The Achilles Heel of higher end Sony camera systems right now is without doubt the lens lineup. I’m still awaiting the rumored 24-70 f2.8 zoom for the full frame system and I’ve also never had a proper standard zoom walk-around lens for my a6000. I’ve decided to finally resolve the latter issue, and I coincidentally ended up with all four of the lenses which I was interested in within my possession for a recent evening. I’m going to share a series of posts doing a quick rundown of the lenses and running them through some field testing. While sharpness isn’t the only quality worth examining for a lens, it does give a first approximation of the image quality so that’s what I’ll look at. Professional review sites like DxOMark and Photozone provide thorough testing of many of these lenses, I’m just trying to help you (and myself) translate those quantitative test results into expectations for real world performance. Enough with the chit-chat, here are the contenders show side by side.
Starting from the left:
Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS Clearly the most out of place and unbalanced on the a6000. Generally thought to be a good performer, especially for the price ($599.99 at full retail). Incorporates a power zoom which some desire for video use, so designed more for video. Constant f4 max aperture throughout zoom range. Zoom is internal so it doesn’t change length as it zooms, unlike the other three lenses. Build feels decent and it’s actually pretty light for its size. This is the only lens that won’t fit in my small camera pouch mounted to the a6000, so before even considering optics, it’s pretty unwieldy.
Sony E 18–200 mm F3.5-6.3 OSS An older design, also more intended for video use, supposedly with better stabilization. Well regarded by many. Build feels high quality. On the heavy side. Has not been discontinued despite the newer black design. The second most expensive option ($899.99 full retail). Large zoom range but variable max aperture.
Sony E 18–200 mm F3.5–6.3 OSS LE Sony’s redesign of the earlier 18-200 geared more for stills. Slightly shorter, significantly slimmer and lighter than the earlier design. Build doesn’t feel as high quality and the prevailing opinion is that the image quality is inferior. They knocked a little off the price too ($849.99 full retail). Large zoom range but variable max aperture.
Sony VARIO-TESSAR T* E 16–70 mm F4 ZA OSS Shortest zoom range, smallest size and highest price of the lenses examined. People either love or hate this lens. Many feel that the lens is overpriced ($999.99 full retail) and underperforming. It is clearly the best fit for the a6000 and is the only lens of the four with Zeiss badging (if that actually means anything). Quality feeling build as one would expect. Constant f4 max aperture throughout zoom range.
All four of the lenses are optically stabilized.
Here the lenses are each shown mounted to the a6000.
16–70 mm F4 ZA
18–200 mm F3.5–6.3 LE
18–200 mm F3.5-6.3
PZ 18-105mm F4 G
All content Copyright 2016 Joseph P Kenny.
