Review on 📷 Sony APS-C E-Mount Zoom Lens 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS by Krisha Kanth ᠌

Name: 📷 Sony APS-C E-Mount Zoom Lens 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Item: 📷 Sony APS-C E-Mount Zoom Lens 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Rating: 5

September 13, 2022

Excellent product, the best quality.

I got this lens from a disassembled whale, this is my seventh lens for Sony of all time, and against the background of others, it looks very worthy. The A6500 at 18-135 turns out to be light, compact and versatile enough for everyday carry, but at the same time - high enough so that there is no strong desire to put something better. I was pleased with the FE24-240 on the A7III as a travel lens, and so, the A6500 with 18-135 gives plus or minus the same quality, only several times cheaper and lighter (but without miracles - the sensitivity is more than twice as bad).

The quality of the photos here is decent, without obvious failures - even if black corners peek out at 18 mm in RAW, and the sharpness at the wide aperture at the edges of the frame is not ideal. However, all this is excusable for a lens of this class.

When shooting moving people, it is well felt that this is still a budget “dark” kit, and not a fixed or F2.8 zoom. If there is little light, in the tracking mode at 135 mm (202 mm equiv.) the camera focuses uncertainly - it takes a long time to look for something to catch on, displays too few green squares (and not always where it is needed), and quite often misses even in the mode focus priority. Face and eye recognition also requires good lighting. More consistent results are obtained in AF-S mode, which is simply not needed with more advanced optics. These impressions are from the A6500, newer cameras (6100, 6400, 6600) should focus better.

One way or another, for a lens of this class, 18-135 is very, very good - it can and should be taken in a whale instead of 16-50PZ - unless you need an ultra-compact lens, or you need 16 mm, or you have video priority, or budget severely limited. This lens is liquid and can be easily resold later (although it's unlikely you'll want to). The boxed version is unreasonably expensive, and the big question is whether it is worth spending that kind of money when you can get better optics (albeit far from being so versatile).
﻿

Pros

- All in one. An excellent choice for travel and as a first lens. - Very light and compact. The camera with this lens is placed in a waist purse, while it has an honest 27-200 mm equivalent. - Not bad for installation on a steadicam (although worse than PZ lenses) - from 18 to 35 mm, the length of the lens almost does not change, and even at 135 mm the proboscis extends only 2.5 cm. However, it is inconvenient to zoom while shooting on a steadicam . - Decent sharpness across the frame (the attached photo was taken at 135 mm F5.6), especially if you cover the aperture by 1 stop. Of course, this is not a fixed or fast zoom, but according to my test, this lens on the A6xxx is approximately equal in sharpness to the FE24-240 on the Sony A7III, which are already in a completely different price and weight segment (780 versus 1400 grams). - A good body, taking into account the level and weight of the lens - there are no backlashes, the rings rotate smoothly, there is even an AF-MF switch. - Blend included. - Autofocus is silent, smooth, in bright light - fast. - An excellent combination of price and quality, if you buy complete with a camera or from a disassembled whale.

Cons

— Not an option for shooting indoors. To do this, you definitely need to take a fix, for example, Sigma 30 / 1.4 C (if you have a matrix stabilizer) or Sony E 35 / 1.8 (if not). — Shades built-in flash up to 30mm focal length. - Not always enough aperture for autofocus to work in AF-C mode. On the Sony A6500, tracking autofocus works tentatively in shadows, let alone indoors. You can clearly see how the camera is trying to find something to catch on, but it's not very successful. - While zooming, tracking autofocus freezes (on the A6500), and if you take a picture at this moment, there will be a guaranteed miss. - Black corners at 18 mm (visible only in RAW, but in JPEG and video it is corrected automatically - see attached photo). - There are no traces of dust and moisture protection, unlike full-frame staffers. - The effectiveness of the stabilizer is not very high by modern standards - at a long focus, get a blurry photo for 1/125 sec. quite possible. - The boxed version of the lens is unreasonably expensive given its level (the same applies to other Sony whales).