Sony DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Aspherical ED High Magnification Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera
by Sony
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyModel: SAL18200
Product features:
- DT lens design for optimum performance
- Excellent wide-angle to long telephoto shots
- Fast internal focusing with no change in lens length
- 3 aspherical lens elements for wide-angle accuracy
- 35mm equivalent: 27mm to 300mm
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Aspherical ED High Magnification Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera
Customer Review: Within a whisker of a $2,000 Nikon lens - at the same apertures
Summary: 4 Stars
I spent five hours yesterday comparing pictures from this lens (which I thought would be markedly inferior) on a Sony A100 with those from a friend's Nikon D200 ($1,400 today) with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens ($2,000). I had decided to sell my setup and spend the money on the Nikon to get the additional sharpness I thought it had and was just doing the test to be sure. I'm glad I did because I got a surprise.
We set up the cameras one after the other on the same tripod, in the same position, in the same lighting, shot the same object, both used spot focus, controlled ASA and aperture plus used automatic, shot at 70mm and 200mm and then compared 100% crops of pictures from both. Using 100% crops to compare is a severe test.
A 100% crop is looking at a portion of an image displayed on a monitor when the picture is allowed to scroll way off the screen. That way, rather than looking at a 3872 x 2592 pixel image squeezed into perhaps a 5"x7" print which would be VERY sharp, you're looking at the image at whatever screen resolution is set for your computer monitor (to see your setting right click an empty portion of your desktop, then select Properties, Settings). Mine is set to 1024x768. That means I use the entire width of my monitor, which is 15.4" diagonally and thus maybe 13" across, to display 1024 pixels. So the above image would be displayed about 50" wide or seven times magnification of that 5x7, a very high magnification.
The upshot of all this is that most crops, flipping back and forth repeatedly from one to the other and trying to see differences in the fuzz of the weave of a pillow as photographed from across the room (no kidding), were virtually the same. I'm no professional, but I've been into amateur photography for 45 years or so and I'm telling you, that for all practical purposes these two lenses produce the same pictures... when taken at the same apertures and focal lengths (zooms). His lens will open up to f2.8 in its entire range, allowing him to take a picture without a flash when I could not since mine cannot open up as much, and not nearly as much at 200mm where I can only get f6.3. I don't mind using a flash, but its limited aperture when zoomed is one of the things responsible for this lens' relatively low price.
Also, and I think this is important, there is a significant difference in how zoomed the lenses really are when each says it is zoomed to 200mm. By that I mean that in pictures of the same object taken at the same resolution and distance with both fully zoomed to 200mm, a throw pillow that filled his entire image side to side only filled 2/3 of mine. I conclude that this lens does not actually zoom to 200mm, but to something less I blame this lens for being deficient rather than the Nikon being better because I figure Nikon would brag about it if their lens zoomed to more than 200mm. That is a significant deficiency in my opinion and why I withheld one star. False advertising.
FOR THE MONEY, and considering that I think camera lenses in general are hideously overpriced, I'd say this lens offers a remarkable value. You get one lens that you can leave on the camera at all times, never having to buy any other lenses or tote them in a big heavy bag or change them and maybe miss a picture, that's very light and short compared to other lenses, and that produces pictures whose resolution is within a whisker of much more expensive lenses if you can accept its smaller maximum aperture. For four times the money I'll use a flash if I can have all the above advantages.
I'd say get one. The reviews that talk about this lens being a little soft (blurry) at all lengths are based on comparisons by professionals using a magnifying glass. I thought the differences would be significant to my rather critical eye, but they are not. I'm keeping mine.
More Sony DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Aspherical ED High Magnification Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera reviews:
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1 2 3
Description of Sony DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Aspherical ED High Magnification Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera
Specially designed for the APS-size CCD imager of the Sony ? (alpha) DSLR camera, the SAL-18200 is the standard zoom lens that brings you closer to your subject. With superior all-in-one lens performance for everyday shooting, its 35mm-equivalent range of 27mm wide-angle to 300mm telephoto excels at capturing faraway subjects, sports events, dramatic landscapes and intimate close-up views.
FEATURES:
- Internal focusing system - Internal lens elements move, so the overall length does not change -- creating a lens that focuses more quickly and doesn?t change balance.
- Aspherical lens elements -Three aspherical elements correct visual aberrations more effectively across the entire zoom range and help reduce weight.
- ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass -Two ED Glass lenses minimize flare and greatly reduce chromatic aberration, giving you sharp, clear shots even at full telephoto extension.
- Circular aperture -Because aperture blades form a near circle at the wide openings used for low-light shots, spot-light sources have a pleasing circular defocused effect.
- Front and rear lens cap
- SH0008 petal lens hood
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