DT Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Zoom Lens

One AMAZING lens

Pros: Brilliant colors, great auto focus speed

Cons: Expensive, zoom.

Just got this lens after doing a lot of research and I absolutely love it. I haven't been able to take pictures outdoors yet because of the weather, but pictures indoors have been terrific so far. Pictures come out sharp with awesome colors, the lens focuses really fast and its not too heavy. Only bad comment I have is that for the price, I wish it had a better zoom. Its a huge step up from the kit lens. Can't go wrong with this lens.

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SAL-1680 Sharpness VS life expectancy

Pros: Sharpness and apparently a good deal price wise

Cons: Light construction, quick wearing

I'm a long time Minolta user and unconditional supporter (since 1971 : 3 SRT 101, 1 XG, 2 Maxuum 9000), and did enjoy a lot the five Sony Cybershot , so when Sony released its Alpha 700, I went for it with a SAL 1680 (SN 3823746),,,, and I did appreciate to be able to use again my 300 mm, macro lens, fish eye etc..., and despite its apparent weak/flimsy construction, I really enjoy also the sharpness of the Zeiss lens...... up to get a total freeze of the lens focus system (Murphy law helping, its on 1.25 ' distance !) when reaching 6722 pictures shouted,,,, (with certainly 85% of them with this terrific lens) ,,,So my opinion is now slightly different, and I'm facing a dilemma : should I go for an Alpha 900 to continue to use my 8+ Maxxum lenses at full frame quality.. not buying any new "cheap crafted" lens from Sony,,, or should I put everything on e-bay to go for a totally different system (hard to admit when spending my life promoting Minolta over Canon and Nikon).

PreZEISSly speaking about maximum image clarity

Pros: Razor sharp images, enhanced contrast & color timbre, and the ZEISS panache

Cons: Not optimized for "full frame" sensor DSLRs, experts have expected a more tank-like build quality

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.

No Manual Focus after 3 Years

Pros: Good image quality

Cons: Flimsy construction

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.

Worth it

Pros: Love it all around

Cons: Pricey but worth it, not 2.8

This was the first lens that I purchased as my camera came with a kit lens and it has proven to be a great upgrade compliment. This CZ made me notice the next level of photography as the imaging that it produced was very much so next level. The build quality is solid as is the performance and still its one of my favorite lenses next to the CZ FZ-135. This is definately next level for people starting out who want to move a big step up in image quality but with a word of warning it will make you want to get more CZ lenses.

Nice price for a Zeiss!

Pros: Zeiss quality = stunning stills, fast AF, reasonably fast f3.5-4.5

Cons: Not for video - noisy AF, not so `light weight`, recent increase in price!

I use this on a NEX-7 (using the LA-EA2 adapter) All I can say is this blows away a standard 18-55 kit lens for stills. I paid $900 only 4 weeks ago, now it`s $1050! Still a decent price for the name. The image quality is Zeiss all the way. The AF is faster than the native E mount lenses (probably due to adapter providing a mirror for phase-detection AF) Now the downsides: the AF motor is noisy and easily picked up by the built-in mic making this almost useless for video. Also, when in manual focus the lens will `creep`if it`s pointed downwards. This is my `walking around`outdoor lens and I have not been disappointed.

Use as Primary Lens

Pros: Light enough to use for everyday photos

Cons: Noisy

I have had this lens for about a year, and find it is the lens on the camera almost all the time.

The perfect walk around lens IF

Pros: Outstanding sharpness, contrast and lack of CA. Build is solid with no slop or play. Focus is fast and accurate

Cons: No SSM Motor oh well. I had to get a 2nd copy as the 1st one was decentered with bad left side sharpness

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.

Perfect walk-around lens

Pros: Great focal length range, clarity, brightness, bokeh

Cons: Some vignetting

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.

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Very Impressed

Pros: Crystal clear images and vibrant colors

Cons: A little on the heavy side with the added weight of the a700

I really tried to do my research before I made the leap for this lens. I read some good reviews, but also read some bad reviews on it. After finally buying it and using for my last 5 photo shoots (weddings and engagement), I am sold. I use this with my a700 and get crystal clear shots everytime. The colors it produces are vibrant and rich. It is a bit heavier than any other lens I've worked with, but it's also a lot mor sturdy and well built compared to other lenses. Very glad I purchased this lens.

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Nice Lens

Pros: Sharp pictures. Nice colors. Good bokeh

Cons: No lock on the lens/lens creep

I'm a complete novice and new to the DSLR world, but decided to splurge before going on vacation. I was hoping it would improve the likelihood that I'd take some better pictures. The lens did not disappoint. The images were crisp, I didn't notice distortion, or aberrations (terms that seem to be tossed around camera and lens review websites, but in all honesty, I don't know much about those things), and the images appeared bright and well defined.

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Excellent but could be slightly cheaper

Pros: Great Color, Sharp image, 16-80mm Perfect distance for daily use

Cons: Slight overpriced. Some dis-shape in 16mm-18mm and 80mm somehow.

I have owned this lens for an year and I am not planning to buy another one to replace it. After I have bought this lens, I was so shocked but the color and the realistic feeling of photos that it gives me. I think it is pretty hard to find some alternatives that fits sony camera for the price. But compare to those that fits Canon, Nikon, it is slight over priced because the dis-shape image in 2 extreme distance. Could be better on that. Everything else is very fine. Quite Light weight, quite durable. One more thing is that, the design could look more professional. If there is no Blue Zeiss label on it, I think no one will notice it is an expensive lens.

Carl Zeiss quailty

Pros: Sharpness, high contrast, light weight

Cons: F stop 4

It's a good zoom lens. 16mm is certainly wider than 24mm. As a result, you get more in your shot. It's enough for establishing shots. If the aperture was 2.8, it would be a perfect lens. But the price would not be the same.

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Best zoom lens I've ever owned

Pros: Great image quality, excellent price, focusing-distance scale

Cons: None

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!

Nice optics, poor construction (zoom creep!)

Pros: Sharp at most settings, nice colour, nice range

Cons: Poor build, zoom creep shouldn't happen for this price!

This is a nice lens that covers an attractive zoom range. It is nice and sharp all around with good colour and contrast. A good walk-around lens. But at this price the build is a little embarrassing. The zoom creeps down when only slightly turned downward. Sony should fix this problem.

Great walk-around lens

Pros: Sharpness

Cons: none

Have owned this lens with an A700 and A580 and used it as my main walk around lens. I do mostly landscape photography and found the 16-80 mm range to be perfect. Image quality with the Zeiss glass is sharp across the entire image. I sold mine only because I upgraded to the A850 and this lens doesn't work on Full Frame.

Great lens for the price

Pros: Great image quality

Cons: Could be faster at telephoto

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.

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Perfect all-in-one lens

Pros: sharp! excellent colors, always end up with a nice looking shot

Cons: the 16-105 has better range, lower price.

I recently picked up a 300K and immediately decided to upgrade the kit lens (sold it on Amazon for $75). After careful research it came down to this or the 16-105. I tried out both and the 16-80 won out for slightly better all round performance in all areas - sharpness, color, focus speed, weight and general feel. If you're a photo enthusiast who is just getting into DSLR photography and still uses the Auto settings on the camera, this is probably the 'one' lens to have on the alpha system. Clearly at this price sony has optimized it for performance while sacrificing some of the build quality that would have come with making it all metal (like the 24-70). However, I think the light weight and the build fits perfectly with the 300K. In fact the 300K + CZ 16-8 is probably the best performing DSLR at the price range on the planet right now!