I thought the autofocus would work with my A7Rii camera with adaptor but I was wrong, I was reimbursed very quickly by them thanks.
Mr. R. F. RobertsBoring! Another 5 star review... This may well not flag up as a confirmed purchaser because best beloved purchased it for me (from Amazon) for Christmas. I have waited for a nice bright crisp sunny day to write a review. Deliberately framing twigs at the corner of the frames and steadying myself and the camera against a tree trunk, I have been delighted with the sharp images across the frame whilst pixel peeping. As with all wide angles, correct leveling renders little distortion. All these reviews can only ever be subjective, few of us have access to test benches and MTF graph print outs. I also used the old favourite tripod mounted and leveled shots of a brick wall. This rendered entirely satisfactory results vis-a-vis barrel and pin cushion distortion. It's what you do with it that counts.Ergonomically, I can't see why the zoom lock only functions at the wide end. Having endured the 18-70 kit lens, this beauty is a delight to focus manually. Those of us that grew up on 70s and 80s Vivitar Series One and Tamron SP lenses will know exactly what I mean! I purchased a B&W slim skylight for it to reduce the chances of vignetting wide open, this is great but you wont be able to continue using Sony's lens cap. That's why B&W supply a push on effort I guess. This is easily lost though and moreover you cannot store the petal lens hood back to front on the lens with the B&W "solution" so that's a downer...The front element does not rotate when focussing, so it's eminently suited to polariser or graduated filter usage.It's a little bulky but what do you expect in return for a fixed F=1:2.8 throughout the zoom range?If you can snap this up as I did for £330 new then what are you waiting for? Even at the current going price it's still worth serious consideration. That extra one millimeter wide angle is worth going the distance in preference to the Tamron
ConeheadI've used this lens in a number situation, night life, flash, daylight etc and I'm impressed with the overall performance.
Some slight centre softness at f2.8 but nothing to really cause any real problems. Great lens coupled with a Sony A77 ii
I've used this lens in a number situation, night life, flash, daylight etc and I'm impressed with the overall performance.Some slight centre softness at f2.8 but nothing to really cause any real problems. Great lens coupled with a Sony A77 ii
ErnieA very fast, quiet, high quality, weatherproof lens which provides sharp high resolution photo's, especially when used with a Sony A77.
When mounted to an A77 this lens definitely looks the part and is evenly balanced.
Make sure you shop around as the price can vary quite a lot, a lot of retailers sell without the box in order to keep the costs down (they basically get a camera/lens bundle in and sell the two separately) this does mean you don't get a proper box, but you do get the lens, instructions and a full guarantee.
Micro adjustment (A77) for me is not needed, and the lens is sharp wide open. The only niggle I have is that it only goes up to 50mm, that said 16mm is unusually wide and is great for landscapes and architecture etc.
Prior to getting this lens I had several fixed prime lenses and this made most of them redundant overnight, and if I only ever had to chose one lens to keep, it would be this one.
A very fast, quiet, high quality, weatherproof lens which provides sharp high resolution photo's, especially when used with a Sony A77.When mounted to an A77 this lens definitely looks the part and is evenly balanced.Make sure you shop around as the price can vary quite a lot, a lot of retailers sell without the box in order to keep the costs down (they basically get a camera/lens bundle in and sell the two separately) this does mean you don't get a proper box, but you do get the lens, instructions and a full guarantee.Micro adjustment (A77) for me is not needed, and the lens is sharp wide open. The only niggle I have is that it only goes up to 50mm, that said 16mm is unusually wide and is great for landscapes and architecture etc.Prior to getting this lens I had several fixed prime lenses and this made most of them redundant overnight, and if I only ever had to chose one lens to keep, it would be this one.
Dave GPutting the issue of packaging aside for the moment, this is a truly outstanding lens. Just shot about 900 photographs at a wedding in the States. I covered the bride's preparation. I never expected to take so many photographs, but it gave me a chance to put the lens through it's paces a bit. I haven't really studied MTF curves etc for this lens so this assessment is just my first impression.
