Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 DT SSM (SAL-1650) - Review / Lens Test |
Lens Reviews -
Sony NEX
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Review by Klaus Schroiff, published March 2012
Introduction
As of the time of this review high quality zoom lens options are not really available in Sony E mount (Sony NEX) so it is viable to have a look beyond. Sony Alpha (DSLR) lenses can be used on NEX cameras via Sony Alpha adapters (EA-LA1 & LA2). The more interesting adapter is the new Sony EA-LA2 which basically transforms your NEX into a Sony Alpha SLT DSLR with phase-detection AF support - with no real drawbacks apart from the extra bulk.
An attractive Alpha lens option is certainly the fairly new Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 DT SSM - a fast, high grade standard zoom. It is a native APS-C format lens featuring a field-of-view equivalent to about "24-75mm f/4" on full format cameras. The "f/4" refers to the comparable depth-of-field. For determining the exposure, the real aperture obviously remains the relevant number. It is a rather large lens so a NEX camera looks a little dwarfish when "attached to the lens":
Here's a maybe more familiar view of the lens on a classic Sony Alpha DSLR:
As already mentioned we are talking about a high-end standard zoom lens. The lens is made of a high quality combination of plastic and metal parts. The zoom and focus control rings operate smoothly. As you can see below the lens extends quite a bit when zooming towards the long end of the range. The front element does not rotate thanks to an internal focusing mechanism. A petal-shaped lens hood is also supplied. A really nice aspect of the lens is the weather sealing which has been rarely applied in Sony lenses so far.
The EA-LA2 adapter offers a phase detection AF and in combination with Sony's SSM (super-sonic motor), auto-focus operations are both near-silent and very fast - and that's including object tracking which is normally not a strength of the naked contrast-detection system used in Sony NEX cameras. We had some trouble with AF accuracy so it may be a good idea to check whether you should tune this aspect via the AF micro-adjust feature. DMF ("Direct Manual Focusing" in Single Shot AF mode) is supported.
Specifications |
Equiv. focal length | 24-75 mm (full format equivalent) |
Equiv. aperture | f/4.2 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
Optical construction | 16 elements in 13 groups inc. 2x aspherical and 3x ED elements |
Number of aperture blades | 7 (rounded) |
min. focus distance | 0.30 m (max. magnification ratio 1:5) |
Dimensions | 81 x 88 mm |
Weight | 577 g |
Filter size | 72 mm (non-rotating) |
Hood | petal-shaped, bayonet mount, supplied |
Other features | weather-sealing |
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