Sony 18-105MM F4 (APS-C) Revisited
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- I purchased the #sonyalpha 18-105MM F4 lens last February for my #a5100 APS-C camera. After almost a year of using the lens in my travel kit, my opinion on the lens has changed and I wanted to share those thoughts.
Note: I did update the firmware on the lens to version 4 after experiencing some issues.
Link to Sony #selp18105g Lens:
electronics.so...
Good Morning! I have an 18-105 lens, and I've taken thousands of images with this lens, from sunny environments to studios and churches.
I have other lenses, like the sigma 16mm 1.4! In other words, I know what a good image is and this lens of mine makes good images, it's just knowing how to work with its limitations.
Thanks for the video.
Bom dia! Eu tenho uma lente 18-105, e já fiz milhares de imagens com essa lente, desde ambientes ensolarados como também em estúdio e igrejas.
Tenho outras lente, a exemplo da sigma 16mm 1.4! Ou seja, eu sei o q é uma boa imagem e essa minha lente faz, sim, boas imagens, é só saber trabalhar com as suas limitações.
Grato pelo vídeo.
I have the lens and my experience is way different. The lens is very sharp in the center wide open at any focal length and gets better even in the edges at f5.6 an below. The problem isn’t the sharpness itself but the focusing that results in bad sharpness. I had that issue many times on my a6000 and the only fix is to use flexible spot focus and try to focus at something very contrasty. In flat light or dark scene you must use MF. It isn’t a bad design, but rather its a common weakness of f4 or narrower aperture lenses. I had exactly the same problem with the Tamron 70-210 f4 on my Canon DSLR before. The kit lens has more consistent focusing because of the f3.5 maximum aperture (don’t forget that cameras focuses wide open). But so far I shot many razor sharp photos with this lens and basically it’s my one and only lens for a6000. And also, your a5100 couldn’t get the most out of it both in terms of focusing or image quality in my opinion… the a6xxx series has newer firmware with focus optimizations for these lenses.
I have had the 18-105 zoom for quite a few years now. For photos it was about on par with the other Sony zoom lenses available at the time (18-200 silver , 16-70 Zeiss) when used on my NEX-5, a6000 or a 6300 but was better than the 16-50 or 18-55 kit lenses. The 35 mm f1.8 and 50 mm f1.8 primes were sharper but, of course, not as versatile. Having said that, I only use that lens for videos. I shoot videos off a tripod or monopod and use a remote to control the zoom, the power zoom being the main attraction for me on this lens. I don't Vlog,. Most of the videos I took were of dance performances. The lens's main drawback is its weight which is rather heavy for travel or street photography plus I prefer a manual zoom for stills photography. Of course there are many sharper APS-C lenses out there now for Sony E-Mount both from Sony and third party lens makes like Sigma and Tamron. Technology changes rapidly with time. I will be curious to see how the 18-105 and my Zeiss 16-70 do on the A6700 which I have coming. Most of the newer higher quality Sony APS-C lenses (16-55 f2.8 G, 15mm f1.4 etc) , however, do not have OSS (Optical Steady Shot) so they are mostly suited to APS-C bodies equipped with IBIS which is one of my reasons for getting the a6700. Of course they are also at a much higher price point than the 18-105 so to that extent you get what you pay for.
I bought this lens about 3 years ago, took it to Nepal, attached it to my full frame a7iii because i needed a lighter setup... This thing gave me the sharpest photos of mountains i could think of at almost 11 megapixels lol.
I took the lens in for servicing last week since there's dust and there was condensation that shomehow got into it recently, most probably because i live in a very humid climate here in Malaysia..
Anyways, the lens is fine, but my recommendation is that you need atleast a uv filter on the front to prevent dust and a bit of moisture from getting in, that was my bad but I'll be more careful going forward...
On paper, this is the perfect lens. I am really glad you had good experiences with it. After reading the comments, I think this one might have had some variance in the production line. But keep taking pictures and enjoying your gear!
