SEL-1018

Sony seems to have a well thought-out product strategy for their NEX series bodies, which are proving to be a big hit. But their lens strategy appears to be confusing. There is not a simple lens roadmap, but a mixture of lenses from different sources, some possibly designed inhouse by Sony, some with the Zeiss name (and inflated price premium for that name), and other lenses which appear to be made for Sony by specialty designers - producers. Most Sony NEX camera owners are not aware that Sony also makes a line of high end professional video cameras with the same sensor and e-mount lenses, which explains this in part. As a result Zeiss makes industrial quality cinema lenses in e-mount; $5k for the fixed focal lengths and $21K for the zooms. I bet those are cool.But for the consumer NEX cameras, we see a scattered, overlapped offering in their list of ultra-wide e-mount lenses. The first kit lens offered by Sony was a compact 16mm f2.8. Then Sony offered an Ultrawide converter attachment for this (VDL-ECU1) which has an effective focal length about 12.5mm. These two, when attached together, are actually quite good optically, for a total price about 300 bucks if you got the 16 in a kit. In addition, there is the Fisheye Converter (ECL-ECF1) in the same series which has a 180° field (distorted) for just 129 more dollars.Recently Sony came out with the 10-18 mm zoom, f4, with image stabilization, but quite expensive at $850; a completely different approach which almost certainly is designed and made by different people.Having all of these at hand, I performed a direct image quality comparison. To compare the 10-18mm zoom to the 16mm, I set both to f4. When I added the Ultrawide I matched the field of view by setting the zoom to 12.5mm. I didn't bother to compare the Fisheye to the 10-18 mm zoom because the latter cannot match its field of view.These were all JPEGs, not RAW. It is important to understand that modern lenses like both these Sony's are no longer just hunks of glass; they are designed to be used with the in-camera JPEG processing firmware, which undoes the inherent distortions found in most wide angle lenses, along with vignetting and chromatic aberration. For lens design, it is no longer so necessary to depend on the difficult correction of glass elements with additional glass elements, aspherics, etc., as has been the tradition for more than a hundred years. Lenses are now part software, and the manufacturers are all adopting this approach. The digital image processing can be observed directly on both these lenses when one is looking at the LCD image and then fires the shot - you'll watch as the replay image comes up, with the whole field visibly altered by software distortion correction. For this reason it would require a lot of skill and Photoshop time to do the same thing manually starting from the RAW images. The downside for users is that lenses can no longer be used on non-Sony cameras, even in manual mode with a mount adapter, because they will look terrible. But it's now a fact of life; JPEG's are the way these lenses are designed to be used, so that's how they should be evaluated.A summary of my tests of the image quality from the 10-18mm zoom vs. the 16mm (including the converter) is that they are roughly comparable. If one is very picky and studies the finest details, the 16mm has a bit more chromatic aberration but overall may be just slightly nicer than the zoom. Surprisingly, the 16mm+Ultrawide converter images are very good. To look at performance in the corners, I made extra shots which focussed in the far corner because the field of wide angle lenses is not flat. This showed that, at f4, the 10-18 zoom is superior to the 16 in the corners, but it was a moderate difference. If stopped down to f8, the difference is less.Which should you buy? Photographers on a budget should consider the "pancake" 16 mm plus the Ultrawide converter. Of course it's inconvenient to attach the converter if you are in a hurry, but the availability of the Fisheye is also a big plus and can't be matched by the 10-18 zoom. The 16 with two converters taken together constitute a rather brilliant and cost effective set and I don't know why Sony promotes them so little.The 10-18mm zoom is a fine lens and superior to the 16mm but only moderately so. It costs three times as much as the 16+converter and is physically much larger. However, it's more convenient and quicker; having a zoom allows one to frame shots and optimize the sensor area. Also image stabilization, unusual on an ultra-wide, more than offsets the one-stop smaller aperture, permitting slower shutter speeds, and is very much worth having.The 16 and 10-18 lenses are completely different designs - size, cost, convenience, operational quickness - but image quality is actually in roughly the same ballpark. If you can't decide, I recommend the 16mm plus the two converters. I put my NEX in movie mode with the Fisheye attached and walked around a party we were having, stopping for conversations and capturing the whole feel of the event - fantastic footage which would be difficult to record any other way.

I use this lens on a NEX-6 and it's a great compromise between size and performance. I haven't used the lens with flash, but a lot for landscape and street shots and I love the lens. It delivers great JPEGs with build in camera correction showing nice colors and saturation. RAW shooting with the lens is giving all post post processing advantages, but also shows CAs and distortion, easy correctable. Auto focus is fast and the focal length 10-18mm, which is about 15-27mm compared to FF, is my preferred landscape range. Most parts are not metal, but that reduces weight and the lens doesn't feed cheap. I have used the lens a lot for hikes and outdoor activities during the last 6 month with high humidity and high temperature and so far it worked flawless.++ sharp center and good corners wide open, corners improve stepping down to F5.6++ fast reliable AF++ supports DMF (direct manual focus to change focus manually with focus ring after AF)++ good build quality++ has a focus and a zoom ring for manual use++ good lens hood included++ not heavy- focus by wire limitations for long exposures (no end position for infinite focus, which makes it hard to focus using long exposure time)- a little bit high pricesI compared this lens with the Tokina Pro DX 11-16 on a Sony A65 and overall I love this lens for it's compactness on the NEX-6 even if doesn't fit into a pocket, but it's a great and lightweight set for traveling and outdoor activities with a small backpack.

I love this lens! I am using it on a Sony a6000 mirrorless SLR. The 10 mm wide-angle perspective creates some wonderful images. The other end of its focal length, 18 mm, picks up where my standard 18 to 55 mm lens leaves off. This is the most distortion-free wide angle I have owned. It is not inexpensive, but it is worth every penny. Indeed, I lost one on a vacation and promptly bought another. I have had a little trouble attaching and removing the lens shade, but it is my own fault for getting some sand in the mount. The sand is long gone, but it roughed up the mounting surfaces slightly.

I love taking pictures,and always have, though I've never really taken the full leap and gotten a full frame DSLR. The main reason for this has always been that I don't like carrying around a massive camera. I love the higher end compact cameras, like the canon s100, etc. The closest I've come to a big camera is the Sony NEX-6 (which I love). I have to say, I agonized over whether I should spend this kind of money on a lens. Especially since the camera was basically the same price.Bottom Line:This lens kicks butt. The pics are as wide as a fish eye, but without the distortion. It's light but well made, and it's not so big that it feels cumbersome. I would recommend that if you have the NEX cameras, that you take advantage of the apps available to download. Combining this lens with the multi-frame app really bumps up the low light pics.The only downsides are minimal. First, there is a little distortion noticeable on some wide shots (not a big deal to me), and secondly, there is a little softness on focus. Again very minimal and easily fixed with any photo editing software.Finally, I have a camera and lens that lets me feel like the photographer I wish I could have been in another life.

This is a great lens. Clear with little to no visible distortion. I love its compact size and it's so light. I also bought this one used and it's in great condition.