UPDATE via trusted sources: The new 18-200mm from Sony will be All Black and be announced on May 17th along the new NEX-F3. I certainly welcome the idea to make black version of the current NEX lenses. Would love to see a 50mm Black lens too! It has the same optical desing of the current 18-200mm lens!
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That lens does not look exactly the same to me …
Could it be a new optical design?
Doubtful, as some of the below comments are noting, it looks exactly like the Tamron version, zoom lock and all. I would expect if Sony were to do this lens, they would simply either A) Rebrand the Tamron one (less likely) or B) Anodize the SEL18200 in black instead of silver (more likely).
Honestly I hope they do neither, a black 18-200 is not what the NEX line needs. Though I won’t go into that… 🙂
http://matthewdurrphotography.wordpress.com
If they decide to come out with a black version of another existing lens, speaking from the past experience, it can only be:
30mm f/3.5
For all I care, Sony could color it shocking pink with purple polka dots, as long as they started developing and selling a much wider range of optically first class lenses.
who cares?
You do, at least a teeny tiny bit, otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered adding to your collection of spectacularly irrelevant posts.
tamron rebadge?
meh
Black 70-400mm Plz.
Ditto – constant f4 or faster would do nicely. IQ over size in long lenses please.
If only new Nex lens is a lens w/ redundant focal length I’ll puke. I suppose new design with spectacular speed like say f2.8 at 200 with great IQ would keep me from going over the edge, but failing that my otherwise beloved Nex7 and 5 may go on ebay. Going fwd I’ll buy from a company that can deliver good glass. I just can’t take having my hopes dashed announcement after announcement.
Sony are you listening? Give me lens specs and a timetable and I can wait. Be silent and let me down every announcement and you will lose me forever.
My XXX wife looks smaller in black too. But it didn’t make her any more interesting to handle.
Bring something substantial to the table. The resources spent on junk food is killing us.
looks like a Tamron to me
Guess what. It will look like the silver version, but black.
probably Tamron release of their 18-200 black make Sony make this move.
but new lens announcement including a black version of existing lens is just not right.
This IS the Tamron. You can recognize it easily by the lock slider.
BLACK VERSION
Oh my god.
It couldn’t be any more stupid, could it?
…oh wait, they always could release pink version to fit piggy NEX.
Why do we need a lense, that we already have? Where are the new nex lenses?
BLACK VERSION = TAMRON VERSION
This is just to get some money from people complaining about silver lenses, where are you? Helloooooo? Are you gone already???
If Sony brings out a black version which is as small as the Tamron version, I may grab one.
Even if it only works as well as the Tamron?
This makes no sense? Will it be cheaper than the non-rebadged version? Will Sony stop producing the other one? I just can’t see why Sony would rebadge the Tamron when they make their own 18-200mm unless they are updating/changing/lowering or something???
How would Sony explain having two different SEL18200 lenses? I say unless they discontinue their own lens, they are not going to release any rebadged Tamron. Since that is unlikely to happen since Sony makes the better lens, I suspect this is another crazy Chinese rumor with no substance.
Sony has sold quite a few Tamron rebadged lenses for alpha mount so why not for the e-mount? Tamron has been the “inventor” of the superzoomlenses and e.g the 18-250 is a rebranded and slightly modified Tamron.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the current NEX 18-200 was a Tamron design too, but I’ve no source for that and don’t claim that it is.
Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with rebranding lenses, it’s done all the time. Olympus used several Sigma designs for FT. Any company has limited resources and if they can find a exisiting lens that’s good enough and fill a gap then they can focus on other issues.
This Spam speaketh the truth. Ha. Sony has a minority share in Tamron. Sony has been playing this rebadging game for years. Where is Sony’s optics mojo? Why must it borrow other’s lens designers’ mojo? Burning questions, all.
It’s not minority. Although Sony owns around 11%, they’re the 2nd biggest shareholder in Tamron. So I’m sure they have a lot of voice.
Well as far as borrowing other’s lens designers’ mojo goes, let’s not forget that Sony DSLRs *could* be considered to be rebranded Konica-Minolta cameras. . . 😉
How about Sony’s active steady shot? Does Tamron make that for Sony in this lens?
Strange….
How does this rumor make any sense at all?
Am I missing something? Doesn’t Sony already have this lens, albeit in Silver?
Wow, watch out! Sonys ´ strategy is really agressive! “Lets make our newest lens for a system that is desperate for new lenses a black version of an already existing lens”
11% of the stock of a company does not give you any control or say in what a company does unless you can form a group of other stockholders that with yours have over 50% of the total stock of the company. Then you can boss them around.
18-200 goes all the way back to the Minolta 7D being new, nothing new about that focal length. And Tamron has dropped their 18-250 for their 18-270, if Sony wants to catch up that’s where they should go, black, silver or whatever.
HE Andrea !!!! this is the tamron in his black version !! and not a black version of the Sel 18-200 !!!! lol
the picture is cut and to not see the silver ring in the bottom !!
The A-mount SAL 18-250 is a Tamron, but better because Sony has reduced turns to focus. So, I would not doubt this E-mount Tamron and Sony share some heritage also.
Tamron’s been building glass for some time, so this is a good thing for them and they have history of improving the design. If Sony needs helps with better optics, they should not be shy and get that expertise from a fellow Japanese company.
One of the nice things about the Tamron is it holds f3.5 from 18-23. The Sony has f3.5 at 18 only then it drops to f4 at 19.
Jajaja!! and the worst is you must wait for months for just a color change?… At least Tamron gives both colors at the same day.. This is a kind sad.
I don’t get it!! Sony already have an 18-200 lens for nex! Will this be a different model? Or just a new color? What to clone from Tamaron?
This is awesome. Don’t build lenses people actually want and need. Offer more colors in the existing lenses. Awesome Sony!!!
But there was some people asking for black lenses =/ It was just the easier way to give something to some user at least.
bit frustrating… more primes please 🙂
need a 35mm and a 85mm.
stupid sony. Only make crap for kids. Where is the FF nex?
FF nex is unlikely to happen before 2013 or even 2014. None of current lenses are able to cover a FF sensor.
Have you tested them?
Sigh…so it’s SR5…Admin, any news on the 4 lenses supposed to be announced this year?????? Don’t tell me this black version is one of those 4 lenses…
The other three are red, grey and pink.
Have you noticed? On the Sony lens roadmap, some upcoming lenses are represented by a green line, some by a grey line. (The G zoom gets a black line). My current theory is that the green-line lenses are black versions of current designs. Thus, only 3 really new e-mount lenses in the next couple of years.
Think about it –
High-magnification zoom = black 18-200
Standard zoom = black 18-55
Mid-magnification zoom = black 55-200
Large aperture standard = black 50mm
Snap(pancake) = black 16mm
I hope I’m wrong!
s&%t…I don’t think they will be that stupid to do that…oh wait…they already did demostrate they can 😛
but getting a bit more serious, time will tell.
If this is the case. The NEX 7 has no purpose. That camera is begging for lenses. It wants a sharp 35mm so bad it hurts.
Personally if they had a cheap, sharp 35mm 1.8(like the A mount), I would already have the NEX 7. Sigma has a 30mm…But its 2.8….That full stop is…kind of a big deal to me.
I think you are exactly right.
give me a 150-500mm oss e-mount lens and I’ll buy that
even if it’s 2 times bigger than 18200?
What’s the point!? Go and get A77 with appropriate lens. You’ll have proper ergonomics and far better balance while not looking like a guy with too big one…
Hoping that all new promised lenses will not be these color conversions…. :/
I am seriously thinking of dumping my 5N given the lens prospect.