Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80 mm f/3.5-4.5 review - Build quality

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Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80 mm f/3.5-4.5

25 August 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

3. Build quality

Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* DT 16-80 mm f/3.5-4.5 is really compact, taking into account its range and fastness. It is slightly bigger than the kit 18-70 mm but significantly smaller than Sigma 17-70 mm, which has smaller range but is a bit faster. The tested lens’s dimensions increase significantly (almost twice) at 80 mm focal length. The front element pulls out on a solid barrel, which works stable without any sideways movements .

Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80 mm f/3.5-4.5 - Build quality

The lens body is made of black metal in a very good taste; on one side there’s the Zeiss logo, on the other – the logo of Sony. In the middle we find a clear distance scale, above it a comfortable manual focus ring, below – a zoom ring. The last element moves with a changeable resistance, significantly more loosely for the 16-30 range, a bit tighter for the rest of the range. On one side, the lens ends with a non-rotating filter thread, 62 mm in diameter, and a lens hood fitting, with a petal-type lens hood being a part of the set; on the other side, the lens has a metal bayonet.

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Inside the tested Zeiss we have 14 lenses in 10 groups (two of them aspherical) and a round 7 blades aperture which can be closed to f/22-29 depending on the focal length.