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New Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens – SEL18200LE – High Res Sample Photos using the Sony Nex-F3!!

Over the past week or so I managed to take a sample few photos with the New Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens (SEL200LE) and the Sony Nex-F3. The New Sony lens is remarkable similar to the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III VC lens, although the actual glass elements are a little different per the specs. The Sony has two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements and four aspherical elements, while the Tamron has two LD elements, three Glass Molded Aspherical Lenses, one XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass, and one Hybrid Aspherical Lens.

LD and XR elements in the Tamron vs ED elements in the Sony? ED is better than LD, so assuming that these specs are accurate the Sony should be a tab bit better in some areas unless the Tamron XR glass does some magic 😉 Realistically it’s going to be pretty tuff to see the difference I think, but we shall see as I have some image I can compare for the full review when I publish that.

In any event, the SEL200LE is much lighter and smaller than the previous model, although that was originally designed for the Nex camcorder I read, and balanced better weight and size wise. On the actual Nex Cameras, it was very large though and really looked awkward.

New Sony 18-200mm (SEL18200LE)

Sony Nex-F3 w/ New Sony 18-200mm - SEL18200LE @ 200mm
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New Sony 18-200mm – SEL18200LE @ 200mm

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III VC lens

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III VC lens on the Nex-7
Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III VC lens on the Nex-7

High Res Sample Photos

Here’s a snapshot of my Nephew at 200mm and the separation from the background is pretty good! The 100% crop also looks pretty good, although not razor blade sharp like the 50mm f/1.8 OSS prime lens for example.

Be sure to Click on theses Photos for the actual 100% Crop which is ~1200px

Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 200mm f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 250, Jpeg Fine, Hand Held
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 200mm f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 250, Jpeg Fine, Hand Held
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 200mm f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 250, Jpeg Fine, Hand Held
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 200mm f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 250, Jpeg Fine, Hand Held

Here’s another similar snapshot of my very good friend Doug. It’s from the same exact spot a few minutes difference in time. I converted this to BW as I felt it was a better shot, but I did not apply any sharpening!! Don’t worry, I have more “test” shots coming 😉

Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 126mm, f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 200, Jpeg Fine
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 126mm, f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 200, Jpeg Fine
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 126mm, f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 200, Jpeg Fine
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 126mm, f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 200, Jpeg Fine

Moving on to some Architecture, check out the Washingtonville Middle School below.

Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-F3 w/ New 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens @ 18mm f/8 1/640sec, ISO 200, Handheld

Closing Remarks

So far the new Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens is a pretty decent performer. Going from memory it’s a little better than the Tamron 18-200mm in the corners, especially with fringing. The OSS works really well and certainly makes it easier to hand hold using those long focal lengths and slower shutter speeds. This new version SEL18200LE is much lighter and smaller than the older version SEL18200, but the image quality is not quite as sharp or as contrasty in my opinion. You don’t get something for nothing usually 😉 I will do more comparison shots for the full review, but from what I got so far this lens falls between the Tamron 18-200mm and the old SOny 18-200mm as far as sharpness, and contrast is concerned.
Jay

  1. First thanks for the review. Let me ask two questions. I’m not sure how to interpret your review with your examples. All of the subjects are diagonal in our 3 dimensional space, the plane of sharp focus on any lens (minus using a tilt lens plane) is only going to be in perfectly sharp focus perpendicular to the film(sensor) plain so technically the words 1911 and railroad could never be in sharp focus together it’s just a matter of depth of field true with the eve. (?)
    Second and much more important question is your opinion on sharpness, AF speed, and resolution of the lens in low light areas?
    thanks and I’ll take my answer of the air (joke – to much NPR lately)

    1. Hi Jeff,
      Thanks for the comments and sorry for the delayed response!! I just haven’t been able to much on the website inthe past week or so 😉 In reference to your questions lets start with the 3D space and sharpness.
      Yes, your correct that these are not the best test shots due to the extra 3-demmensional element, but I was pretty far away, and they are really just test shots. The Full Hands on Review is coming soon!!
      The lens works pretty good in low light, but not fantastic as it’s limited by the AF of the camera. It will hunt a bit if the depth of field is shallow and the light/ contrast is low. All lenses do this though on cameras with Contrast Detection AF. The larger depth of field range on the 18-200mm makes it little more susceptible than a wide angle lens for example. If there are faces in the scene and you have facial recognition turned on, that will help drastically!! I Highly recommend using that feature for people photos!!
      The video I have up in the RX100 Hands on Review I just finished was taken with New Sony 18-200mm Lens using the Nex-F3!!
      I hope this helps and stay tuned for the Full Hands on review as I have taken a ton more photos including a crop duster in action and more!!
      Jay

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