The lens is at it's weakest at f2.8 regardless of the focal length. The results are good and still look very usable though. I assume that the results will be the same with JPEG's? But I only shot RAW format.
I only used f2.8 to f16. As I stated the lens was at its weakest at f2.8 at any focal length. In all other respects the lens performed exceptionally. Images seem crisp and clean. I find it hard to believe that there is a better performer at under £400. In fact I may have a good long look at my 16-80mm Zeiss. I strongly suspect that this lens produces better results all round and has the added bonus of opening up to f2.8. I love the Zeiss and it has given good service. But this lens is better and cheaper....
Putting the issue of packaging aside for the moment, this is a truly outstanding lens. Just shot about 900 photographs at a wedding in the States. I covered the bride's preparation. I never expected to take so many photographs, but it gave me a chance to put the lens through it's paces a bit. I haven't really studied MTF curves etc for this lens so this assessment is just my first impression.The lens is at it's weakest at f2.8 regardless of the focal length. The results are good and still look very usable though. I assume that the results will be the same with JPEG's? But I only shot RAW format.I only used f2.8 to f16. As I stated the lens was at its weakest at f2.8 at any focal length. In all other respects the lens performed exceptionally. Images seem crisp and clean. I find it hard to believe that there is a better performer at under £400. In fact I may have a good long look at my 16-80mm Zeiss. I strongly suspect that this lens produces better results all round and has the added bonus of opening up to f2.8. I love the Zeiss and it has given good service. But this lens is better and cheaper....
Ugly1This should be classed as a "G" lens.
The lens is sharp at all focal lengths even when shooting wide open. Contrast is excellent. Colours are good.
The lens is weather-sealed and the autofocus is phenomenally quick and all but silent - there's a tiny, almost ultrasonic "chirp" but you have to listen hard to hear it at all.
I have never used a kit lens of this quality before. Outstanding performance for the money.
This should be classed as a "G" lens.The lens is sharp at all focal lengths even when shooting wide open. Contrast is excellent. Colours are good.The lens is weather-sealed and the autofocus is phenomenally quick and all but silent - there's a tiny, almost ultrasonic "chirp" but you have to listen hard to hear it at all.I have never used a kit lens of this quality before. Outstanding performance for the money.
StenchI obtained my lens when I purchased the Alpha 77 and opted to get it as part of the kit.I am very pleased with the quality of the optics and the near silence when focusing, the fact that it is weather proofed as well makes this a fantastic buy.
Carl, just journeying throughvery good lens i have take many of photo with it now , very bright all the way semi zoom lens f 2.8 all the way , great lens
DaveleeparryThis is a standard lens when bundled with high-end expensive Sony SLT cameras. A good value-for-money camera is the A65 (24 MP).
This is much better than the lens that comes bundled with the A65 camera. Its fast, wider and has the high-tech plus that the updated firmware in the camera is programmed with any small fault of the lens and therefore corrects for vignetting, chromatic aberration, etc specific to the lens. Very sharp photos with this combination and its amazingly fast and quiet to focus.
It arrived later than expected but not much later. Mainly because for some reason they used ordinary mail to post it. Packaging was original but the Amazon box a little too large which meant the camera box within rattled around a bit. No problem though.
This is a standard lens when bundled with high-end expensive Sony SLT cameras. A good value-for-money camera is the A65 (24 MP).This is much better than the lens that comes bundled with the A65 camera. Its fast, wider and has the high-tech plus that the updated firmware in the camera is programmed with any small fault of the lens and therefore corrects for vignetting, chromatic aberration, etc specific to the lens. Very sharp photos with this combination and its amazingly fast and quiet to focus.It arrived later than expected but not much later. Mainly because for some reason they used ordinary mail to post it. Packaging was original but the Amazon box a little too large which meant the camera box within rattled around a bit. No problem though.
