Sony E PZ 18-105 mm f/4.0 G | APS-C, Power Zoom Lens
Sony E PZ 18-105 mm f/4.0 G | APS-C, Power Zoom Lens (SEL18105G)
SELP18105G
6x G Lens power zoom for movies and stills
This G Lens for E-mount cameras delivers stunning still or movie imagery with the flexibility of 6x power zoom. Maximum aperture is a constant F4 from 18 mm wide-angle to 105 mm medium telephoto, with excellent resolution and contrast throughout.
One lens for diverse shooting needs
Whether you shoot stills or movies, this fine G Lens can capture them all in fine detail
Superb rendering at any focal length
Advanced design featuring two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass and three aspherical elements.
Zoom technology inherited from pro gear
Sony Handycam technology provides smooth zooming for movies without changing the lens’ length.
Continuously variable zoom speed control
Fingertip control makes it possible to zoom smoothly while maintaining a steady hold on the camera.
Lens Configuration
MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) describes how well a lens can reproduce fine details, measured as the degree of contrast achieved between finely spaced lines.
What focus range does it provide?
Along with high overall performance and excellent contrast this G Lens provides a versatile 27-157.5mm (35mm full frame format equivalent) range.
Do I need to change exposure settings manually?
A constant F4 aperture across the entire 18–105 mm range means you can zoom and reframe as necessary without having to think about changing exposure settings, even at maximum telephoto zoom.
Does it feature SteadyShot?
Yes, the SELP18105G has built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation for compensating any camera shake that can otherwise blur images when shooting handheld.
| Weight: | 427 Grams |
| Dimensions: | 11 x 7.8 x 7.8 centimetres |
| Brand: | Sony |
| Model: | SELP18105G |
| Part: | SELP18105G |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Product Specific batteries required. |
| Dimensions: | 11 x 7.8 x 7.8 centimetres |
| Origin: | China |
Lens works great on a fx30. Picture quality is good, as is the focal length.
For so long I was used to the general purpose telephoto lens that came with my old Sony Nex 3 camera as it was very good and then purchased other lenses different activities. But this is next level as an all day lens you can use for lots of different types of shot. Yes it is bigger and heavier but it is so worth it. Got it during Black Friday sale for c. 330 quid. In my opinion, truly excellent value.
I’ve also combined it with a Small Rig cage, handle and added the PortKeys monitor to the front. Using the Active Steadyshot stabilisation, I have been able to get some decent cinematic type footage out and about.
The lens was very good valve for money and I am very happy with this Sony lens.
The only let down was I ordered the lens on the 14th and received the lens on the 22nd of June which was standard delivery from Amazon.
Regards John Gamro
Reviews of this lens against the 18-135mm lens show that both are of comparable sharpness – one lens wins at some focus distances and zoom settings, then the other wins at other settings so they’re pretty comparable and I can confirm this is the case.
This lens is a huge step-up from the kit 16-50mm lens in terms of sharpness, and it does carry Sony’s “G” lens designation which is reserved for its high-end performers.
The other benefit is power zoom, particularly if you’re a videographer. The lens’ constant aperture of f/4 may not lend itself to low-light filming, but you may find the power zoom feature particularly useful.
The zoom switch is a variable-speed slider, and despite other reviewers stating that a slow zoom speed can’t be achieved, it is actually possible. You just have to roll your finger around at the base of the switch to achieve a very small movement of the slider off the zero position, and the lens will start to zoom extremely slowly. The same can be achieved going back to a wide shot. The zoom speeds that can be achieved are incredibly slow, taking tens of seconds to traverse from 18mm to 105mm or vice versa. Much slower than the 18-200mm power zoom lens (which is a very old lens now) even on its slowest setting.
