Sony E 18-200mm OSS LE
APS-C E-Mount (2012-)
Sony E 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS LE (APS-C, 62mm filters, 16.2 oz./461g, 1.6'/0.5m close focus, $798). 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.
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Sample Images
Top Sample Images Intro Format
These are all shot hand-held as Standard JPGs; no RAW or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed.
Orange Tree, 13 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm at 107mm, f/16 hand-held at 1/30 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
Canary Palm, 13 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm at 32mm, f/11 hand-held at 1/13 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.
Introduction
Top Sample Images Intro Format
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This Sony E 18-200mm OSS LE is a small, wide-range zoom that does just about everything, and it's light enough to carry everywhere all day, every day.
This 18-200 covers a huge zoom range, focuses very close, focuses fast and nearly silently, and has optical stabilization so I can hand-hold it in any light on any Sony camera.
This is the newest LE model 18-200. It's identified by the "LE" and its smaller 62mm filter size. There was an older 18-200mm that came out in 2010 that's bigger, silver-gray and takes larger 67mm filters.
I'd get my 18-200 LE at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Good
All-encompassing zoom range.
Small.
Light.
Fast focus.
Close focus.
Reasonable price.
Bad
Electronic 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.
Missing
No focus or depth-of-field scales.
No stabilizer on-off switch.
No autofocus mode (AF/MF) switch.
Sony 18-200mm. bigger.
Format
Top Sample Images Intro Format
I'd get my 18-200 LE 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.
Compatibility
Top Sample Images Intro Format
I'd get my 18-200 LE 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.
Specifications
Top Sample Images Intro Format
I'd get my 18-200 LE at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Name
Sony calls this the E 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS LE:
E: E-mount.
OSS: Optical Steady Shot (Image Stabilization).
LE: Newer, smaller version of the older E 18-200mm.
Sony's model number: SEL18200LE.
Optics
Sony 18-200mm optical construction. Aspherical and ED extra-low dispersion elements.
17 elements in 13 groups.
Four Aspherical elements.
Two ED extra-low dispersion elements.
Internal focus.
Front section moves in and out as zoomed.
Diaphragm
Sony 18-200mm. bigger.
7 rounded blades.
Stops down to f/22-40.
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.
Autofocus
Internal focus.
No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Close Focus
1.64 feet (0.5 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:3.7 (0.27×).
Optical Stabilizer
Yes.
Filters
62mm plastic thread.
Hood
Sony ALC-SH124 hood for 18-200mm. bigger.
ALC-SH124 hood included.
Size
2.68" maximum diameter × 3.82" extension from flange.
68 mm maximum diameter × 97.1 mm extension from flange.
Weight
16.246 oz. (460.6 g) actual measured weight.
Rated 16.3 oz. (460 g).
Included
Lens (SEL18200LE).
ALC-F62S front and ALC-R1EM rear cap.
ALC-SH124 hood.
Announced
2012.
Sony Model Number
SEL18200LE.
Price, USA
$798, March 2019.
Performance
Top 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 18-200 LE at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Overall
This Sony 18-200mm is small and versatile, with a huge zoom range, fast, close focus and a great optical stabilizer.
Autofocus
Autofocus is fast and almost silent.
Bokeh
Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is pretty crummy. This is a slow lens so nothing gets that far out of focus, and when it does, it looks rougher than with other lenses.
Here are photos from headshot distance wide-open:
Davis 6250 weather station, 13 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 13 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 13 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 13 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 13 March 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
For the softest backgrounds shoot at 200mm and f/6.3 and get as close as possible.
Focus Breathing
Focus 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 LE gets a little smaller as focused more closely.
Distortion
As shot on modern Sony cameras this lens has no visible distortion.
Even if you go out of your way to turn off the automatic correction, it only has visible pincushion around 100mm and a lot of barrel distortion at 18mm — but leave distortion correction at its default of ON and there is nothing visible.
Here are some measurements for more critical use:
At 10'/3m |
Correction factor to use with images made with correction ON in A6400 |
Correction factor to use with uncorrected images |
18mm |
+1.0 | +6.0* |
35mm |
±0.0 | -1.0 |
50mm |
±0.0 | -1.5 |
70mm |
-1.0 | -1.5 |
100mm |
±0.0 | -2.5 |
200mm |
±0.0 | -1.5 |
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
* Minor waviness remains after this correction.