Gary J. Hunterdesappointed about packaging. It arrived in a white box and with a receipt with hand written price and ticked one of the boxes from ebay - (split kit). Called the company Camera Centre UK and they said they have business with Amazon and Ebay and they assure me is original lens.Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 Standard Zoom Lens for Sony A-Mount Cameras is high central sharpness, great colour and contrast, and a lovely quality to its differential focus.With f/2.8 to play with across the entire zoom range. At medium settings, 24-35mm, the distortion disappears and the sharpness extends corner to corner wide open. You have to set it to 50mm to lose the edge.16-50mm SSM is a video-tuned lens, crops the frame considerably when shooting HD video.The focus action and silent supersonic motor of the 16-50mm.
pedro freitasThis is my first SSM lens so was unsure what to expect with regard to focusing speed and noise. I can confirm that focusing noise is minimal and speed and accuracy are impressive on an A77. This lens is perfect for video as no focusing noise is made unlike screw-driven and SAM lenses.
Sharpness at 2.8 is very good and this lens is probably the only one that I'd have no qualms using wide open.
The colours appear good to me with excellent contrast in my tests.
Distortion at the wide end is very prominent and would be a serious negative point for me if the DxO Optics module were not available. However DxO works wonders with shots at 16mm. You can lose a significant proportion of the image
when its distortion corrections have been processed so you need to be aware of this during composition.
The build is good and the hood seems robust and fits tightly unlike that of my Sigma 20mm f1.8, which I constantly fear losing.
Flare control is also very good, handling strong, direct light with minimal flare. It maintains good contrast in these situations when many lenses would exhibit haze.
Overall I'm very impressed with this lens. I just wish it was a bit longer to match my shooting style. I also wish it was full frame so I could use it on my Dynax 7.
This is my first SSM lens so was unsure what to expect with regard to focusing speed and noise. I can confirm that focusing noise is minimal and speed and accuracy are impressive on an A77. This lens is perfect for video as no focusing noise is made unlike screw-driven and SAM lenses.Sharpness at 2.8 is very good and this lens is probably the only one that I'd have no qualms using wide open.The colours appear good to me with excellent contrast in my tests.Distortion at the wide end is very prominent and would be a serious negative point for me if the DxO Optics module were not available. However DxO works wonders with shots at 16mm. You can lose a significant proportion of the imagewhen its distortion corrections have been processed so you need to be aware of this during composition.The build is good and the hood seems robust and fits tightly unlike that of my Sigma 20mm f1.8, which I constantly fear losing.Flare control is also very good, handling strong, direct light with minimal flare. It maintains good contrast in these situations when many lenses would exhibit haze.Overall I'm very impressed with this lens. I just wish it was a bit longer to match my shooting style. I also wish it was full frame so I could use it on my Dynax 7.
S. ChurchillI found the standard 18-70mm lens which came with my Sony A350 left me with a sense that it could do better in terms of image quality.Compared to the 18-70 lens the 16105 feels heavy but it is only a question of getting used to it. The build quality is good and comes supplied with end caps and a petal lens hood. It is easy to use with crisp focusing (auto and manual)and the image quality is what you would expect from a lens of this price - it is sharp and good colour.The reason for only 4 stars - it has a 62mm filter thread so I am having to replace my UV and polarising filters.
David SSony SAL1650 16-50mm F2.8 SSM Zoom Lens. Bright, very high quality telephoto with approx 3x zoom range
SAL1650 Lens
Front Lens Cap
Rear Lens Cap
Lens Hood
Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 19.4 x 14 x 13.6 cm |
Package Weight | 898 Grams |
Item Dimensions L x W x H | 8.8 x 8.1 x 8.1 cm |
Item Weight | 581 Grams |
Brand Name | Sony |
Camera Lens | 16-50 mm |
Has Image Stabilization | No |
Max Focal Length | 50 millimetres |
Min Focal Length | 16 millimetres |
Model Year | 2011 |
Mounting Type | Sony alpha |
Part Number | SAL1650 |
Size Name | 16-50 mm |
Lens Design | Zoom |
Style | F2.8 SSM Zoom Lens |
Photo Filter Thread Size | 72 millimetres |