Sony SAL-1680Z 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T DT Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony SAL-1680Z 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T DT Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera
Customer Review: You still can't beat Zeiss for lenses
Summary: 5 Stars
Despite having to wait a month for the camera body due to an Amazon screw up, the lens lives up to the Zeiss name. Contrast, color fidelity are excellent.Customer Review: Not for full frame cameras (i.e. A900/A850), good for APS-C Alphas
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a serious amateur wildlife/nature photographer and purchased this lens for use with my A350 and have been very happy with the pictures it produced. However, I recently purchased an A900 for the 5fps and other features to capture fast action. I discovered after using the this lens that this lens only produces images that are 11MP on the A900. The low image quality is because this lens is designed for use with APS-C size sensors and not full frame cameras like the A900 or A850. The full frame cameras crop the smaller image projected on the larger sensor. If you have any plans to move up to a full frame camera do not buy this lens, you will only have to buy another similar lens that is full frame compatible. Also note that any of the DT type lens that come as part of a kit package, are not full frame compatible and will produce 11MP images as well. This limitation is noted in the fine print on Sony's website. I can't for the life of me figure out why Sony would produce a Carl Zeiss lens that is not full frame compatible.
UPDATE 4/21/10:
After thinking about my two star rating and the quality of images produced on my A350 (Example: [...]), I have upgraded my rating to 4 stars. Yes I should have done more homework when I bought the lens and yes the price in comparison to other Zeiss lenses should have set off the red flags. The lens does a good job on my APS-C camera A350. It is a tough pill to swallow making a lens purchase that is not compatible or complimentary with a newer, full frame body. However I think I will use this lens on my A350 and my full frame longer lenses on my A900 until I can decide what full frame lens to buy. For now, my old Minolta 28-85mm is back into service on my A900. (Example: [...])
UPDATE 6/6/10:
My big problem with the APS-C versus Frame Lens compatibility with Sony and third party lens is they need to be more clear. I have noticed that Sigma is much more clear to note if APS-C only. If you have a Sony DSLR with APS-C size sensor (Anything except A850 or A900) this is a great lens and you won't be disappointed with the results.
Customer Review: Zeiss Vario Sonnar
Summary: 4 Stars
I am very pleased with this lens and the A100 combination especially the improved contrast and color rendition. I just took an entire wedding under overcast sky and the pictures look like they were taken on a sunny day. Now I reset the camera to a lower contrast and saturation level.
SB
Customer Review: Average Lens, Overpriced. I am underwhelmed.
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this lens alongwith Sony SLT A55V a few days back. It is an ok lens, but given its price and "Zeiss" label I would have expected much better results. It is neither sharp nor are the colors great nor is the build quality great. It is really a Sony lens, made by Sony with a Zeiss label stuck on it. It would be ok for a $499 price, but at $699 it is a rip-off.
I feel Tamron 17-50 is a much better value if someone is not looking for the extra zoom.
Do yourself a favor, Google for various comparisons of the CZ 16-80 with the Tamron 17-50 and decide for yourself.
I have used my fair share of good cameras and lenses, including Nikon D700 with the 24-70 lens and Leica X1 and I know a good lens when I use one.
Update: Nov 19 2010: I returned this lens as it had focusing issues and the pictures were always soft. I got the Tamron 17-50 and the difference is night and day. On paper, Carl Zeiss should have been superior. But in practice, the Tamron turned out not only cheaper by almost $300 but also better in image quality. The only thing I gave up was the extra zoom from 50-80. Not a big deal for me as I rarely shoot over 40mm.
Customer Review: From a Zeiss Fanatic--> this lens is a dud.
Summary: 1 Stars
1. Obviously, most folks are going to disagree with me (which is fine), but this lens (which was widely anticipated by many people, including me) is a huge dissapointment.
2. I'm not an expert on Zeiss optics, but I'm probably more familiar that most folks who've written rave reviews on this lens. Prior to digital, I used Olympus, then Nikon and then Contax (with the Zeiss MM lens) system for many years. Compared to the Zeiss lens made for the Contax system, Hassy and even the current Zeiss lens made for the Nikon F Mount, and the two Zeiss Sony Primes along with the 24-70mm--> this 16-80mm appears and performs as if it was designed primarily for marketing purposes. The build is cheap, which I could kind of live with. What I can't live with is the performance: unacceptable vignetting and such crazy tolerances to which this lens was built so that even with a B+W slim 62mm UV filter--> you can actually see the filter when shooting at 16mm.
3. If you're used to and expect the build quality of a real Zeiss lens along with the optical performance of a Zeiss lens--> pass this one up and pray that more high quality optics will come along for the Sony full frame. Or check out the ZF line for the Nikon F mount.