Sony SEL1855 Interchangeable Alpha E-Mount Lens - for Sony Alpha NEX Cameras, 18-55mm, F3.5-5.6 OSS

I love this lens. It looks super sharp paired with my a6300 body. The zooming is smooth, the autofocus ring is very precise, and the lens seems really well built all around. Additionally, the autofocus is extremely fast and accurate when I have this lens on, which is very useful for tracking moving subjects. Amazing lens.

A great starter lens

I keep this lens mounted on the camera as an everyday carry-on and am pretty satisfied with its behavior. Of course, you have to keep in mind the kind of lens you are using, when you evaluate it. This lens is a reliable performer, a little bit softer than expected (which I appreciate in my photographic style), and very quiet, so you can use it for videos.The colors of the images this lens produces, just out of the camera, are pleasantly on the warmer side, and this pairs very well with the Sony sensors, in my opinion.The construction of the lens is really good - you will find a metal focus and zoom rings with a metal casing. The result is pleasant both to touch and use.The autofocus is extremely fast and precise, at least on NEX and alpha 6xxx series.The ... MoreI keep this lens mounted on the camera as an everyday carry-on and am pretty satisfied with its behavior. Of course, you have to keep in mind the kind of lens you are using, when you evaluate it. This lens is a reliable performer, a little bit softer than expected (which I appreciate in my photographic style), and very quiet, so you can use it for videos.The colors of the images this lens produces, just out of the camera, are pleasantly on the warmer side, and this pairs very well with the Sony sensors, in my opinion.The construction of the lens is really good - you will find a metal focus and zoom rings with a metal casing. The result is pleasant both to touch and use.The autofocus is extremely fast and precise, at least on NEX and alpha 6xxx series.The best aperture for most shots is between f/5.6 and f8, at any focal length.You will notice some visible distortion if you are not using the autocorrection tool (i.e. if you look at Raw files).So, I would recommend this lens to every beginner or amateur photographer looking for a starter lens to experiment with.

Average Lens

This is the standard kit lens included with many of the Sony NEX cameras. It offers decent versatility, however, it is fairly slow and offers noticeable fringing and coma. Beware not to shoot anything too sharp with this, or in too low light without a tripod. Build quality is pretty good, comparable to the rest of the E-Mount low end range.For shooting video is more what I use this lens for. It provides quick autofocus and a nice manual focus ring with a good throw distance.Overall a good lens, but for me it is definitely not worth the price stated. Maybe, $ on sale. Good thing it came with the kit.

Better than expected

This is quite good for a kit lens and better than my newer 16-50 kit lens because the zoom is much easier to control with the hand and is smoother than electronic assistance. Some distortion but keep that in mind when composing shots. A tiny bit sharper than 16-50 lens but not much in it really. For travelling its good and overall I would recommend.

Bought second hand for NEX-7

I bought this lens to accompany my recently purchased NEX-7. It works very well and is fault free despite its age.Nice and sharp focus, always quick enough for me and quiet.Although a lot bigger than the SELP model, I quite prefer the manual zoom

Improves Camera over 16 mm

Sharpness with this lens is good. It does not make the NEX5 excessively large. It fits very nicely in a Lowpro Apex 100AW case like the case was made specifically for the NEX5 and this lens, the little flash unit, a spare battery, a filter or two and an SD card in a very small well padded space. I see little of the color fringing of bright edges that shows with the 16 mm wide angle pancake lens. The reversing lens hood supplied works very well. In bright light the LCD is a difficult to use. I use a sun hat with a wide brim that I have painted flat black on the bottom side of the front of the brim with acrylic paint. There have been a few times I have missed the ability to peek through the hole on a regular DSLR in strong sunlight. At actual pixels the images look ... MoreSharpness with this lens is good. It does not make the NEX5 excessively large. It fits very nicely in a Lowpro Apex 100AW case like the case was made specifically for the NEX5 and this lens, the little flash unit, a spare battery, a filter or two and an SD card in a very small well padded space. I see little of the color fringing of bright edges that shows with the 16 mm wide angle pancake lens. The reversing lens hood supplied works very well. In bright light the LCD is a difficult to use. I use a sun hat with a wide brim that I have painted flat black on the bottom side of the front of the brim with acrylic paint. There have been a few times I have missed the ability to peek through the hole on a regular DSLR in strong sunlight. At actual pixels the images look quite good, which is what I was wanting so I could make 18x24 inch prints from this camera with careful composition. Compared to a Canon 7d with an L series lens it is of course in second place in sharpness, but excellent for the money and fantastic on the size and weight. Overall the images seem a tiny bit softon the NEX5, but in a good way. Of the three lenses available for the NEX5, this seems like the best buy, though the 16 mm certainly is compact and WIDE, but limited compared to this lens. The zoom is just essential if you are after making every pixel count with tight composition in the camera itself. A few times I have missed the always ready little flash on the Canon G11. Does seem to outperform the G11 due to larger sensor, but I love the G11 layout. The NEX5 LCD tilts some but not as wide a range as the G11. The retractable lens on the G11 is hard to beat for compact size and always have with you camera, but the NEX5 in the LowPro case is very compact and seems to be producing images with improved large print potential vs the G11. (Keep in mind I LOVE my G11 so swapping it out for the NEX5 was a big decision) I use a small wrist strap on the NEX5 to help ease it out of the case and avoid drops. It is a bit of an adaptation to learn how to hold it with this lens, but not as awkward as it may look.

Often found used and cheap.

A lens that is suited to general use, great starter lens, backup lens, everyday lens, wide and telephoto lens in zoom range. A vlogging lens at 18mm, portrait at 55mm, and standard at 35mm. It allows closeup images too, not quite macro, but near enough to take nice images of bugs and things. However, don't expect perfect sharpness, it is OK, but it is the origin budget lens for sony aps-c mirrorless camera.

Second great buy on second great Lens!!

My friends couldnt discriminate between the Zeiss Licensed SEL24F18!!! Out of 20 shots, they got 3 right(that were obviously not 24mm(36mm equivalent) views!! The build qualify matches the zeiss, and the sharpness(Ive read the reviews), is plenty sharp for my needs! The zoom and focus are BUTTER SMOOTH!! The colors are popping, and 3D subject isolation is absolutely beautiful one to two stops down!!! Creamy OOF area too:) Why I am purchasing a second from a fine buyer with a wonderful price! So grateful for that:) My wife will love it for years!!

Simple and fun

After a month with SEL 18-55 lens i can tell that it is good bang for the buck. It has Bokeh, but bokeh option is built in camera menu. It is sharp, very light and very versaitle. If you study other programable menu options in camera and use them! Like softening the skin, various AF center or AF point dispersed options. It is not for macro, like Ferrari isnt Jeep, but for macro i have other lenses.

Trusty and good Sony lens.

This is one of Sony's 'standard' lenses, meaning that it's not a premium lens. However, that doesn't make it a bad lens, just don't expect maximum bokeh and clarity. It was (and perhaps still is) a kit lens for several of Sony's cameras in the 6000 series. Of course, the price also reflects this, and taking the price into consideration it's good value for your money. It's a lens with solid build quality that will deliver time and time again for years. Also note that this is not a full form factor lens, it's intended for smaller sensors like you'll find in the A6000 series cameras.