It is popular among professionals and hobbyists who want G-lens quality and a wide zoom range without spending thousands of dollars.

The 18-105mm features a minimalist metal exterior reminiscent of Sony's Zeiss lenses.

The lens is consistently sharp throughout its zoom range, softening up only at the extreme corners of the image.

Strong pin-cushion distortion, though largely corrected in-lens, is apparent throughout the frame when shooting in RAW.

Chromatic aberration, restricted to the corners, but occurring at all apertures, is mildly apparent from 18-24mm and at 105mm.