Sony’s 18-55 and 16-50 are two popular choices among Sony shooters for their affordability, portability, and ability to produce great image quality.
But what are the differences between sony 18-55b vs 16-50? Which Sony lens is better for mounting?
If you too can’t decide which lens is better, keep reading the guide to make an educated decision.
Following we have compared the sony 18-55 and 16-50 in whole lots of specs along with mentioning edges and mention the most preferable lens.
Before getting into the details, let’s check the shortest answer and their space comparison chart.
Sony 18-55 Vs 16-50: What Is The Key Difference?
The main difference between Sony 18-55 and 16-50 is that Sony 18-55 has a longer focal length, higher magnification, and manual focusing. It offers more tele coverage and can focus closer on the subject. Conversely, the Sony 16-50 is more compact, lighter, and considerably cheaper.
Quick Comparison Chart
Specifications | Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens | Sony DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 Lens |
---|---|---|
Focal Range | 16-50mm | 18-55mm |
Focal Length – Tele | 50mm | 55mm |
Focal Length – Wide | 16mm | 18mm |
Diameter | 65mm | 62mm |
Filter Thread | 41mm | 49mm |
Minimum Focus Distance | 0.25m | 0.24m |
Image Stabilization | Yes | Yes |
Max Magnification | X | 0.31x |
Max Aperture | F3.5 – F5.6 | F3.5 – F5.6 |
Min Aperture | F22.0 – F32.0 | F22.0 – F32.0 |
Length | 30mm | 60mm |
Weight | 116g | 214g |
Optical Elements | 9 | 11 |
Sony 18-55 Vs 16-50: In-Depth Comparison
The following is a brief comparison between Sony 18-55 and 16-50 lenses based on their physical appearances, design, and performance in various aspects:
Build Quality and Handling
Edge: Sony 18-55
The Sony 18-55 is 69 mm in length, and it looks slightly large after mounting. It also isn’t too heavy at 194g in weight.
It comes with decent construction, and the lens has metal focus and zoom rings along with a metal shell.
Plus, it has a plastic filter ring and metal lens mount. But the lens doesn’t have any buttons or switches, and the distance scale is controlled via the camera.
Its metal focus ring rotates in either direction to enlarge the lens up to 7X or 14X.
Despite this, its metal zoom ring is one inch wide and smooth to turn up to 90 degrees with two fingers to run through the focal lengths.
Conversely, the 16-50 is only 30.2 mm long and weighs 116 g. With low weight and a compact design, it’s a decent low-cost lens kit available right now.
The lens takes approximately two seconds to extend, which may cause you to miss the fleeting action.
Its power zoom control is placed on the barrel’s left side for smooth zoom action.
There is also a focus ring in front of the zoom control for zooming while using the auto focus mode.
Its lens mount is made of metal, while the barrel is constructed of plastic. However, neither of these Sony lenses has weather sealing.
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Availability
Edge: Both
The Sony SEL 16-50 OSS stabilization lens is pretty much a pancake lens.
It comes with any of the Sony cameras as a kit lens, and you can buy these too. The Sony 18-55 also comes with some cameras.
However, it is usually necessary to purchase it separately.
Portability
Edge: Sony 16-50
The Sony 16-50 mm lens is a little bit more portable. Its profile is a little lower and it is really easier to carry.
But the Sony 18-55 mm is also not that big of a lens compared to a lot of the other ones out there.
But if you need something definitely portable, to fit it into a tight little space or something like that, go for the Sony 16-50 mm.
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Zooming
Edge: Sony 18-55
The Sony 16-50 mm is an electronic lens and has a power zoom. So you can either zoom with your camera or use the zoom ring on the lens.
But this lens doesn’t have manual focus control.
In this case, you’ll find the Sony 18-55 more beneficial than its counterpart.
Its back ring will let you zoom in and out while the front ring is used as a focus ring. This focus ring will let you be more precise and help get exactly what you need.
This also lets you take advantage of some of the smaller depth of field, which will be a huge bonus with the Sony 18-55 lens.
Optical Features
Edge: Both
Both the 16-50 and the 18-55 have 3.5 to 5.6 as their maximum apertures. So these kit lenses are variable but very affordable when compared to other options.
These Sony lenses also have OSS built-in image stabilization, making them ideal for taking
sharper images at longer shutter speeds.
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Image Quality And Video
Edge: Sony 18-55
In terms of image quality and video, the 18-55 might have a little bit of a step up. The key advantage of the 18-55 over the 16-50 is that it has a manual focus.
So you won’t have to rely on the autofocus system to get the desired quality image and video. So, the 18-55 is very strong in that regard.
Bokeh And Focusing Distance
Edge: Both
Both these Sony lenses share lots of specs, and bokeh and focusing distance are two of them. These lenses have a 9.8-inch focusing distance.
Sharpness
Edge: Sony 18-55
Sony 18-55 Lens
The Sony 18-55 provides a picture of average quality and sharpness.
After using 18mm at /3.5, you may have a little spot of sharpness in the middle and moderate softness around the edges.
Stopping down may improve the light, but you’ll get the best result at ƒ/5.6 focal length.
