Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZAPS-C E-Mount (2013-)Sony E 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS PZ (APS-C, 67mm filters, 22.9 oz./648g, 1'/0.3m (@18mm) ~ 1.6'/0.5m (@200mm) close focus, $1,148). bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield. This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used lens. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken. March 2019 Sony Sony Lenses Zeiss Nikon Canon Fuji LEICA All Reviews Sample ImagesTop Sample Images Intro Format These are all shot hand-held as Standard JPGs; no RAW or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed. Palm Trunk, 7:13AM, 14 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm PZ at 37mm, f/8 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.
Canary Palm lit by Sunlight Glinting off the Sea, 8:30AM, 14 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm PZ at 33mm, f/16 hand-held at 1/25 at Auto ISO 250, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.
IntroductionTop Sample Images Intro Format
This Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ (Power Zoom) is a video teleproduction lens which works great on all Sony E-Mount cameras. It's bigger, heavier more expensive, better made and has better optics than the far more portable Sony E 18-200mm OSS LE. This Power Zoom (PZ) lens is intended more for use on Sony's E-mount video cameras, but I'm using it on an A6400. This 18-200 lens has a built-in zoom motor for smooth zooms for video. For still shooting you slide the bottom MANUAL / SERVO switch to MANUAL and turn the unmarked front zoom ring to suit. The zoom motor system only has three slow speeds, and the W/T slider only runs at one of those speeds at a time, regardless of how far you slide it. Proper video lenses vary the zoom speed by how far you push the zoom slider, but not this lens. This 18-200 covers a huge zoom range, focuses very close, focuses fast and silently, and has optical stabilization so I can hand-hold it in any light on any Sony camera. Get this lens if you're shooting movies or don't mind carrying a lot more than the 18-200mm OSS LE just to get a little more optical quality and a lot more mechanical quality. I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
GoodAll-encompassing zoom range. Fast focus. Silent focus. Close focus. Smooth power zoom.
BadElectronic focus ring, like most mirrorless lenses, has no direct mechanical connection to the optics. It only works when you have the camera set just right.
MissingW/T zoom switch only goes at one speed at a time regardless of how far you slide it. (You shouldn't need the H/M/L switch; speed should vary based on how far you move the W/T slider.) No focal length, focus or depth-of-field scales. No tripod socket. No stabilizer on-off switch. No autofocus mode (AF/MF) switch. There's no center ND filter nor can the diaphragm close all the way for fade-to-black.
Sony 18-200mm PZ with included ALC-SH125 hood. bigger.
FormatTop Sample Images Intro Format I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield. This is an APS-C (cropped-sensor) lens. It also works on full-frame cameras, which automatically crop their sensors to APS-C.
CompatibilityTop Sample Images Intro Format I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield. This is an APS-C (cropped-sensor) lens that works on all Sony E-mount cameras. This includes all the variations of NEX, A9-, A7-, A6xxx and A5xxx series cameras. Full-frame cameras will automatically crop to APS-C. It will not mount on any Sony A-mount DSLR or any Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR of any kind. Those use the old A mount which was actually the Minolta MAXXUM mount from 1987.
SpecificationsTop Sample Images Intro Format I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
NameSony calls this the E 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS PZ: E: E-mount. OSS: Optical Steady Shot (Image Stabilization). PZ: Power Zoom for shooting video. Sony's model number: SELP18200.
OpticsSony 18-200mm PZ optical construction. Aspherical and ED extra-low dispersion elements. 17 elements in 12 groups. Four Aspherical elements. One ED extra-low dispersion element.Internal focus. Front section moves in and out as zoomed.
DiaphragmSony 18-200mm PZ. Weird opening is due to how the OSS system went to sleep. bigger. 7 rounded blades. Stops down to f/22-40. There's no center ND filter nor can it close all the way for fade-to-black.
Focal Length 18-200mm. When used on APS-C, it sees the same angle of view as a 28-300mm lens sees when used on a full-frame camera. See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View 76º ~ 8° diagonal on APS-C.
AutofocusInternal focus. No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Close FocusAt 18mm: 1 foot (0.3meters). At 200mm: 1.64 feet (0.5 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio1:2.9 (0.35×).
Optical StabilizerYes.
Filters67mm plastic thread.
HoodSony ALC-SH125 hood for 18-200mm. bigger. ALC-SH125 hood included.
Size3.67" maximum diameter × 3.90" extension from flange. 93.2 mm diameter × 99 mm extension from flange.
Weight 22.870 oz. (648.3 g) actual measured weight. Rated 22.9 oz. (649 g).
IncludedLens (SELP18200). ALC-F67S front and ALC-R1EM rear cap. ALC-SH125 hood.
Announced22 January 2013.
Available sinceMarch 2013.
Sony Model NumberSELP18200.
Price, USA$1,148, March 2019. $1,200, 2013.
PerformanceTop Sample Images Intro Format
Overall Autofocus Bokeh Breathing Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters Flare & Ghosts Lateral Color Fringes Macro Maximum Apertures Mechanics Sharpness Stabilization Sunstars
I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
OverallThis Sony 18-200mm PZ has a huge zoom range with fast, silent, close focus and a great optical stabilizer. It's bigger, heavier, more expensive, better made and has better optics than the far more portable Sony E 18-200mm OSS LE. This Power Zoom lens is intended for shooting video; manual zooming is very stiff for still shots.
