Sony announces 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 APS-C lens, reaffirming commitment to smaller sensor
posted Friday, January 5, 2018 at 2:30 AM EDT
Sony has announced their 46th lens for E-Mount, the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS. This kind of "do it all" lens is most commonly found as a kit-like option for new photographers and allows them to try a wide range of focal lengths as they learn the craft. Sony's announcement reaffirms their commitment to APS-C sensors and not just their full frame options. We say reaffirms, as last August Sony told us that they would "never quit" APS-C, and that the format was important to them. The release of this lens puts acton behind their words.
The new lens features a compact, lightweight design measuring just 67.2mm x 88mm and weighing in at a mere 325g. It's really quite small considering the incredible focal range (7.5x magnification for those of you counting at home). Converted down from 35mm equivalent on an APS-C sensor, that's a 27-202.5mm. Sony is aiming this lens as a compliment to their a6500, a6300 and a6000 cameras.
Sony claims that the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS produces outstanding corner-to-corner sharpness throughout the entire zoom range thanks to its "advanced design" featuring one aspherical lens and two Extra-low Dispersion glass elements that minimize aberrations. This lens also allows you to produce close-up images with pleasing bokeh as a result of its maximum magnification ratio of 0.29x and minimum focus distance of 0.45m. It also offers built-in optical image stabilization to support handheld shooting.
Sony also says the 18-135mm offers fast, precise, quiet AF performance thanks to a linear motor which works well in tandem with the high-speed shooting available on their latest APS-C cameras. The new Sony E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS APS-C Zoom Lens will ship next month and will be sold for about $600 US and $780 CA.