One caveat for me is that if you turn on “clear zoom” in the camera (which is Sony’s proprietary digital zoom extension with enhanced apparent resolution) then there isn’t the same continuity of zoom range as there is with the 18-200mm lens. Using the 18-200mm lens, the digital zoom starts immediately once the optical zoom limit is reached so you can’t tell in footage where the optical zoom stopped and the clear digital zoom took over. There is a glitch in zooming out but not during zooming in. With this lens, there’s always a noticeable glitch when the optical zoom range is reached and digital clear zoom starts, which is a shame as clear zoom can add between 1.7x and 2x zoom on top of whatever the lens is capable of.
Overall though, it’s the sharpest mid-range zoom you can get for Sony APS-C cameras and it’s well worth the money. This could be your only lens if you’re being strategic about achieving a camera set-up that has maximum value/quality for money, or it’s a nice lens to have as part of a collection particularly if you’ve thinking about full zoom range coverage and need something to fit in the middle between a short range zoom or wide-angle lens and a long zoom lens such as Sony’s 70-350 (which also has the “G” designation).
Not a bad lens, basically a all rounder, take photos of anything or everything’s
I think 18mm is a bit tight for vlogging but totally doable. Oss will help you tremendously, it works really well on this lens. Especially if you have an a6400 or other camera that doesn’t have ibis.
It has abconstantbaperture of F4. This is a blessing and a curse at the same time. It doesn’t matter how much you zoom, the aperture remains the same so your image brightness will to. Though, at night you will not be able to use it as it can’t let enough light through and the image will look soft and dark especially on video.
It has a focus ring and a zoom ring. They are electronic, so you can spin them forever, there’s nothing connecting them to the lens. The zoom ring can be used for small adjustments, but to use it for actual zoom, it takes a few rotations to zoom to 105. It has though, a power zoom buton that moves faster the further you push it(I think it has 3 phases). Very steady and a much better solution to zoom.
Kinda heavy but for the size I think it’s alright.
Hard to hold it in a vlog position unless you have a tripod or a gimble, because you’re probably going to touch the zoom ring or the power zoom button. If you’d have the sony handgrip, I’m not sure but it may be too small. The lens is long so it may feel front heavy.
Background blur, not a lot at 18mm. If you zoom in a lot though, the background blur becomes conpressed and has a very very nice look. It is suitable for portraits at higher focal lengths, above 70mm I’d say. Maybe even 50mm, but with less background blur.
During the day is stelar! So versatile! If you go vlogging with it, it gives so many opportunities, if you take it on a trip, you won’t need any other lens. It does everything! Not great in low light but probably ok for a sunset. I paid 350 for it and it makes a lot of sense at that price. I will use it a lot for photography or day time videos. For vloggers, I’d rather recommend one of the 3 best lens: sony 10-18mm f4 oss, tamron 11-20mm f2.8 or Sigma 16mm f1.4.
Sony 10-18 is a native lens so it works well but almost no background blur.
Tamron has no stabilisation and sometimes the colours are a bit off, though great at everything else. Probably the best all-rounder wide angle lens for apsc.
Sigma 16 mm f1.4 is a low light beast with excellent background blur. This having no zoom you’d say it’s a bit of a compromise. If you have it on a Sony camera, I have the clear zoom custom key on the rubbish bin button. 2x zoom with no quality loss on any lens so….
I wanted a mid telephoto lens for my Sony 6000 this fits the bill ,it s focal length is about 28-160 with a APSC sensor ,the lens is well built feels solid and has excellent sharpness, the zoom action is nice and smooth so comes recorrmended
Pros:
– Build quality. Although not on par with Sony’s full frame range, the build quality on the lens is great. It feels very solid, and having dropped it on concrete, I can definitely say that the lens can withstand some beating;
– Focal range. On APS-C camera, it is equivalent to 27-158mm which makes it a great all-around option for travel camera set up;
– Silent focusing and image stabilisation. The focus motor is very snappy and literally silent. Combine that with built-in image stabilisation and you get a killer video combo;
– Overall image quality is decent (see examples attached). It’s not nearly on par with something like Sigma primes, but that’s expected given the zoom range and price (see more below).
