Gear Review: Sony E 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens

Okay, lets start with something you might not know. The Sony E PZ 18-105mm f/4G OSS is my most utilized lens, probably ever. It’s on my camera 80% of the time when I’m out shooting. Through using it regularly for the last several years, I’ve discovered it’s not the most popular lens, and I can understand why people might be afraid to try it out being that isn’t exactly cheap or extensively praised. Hopefully my review will help a few to give it try though.

Now to be fair, I will agree that it’s not the best E mount lens in any single category, but after using many different Sony E Mount zoom lenses, its definitely the best Sony E Mount lens for use in many categories. This lens is the first Sony G Lens that was made specifically for E-mount cameras. The lens is super versatile in what it can do. It can shoot both near and far quickly and easily with a smooth manual and power zoom. I’ve had great results at both ends of the zoom range with distortion only noticeable when you REALLY look for it.

The image quality is pretty solid in my opinion for a zoom lens like this. The bokeh is obviously not as intense as a good prime, but it does produces some beautiful images nonetheless. In fact, the only E Mount zoom lens that has better image quality is the Zeiss 16-70 which is $400-$500 more and after using both extensively I can hardly notice any difference.

Part of why I use this guy so much is that I’m often shooting on my travels in the outdoors, in cities, or even occasionally indoors with only one lens on me. Sure, it’s not the most compact, lightweight lens for people counting every ounce, but it does a whole lot with it’s bigger size. This thing has a 6x zoom range, F/4 aperture, and OSS (Optical Stabilization System), all of which combine to allow me to easily capture things on the move. This is great because I’m almost never in a static or controlled environment where conditions are perfect, so having some room to move around is nice.

To sum it all up, the Sony 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens is a solid, mid-priced zoom lens that produces quality images on any of the Sony E Mount mirrorless camera bodies. Most of my photography that you see on this very site was shot with this lens. I would recommend it to just about anybody, but it will get the most use from people who want to rock one single lens that can do many things like travelers, hikers and backpackers.