Sony SAL18250 All In One Zoom Lens (18-250mm)

I like this lens. If you took all of my lenses and left just one, I'd want it to be this one. The range (18-250) is great for the vast majority of photography done while travelling or touring. This lens particularly excels on holidays when, generally, you are outdoors in reasonable or good light. It benefits a lot from being stopped down to f5.6-f8 when you get really good sharpness, hence the need for reasonable light. Wide open, particularly at the wide focal lengths, it can be disappointingly soft (worse than the kit lens).

If I could only take two lenses travelling with me it would be this one, backed up by a 50mm f1.4 for low-light social shots.

Pros - Great range, very sharp when stopped down a bit, good build quality
Cons - Really quite soft wide open at wide angle

This is one of two lenses I own (apart from the kit lens that came with my a200), the other one being the Sony f1.8 50 prime.

This lens excels as an outdoor single lens solution, having an excellent range that encompasses any two other lenses. The Sony version is based on the original Tamron, the Sony having better Bokeh (and some reviews also put the Sony a little faster in auto focus).

As with all lenses of this optical range, there are problems at the very low and high end, but nothing that can't be sorted out in post processing if it is an issue.

A bigger issue for some may be that the 18-250 is often too slow for low light (for that, read indoors under artificial lighting). Of course, a suitably faster lens with the same range would also be twice as heavy and 10 times as expensive... not really an option (or even an issue) unless you want to shoot rock concerts in darkened venues or high speed sporting events.

Another minor (i.e. 'to be expected') issue is that the 18-250 has no macro mode. Again, you can't have a range of 18-250mm and expect macro as well!

Overall, a recommended buy. Not perfect, but possibly the most versatile single lens solution out there, and certainly the backbone piece of any beginner/intermediates 2-3 lens set (especially, if, like most users, the majority of your photos are taken outside or in reasonable light).

The only other lenses I'm looking for to complete my set is the Tokina 11-16 to take my below the low end of the SAL18-250 (and into true wide angle), and perhaps a macro.

*** Update October 2010 ***
Since writing this review, I now have that Tokina 11-16 and the macro (Tamron SP Di 90mm), and I now own the Sony Alpha a500. Still using the 18-250 as a general purpose lens - if Im out and about doing some general outdoor photography, I pack the Tokina and the 18-250, and perhaps the Tamron as a portrait/macro.

*** Update January 2011 ***
Rumour has it that there will be an updated version of the 18-250 lens out soon. If you are thinking of buying the version on this page, it may be prudent to wait and see if there is a price drop because of the newer version. SonyAlphaRumours may shed more light on release dates if the new lens is not out when you read this.

I actually bought this lens just after Christmas but ended up returning it after 2 weeks as there were a couple of annoying characteristics that really bugged me.

Let me start by saying that the focal range is huge, image quality is acceptable and the price is amazing (if you pay less than £330 that is, try Jessops). This lens has many good points but it also has a couple of negative points which annoyed the hell out of me, although you might find that you can live with them.

The first problem is darkening in the corners. It is quite extreme at wide angle and large aperture. Of course most telephoto lenses in this price range will suffer from it, but this lens seemed particularly bad. The darkening was also uneven so it was hard to edit it out evenly. Secondly it suffers quite easily from lens flare which ruined more than a couple of shots. In time you would get used to these limitations. Thirdly sharpness is ok but not significantly better than the cheapo 18-70 kit lens which incidentally out-performed this lens with regard to darkening and flare.

I guess that Sony have produced a product that is a one lens solution for those on a budget. Any lens has its limitations, but it's all down to how much you want to spend and what you're prepared to accept in terms of quality. The more you spend the more you get. As for me, I think I'll wait to save for the Carl Zeiss 16 - 80 and the 70 - 300 G SSM. A lot more money I know but I just can't live with the 18-250's limitations.

I've given the lens 4 stars in terms of what you're getting for your money. This may not be the lens for me but it's still incredible value.