Sony Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens
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Disappointing
I bought this lens to replace the kit lens, the Sony 16-50mm. The good news is that in the center of the lens it is excellent but the bad news is as you go to the sides the sharpness drops off pretty rapidly. Comparing the two lenses the Zeiss is very expensive and in my opinion not worth the price. The Sony kit lens isn't quite as sharp as the Zeiss lens but is smooth all the way to the edge and it is a fraction of the cost of the Zeiss lens. I ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Performer
I am fortunate to get an excellent copy of this all purpose lens. Many users have cited quality control problems with decentering etc. but this lens performed right out of the box in my extensive testing. The lens is well balanced on my a6000 body and the focusing and zoom rings feels solid and smooth. For a Zeiss zoom the optics are excellent especially stopped down to f/8 through most of the focal range. The bokeh isn't bad wide open compared t... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Waste of Money
I've used a lot of lenses over the years and this was one of the worst lenses I have owned. On paper it looked like it was everything you could want and more. Great zoom range, constant aperture, no extending barrel, nice compact size with good build quality, etc.... However when it came down to it the optical quality was seriously lacking. Both right and left sides of the frame were super blurry, even for a non pixel peeper. So bad it was visibl... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Sony Lens Review for Sony A6000
I purchased the two lenses for my Sony A6000 - the Vario-Tesser 16-70 and the Sony 10-18, both F/4 for a trip to Cuba. Wanted to leave the hefty Nikon D500 with grip and home to travel light and flexible. I have taken test shots with both lenses on the Sony A6000 body and the images are crisp and tack sharp. They do not overpower the small size of the A6000 and both are about the same size. These two lens combination should work well for landscap... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Zeiss/Sony 16-70
I test this lens on a tripod shooting across the East River to buildings and a water tower in Brooklyn, I look to see the definition and sharpness as I enlarge the in my Sony 6000. Here is what I think: Of you have separate 16, 24, 35, 50. 70 mm lenses and don't mind carrying them and changing lenses as you shoot, save you money. HOWEVER . . . if you do want the burden of that equipment, and do not want to change lenses, this lens would be a dece... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
tight lens
Very nicely made. It is very high. No shake rattle and roll. Image quality is great too. I was debating if its worth to spend the money on this. I'm totally glad that I did. The focus ring is butter smooth (focus by wire). and the zooming is nice too. One note. Because its tight construction the zooming is bit stiff. If you want to do smooth zoom during movies, that will be slightly jerky. The OSS works nicely. It is subtle meaning if you shoot v... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Excellent Zoom Lens
This is a great all around zoom lens. Typical of Zeiss, the color and contrast are fantastic. The lens is not big and there is no zoom creep. The lens is well built although the price is a little high. The center sharpness is fantastic but the corners are a little soft specially considering the price. I do not mind the corner softness as I do not put my subjects on the corners and I usually crop my pictures anyway. I am giving it 4 stars because ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Not quite worth it
I bought this lens with very high expectations. I have the a6000, and this seemed the perfect match. It nearly is. Size, weight, build quality, smooth operation, fast and accurate AF. What more could you want? Most important, better performance on the long end. It is already f4 so you certainly want good wide open performance. It is decent at moderate to long distance, but within six or seven feet I did not like it. But all the other attributes a... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
nice lens but...
I got it yesterday and tested it indoors and outdoors. The lens produces very nice pictures with rich colours and amazing contrast that I've never seen with my other Nex lenses. It's not the sharpest lens ever, in comparison with my 10-18 it is noticeably inferior, but it's, without a doubt, a strong performer... if you got a good copy. Mine occasionally loses connection with my Nex6 camera and warns that lens is not properly connected. This neve... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Best lens for SONY E-mount cameras
Although I'm not a professional photographer, I do want to own good equipment. But I don't want to own a lot of prime lenses and wind up changing them in the field. So I opted for this 16-70mm (24-105 35mm equivalent) zoom lens. Yes - it's expensive. But it's less expensive than buying Sony's 16mm, 20mm, 24mm, 30mm, 35mm and 50mm primes. The lens is light weight, seems rugged, mounts easily, and provides excellent sharpness. Like with most zooms,... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
A wonderful lens
A am delighted with this lens! I have been shooting with a Canon 70D with a 24-70 4L lens for several years with very positive results. Recently I have become somewhat frustrated by its large size. After trying the Canon M line, I made the plunge to Sony. After testing this lens on the A6000 and comparing it to my 70D kit, I have come to the conclusion that the Sony kit clearly surpasses my Canon setup concerning image quality (This might be a di... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
worth every penny
i am a street photographer and shoot in a wide variety of situations. i had the pancake 16-50 kit lens with an a6300 body and the difference in detail between the kit lens and the zeiss 16-70 is night and day. i highly recommend this lens to anyone needing a very versatile lens that is compact and well built. i thi k it was worth every penny spent and it has allowed me to create art on a much higher level. i create large 17"x80" panoramas and the... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great lens
I write a review for the E 16-70 F4 after more than one year living with it. My first impression with this lens was not very positive because this lens is not as sharp as the E 35mm F1.8 and E 50mm F1.8 when I tested against test chart. However, this E 16-70 really surprised me a lot in Mexico and many other events. In real life, the E16-70 is very sharp and has high contrast and very good color. This lens sometimes take better picture than the E... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Very good lens with a6000