I bought this lens when it was released years ago - don't forget it was designed in the days when HD video was cutting edge & the NEX 5 was the flagship E-mount camera. I remember at the time that it had shocking barrel distortion (obviously fixed nowadays by in camera compensation but not at the time) but a videographer shooting HD could look past it's shortcomings as it had a constant aperture, powered zoom that worked with the zoom rocker on the VG30 camcorder. I wouldn't coompletely judge it by today's standards but there are better lenses out there by far.
how many fps did you film this video? I thinks it look very "slowly"...but good video anyways, I want to buy this lens to replace the 16-55m kit lens
Either 24 fps or 30. If I had to guess, 24 at the time. Didn't know about the light frequency thing at the time.
Hey great video man. I’m a beginner and casual I have the Sony zve10 camera. I just wanna travel light what’s the best all around lens I don’t to buy a bunch of lenses?
Ok - so the ZVE-10 is an APS-C sensor right? I would look at the Tamron 17-70 F2.8 (so with APS-C that would be 25MM-105MM) - that covers a good range and would be wide enough to turn around if you want to get yourself in the shot.
@@JoeyLombardi Thanks
Great comments and coverage. I have the lens as well, but have used it or any, beginner. A6000 is what I have, torn between Tamron 17-70 and Sigma 18-50 both f2.6
If camera does not have IBIS , try F5.6 and crank the ISO 1 stop.
I had A6400 paired with this lens once. I used it for graduation photos. After using it for around 8 months, I decided to sell it to my friend and back to my previous brand (Canon). I don't know if this is a common issue or just mine was a defect product (I bought both of A6400 and 18-105 lens as secondhand), I experienced many missfocus (front focus) with this lens, even I choose to turn the eye AF on/off. After all this time, I only used single AF point to guarantee my final output (like I said, I mainly shot portrait-graduation photo). Not only that, I also experienced that the F4 aperture was very soft, even at the center of the image.
I'm pretty sure you had a bad copy. Coming from Canon gear with L lenses in the past, I can truly say that this lens (at least my copy!) is sharp and focuses fast and precise paired with the Sony A6400. Comparable with the 17-40 F/4 L from Canon I had 15 yrs ago. For 4K video it is a wonderful lens, sharp, quiet and contrasty. Ofcourse primes will always be faster and a tad sharper.
I really do hope that is the case. People seem really happy about this lens and I have said before, on paper, it is a perfect range.
It is great that you are having a good experience with the lens - happy shooting!
It's definately one of the softer lenses for my aps c system but still good enough iq for sharing online. It's a great travel lens if you want to pack light for a casual vacation with more video focus.
I think with all of the 3rd party e-mount lenses that are available, a person could probably get a better deal on a sharper lens in 2022.
@@JoeyLombardi what would you recommend that has sharper lens at the similar price range of this 18-105? and if can, include stabilization feature.
I know the sigma 16-50 is a contender for this 18-105 but no stabilization
@@RocZi Tamron has a 18-200 APS-C lens with image stabilization to some degree, but I am not sure if it is very sharp (haven't played with it). They also have a 17-70 APSC at a constant 2.8 - if I was still shooting APSC, I think I would have that one in my bag. Regarding Sigma, there is an 18-50 APSC but I don't think that is "all in one" enough.
I have this lens and love it... mind you, I am primarily shooting video with it. It's got a lot of character for video work... I can see how it might not be best if what you're looking for is crispy photos.
I tested the 18-105mm in studio during a portrait/fashion shoot and I was very disappointed with the results. My camera settings were SS/160, F/8, ISO 100. Hoping that the lens would produce sharp photos, it did the complete opposite. In post process, I zoomed into the face of the subject and noticed the edges weren't sharp. The edges all around the subject seemed fuzzy. I immediately thought there was something wrong with the lens and I just have a bad copy. I'm not sure if I need to send the lens in for service/repair. However, I do like the lens for travel and the lens paired with my a6000.
