously change its size under its own weight; over time, problems with the trunk do not arise. There is a bayonet mount mark and a mark on the case for quick installation of the hood. The lens uses a plastic hood, which is fixed in special grooves located near the front lens of the lens. The hood can be installed in the opposite direction for transportation. In this position, access to the focus ring is lost. When you change the focal length, the lens hood moves with the front of the lens. Unfortunately, only a black lens hood is available for the silver lens. When changing the focal length, the rear lens moves in the middle of the lens body like a pump - it draws in and pushes out air. This can increase the amount of dust that accumulates in the inside of the camera. On the back of the lens is a rectangular hood that cuts off excess light and prevents exposure. The diameter of the front filter is 49 cm; many other Sony E lenses also have a diameter of 49 mm, for example, 16mm f / 2.8 or 55-210mm f / 4.5-6.3 OSS, which often go additional solutions to Sony E 18-55, and the same diameter under the filters makes life easier for the amateur photographer. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS, view from the bayonet side StabilizerSony E 18-55 uses an integrated image stabilizer Sony OS (Optical Steady Shot). Stated that the stabilizer can compensate 4 stops by shutter speed (by Sony standards). In numerical terms, this means that you can shoot at shutter speeds 16 times slower than required by a lens without a stabilizer. For example, when shooting without the stabilizer of stationary objects, at a focal length of 55 mm, it is recommended to shoot at shutter speeds of 1/50 s or faster. With the gimbal on, you can theoretically shoot by 1/3 s. In practice, I was able to take sharp 50mm handheld shots of stationary objects only at shutter speeds no longer than 1/15 of a second. There is no switch on the lens responsible for stabilizer operation. The stabilization function is turned on in the camera menu. There is no noise from the stabilizer. When using the lens, it seems that the stabilizer does not work at all. Perhaps it turns on at full power only during shutter release. In general, the stabilizer confidently holds one and a half to two stops on shutter speed. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-5N FocusingThe lens uses a built-in stepper focus motor. In some sources there is information that the motor is ultrasonic, similar to the Sony SSM, but most likely the Sony E 18-55 is just a stepper motor. Auto focus speed medium closer to high. The focusing speed will depend slightly on the camera used. The first Sony NEX cameras for which this lens was developed used automatic focusing by contrast, which is sometimes slower than the hybrid focusing methods of subsequent generations of Sony Alpha. Auto focus is very quiet. While working with cameras NEX-3Women и NEX-5 focus accuracy was at a high level. With good lighting, there are practically no problems with accuracy, tenacity, and refocusing. For manual focus, select the focus mode MF (Manual focus) or DMF (direct RF) in the camera menu, after which the focus ring will respond to rotation. With very smooth rotation, the focus ring rotates several full revolutions (from MDF to infinity). The electronic focus ring is more responsive to its rotation speed than to a specific rotation angle, which sometimes creates a tactile inconvenience. During auto focus focus ring remains stationary. During focusing, the front lens remains stationary, as the lens uses internal focus. Thus, it is possible to use any filters without problems, for example polarizing or gradient. The minimum focusing distance is 25 cm, while you can get the maximum magnification for macro photography 1: 3.23, which is quite good for a whale lens. Other focusing features:
Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS (Optical Steady Shot, E-mount) Image qualityThe Sony E 18-55 originally came with cameras that had a 14 MP sensor, but later it migrated to cameras with a 16-20-24 MP sensor, on which it already doesn't feel so confident. In general, the Sony E 18-55 shows an acceptable image quality for a whale lens, but still the lens has several significant flaws. Sharpness Overall, the Sony E 18-55 does not boast outstanding sharpness at wide apertures. At 18mm focal length there is good sharpness in the center of the frame, but it sags a lot closer to the edges and corners. 18mm corners and edges bounce back at F / 5.6. In the 20-40mm range at open apertures, the corners and edges are slightly better than 18mm. By closing the aperture to F / 8, you can get almost uniform sharpness across the frame. In the extreme position at 55 mm, there is also nothing surprising - a fairly sharp center of the image and weak sharpness at the edges and corners. But at 55mm focal length, to make more or less uniform sharpness across the entire frame, you need to close the aperture to about f / 11. After F / 11, no significant sharpening is observed due to diffraction. Distortion Automation of the camera very well corrects distortion during shooting in JPEG. But in the original RAW files, you can see strong barrel distortion of 18 mm and pincushion distortion in the range of 35-55 mm. At average focal lengths, the distortion is complex, manually it is completely difficult to remove. Vignetting Vignetting is not a serious problem, even at 18 mm and open diaphragms. Vignetting is well removed by some cameras when shooting in JPEG, as well as when processing RAW. Aberration The Sony E 18-55, like many other kit lenses, is not devoid of chromatic aberration. They are most noticeable in the corners and edges of the image. 18 mm chromatic aberration manifest most strongly and only grow with the closure of the diaphragm. On average HA slightly decrease when closing the diaphragm. When working in backlight, the Sony E 18-55 catches a lot of glare and flare and is a rather weak lens in this regard. For Sony E 18-55, there is a lens profile in popular RAW converters. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS (Optical Steady Shot, E-mount) Subscriber photo examplesPhotos were kindly provided by the reader of Radozhiva. All photos in the review are shown without processing. Camera used Sony Alpha NEX-3N. I converted the source RAW files with the original Sony Imaging Edge Viewer to JPEG format without further manipulation. JPEG source files '.JPG' can be download from this link (58 photos, 890 MB). Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-7 My experienceWhale lenses are very important. First of all, it is on them that the level of a particular system is determined. It is very strange that the Sony E 18-55 was not replaced by a similar relatively inexpensive lens, but with improved optical performance, as many other companies do. Face supplement 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ OSS is still a slightly different lens, deviating from some of the things found in the Sony E 18-55. Sony E 18-55 has obvious strengths and weaknesses, but in general it is a balanced lens for all occasions. For everyday tasks and even for holidays, it is excellent and performs its functions with a bang. If you are a beginner and do not know if this lens will suit you, then my advice is very simple - Sony E 18-55 will be the best for a start. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-7 PricesThe real cost of this lens can be seen, for example, here. Sony E 18-55 is considered an obsolete lens and is increasingly being replaced by a whale lens Sony E 3.5-5.6 / PZ 16-50 OSS Power Zoom. Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-F3 All Sony E-mount cameras with APS-C sensor
Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-C3 All Sony E lenses for APS-CFix Lenses:
Zoom Lenses:
Third-party autofocus lenses for Sony E APS-C:
Many interesting manual solutions are provided by Chinese manufacturers and brands. 7Artisans, TTartisan, Meike, Neewer, PerGear, Kamlan, Brightin star, Mitakon Zhongyi, Venus laowa, Fujian, ARTRALAB, AstrHori other. Autofocus Speed Boosters are also interesting Viltrox Canon EF -> Sony E 0.71X и Metabones Canon EF -> Sony E 0.71X... List of full-frame cameras and lenses Sony FE (Full Frame E) here Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS. The lens is shown on the camera. Sony NEX-3 Video reviewResultsSony E 18-55 is a simple and straightforward stock lens. Like the vast majority of kit lenses, the Sony E 18-55 does not shine in optical performance, but the convenient range of focal lengths and the availability of the lens on the market make it a very good budget solution for every day. Nowadays for Sony E 18-55 there was a replacement / addition in the face 16-50mm f / 3.5-5.6 PZ OSS, which in some situations will be better than this old man. 10 main advantages:
10 main disadvantages:
Materials on the topic
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