Cons:
– The size. The fact that zooming is done internally means that you end up with a chunkier lens than most other APS-C lenses for mirrorless cameras out there. Given that A6000 series of cameras are remarkably small and light, using this lens makes the set up noticeably front heavy;
– Image quality in the corners is not great. At F4.0 the corners are noticeably soft. Having said that, this gets improved around F7.1 which is probably the aperture most people will use for maximum sharpness anyway.
– Price. This definitely isn’t a budget lens. However, it almost always gets included in Sony’s cashback offers which tend to run 4 times per year — so definitely do your research before buying.
Overall — if you are looking for one all around lens for your A6000 series and don’t want to splash out on 16-55mm F2.8, this should be at the top of your list.
I’m sure in the hands of a more capable user the strengths and limitations of this lens would become magnified, but for me this is a lens that can do 90% of what I’m looking for and as such it is spending most of its time firmly fixed to the front of my camera.
I was wrong to worry. The PZ is entirely different to the kit lens. It’s unbelievably smooth, and utterly silent. With the kit lens, there’s one speed. The PZ on this lens is variable. Some reviews have said it is 2 speed, but they’re wrong. It’s very variable. Nudge the button a teeny tiny bit and it’ll go so slow and buttery you’ll hardly notice it. You can slowly push your finger up to steadily increase the speed of zoom. It’s fantastic.
The OSS is like magic on my a6300. I’ve only had it for a few days but at higher focal lengths I couldn’t live without it.
I have large hands so the size is actually a positive for me – when walking around I prefer to hold my camera by the lens with a wrist strap. It also means there’s plenty to hold onto when using the camera. The kit lens is awfully fiddly and it’s hard to know where to put your hand. It feels silly holding such a small leas from underneath as if supporting it, but of course with the PZ you have to. No issues there with this one!
This lens is beautiful. Others have spoken about the more obvious things, so I wanted to add some less talking about aspects for those reading these reviews.
You won’t regret buying it. My goal is to have this lens, and the three Sigma primes (16, 30, and 56). With the 16, I’m halfway there!
IQ is decent across the lens but not as sharp as the Zeiss in the 18-50 range. The Zeiss is also brighter.
That said, it’s built well and has the extra reach if that suits. However, it’s too big and heavy for an a6300/6500 body IMO.
The main issue I have, which meant a return, was the focus by wire zoom. It’s laggy so there’s a delay in starting and stopping zooming – this is the same with the zoom ring and the power zoom controls. Zoom to 70mm and let go and you end up at 76mm or a little closer than you want. Same zooming out. This means you always need to fine tune which wastes time. I’ll take a well produced manual zoom every day for speed and accuracy.
Sure the Zeiss is more and doesn’t reach as far but it’s a much brighter compact lens with a better zoom implementation. Which all adds up to better shots. If you can pick one up used (a good copy without the known issues) then it’s in the same range as this and worth the extra.
I’ve used it on multiple shoots and it’s a great all rounder. Zoom and focus by wire functions take a bit of getting used to. If you’re used to canon lenses it can feel a bit weird at first as there is a slight delay, your hand movement on the focus/zoom ring doesn’t correlate exactly with what happens on the screen. However, the servo zoom function is good and quite sensitive, so it’s easy to control the speed of the zoom.
I’ve attached a video I shot completely with this lens.
I used the Canon 24-105 f/4 for years and it’s a great lens, i’ve moved over to Sony now so this was a logical choice at the price point. Also having the wider angle at 18mm is actually really useful. Before I would reach for the Canon 16-35 f/2.8 but I don’t really have to now.
Pixel peepers will definitely pick a few more flaws out at wider angles and sharpness in the corners, but honestly it’s perfect for what I need.
I’ve also used it with the Zhiyun crane, it works well, however you might prefer to turn OSS off as the two systems can interfere with each other. Still though, it’s a great combo if you can’t afford to buy separate prime lenses or just have that ‘run n gun’ shooting style.
Happy to answer questions if anyone has them 🙂