Sony SAL18200 - zoom lens - 18 mm - 200 mm F/3.5-6.3

...presume that the guys at Sony where trying to prevent this from happening at the extreme and this is the consequence.

You can live with this if you want to and it can be corrected with photoshop and paintshop but you will loose a bit of detail to correct the images. I would still recommend the lens if you are a novice or technophobe and fearful of changing lenses. If you aren't then it is not worth compromising for the quality and ... more

Having tried the 18-70mm and 75-300mm lenses this should be an excellent compromise lens. However Compromise you will definetly do.

I tried this lens from a friend and I can only say I was disappointed after the excellent 18-70 and 75-300mm lenses.

The lens operates in the same way using a middle ring to zoom in and out and a front ring to focus manually. The lens focuses fast and reliably and with less noise than the other two lenses.

Unlike the 18-70mm lens there was no darkening on the corners for the photos BUT you have to remove the lens hood! unless you like to have your photos with a round crop on the corners... this is a bit of a pain if you like to take landscapes.

It's extreme zoom at 200mm is also good for taking sports or wildlife but you will need a tripod and get closer to the action if you want to fill the photo with your subject than with 75-300mm lens.

The problem comes in the close portrait range. Photographers like to use a slight zoom to take portraits as this allows us to get "close" to the subject without actually invading their personal space. at this range from 50-110, and on the lens I tried from 75-100mm the barrel distortion is disconcerting. The focus is sharp and well defined, great colour etc. but the image comes out "pincushioned". I actually took a photo of a TV from 10 metres at 95mm to check it was not my imagination!

I am not surprised that this is happening on this type of lens as big zooms like this are prone to barrel distortion but usually it is at the extreme, not the middle. I can only presume that the guys at Sony where trying to prevent this from happening at the extreme and this is the consequence.

You can live with this if you want to and it can be corrected with photoshop and paintshop but you will loose a bit of detail to correct the images. I would still recommend the lens if you are a novice or technophobe and fearful of changing lenses. If you aren't then it is not worth compromising for the quality and greater range the 18-70 and 75-300mm kit lenses.

The lenses is also bulkier and heavier than the 18-70 or 75-300mm lenses so one handed operation of the camera will require regular visits to the gym. 

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