Sony 10-18mm
APS-C E-Mount OSS (2012-)
Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS (APS-C, 62mm filters, 7.9 oz./225 g, 0.82'/0.25m close focus, $848). 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.
January 2019 Sony Sony Lenses Zeiss Nikon Canon Fuji LEICA All Reviews
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.
Low Rider. Sony A6400, Sony 10-18mm at 18mm, f/18 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
Mexican Restaurant at Dusk. Sony A6400, Sony 10-18mm at 10mm, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/4 at Auto ISO 2,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
Lifeguard Tower 5. Sony A6400, Sony 10-18mm at 10 mm, f/8 at 1/1,000 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
San Diego. Sony A6400, Sony 10-18mm at 10 mm, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/4 at Auto ISO 1,600, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
San Diego. Sony A6400, Sony 10-18mm at 10 mm, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/4 at Auto ISO 800, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution.
Introduction
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This Sony 10-18mm is a weightless ultrawide zoom that packs big performance in a tiny package.
This lens is sharp, has automatic distortion correction with most Sony bodies and has optical stabilization so I can hand-hold it in near total darkness.
It's only a fraction of the size and weight of full-frame ultrawide lenses. Sony's full-frame ultrawide 16-35mm lenses weigh 2½ to three times as much! You have to hold it to believe it.
I'd get my 10-18mm at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Good
Ultra-ultrawide zoom range.
Constant f/4 aperture.
Built-in optical image stabilizer.
Produces sharp and distortion-free images hand-held in any light, if you know what you're doing.
Small.
Light.
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/manual focus switch.
Sony 10-18mm. bigger.
Format
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I'd get my 10-18mm 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
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I'd get my 10-18mm 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. Ideally use this on APS-C cameras like the A6xxx and A5xxx series.
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
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I'd get my 10-18mm at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Name
Sony calls this the E 10-18mm f/4 OSS:
E: E-mount.
OSS: Optical Steady Shot (Image Stabilization).
Optics
Sony 10-18mm optical construction. Aspherical and Super ED elements.
10 elements in 8 groups.
Three Aspherical elements.
One Super ED element.
The front group and filter ring moves in and out as zoomed.
Diaphragm
Sony 10-18mm. bigger.
7 rounded blades.
Stops down to f/22.
Focal Length
10-18mm.
When used on APS-C, it sees the same angle of view as a 15-27mm lens sees when used on a full-frame camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View
109º ~ 76° diagonal on APS-C.
Autofocus
Internal focus.
No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Close Focus
0.82 feet (0.25 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:10 (0.10×).
Optical Stabilizer
Yes.
Filters
62mm filter thread.
Hood
Sony ALC-SH123 hood for 10-18mm. bigger.
ALC-SH123 hood included.
Size
2.78" maximum diameter × 2.50" extension from flange.
70 mm maximum diameter × 63.5 mm extension from flange.
Weight
7.9 oz. (225 g).
Included
Lens (SEL1018).
ALC-F62S front and ALC-R1EM rear cap.
ALC-SH123 hood.
Announced
12 September 2012.
Shipping Since
January 2013.
Sony Model Number
SEL1018.
Price, USA
$848, January 2019.
Performance
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Overall Autofocus Bokeh Distortion
Ergonomics Falloff Flare & Ghosts
Lateral Color Fringes Mechanics
I'd get my 10-18mm at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
Overall
This Sony 10-18mm is ultralight and performs extremely well. Something this tiny has no right to work this well; it makes me ask why bother with huge full-frame lenses that don't do anything better.
Autofocus
Autofocus is fast and silent.
Bokeh
Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is pretty much invisible because almost nothing is ever out of focus with a slow ultra-ultrawide lens like this.
For the softest backgrounds shoot at 18mm and f/4 and get as close as possible.
Distortion
At least as shot on the Sony A6400, the Sony 10-18mm has no visible distortion because the A6400 corrects it automatically by default. Be careful if you shoot raw and use non-Sony software because you probably won't get any automatic distortion corrections.
If you go out of your way to turn off this correction and then go looking for distortion (how stupid are some people?), it has moderate barrel distortion at the shorter end and moderate pincushion distortion at the longer end — just like almost all zoom lenses. If you're dumb enough to do this, it's easy to correct with Photoshop's lens correction filter using the factors below. Using these factors on images made without in-camera correction still leaves higher-order waviness on images made at 14mm and shorter.
These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
At infinity |
Correction factor to use with images made with correction ON in A6400 |
Correction factor to use with images made with correction OFF |
10mm |
±0.0 | +2.5* |
12mm |
±0.0 | ±0.0** |
14mm |
±0.0 | -1.0** |
16mm |
±0.0 | -1.8 |
18mm |
±0.0 | -3.0 |
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
* has some residual wavy "mustache" distortion.
** has some minor residual wavy "mustache" distortion.
Ergonomics
Sony 10-18mm at 18mm. bigger.
I wish all lenses were this small and light.
About one-quarter of the barrel is the zoom ring. Zoom is smooth and works with one finger.
The electronic focus ring is usually ignored depending on camera settings.
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 way in actual photos, in fact I often add extra to add artistic emphasis:
Sony 10-18mm falloff on an A6400, correction ON AUTO.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Of course falloff is stronger with correction turned off; use this for artistic effect if you like. What's interesting is how it's so uniform regardless of the lens' settings:
Sony 10-18mm falloff on an A6400, correction OFF.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Flare & Ghosts
There is no significant flare or ghosting.
Lateral Color Fringes
There are no color fringes as shot on Sony cameras, most of which correct any that might be there by default.
Mechanical Quality
Sony 10-18mm. bigger.
This Sony 10-18mm is made-in-China almost completely out of plastic with some metal exterior trim and a metal mount. This is why it's so light and easy to carry all day.
Plastic: Front filter thread, front ID ring between front element and filter threads, front barrel and zoom ring
Metal: Focus ring, rear barrel trim, lens mount and gold-plated electrical contacts.
Sharpness
As you can see at the Sample Images, it's super sharp.
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.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 when you can because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot fast-moving subjects at different distances at f/16 at ISO 1,600 in daylight.
This 10-18mm is sharper than it has any right to be. In the lab it's a tad softer wide-open at 10mm, and gets ultra-sharp by f/8, but even wide-open it's still super-sharp for real photography as you can see at Sample Images.
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MTF at 10mm. f/4 and f/8, 10 and 30 cyc/mm. |
MTF at 18mm. f/4 and f/8, 10 and 30 cyc/mm.
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Sunstars
This 10-18mm makes 18-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light at the smallest apertures. The rounded blades make them softer at larger apertures, getting sharper as you approach f/22.
Click any to enlarge:
Recommendations
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This Sony 10-18mm is a great lens that's all we expect from mirrorless: sharp and tiny! If you're considering it, you'll love it. This and an 18-135mm are all I need for anything. One lens is on the camera around my neck and the second lens in my pocket, ready to shoot anything anywhere on earth. An A6400 and this lens are so light that I forget they are around my neck.
I'd get my 10-18mm 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 my bag, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times 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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