The Sony DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM II ($219.99 direct) is the standard kit lens that ships with Sony D-SLR cameras. It replaces the older DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM( at Amazon) lens, which was not a good performer, and does offer some improvements. It's still not as good as other low-cost 18-55mm lenses, and can't touch our Editors' Choice Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM($598.00 at Amazon), a more expensive lens that gathers much more light and is extremely sharp throughout its range.

The SAM II($79.99 at Amazon) measures 2.7 by 2.8 inches (HD) and weighs in at 7.8 ounces. The front element accepts 55mm filters, but it rotates while focusing. This makes it difficult to use a polarizing filter, which requires you to rotate it properly to remove reflections from your photos. It's compatible with Sony cameras with APS-C image sensors (although it could be used on a full-frame body in crop mode if you really wanted to) and covers a field of view that matches 27-83mm on a full-frame camera. The lens mount is plastic, a less durable design than more expensive lenses with metal mounts. There is an internal focus motor, which is quick to adjust focus and quieter than older screw-drive systems. The lens lacks image stabilization, but that isn't an issue as Sony cameras have shake reduction built into the body.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness and distortion characteristics of the lens when paired with the Alpha 58($369.99 at Amazon) D-SLR. It's sharpest at its widest angle; at 18mm f/3.5 it notches 1,912 lines per picture height using a center-weighted testing method; that's better than the 1,800 lines we require to call a photo sharp. Edges are just a little soft at 1,604 lines. Barrel distortion is noticeable here, there's about 3.7 percent, which causes straight lines to noticeably curve outward.

Zooming into 35mm narrows the maximum aperture to f/4.5, but performance suffers. It only manages 1,612 lines here, and edges are very fuzzy at 1,117 lines. Stopping down to f/5.6 improves the overall score to 1,939 lines with edges that near 1,500 lines. The best performance is at f/8, with a center-weighted score of 2,073 lines with edges that near 1,600 lines. Distortion is negligible here. At 55mm the maximum aperture is f/5.6, and the lens manages 1,605 lines with edges that hover around 1,450 lines. Stopping down to f/8 brings up the overall image quality to 1,898 lines with edges that near 1,700 lines. Again, distortion isn't an issue here. Both the Nikon 18-55mm($74.99 at Amazon) and Canon 18-55mm($96.18 at Amazon) are sharper, and show a less distortion at the wide end.

There are better lenses available for your Sony D-SLR; but they're more expensive. The  Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 covers a similar range, but does it at a fixed f/2.8 aperture and is very sharp throughout its zoom range. It also shows distortion at its widest angle, but that can be fixed with software. But it's priced at $800, and for that money you are much, much better off with the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 lens. Its zoom range isn't as long, but it captures an incredible amount of light and delivers image quality that's on par with prime lenses.

If you're after a longer zoom range, and don't want to spend a ton of money on a lens, consider the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6($498.00 at Amazon). It's priced around $500, but can be had for less when bundled with a new body, and is a solid performer. You're not likely to buy the 18-55mm SAM II on its own; most shooters will get it as a kit lens. It's not the best of that type that we've looked at, but it does deliver decent performance if you narrow its aperture a bit. It's definitely an improvement over the original 18-55mm SAM lens, but it's not as good as Sony's more expensive 18-135mm kit zoom, and can't touch the Sigma 18-35mm.

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