AutofocusAutofocus is fast and completely silent.
BokehBokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is neutral. This is a slow lens so nothing gets that far out of focus. Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open: Davis 6250 weather station, 14 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 14 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 14 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 14 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
For the softest backgrounds shoot at 200mm at f/6.3 and get as close as possible.
Focus BreathingFocus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth. The image from the Sony 18-200mm PZ tends to get a little smaller as focused more closely depending on the focal length. At some settings there is no breathing and at others there is minor breathing.
DistortionAs shot on modern Sony cameras this lens has no visible distortion. If you go out of your way to turn off the automatic correction, it has strong barrel distortion at 18mm and moderate pincushion at other settings — but leave distortion correction at its default of ON and there is nothing visible. Here are some measurements for more critical use:
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. * Some waviness remains after this correction.
ErgonomicsSony 18-200mm PZ OSS. bigger. This is a heavy, chunky lens for hand-holding. It lives to be on a tripod shooting video. The electronic focus ring is usually ignored depending on camera settings. Even in the MANUAL setting zoom is stiff, and there is no focal length scale. The W/T zoom slider goes at only one speed at a time, which you set with the H/M/L switch. Sadly zoom speed doesn't vary with how far you slide the W/T switch.
FalloffFalloff is invisible with the camera's default "Shading Correction" ON. I've greatly exaggerated it here by shooting pure gray and displaying it against more gray. It won't look this bad in actual photos:
Even if you go out of your way to turn correction off and then go looking for falloff, there isn't any except wide-open at the 18mm and 200mm ends. This is excellent performance:
Filters, use withThere's no need for thin filters. I can stack two regular 67mm filters with no vignetting. Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Flare & GhostsThere is no significant flare and only negligible ghosting. It's less than I'd expect in a super zoom, so this is great. Also see samples at Sunstars.
Lateral Color FringesThere are no color fringes as shot on Sony cameras with correction turned on, its default setting. If you are silly enough to turn correction off and then go looking for it, there is some magenta-green fringes at the wide end and they reverse to green-magenta at the long end, with none in the middle of the zoom range. This is excellent performance.
Macro PerformanceMacro gets very close:
At f/6.3This is shot at 200mm wide-open at f/6.3. It never gets that sharp at f/6.3: Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 14 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm PZ at 200mm wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/250 at ISO 100. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file. The texture you're seeing is on the watch face, and zero depth-of-field at this distance is why the hands and left side aren't in focus. If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm). If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
At f/11This is shot at 200mm at f/11. It's sharp at f/11: Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 14 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm PZ at 200mm at f/11 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 160. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file. The texture you're seeing is on the watch face, and near-zero depth-of-field at this distance is why the hands and left side aren't in focus. If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm). If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
Maximum Apertures
Mechanical QualitySony 18-200mm PZ. bigger. This Sony 18-200mm PZ is much tougher than you'd expect, with a mostly metal exterior.
HoodPlastic bayonet.
Front BumperNone.
Filter ThreadsPlastic.
Hood Bayonet MountPlastic.
Front BarrelsPlastic.
Zoom RingRubber-covered anodized aluminum.
Mid Barrel ExteriorMetal.
Focus RingPlastic.
Rear Barrel ExteriorMetal.
IdentityPrinted around front lens element, also on a sticker on the barrel near the mount.
InternalsSeem like all plastic, with metal zoom cams.
Dust Gasket at MountNo.
MountChromed metal.
MarkingsPainted around front element.
Serial NumberSticker glued on bottom of the barrel.
Date CodeNone found.
Noises When ShakenModerate rattling and clicking.
Made inChina.
SharpnessLens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that. This lens is always sharp in the center, and a little less sharp on the sides wide-open. If you're counting pixels rather than making pictures, stop down for the very best results. If you're a real person with a life and friends and go places and take interesting pictures, use any aperture; it's always sharp.
Image Stabilization (OSS)Optical Image Stabilization (OSS or Optical Steady Shot) works extremely well. I can almost always shoot at 1/15 at the long end and 1/8 at the wide end and get perfect sharpness. "Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp with others in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates how many shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are.
OSS ON
I get a real two to three stops improvement over what I can handhold with OSS OFF:
OSS OFF
SunstarsThe rounded 7-blade diaphragm of this 18-200mm makes soft 14-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light, but only at the smallest apertures. Click any to enlarge: Click any to enlarge.
RecommendationsTop Sample Images Intro Format This Sony 18-200mm PZ has better optics than the 18-200mm OSS LE, but it's much bigger and heavier and more expensive. Most of the time I would never notice the difference in optics. Unless you're planning to use the Power Zoom for video, the 18-200mm OSS LE is a much more practical lens. For still shooting you might also consider the 18-135mm, which zooms much less far but is even smaller, lighter and less expensive. I'd get my Sony E 18-200mm OSS PZ at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield. I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times instead of a cap so I'm ready to shoot instantly. The very best protective filter is the Hoya multicoated HD3 67mm UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints. For less money, the B+W 67mm 010 is an excellent filter, as are the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best. Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt. This junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.Thanks for helping me help you! Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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14 March 2019