Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have had many different Sony NEX, Axxxx, and A7x models over the last 4 years and keep buying, selling, regretting, and re-buying this lens. I think I'm on my 3rd copy now. It's just a good one to keep around. No, it's not as sharp or versatile as the original 18-200, the FE24-240 blows it away (obviously made for full frame, so a different beast), and a prime like the 50 f1.8 (SEL50F18) will give better results, but if you want a telephoto zoom to add to the kit zoom that came with the camera, this is a great place to start. Especially if you can get it as part of a kit deal, or purchase separately as an open box or find it used, this one is great. I would not pay retail for it, but they've been around awhile, there are many on the market already. It's light, small (for the focal length), and has great glass for the price. Sure, it's going to hunt in low light and is not professional quality, but you would probably not be reading a review of this lens if you needed that. For outdoor bright light sports, I love this lens and my a6000, it's so light and AF is fast. I think I could use it all day and not get tired. Same camera with the FE70-200 and my back is going to ache after an hour.

I purchased this lens for my NEX-5 a year ago and I love it. I've shot some sporting events (triathlon) with the burst shooting and the pics turned out awesome. This lens is a must-have for NEX users, especially if you need to get close to a subject. The aluminum casing and rubber rings gives the lens that durable feel.

I purchased this lens as part of a package deal when I bought my Sony a6000 camera. It has some limitations (low light, not tack sharp), but overall was a great lens to begin shooting with. I paired it with an Olympus 1.7x teleconverter, which increased the zoom capabilities, and also seemed to improve the image quality (sharpness and compression). I’ve been very pleased with the performance of this combination.

I bought this lense in hopes for more zoom power- this lense is great for things far away, but not good for things within even 10-15 feet. It will be too close up and things will get cut off. I used this while visiting Glacier, it did not disappoint for that purpose.

Works great for the price! The zoom distance is great without losing too much of the auto focus tracking. Keep in mind that the aperture starts to increase past the 35mm mark. To hold a 2.8 aperture or lower, you’ll need to purchase the lens that is 3x more! Great entry Zoom lens to learn without spending the high price tag. Quality of images and the durability of the lens are great.

This lens stays on my Sony a6000 most of the time. Very compact, extremely light weight and sharp at all focal lengths. Its zoom control is entirely mechanical and not electronic, a very good "feature." Its built-in Steady Shot works well. I'm very impressed at the quality of photos it produces. Very glad I bought this.

came with my NEX 5N, it does just what I expected and more. Nice zooming range and takes great pictures. I was able to take a photo of the moon !

I purchased this lens in hopes of photographing wild life. I learned through trial and error that it wasn't what I was looking for. It does a good job of bring things a little closer but for wildlife, I would need something larger. Nice quality, easy to use.

I have a Sony a6500 camera but I only have the included 16-50 mm kit lens. It has served me well for various outings but I wanted something that would give me zooming capabilities without breaking the bank. Although this is another kit lens, Sony did a good job. It's compact, telescopic, and has little distortion around the edges. I wish that the lens opened up a bit more but zoom lenses with lower f-stops cost 5X more than this. The build quality is good, the connectors and mount are metal, the outer body is metal, but the inner lens is plastic. Again, for the price, this is all expected. I did not expect the lens to perform up there with a Sony's 18-105 mm G lens (f/4.0). The reviews for both lenses put them pretty equal, even when going almost full zoom on the G lens and still maintaining the f/4.0, the 55-210 lens is pretty good. I have taken some handheld low-light shots, action shots, scenery, and building skyline pictures with this lens and they all come out clear with little distortion around the edges (nothing that Adobe Lightroom doesn't automatically correct for). For an entry-level lens at a low price, this one can't be beat. Sony really does a good job with their cameras and lenses, I'm glad I switched to their mirrorless range as it makes taking my camera places less of a hassle. A small bag is enough to hold three lenses, the camera, two batteries, a charger, flash, an action tripod, lens cleaning tools, and a few memory cards. I just wish that Sony's premium lenses were lower in cost to compete with the likes of Nikon and Cannon. But I do recommend this lens for anyone who wants a solid zoom option without breaking the bank while still providing good quality. It isn't the most premium built lens and the opening is small but it's also compact and hasn't let me down yet. Just keep your expectations in check.

My first use of this new lens was taking some indoor photos at a college graduation ceremony. While I appreciate the compact sized lens on a compact sized camera, getting focus on distant objects/people isn't so easy compared to a full size camera with a standard grip. My previous camera, a Nikon D800 with a Tamron 70-200 lens could lock focus at least 4x faster - but it's a totally unfair comparison. In time, I'll improve my technique, but I wish I had tried Sony's 18-200 lens. If it is noticeably faster to auto-focus, I think it would be worth the extra cost. If it's not any better, than the 55-210 is definitely the way to go. The shots that turned out, turned out great!

This lens is fully capable of getting good, sharp shots. It is a zoom so you have to understand the limitations of longer(than kit lens) zooms, even $$$ ones. Took to beach on first day to just try it out...was happy when I got home to see what it could do....a very nice compliment to the 18-55 kit that came with my a3000. I shoot landscapes, and found that with good camera settings I could get usable shots even at sunset lighting levels. Not as bright as $$$ lenses, but will get the job done with a little patience. I decided to brave getting an 'open-box' lens and it works perfectly. Saved LOTS of $, and am very happy to have lens. FREE shipping got it to me next day somehow... was very surprised and glad. Still in TEST mode for this lens, but it looks promising for my needs.

I've gotten some great shots with this lens, and for the price, you can't beat it. The only downside is the aperture is a bit small, so it struggles in low light shots without a tripod. I've brought this on trips to Europe and have had a lot of fun with this lens.

The lens is perfect for the Sony camera. The picture quality is excellent. Very easy to use. Zoom range is just what I needed.

I really like this lens. It takes great pictures and is a lot lighter and less expensive than my Sony Fe 70 200mm F4 G OSS. It really far exceeded my expectations. Great lens , I highly recommend it!

Good focus and stability great for sports and landscape photography

Great lens for getting pictures of wildlife in their natural habitat or a distant portrait shot.

This lens is an excellent addition to have in my camera bag. As a hobbyist photographer, I used this lens for outdoor shots and did some shots for a friend's graduation photos that turned out excellent!

the Sony 55-210mm lens offers a versatile range that makes it an excellent choice for photographers looking to capture everything from portraits to distant landscapes. One of the standout features of this lens is its Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, which significantly reduces blur when shooting handheld, especially at longer focal lengths.

This was a great lens for the money. I have taken thousands of pictures with it over the last few weeks and love the lens more and more each time i use it. The pictures are crisp and quick. With the OSS built in it is very easy to hand hold shots even at the long end of the zoom. I bought this primarily for wildlife photography and videography and the metal quite luminous. But that is nothing a little camouflage self-adhesive tape couldn't fix. Great product.

Sure, it's a big lens, but it's nowhere near the size of my old DSLR zoom. It really is compact for its power, and I used it a lot. It fit into my jacket pocket, so I got it into the rock concerts I recently attended without an issue, and got great shots. I could take it to the parks in London, and the zoo, without a bulky camera bag. It's easy to mount quickly, which is important to me. The only thing is I wish the end cap would stay on easier. You only have to twist it a few degrees, which means it comes off easily in my jacket pocket.