Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Sony
92 Overall Score
vs
Rokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm

Rokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm

Rokinon
36 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

82 out of 100 high confidence 117 reviews

The Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens is widely praised as an excellent all-in-one travel and walkaround lens for APS-C E-mount cameras. Users consistently highlight its sharpness, compact size, light weight, and versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range. While many note it is not ideal for low light and some report significant vignetting at the wide end, the overall sentiment is very positive, with most considering it a great value kit lens upgrade.

Pros
  • Sharp image quality
  • Compact and lightweight
  • Versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range
  • Effective optical image stabilization
  • Fast and accurate autofocus
Cons
  • Significant vignetting at 18mm wide end
  • Not ideal for low light photography
  • Variable aperture limits brightness at telephoto
  • Some copies may have quality control issues
  • Slight autofocus lag compared to premium lenses
👍 Image quality 35
👍 Build quality 12
👍 Value for money 18
👎 Vignetting 6
👎 Low light performance 10
👍 Zoom range 25

Rokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm

72 out of 100 high confidence 34 reviews

The Rokinon 35mm lenses receive generally positive feedback for their sharpness, compact size, and value for money, especially for travel and street photography. However, some users report issues with autofocus noise and hunting, particularly in video mode, and a few note build quality concerns. The f/1.4 version is praised for astrophotography but criticized for weight and softness wide open. Overall, it's a solid budget-friendly option with trade-offs in performance.

Pros
  • Sharp image quality
  • Compact and lightweight
  • Great value for money
  • Good for travel and street photography
  • Fast aperture (f/1.4) for low light
Cons
  • Noisy autofocus motor
  • Autofocus hunts in video mode
  • Build quality feels cheap
  • Heavy for f/1.4 version
  • Soft wide open at f/1.4
👍 Image quality 12
🤔 Build quality 8
👎 Autofocus performance 7
👍 Value for money 6
👍 Size and weight 10
👎 Video use 4

Scores

Budget
Sony
96
Rokinon
37
Street
Sony
89
Rokinon
43
Portrait
Sony
89
Rokinon
30
Travel
Sony
89
Rokinon
45
Wildlife Sports
Sony
84
Rokinon
30
Video Cinema
Sony
82
Rokinon
32
Landscape
Sony
76
Rokinon
47
Professional
Sony
74
Rokinon
36
Macro
Sony
68
Rokinon
38

Specifications

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSSRokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm
Optics
Typezoomwide-angle
Focal Length Min18 mm35 mm
Focal Length Max135 mm35 mm
Elements1612
Groups1210
Aspherical Elements11
ED Elements2★—
Coating—UMC Coating
Aperture
Max Aperturef/3.5f/22
Min Aperture3.5-5.6f/2.8
Constant✗✗
Diaphragm Blades7★6
Build
MountSony ECanon EF
FormatAPS-Cfull-frame★
Weather Sealed✗✗
Weight0.33 kg0.09 kg★
Filter Thread55 mm77 mm
AF & Stabilization
AF TypeLinear motor★manual focus only
Stabilization✓★✗
Focus
Min Focus Distance450 mm300 mm★
Max Magnification0.29x★0.12x

Pros & Cons

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

  • Strong af (98th percentile)98th %ile
  • Strong versatility (96th percentile)96th %ile
  • Strong social proof (91st percentile)91st %ile
  • Strong aperture (83rd percentile)83rd %ile

Rokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm

  • Strong build (97th percentile)97th %ile
  • Strong social proof (86th percentile)86th %ile
  • Strong optical (65th percentile)
  • Below average bokeh (6th percentile)6th %ile
  • Below average af (15th percentile)15th %ile
  • Below average user sentiment (17th percentile)17th %ile
  • Below average aperture (22nd percentile)

Pricing

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

No current pricing available

Rokinon AS UMC IO35AF-E 35mm

Verdict

★ Winner: Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Scores 92 overall, wins 9 of 9 usage categories and 5 of 21 specs.

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Better at:

MacroBudgetStreetTravelPortraitLandscapeProfessionalVideo CinemaWildlife Sports

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