The Sony 11-18mm lens is currently the only ultra wide angle lens option available for Sony cropped sensor DSLR camera. You can get this lens from Amazon
Unlike the other Sony lenses which is updated from the Minolta era, this lens is adapted from Tamron, in which Sony is a major shareholder there.
This lens has been slightly modified to match the look and style of Sony Alpha design.
This is a DT lens, so it can only used with a cropped sensor camera. It will give an equivalent 16.5-27mm focal length in terms of 35mm equivalent.
If you have read the Tamron 11-18 review anywhere online, you know that most of the reviews are not favorable.
How well will this adapted lens perform on the Sony?
Let’s go look at my full Sony 11-18mm review below.
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Sony 11-18mm Specs
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Official Name:
Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 SAL-1118
Focal Length Markings:
11, 12, 14, 16, 18mm
Features:
DT – Lens with this designation can only be used with cropped sensor DSLR. You should not use this with a full frame or film DSLR camera.
Full Technical Specs (from Sony’s website):
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 12 / 15 |
| Angle of View | 104 – 76° |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 7 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22-29 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 9.6″ (25cm) |
| Filter Thread | 77mm |
| Weight | 13oz (360g) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | 3 3/8 X 3 1/4″ (83 X 80.5mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 0.125X |
| Available at | Amazon, B&H Photo Video or Adorama |
Optical Performance
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Sony 11-18mm Sharpness
Center sharpness is excellent on this lens, even at the widest aperture at any focal length.
However, borders are a bit disappointing. It is soft at 11mm at every aperture.
At 14mm, it is great, but at 18mm, it is back like the 11mm aperture – soft everywhere.
The point of maximum sharpness is at f/5.6.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 SAL-1118 Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 11mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Great |
| 14mm | n/a | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 18mm | n/a | Excellent | Excellent | Great |
Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 SAL-1118 Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 11mm | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| 14mm | n/a | Great | Great | Great |
| 18mm | n/a | Good | Good | Good |
Distortion
Being an ultra wide angle lens, barrel distortion is visible at 11mm. It is still slightly visible at 14mm, but greatly reduced.
At 18mm it is also greatly reduced from 14mm, but still ever so slightly visible.
See the distortion test image grid below for each focal lengths.
Vignetting
Vignetting control on this lens is very poor. At 11mm, it is heavy at f/4.5. Stopping down to f/5.6 will help reduce the vignetting, but not by much.
At 14mm and 18mm, it is visible at f/5.6 and you need to reduce it to f/8 to get significant improvements.
See my vignetting test chart below for each focal lengths and aperture.
Chromatic Aberration
To make things worse, chromatic aberration is also very pronounced on this lens at every aperture and focal lengths.
Stopping down will not help in this case and you will have to resort to using post processing software to correct this.
See my chromatic aberration test table below.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 SAL-1118 Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 11mm | Very High | Very High | Very High | Very High |
| 14mm | n/a | High | High | High |
| 18mm | n/a | High | High | High |
Build Quality
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Materials
Build quality for this lens is fairly decent. The outer body looks like it was made from lightweight metal parts.
Zoom Ring
Zoom ring operates quite smoothly. The lens will extend slightly when zoomed towards the telephoto end.
Focusing
This lens features an Internal Focusing mechanism so the front element does not rotate. This makes using a polarizing filter very easy.
This being said, the focus ring does rotate during autofocusing which is an old lens design.
The autofocusing speed is pretty fast and accurate, although it generates a slight amount of noise.
Image Stabilization
In the Sony DSLR world, the Image Stabilization is built into the camera sensor, not on the lenses. Check your camera body to see if it has the Image Stabilization feature.
Compatibility
This lens is compatible with both cropped sensor and full frame DSLR camera.
Sample Image
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Below are some sample images taken with this lens. Click on any thumbnail to open the image.
Get the best price online from these sites: Amazon
Conclusion
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Below is the summary for this Sony 11-18mm lens review.
Drawbacks
- Soft borders at 11mm and 18mm focal length at any apertures
- Barrel distortion at 11mm, at 14mm and 18mm it is greatly reduced
- Heavy vignetting at the widest aperture at any focal length. Stopping down one stop will help here.
- High chromatic aberration at every focal length and aperture. You need to use post processing software to fix this.
- Rotating focus ring during autofocus which is an old design
Positives
- Sharp on the center at any focal length and aperture
- Fast and accurate autofocus
Good For
- Shooting landscape
- Indoor photography
Not So Good For
- Architecture photography
- Professional photography due to numerous optical issues
What Others Are Saying…
by “Avedon”
After buying an A-100 Sony I discovered just how exceptional the Sony 18mm-200mm lens is. I still have all my Minolta AF lenses, which was a reason to buy the A-100, but in fact I very rarely …
Click here to see the full review
by “Paul J. Adams”
I read many user reviews and some “official” ones about the Sony 11-18mm lens, many of which were negative. Despite these reviews, I went ahead and bought the lens (through Amazon.com)…
Click here to see the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Sony 11-18mm from these sites (best price online):
Amazon (Best Price + FREE Shipping)
Do check out the related lens review post below if you want to see your options further.
Thanks for reading my Sony 11-18mm review, hope you’ve enjoyed it and I will catch you in the next Sony lens review!
| Lens Score | |
|---|---|
| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
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