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

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

25 August 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

5. Chromatic aberration

A wide focal length range lens, with a focal length as short as 16 mm, is very difficult to deal with when it comes to chromatic aberration correction. We were really curious how our Zeiss would fare.

In the middle of the focal length range there was nothing to complain about – the aberration level is about 0.05 –0.07 %, which won’t bother you in the slightest. For 16 mm the aberration becomes visible, keeping the range of 0.12% so the higher medium level. Taking into account the focal length value – not so bad.

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What’s interesting, the highest aberration level can be seen at 80 mm and with a significant stopping down. It is a good idea of the designers, by the way. If you can’t reduce an aberration, it’s better to have it where it doesn’t bother you much. At 80 mm we use mostly portrait apertures f/4.5-5.6 (still very sharp), with low or medium aberration. The use of f/8 is rare and only then the aberration can truly be a problem but it often disappears, blurred in the low depth of field.

To sum up, the result in this category is still positive.