Ergonomics
 |
|
Sony 18-200mm at 18mm. bigger. |
Sony 18-200mm at 18mm. bigger. |
|
 |
Sony 18-200mm at 200mm. bigger. |
Sony 18-200mm at 200mm. bigger. |
The front half of the barrel is the zoom ring.
The electronic focus ring is usually ignored depending on camera settings.
No worries, here; this little lens handles great.
Falloff
Falloff 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:
Sony 18-200mm falloff on an A6400, correction ON.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
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:
Sony 18-200mm falloff on an A6400, correction OFF.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Filters, use with
There's no need for thin filters.
I can stack a few regular 62mm filters with no vignetting.
Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Flare & Ghosts
There 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 Fringes
There are some color fringes as shot on Sony cameras, even with correction turned on.
It's worse than most other lenses, but only visible under a microscope so don't worry about it.
Macro Performance
Macro gets very close, and it's very sharp, too. This is shot at 200mm wide-open at f/6.3:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 12 March 2019. Sony A6400, Sony 18-200mm at 200mm wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/500 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).
Maximum Apertures
Maximum Aperture |
|
| 18mm | f/3.5 |
| 35mm | f/4.5 |
| 50mm | f/5.6 |
| 70mm | f/5.6 |
| 100mm | f/6.3 |
| 200mm | f/6.3 |
Mechanical Quality
Sony 18-200mm. bigger.
This Sony 18-200mm is plastic on the inside and plastic and metal on the outside.
Hood
Plastic bayonet.
Front Bumper
None.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Plastic.
Front Barrels
Plastic.
Zoom Ring
Rubber-covered anodized aluminum.
Mid Barrel Exterior
Anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring
Plastic.
Zoom Lock Switch
Plastic.
Rear Barrel Exterior
Anodized aluminum.
Identity
Printed around front lens element, also on a sticker and engraved on the barrel near the mount.
Internals
Seem like plastic.
Dust Gasket at Mount
No.
Mount
Chromed metal.
Markings
Painted around front element.
Other markings laser-engraved.
Serial Number
Sticker glued on bottom of the barrel.
Date Code
None found.
Noises When Shaken
Moderate rattling.
Made in
China.
Sharpness
Lens 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.
As you can see at the Sample Images it's easy to make sharp pictures with this lens, but if you're a dork who just looks at your pictures at 300% on your computer instead of instead of printing and displaying them, this lens isn't as sharp as others.
This is a lens for people with lives and friends who go places and take interesting pictures; it's not a lens for the microscope crowd.
 |
 |
MTF at 18mm. f/3.5 and f/8, 10 and 30 cyc/mm. |
MTF at 135mm. f/6.3 and f/8, 10 and 30 cyc/mm.
|
Image Stabilization (OSS)
Optical Image Stabilization (OSS or Optical Steady Shot) works extremely well.
"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
% Perfectly Sharp Shots |
1 |
1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
18mm |
30 |
75 |
90 |
90 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
50mm |
0 |
5 |
30 |
75 |
80 |
100 |
100 |
100mm |
0 |
0 |
17 |
75 |
75 |
100 |
100 |
200mm |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
67 |
100 |
100 |
I get a real two to three stops improvement over what I can handhold with OSS OFF:
OSS OFF
% Perfectly Sharp Shots |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
18mm |
0 |
10 |
67 |
80 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
50mm |
0 |
0 |
5 |
75 |
83 |
100 |
100 |
100mm |
0 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
83 |
100 |
100 |
200mm |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
83 |
100 |
Sunstars
The rounded 7-blade diaphragm of this 18-200mm makes soft 14-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light only at the smallest apertures.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Recommendations
Top Sample Images Intro Format
This Sony 18-200mm does just about everything. You also might consider the 18-135mm, which zooms much less far but is even smaller, lighter and less expensive. Both are about the same in the laboratory for optical quality.
If you're considering it, you'll love it — especially when you feel how light and tiny it is and see your own great pictures.
I'd get my Sony E 18-200 OSS LE 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 62mm UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
For less money, the B+W 62mm 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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