Customer reviews from sony.com
Sony - DT Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-5.6 A-Mount Standard Zoom Lens - Black
Average customer rating
4.5
(17 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 17 reviews
5 Stars
11
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
1
1 Star
0
88%of customers recommend this product.
(
14 out of
16)
Customer Reviews for Sony - DT Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-5.6 A-Mount Standard Zoom Lens - Black
Customer Rating
5
The perfect walk around lens IF
on January 26, 2011
Posted by: dcisive
There has been much said about this lens being copy dependent, and I too ran into this. The 1st copy I received was defective regarding the optics being decentered which rendered out of focus areas on the left portion of the frame. The 2nd copy was superb across the frame and does EVERYTHING right, so be aware and test your lens to be sure. It is near instant to focus and is accurate as well. color and contrast are what command the price, and man it delivers like NO other. 3rd party lenses are going to be a compromise I assure you. This lens is the REAL deal (when you get a good one). It think it was worth going through the hassle having to send the 1st one back as it is just such a stunning lens now.
What's great about it: Outstanding sharpness, contrast and lack of CA. Build is solid with no slop or play. Focus is fast and accurate
What's not so great: No SSM Motor oh well. I had to get a 2nd copy as the 1st one was decentered with bad left side sharpness
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
5
Best zoom lens I've ever owned
on October 21, 2010
Posted by: williamporterphotography
This is a terrific general-purpose zoom lens — all around, the best zoom lens I have ever owned. Focal range is just about ideal, weight is good, build is solid, and the image quality rivals that of my best primes. I've read some complaints about the lens's build quality but I think it's quite solid for a "modern" lens and given its price. Wish I'd picked this lens up sooner!
What's great about it: Great image quality, excellent price, focusing-distance scale
What's not so great: None
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
5
Great lens for the price
on March 16, 2009
Posted by: pulseHEAD
This is a great general purpose lens. Since I picked it up it's rarely been off of my camera. The pictures are almost always sharp, and look pretty good even at wide-open apertures. It's a much better build quality than the kit lens, and is a good upgrade to the < $300 lenses offered by Sony. The optical quality is excellent.
My only complaint is that the f/3.5 aperture is only available at the absolute widest zoom, and it gets up to f/4.5 pretty fast, but for a 5x zoom lens at this level of quality for $700, you can't beat it.
What's great about it: Great image quality
What's not so great: Could be faster at telephoto
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
4
Good "walk around" lens
on June 11, 2013
Posted by: RedJack
This is a very good zoom lens for general use in an APS-C camera. I've had mine for 5 years and haven't had any problems at all. It's almost always been on my camera and never disappointed. I've used it at weddings, sporting events, indoors, outdoors, you name it. It's not quite a professional lens, but it costs less that half as much as a Zeiss 24-70, which I use on my A99. It also weighs half as much and is considerably smaller. It's a perfect match size wise for my A65 or A700.
What's great about it: Much better than average imaging, looks good
What's not so great: Mediocre build quality, not sealed, not silent
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from sony.comBy Katie, Sony Electronics, June 14, 2013
It's awesome to hear you're still enjoying the lens!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
5
High Quality General Purpose Zoom
on March 19, 2014
Posted by: Anonymous
I purchased this lens as an upgrade to my Sony 18-70 mm kit lens that came with my Alpha. I am very pleased with quality of pictures I am getting with it. The pictures are sharp at both ends of the zoom range and corner to corner at wide apertures. The colors are rendered a little cool, but nothing which cannot be corrected by post processing. There is a bit of barrel distortion at the 16 mm end, but unless one is taking pictures of brick walls at close range, it is not normally noticeable.
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
5
PreZEISSly speaking about maximum image clarity
on December 3, 2008
Posted by: Oldmanriver
I fell in love with my first ZEISS lens on my SONY DCS-R1, so I had high expectations for this design as one of my first two lenses in my customized A700 kit. (The other is a SAL-70300G.) The contrasty image quality of this lens does not disappoint. I find the audible focusing system to be fast enough even without the SSM mechanism on my G lens. I have no qualms with the build quality, either. The lens continues to challenge me to explore and learn the creative intricacies of the A700's exposure metering system.
Simply put as a Calculus problem, the SAL-1680Z solves for maximum image quality for the least amount of money for the owners of SONY DSLRs with APS-C sensors.
Simply put as a Calculus problem, the SAL-1680Z solves for maximum image quality for the least amount of money for the owners of SONY DSLRs with APS-C sensors.
What's great about it: Razor sharp images, enhanced contrast & color timbre, and the ZEISS panache
What's not so great: Not optimized for "full frame" sensor DSLRs, experts have expected a more tank-like build quality
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
2
No Manual Focus after 3 Years
on December 9, 2012
Posted by: MIGUELLEUGIM
After 3 years of very light use the manual focus stopped working, seems to be a common problem. Check dpreview forums to see what other people have to say.
Make sure to buy extended warranty if you choose this lens.
What's great about it: Good image quality
What's not so great: Flimsy construction
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com
Customer Rating
4
Perfect walk-around lens
on October 30, 2011
Posted by: ElGueroMasLoco
This should be a mandatory upgrade from the kit lens that comes with the alpha cameras. Image quality is far superior, and the versatility takes you from wide-angle interiors and landscapes up to 80mm portraits and closeups.
I do get some vignetting (darkening of the corners), when using the lens wide open, but stopping it down to around f8 eliminates the problem, which is only occasional.
What's great about it: Great focal length range, clarity, brightness, bokeh
What's not so great: Some vignetting
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting sony.com