Review on 📷 Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera Lens: Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T DT Zoom Lens 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 by Noell Lieteau

I have been a hobby photographer for many years and take pictures with film cameras. When I bought my old film camera, it came with a cheap "kit" lens that didn't live up to my expectations. I ended up having to buy a new (and better) lens for it. I recently bought a Sony Alpha A100 digital camera with an 18-70mm DT "kit" lens. sharp and crisp, just like I wanted or expected. So, as with film cameras, I bought the best lens for the Sony Alpha, the Carl Zeiss SAL-1680Z 16-80mm zoom lens. The lens is obviously of much better quality. It appears to be thicker and made in Japan instead of China. The lens is also heavier than the usual "cheap" plastic lenses. Not "too heavy", but a weight that speaks of "quality". However, the big difference came when I TRYED the lens and zoomed in on the resulting digital images. zoom length. The only optical "problem" with this lens is VERY little vignetting at the extreme corners of the image when the lens is at its widest angle (16mm). The field of view of this lens is so large that lens attachments such as the UV protection ring must be carefully selected so that they do not interfere with the image. Scaling is smooth. Focus is super fast and shockingly accurate. The lens has an internal clutch that disables the focus ring in autofocus mode. Cheap kit lenses don't have this feature. This lens is surprisingly good - it complements the Sony Alpha DSLR perfectly. If you are going to buy a Sony Alpha camera, be sure to buy this Carl Zeiss lens or another lens of similar quality to get the most out of the camera's capabilities. Edit to add: I recently bought an A-700 camera body. Of course, this lens also works with the A-700. And the resulting images are even better! This lens is rated 5+ stars!