Mike A.
True Rating is 3.5 stars as Amazon does not allow for 1/2 star increments: Rating zoom lens really depends on ones expectations - I completely understand (and accept) that zooms will very rarely (practically never) match the image quality of a reputable prime. However, the biggest benefit of a zoom lens is their flexibility and versatility to be used in various shooting situations. With that said, my rating of 3.5 stars is simply the average of these two areas. I did not want to make this review more complex than it needs to be so I weighed each area the same --- I highly encourage you to make your own determinations of importance. From a *pure* image quality standpoint, I would score this lens as 3 stars. Sharpness at center is good but sharpness at the edges and corners is soft throughout the aperture and zoom range. In my experience, the best overall IQ across the entire photo was when aperture was set between f/5.6 and f/8. Bokeh was OK and I do wish it was better, but again, I did not expect this lens to perform like a prime. Honestly, if your photos are going to live their lives on a monitor screen then the image quality of this lens is way more than acceptable. Printing photos will be a different story but I am not sure what the largest size is before these image limitations can seen. From a flexibility/versatility perspective, I would score this lens as 4 stars. Built-in OSS helps immensely when creating videos, shooting at the telephoto end, and/or hand-held shooting with a slow shutter speed. The lens is very light primarily due to Sonys extensive use of plastic. However, construction and build feel is solid. The a6000 camera + this lens is significantly lighter than my previous (and much loved) Nikon D90 + comparable focal length telephoto lens. I (specifically my back and shoulders) could tell a huge difference during outdoor day trips. Zoom function is done via manually turning the focus ring as this is not a "power zoom" lens. The subtraction of 1 star is because the lens tends to hunt in low-light AF situations such as low-light golden hour time frames and indoor scenes. You will have to manually focus to obtain the required sharpness --- Focus-peaking and magnification functions on the a6000 camera made this quite simple...but it is still an additional step and it is impractical during action photography. Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase of this lens. It is definitely not perfect but I am more willing to live with its shortcomings due to its size benefits. There is nothing comparable in Sonys e-mount lineup that matches the low-price, telephoto capabilities and AF functionality in a tidy size package.