How does the Sony 55-210mm compare to the 18-55mm kit lens?
Asked 2/8/2014
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I have a Sony NEX-3F with the 18-55mm kit lens, and I’m considering the Sony 55-210mm E-mount lens. Sony lists the 55-210mm as a 3.8x zoom, while the 18-55mm is about 3.1x. Can zoom ratios be added or multiplied when comparing lenses, or are they only describing the range within each individual lens? Also, is 55mm on the 55-210mm effectively the same field of view as 55mm on the 18-55mm?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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The X way of measure zoom is misleading because it does not count where things start. It is only a ratio and this is explained in answers to this question.
The 18-55mm and 55-210mm lenses are correlated because the latter at its widest shows the same viewing angle as the former at its longest. The both offer roughly 3X of zoom but outside of at their 55mm positions, show a completely different field-of-view.
The 55-210mm zooms in more, while you can have a lens which zooms out more like the Sony 11-18mm which would ends where the 18-55mm starts. In more photographic terms, we say the 11-18 is an ultra-wide zoom while the 55-210 is a telephoto zoom, while the 18-55 is a standard zoom.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Zoom ratio only describes the range within a single lens: it’s the longest focal length divided by the shortest. So 18-55mm is about 3x, and 55-210mm is about 3.8x, but those numbers do not add or multiply in any meaningful way.
What matters more is focal length and field of view. At 55mm, both lenses give essentially the same framing on the same camera. The 55-210mm starts where the 18-55mm ends, then continues into a much narrower, more telephoto view up to 210mm.
So the 18-55mm is a standard zoom, while the 55-210mm is a telephoto zoom. They complement each other, but the “x zoom” figure can be misleading because it doesn’t tell you whether a lens starts wide, normal, or telephoto.
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