Sony E 18-105mm F/4 G OSS SEL18105G

Specifications01

MountSONY E

Focal length18-105mm

Max aperturef/4

TypeCinema · Zoom

Weight427 g

Filter size72 mm

Physical length110 mm

Min focus distance0.95 m

Max magnification0.1111

Aperture blades7

Optical elements16

Groups12

Lens hoodpetal shaped, supplied

Additional Info02

Category["Sony","Sony E (APS-C)"]

Review AuthorKlaus

Review Rating5

Equiv Aperture“f/6.2” (full format equivalent in terms of depth-of-field)

Other Featuresmotorized zoom mechanism, image stabilizer, zoom lever

Review VerdictThe Sony E 18-105mm f/4 G OSS may not be the most stellar performer around but it is the go-to standard zoom lens for Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. The resolution characteristic varies a bit but it is actually good where it counts. Thus you can achieve pretty sharp results across the image field at 18mm - when stopping down a little - and at 35mm. At the long end the image corners are soft but then how often do you require sharp corners at this setting ? Most of the time your image subject will be in or close to the image center and the lens is darn sharp there. Lateral CAs are noticeable at 18mm and 105mm. The vignetting characteristic is about average so it's nothing to write home about at f/4 but it's Ok when stopping down. Far from being average are the very odd image distortions. In terms of distortion spread (max-min), the lens is actually not that extreme (5%) but in absolute terms the pincushion distortions are unacceptable in the 35-105mm range really. The message behind all this is that you should enable image auto-correction either in the camera or in your favorite RAW converter. This comes at cost of image quality but the end result is much more pleasing. The quality of the bokeh is better than usual - especially in terms of general blur - but out-of-focus highlights can be a little rough. A positive aspect of the lens is build quality. Sony managed to design a constant physical length despite the very broad zoom range. That's quite an achievement actually. The metal finish as well as the smooth focus & zoom rings contribute to the high quality perception. Weather sealing is not part of the feature list though. The Sony E 18-105mm f/4 G OSS is optimized for movies meaning that the zoom mechanism is motorized. The zoom and also focus rings are therefore driving internal motors. However, we haven't found any real issue during our still photography sessions although the slightly delayed zoom action may be something to get used to in the beginning. The pretty fast & silent AF and the optical image stabilizer complete the good impressions. The broad zoom range is highly useful for applications such as travel photography. It's also a natural mate to the Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS. And unlike Sony's full format lenses, the Sony E 18-105mm f/4 G OSS is also surprisingly affordable (600US$/500EUR). So all in all we haven't seen greatness in this lens but it is an attractive package nonetheless.

Review Criteria{"Build Quality":8,"Optical Quality":5,"Price / Performance":8}

Review Published2016-11-17T05:31:00+00:00

Equiv Focal Length“28-162mmmm” (full format equivalent)

Optical Construction16 elements in 12 groups inc 3x aspherical and 2x ED element

Field Notes02

Sony E 18-105mm zoom lens with constant f/4 aperture and OSS image stabilization for APS-C mirrorless use, covering wide-angle to short telephoto for general photography.

AI-assisted summary — verify against linked sources

Catalog note · source: opticallimits

Sources03

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