This lens was not available for several months. I ordered it the day it was back in stock. Due to some complains of misalignment, I tested it the day I received it. I shot a grid pattern with the lens wide open at 16, 25, 40 and 70mm. At 16mm the lines at the very left and right edges were slightly soft. Nothing that bothered me. There was also a little geometric distortion and some chromatic distortion at the edges. Nothing that cannot be addres... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Perhaps the best e-mount APS-C zoom lens
First thing, I should mention that I wasn't very satisfied with the first lens I received, so I returned it for another one. B&H could not have possibly done a better job with the exchange -- they did an absolutely wonderful job with the exchange process. The second lens was much, much better than the first, and it was more than entirely acceptable. I have been happily shooting with it ever since I received it, and I've been very happy with the r... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Solid lens for everyday use
I bought this lens for my a6000 as an alternative to the kit 16-50mm lens. The kit lens is fine, but it takes the small form-factor of the a6000 just a little too far for me. The Zeiss 16-70mm adds just enough bulk, and it now fits perfectly in my formerly full-sized DSLR filled hands. Image quality is great, and the focal range is good for 90% of what I shoot (70-200mm f/4 takes care of the rest). Build quality is what you would expect from a Ze... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
This lens makes me want a full chip NEX
Sharp, beautiful palette, no purple fringing in the corners. Nicely built - and its the perfect focal range for a walking around zoom. Am I happy? I should be. But this lens makes me feel the limitations of the NEX-7 I am using it on. Compared to the image quality of the RX1 which has a full 35mm size chip (and also uses Zeiss optics) I am longing for the smoother tonal range I get with that camera (which alas, has a fixed lens). Also, using this... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Everything I hoped it would be
I have had this lens for a few months now. Purchased it for a trip from Amsterdam to Prague in September. I came home with about 1800 images. This lens is every thing you could want in a small, light weight, travel/walk around lens. Focus was quick and sharp. Color and clarity of the images is spot on. As I work my way through the culling, editing, and organizing process of these images I constantly confirm I made the right choice when I chose th... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Perfect Travel Lens
I have been using the lens for about six months primarily when on travel. The images are sharp throughout the range with some softening toward the edges as might be expected when critically reviewed. The fit and finish are excellent. Zooming is smooth and dampened enough that there is no zoom creep. The OSS system works very well. I've surprised myself by getting images free of camera motion blur at 1/5 second. Auto focus is very fast and accurate. The lens is used with the A6000 and together make for a very versatile, compact and compelling package capable of producing high quality images.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Woah what a lens
This lens is a must have for NEX owner. The contrast and color rendition is beyond belief, so far the IQ is excellent across the focal length, this lens is definitely the sharpest lens I've used on my NEX-6. It also produces nicely defocused (bokeh) pictures. The F4 aperture did concern me but so far I've been able to use it on some night scenes without any problems, the OSS compensate for this somewhat slow lens. I didn't think I would enjoy using a zoom lens until now, gotta love the versatility. Finally this lens focus locks really quick, almost or just as quick as my Canon 60D.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Not worth the premium price
I bought the Sony 16-70mm with the Zeiss mark with high expectations. When it arrived I could not wait to open the box to test it. So sad to find out that it's really not appreciably sharper than my kit lens of 18-55mm. The extra 2mm at the wide end and 15mm at the long end do not really justify the 4x price. So I returned it. My camera is an A6000. Now Sony has just released the A6500 which really makes my mouth water. But without a decent zoom lens, what's the point of upgrading? I hope Sony and Zeiss will come out with a zoom lens for e-mount that truly justifies their cameras.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great all-around lens for my a6000
With a crop body camera the 24-105 zoom is about perfect for an all-around lens and nice for travel. I have the 24-105L for my Canon 6D and rarely go outside those zoom ranges. Took this lens and a6000 on trip to the Holy Land and rarely wished I had a different lens. If I needed more zoom I could just crop the photo and have satisfactory results. Very happy with low light performance of this combination. As much as I still love my Canon 6D, I find myself using the a6000 majority of time due to light weight and IQ that I feel is pretty darn close to 6D full-frame performance.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
cautious about this lens.
I really wanted to love this lens. It seemed the perfect choice to avoid always traveling with multiple lens. It looked quite good on the initial tests, but after I took it outside (into the real world) I began getting confusing results. At some focal lengths and apertures it looked just fine. (Perhaps not brilliant but more than adequate.) At other setting the results were unacceptable. When I reviewed the full record I decided to send it back. Perhaps it was this particular lens and another copy would be better, but I'm calling it quits at the moment.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Top quality walk around lens.
This is a very sharp lens with high quality well made body. The zoom moves easily and does not slip out of position. The f4 aperture is constant and is great for all around use unless in a dark interior where you would need to use a high ISO or flash.It is sharp at all apertures and and has almost no noticeable distortion. A great travel lens on a Sony a6000 which is the reason I bought it. It's expensive but it's a Zeiss OSS and you get what you pay for when quality is your priority. it's very fast focusing which is a plus compared to other lenses.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
