Marco Aries

 My first fast prime was the Fujian 35mm f1.7, a lens made for security cameras with a quite unique look, and today we are trying out another small and cheap lens but, this time, specifically made for APS-C cameras.  The lens comes in a nice and padded black box that contains the lens itself, obviously, a pouch, a microfiber cloth and some documentation.  The body is made of metal and only weights 165 grams; it is 59mm long when fully extended with a 49mm front thread. It has 6 optical elements ins 4 groups.  The iris has 12 blades, the aperture is stepless and very smooth, with an nice resistance so you won’t accidentally move it, and it goes from f1.6 to f22.  The focusing ring turns 180° and minimum focusing distance is 25 centimeters.  Not needing and adapter is a nice change of pace for me, and the combination of this small and lightweight lens and my Sony APS-C camera bodies makes for a really compact and nimble setup.  There are two reasons that...

  The Sony 18-105 constant f4 is an optically stabilized lens from the G series for E mount cameras, specifically for the APS-C sensors cameras such as the a5100 and the 6000 series.  Theoretically this is a great all-around lens, going from wide to telephoto while keeping that f/4 aperture constant. Plus, the barrel does not extend when zooming and that makes for a great lens to be used on electronic gimbals and other stabilizers.  It is also fairly compact and lightweight, even if it has power zoom built-in and optical stabilization, being 11.5cm long with a 72mm front element and 427 grams of weight.  Zoom and focus are electronic, so they don’t have hard stops, and the motors are extremely quiet.  I bought this lens at the beginning of 2018 and before reviewing it I used it in many different situations: I used it both for taking pictures and videos, as I always do, I took portraits, shot concerts, brought it with me to the other side of the world and...