The reason your photos weren't sharp is because you aperture is at f/8 when it should be at f/4 or the fastest you can get, also you need to increase your shutter speed.
Similar opinion here. Perfectly fine for video in my opinion. Very soft in photos. The stabilization is great in the 18-105. The lens is just too soft for photos in my opinion.
Greetings,
I have a Sony A6000, can anyone confirm that this sony 18-105 f4 lens does not allow lens compensation/distortion?
Thank you.
Take a look at this guy's video - looks like version 2 of the firmware did have the issue but version 3 corrects it? ruclips.net/video/cMJLXqtR7HQ/видео.html
@@JoeyLombardi I have firmware 3.21 (camera) and 04 (lens).
Indeed, in the list of compatible lenses, the information regarding the 18-105 f4 is as follows: The [Comp. Lens: Distortion] will be set to "Auto".-
Of course, I have given you a subscription. Thanks a lot. 😎 I invite you to subscribe to my channel.
isn't this lens more focused toward video than photo?
Not sure? I think the photo performance was almost better than the video in my testing. But i also think I might have gotten a bad one.
Your absolutely right it just is NOT sharp at all . At any focal length and at any f stop its just off tack sharp ! I just got it two days ago and now getting rid of it as fast as I can !
oh shoot...i just purchased it...should i return it ..
I think you should try it. Reading the comments, I think everyone had different experiences and I think my lens might have had a little defect. I hope you have a better experience!
@JoeyLombardi saw this video after i purchased it...for sure will try it. Thanks for the advice.
I've just ordered this lens yesterday for my a6400, I'm going to run it through some extreme tests and see what results i get. Like you i have a few prime lens but i wanted something that would cover a wider range without having to carry too much.
I really hope you have a good experience with the lens and my issues were more of a defect.
I want to purchase this lens in the near future, what did you find out?
Hi, How was it?
@@Dannyway77 I have bought it yesterday and didn't have much time usingnit yet, I will make an videi about my experience
how was your extreme tests results?
music is too loud, distracts from what you're saying
Comparing a $350 aps c super zoom to the 16-35f4 is ridiculous. It's video lens with PZ, and perfectly sharp enough for 4k video. I have used it as the main film lens and it frankly produces much more pleasing footage than the super sharp video looking lens, which is a shortcoming when filming people. Unless staring at facial hair is a thing. And don't use it for stills, you should be using primes say the sigma 16 or 56. Frankly neither of these 2 primes are super sharp either.
This lens still retails for $650 USD new. I paid close to $500 USD when I got it. Yes you can probably snag a good one for $350 used now, but considering what I paid for the 16 to 35, the price wasn't that far apart. Bottom line, I didn't have a good experience with this lens. If you did, that is really good! But I continue my stance on not recommending it as there are better options now.
@@JoeyLombardi You said in the video it costed you $350.
@@CO8848_2 Well I was half right - I paid $445 with shipping (kind of a rip off) and sales tax. But again...I am glad are getting what you need out of the lens and it is working for you.
Bro you use with Sony a5100 🤷 that it's a f*ing old one it's also depends on camera sensor
I don't think you know about camera tho
I have several, the 5100 is my only APS-C and I do like how small that camera was. I replaced it with the A7C and switched to full frame glass. But I was hoping to use the A5100 with this lens as a "keep it with me" camera.
Good movie
Sharp photo but unsharp video don't make sense unless it's not in focus
If you look at some of the same footage, I really think my lens in particular has a defect. Anything shiny in the background has a weird effect. But overall, it is an old APS-C lens that has good range, but I think there are better options now.
5100 and 6400 No Ibis, photos and videos are different animals, for videos you need well lit subjects, for photos large apertures and fast shutter.
I owned that lens for 2 yrs. If you want something sharp then save your money and don't buy it.
It is funny - there are cheaper zoom lenses that have sharper images. I really did like the range, but there is a real sacrifice in terms of quality.
just give it to me hehehe
the ladies appreciate the not perfect sharpness ;P
True words, especially when looking at my "face made for radio" 😁