Gary Wolstenholme reviews the Sony SEL P 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS lens designed for use with Sony NEX system cameras.

Excellent optical performance for a superzoom lens; Solid build; Servo zoom useful for video recording; Effective optical stabiliser

Expensive; Bulky

The lens is compact and retains to small image of the camera package

Decent walk around lens. Not super sharp and in low light my copy has weird pink ring chromatic artifacts on the images (sample attached). Gets dust inside VERY easily. I think if it were under $400 it would be a better buy. For this price you are better off with the 55-210 I would think.

I bought this lens as a walkabout companion for my Sony NEX-7, with the intention of using it when I don't want to carry my complete kit around with me.So far I've used it on a couple of outings, one around a National Park, and one around a Country Garden.I have found it to be both responsive to

Durable; Quick Focus; Sharp Focus; Strong Construction

Expensive; Heavy

People who have trouble with low light or focusing with this lens should use it with better camera. I bought my A6300 with the original 16-50mm small lens then upgraded to the SEL18200 to discover the camera could deliver so much more than I expected.

It's a great all around lens. Very sharp. Well built, but kind of noisy on the focus. Works well for most of photography project.

* Sharp, * 18-200mm Good range, * Comes with a hood; I use to be a Canon user and most of the lens hood came separate

Focus could be a faster; Bit noisy on the focus; but you can't beat the shutter sound from the camera

"A good zoom lens for video or photography. I got this lens with my FS100 but now use it for my A6000 for photography and as a backup camera lens. I replaced it with a 18-200 lens with power zoom because I mostly do video. The zoom range is versatile and the image quality is great.

I am satisfied with the quality of the design, of the lens and the image quality (even though image quality is about something combined with the body). Good for video. I always bring it with me when I have to shoot something important.

Sony sells its 18-200mm all-in-one zoom lens in three versions. The least expensive, the E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS LE ($849.99), offers the same optics as its pricier siblings in a slightly slimmer housing. The stabilization system isn't quite as good as the the non-LE version of the lens for video, but photographers won't be able to tell the difference. It's an attractive option for anyone who wants a single zoom lens solution for a Sony camera, but you'll enjoy better overall image quality, and spend less, if you go with our Editors' Choice E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS instead. All-In-One Zoom The E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS LE is an update to the industrial design, not the optics, for the earlier E 18-200mm that remains in market. It does make one sacrifice for a smaller, lighter build, dropping the Active Shot video stabilization feature. If you're primarily a videographer, you'll want to think about the standard version or the Power Zoom variation, but photographers will be happy with ...

The Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS LE is a good choice if you value zoom power and don't want to change lenses when using your a6000-series camera.

11x zoom; Sharp results; Optical stabilization; 1:2.9 macro focus; Relatively compact

Resolution and light-gathering drop when zoomed in

The Sony lens features a basically silent linear AF micro-motor for focusing. The AF speed is pretty good for a contrast detection system but it's certainly not a speed demon from a conventional DSLR perspective. DMF ("direct manual focusing") in single shot AF mode is also supported.