You can get better sharpness after zooming in a bit, which feels like the 18-55 lens is specially optimized for the mid-range.
The lens produces sharper images at the edges at 24 to 35 mm than at 18 mm.
Likewise, the lens offers improvement after stopping down to f/5.6, which isn’t much better than 18mm.
After zooming fully to 55mm, the lens produces a slight point of edges softness while shot wide open at ƒ/5.6
Despite this, the lens holds its own after stopping down to an aperture shorter than ƒ/11.
But after stopping down to the smallest aperture at ƒ/22-32 at any focal length, the lens produces quite soft images.
The Sony 16-50 Lens
The 16-50 can also produce images with decent quality and sharpness.
Attached to a Sony camera, mounted on a strong tripod and activating the self-timer, the lens produces these results:
Zooming in at 16mm, the center of the image is admirably sharp and wide open, which shows some improvement after stopping down to f/5.6.
The f11 and f8 settings are also very useful, whereas diffraction occurs at f16 and especially at f22.
The corner shows a completely different view, which isn’t very sharp at the beginning and doesn’t sharpen up on stopping down.
Hence, you have to print slightly bigger or shoot at a 4K ultra HD screen to get visible softness along the corners.
When zoomed in at the 35 settings, the sharpness at the center is acceptable at f/5.6, improves at f8, and is best at f11.
Plus, the f16 setting also delivers decent results but causes diffraction at f22 and f32. The corner shows the best result at f11.
Finally, zooming in at 50mm, the lens shows the best result at the center at f8 while the border shows the best performance at f16.
Chromatic Aberration
Edge: Both
The 18-55 shows some slight CA at 18 mm when used wide open. But it gets worse, along with stopping down.
At 28mm, the chromatic aberration performance is quite good even after stopping down.
At 35mm, the max CA is off the chart and recommends a deficiency of the lens at this focal length setting.
However, it lessens after stopping down, and you can easily see the CA in the border areas. The lens produces the original good tolerances to CA at 55mm.
Conversely, the 16-50 shows chromatic aberration as blue or purple fringes along the contrasty corners.
Vignetting
Edge: Both
the sony 18-55 lens encounters vignetting at maximum aperture but it vanishes after 1 stop aperture.
You won’t also notice any vignetting in jpeg files if you use the in-camera lens correction.
You can also correct vignetting in image editing programs using a lens correction profile.
Use one click of a button to correct the vignetting in the whole picture that you have shot with the Sony 18-55 lens.
Sony’s 16-50 mm also shows a high degree of vignetting at maximum aperture. And you can fix it by following the same procedure.
Autofocus Operation
Edge: Sony 18-55
The Sony 18-55 is considerably quicker to autofocus as it takes more than a second to slide through the whole focus range.
You can also make small changes very quickly too. Its ring turns all the way around without stopping.
While using manual focus, you can enlarge the LCDs by 7X or 14X. The manual focusing with this lens is also very easy.
Conversely, the 16-50 doesn’t have any hard stops at either end of the range. Therefore, you may find it more difficult to concentrate.
However, the polariser user will be satisfied as the 49mm filter thread doesn’t turn on focus.
In terms of autofocus, the 16-50 is also a quick performer as it takes around 0.2 seconds to lock onto the subject.
Despite this, the lens is a quiet performer for its in-lens motor, making it perfect for HD movie shooting.
Sony 18-55 Vs 16-50: Which Lens Is Best?
Both Sony lenses are great performers for producing sharper images even at longer shutter speeds as they both have image stabilization.
Apart from that, they have plenty of differences which largely affect their performance and make them preferable for certain needs.
Choose Sony 18-55 if you need a longer focal length and want to get closer to your subject.
Despite this, this lens has a higher magnification and a smaller diameter, making it even better for a close shot.
But if you prefer a lighter and more compact lens and for ease of use, pick a Sony 16-50 lens.
Considering the comparison above, the 18-55 is once again the overall better choice as it gets the most edges.
FAQs
What Is A Sony 16-50 Mm Lens Good For?
The Sony 16-50 offers great results with its focal length and built-in image stabilization.
This lens is perfect for street photography, standard photography, and travel photography.
What Is A Sony 18-55 Mm Lens Good For?
The Sony 18-55 model is a moderate wide-angle lens, and it’s perfect for a wide range of uses.
So, whether you need a lens for architecture, landscapes, or environmental portraiture, this lend is a preferable option.
The lens can also take portraits and shoot with a close focus on the subject of small details.
Is The Sony 16-50mm Lens Full Frame?
The Sony 16-50 has a focal length of 16 mm, which is equivalent to 24 mm.
So you can consider this lens for a full-frame sensor camera.
Final words
Both the Sony 18-55 and 16-50 lenses are quite comparable. However, the 16-50 is a newer model.
In a comparison between the Sony 18-55 vs 16-50, the 18-50 is overall preferable, especially for its manual focusing.
However, I’ll keep the 16-50 in my collection too for occasional use and its compact design.
So, if you can afford it, opt for both of these Sony lenses to increase your versatility in photography.