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Reviews Views Date of last review
4 18618 5/15/2013
Recommended By Average Purchase
75% of reviewers $299.50
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Readers'
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spacerspacer
7.75
spacerspacer
8.25
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8.50
sony16-50f35-56e.jpg


Keywords: Sony Wide Mid Tele Zoom E-Mount APS-C OSS Stabilzed PZ


Perry Rhodan

Registered: January 2010
Posts: 16
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS SELP1650 review by Perry Rhodan
Review Date: 5/15/2013 Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: $299.00| Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Small package. Light. Cheap but good IQ with the NEX 6.
Cons: Not much for this price.

Incredibly tiny and still rather good IQ. THE walk around lens for now. Still hoping for an F4 version for 600.
Ocean

Registered: September 2009
Posts: 21
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS SELP1650 review by Ocean
Review Date: 12/30/2012 Would you recommend the product? No | Total Spent: $300.00| Rating: 5 

 
Pros: nice idea, small, black
Cons: very weak plastics, not really sharp, no hood

My first one made noises while Zooming.
The second got cracked by letting it fall from 4 inches on the table.
Third wasn't sharp enough.
I would love to have a good 16-60 mm - but this isn't!
It has the quality from cheapest compact-cameras.s
The price is much to high, it's just a cheap-starter Zoom.
Even Panasonic can do it much better.
Gatorowl

Registered: October 2009
Posts: 2
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS SELP1650 review by Gatorowl
Review Date: 12/1/2012 Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Compact size, excellent sharpness through 30mm, fast AF
Cons: Severe distortion at wide angles, noticeable vignetting, weak at 50mm

This is my first Nex lens and camera. It was part of the Nex 6 kit. I have experience with both Canon and Nikon DSLRs and this kit lens ranks well with those.


What sets this lens apart is its amazingly compact size. The Sony is truly pocketable (albeit, it needs to be a large pocket) with this lens. I can carry the camera in a sleeve or my fanny pack when I go for a ride.


The lens is a marvel of engineering. It expands when powered on and collapses when powered off. It takes a little time--maybe half a second each way--, but it doesn't bother me. Do remember to power off the camera before switching lenses otherwise the lens will remain in its expanded state. AF is fast and pretty accurate. It locks quickly and suredly to its target. This contrasts with the e-mount 50mm lens, which has a habit of hunting.



If you shoot jpg the IQ is phenomenal due to the automatic lens correction. If you shoot Raw, you will need to deal with the heavy distortion and vignetting wide open. The distortion is almost cartoonish (4-5% or perhaps greater?), and the vignetting is heavy. However, there is now a Lightroom profile that deals with this problems nicely. The lens is actually 13-14mm wide open, so after correction, you do get a true 16mm.


Sharpness and contrast are on par with the best lens I have used through 30mm (e.g., I have used Nikon 14-24mm Sigma 17-50mm, and Canon 10-22mm). However, at 50mm, look elsewhere for critical shots. Sharpness and contrast drop off considerably, and the difference from primes at the FL is substantial. However, it is still serviceable. For most shooting at normal (non-pixel peeping) sizes, differences are acceptable.


For a collapsable kit lens that finally delivers on the Nex promise of compactness, I am extremely happy with this lens. It is stellar over the focal lengths that are most important to my shooting. YMMV.
FrankPhillips

Registered: November 2012
Posts: 2
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS SELP1650 review by FrankPhillips
Review Date: 11/12/2012 Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Far exceeds sharpness of 18-55 kit lens, half the size of kit lens, smooth two-way zoom ring
Cons: tiny little lens cap is difficult to use (needs cap-keeper)

I was one of the early adopters of the NEX system in 2010, but was extremely disappointed in the terrible image quality of the 18-55mm kit lens. Since then, there has not been a decent normal zoom lens offered for the NEX system until the NEX-6 was announced with this 16-50mm kit lens. This lens, along with the mode dial on the NEX-6, sold me on the combination...I put in a pre-order immediately.
I've used it for about a week now, and I have to say that the image quality of the 16-50mm (at least my copy of it) FAR EXCEEDS the pathetic quality of the stock 18-55mm kit lenses (and I've had 3 of 'em). I mean - it's no contest....the 16-50mm wins hands down. I literally can't find any aberration or softness in this lens. Maybe I got a perfect copy of it (which I did a year ago with the PZ 14-42 on the Panasonic...I regret selling that one), but if my copy is representative of others out there, this will be the one to beat as far as kit lenses go.
I rated it a 10 on all counts because the "competition" is other kit lenses I've used from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Sony...so keep that in context. It's not a Canon 24-70/2.8 to be sure, but it's the best kit lens I've ever used.


 






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