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Archive 2013 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)

  
 
Phillip Reeve
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


edit: I have a blog now and you can find this review with additional information there as well:Carl Zeiss 16-70mm 1:4 Review on phillipreeve.net
The pictures are nicer to look at here though;-)





About this review
I am no professional reviewer and don’t make any money from this review, so please treat it as such. Likes are welcome btw ;-).
All images are taken with a Nex-6, processed with Adobe Lightroom 4 and can be found in full resolution at flickr by clicking on the image.
This review is a real world review, so no charts but real world images in full resolution. Photozone or Lensrentals.com are much better at shooting charts than I am.
I also performed some controlled tetst which can be found here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1241824

Specifications
Visit sony to get them link

Size & Weight
You can see the images above, the lens it not much bigger than the average 18-55 Kit lens and therefore a perfect match for the Nex. It weights about 300g which is more than 150g less than similar DSLR lenses.

Build quality
Is quite nice and the lens feels like a premium lens butnot like a professional lens to me (as for example the Canon 24-70/2.8 L does).
The zoom-ring is made from metal and is perfectly damped and feels a little better than the SEL1855's.
It is the same for the focusing ring, manual focusing works quite well with a nice transmission.
The inner barrel and filter thread are made from plastics, play is minimal (which is less than with the SEL1855).

AF
AF is pretty snappy, noiseless and precise. I don't own many E-Mount AF lenses but it is much quicker that the 50/1.8, hunting is rarely seen.

Image stabilizer
It works well and noiseless.
I got sharp images @70mm with a shutter spedd of 1/25 sec, as I didn’t perform a test series I can’t tell you about the exact improvement.


70mm_f56_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


Optical performance
In one sentence: optical performance is really good.

A warning: my lens shows an annoying degree of decentering so other copies might perform better.




Flare resistance
if the full sun is in the frame the image won’t be usable

SEL1670Z_FullResolution (5 von 12) by reevedata, on Flickr

but when it is partially shaded the lens performs quite nice


Bokeh
The bokeh is really nice and you can get a nice amount of blur @70mm.
Sometimes minor onion-rings can be seen.

SEL1670Z_FullResolution (1 von 12) by reevedata, on Flickr


ZEISSHD by Phillip Reeve, on Flickr


SEL1670Z_FullResolution (3 von 12) by reevedata, on Flickr


31mm f5.6 SEL1670F4Z FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


Colors
I was always really happy with the colors, just look at the images.

Distortion
As I mostly do landscapes I didn’t check it, sorry.

Sharpness
When the lens arrived I made an extensive comaprison with many other lenses which can be found here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1241824/2.

What I hadn’t noticed back the was that my lens was decentered so the performance of a perfects lens in the corners would be better, especially when zoomed in.

I mostly photograph landscapes so this it were the review is focused.

I don’t mention the image center because here it performs well at any aperture.

at 16mm: the outer corners never reach optimal sharpness, the rest of the frame is sharp from f/4 with some improvement when stopping down once.
Real world images fullfill my requirements 100%, here are some samples:

SEL1670Z_FullResolution (2 von 12) by reevedata, on Flickr


16mm_f8_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


16mm_f11_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution (2 von 8) by reevedata, on Flickr


16mm_f9_SEL1670F4Z by reevedata, on Flickr


at 21mm: now even the corners are perfectly sharp

mm_f_SEL1670F4Z__FullResolution (6 von 16) by reevedata, on Flickr


21mm_f8_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


at 35mm: for best corner performance it has to be stopped down to f/8 but then the corners are sharp


mm_f_SEL1670F4Z__FullResolution (7 von 16) by reevedata, on Flickr


34mm_f8_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


34mm_f9_SEL1670F4Z34mm_f9_SEL1670F4Z by reevedata, on Flickr


at 50mm: somewhat soft @f/4 stopped down the corners seem to be sharp (I didn’t use it a lot at this setting)

mm_f_SEL1670F4Z__FullResolution (5 von 16) by reevedata, on Flickr


at 70mm: wide open the lens is somewhat soft. Stopped down even the corners are sharp.

(As said earlier: my lens is decentered, so for this review I assume that a perfectly centered lens would perform at least as good as my lenses best corner does.)


70mm_f8_SEL1670F4Z_FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr



70mm f8 SEL1670F4Z FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr


70mm f/5.6 SEL1670Z FullResolution by reevedata, on Flickr

Conclusion
This is a great addition to the Nex lineup.
It offers a wide range at a reasonable speed with good image quality.
Operation is super smooth because of a rather quick AF, OSS and nice build quality.
The only weaknesses I see are a really steep price, somewhat soft corners at 16mm and a certain softness at the long end. And they sold me a copy which certainly shouldn’t have passed their QC.

If you have any questions just ask.

Some more samples
You can find more samples by visitng my flickr account.


Even more samples
These are optimized for web-display and can’t be enlarged.











Edited on Feb 01, 2014 at 10:58 AM · View previous versions



Oct 02, 2013 at 01:58 PM
ken.vs.ryu
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Appreciate all the work. Thanks.


Oct 02, 2013 at 03:19 PM
uscmatt99
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Great review, thanks for that. I went from wanting it, to not wanting it, to wanting it after seeing your work and opinions since you got the lens. Very helpful for the prospective buyer.


Oct 02, 2013 at 03:44 PM
die_kruzen
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Agree, this was very helpful. Appreciated all the work you put into this.




Oct 02, 2013 at 04:06 PM
Mescalamba
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Nice review!

You are like opposite of most review sites, any lens in your hands are capable of producing awesome results. My best guess is.. it isnt cause of lens.



Oct 02, 2013 at 05:01 PM
inglis
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Thanks much for all your work on this lens
and do mention if you are going to exchange your copy



Oct 02, 2013 at 07:53 PM
freaklikeme
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Excellent stuff, Phillip. Thanks for taking the time to share. It looks the the NEX finally got the walk-around lens it deserves.


Oct 02, 2013 at 07:58 PM
ytwong
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Thanks. Now I'm struggling between this lens and the Olympus 12-40 2.8 (and get a better M43 body and go back to M43)..


Oct 03, 2013 at 12:33 AM
glacierpete
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Good review Phillip, Sony should give you the lens for free.





Oct 03, 2013 at 12:42 AM
Phillip Reeve
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


thanks for all the thanks


Oct 04, 2013 at 05:48 AM
serhan_
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Very good review, thanks. Photos have the Zeiss color and contrast punch, looks lovely...

Sb at dpreview compared the 16mm performance against the 16mm pancake and the UW zoom, and has similar findings, no photos but verbal conclusion:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3555037



Oct 04, 2013 at 01:34 PM
farfisa
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Wow, love the shots! Thanks (yes, more thanks!) Phillip!

I've been reading your impressions over the past few weeks in the other thread and it's great to hear how your liking it after a longer period.

After using a Sony 10-18 with a centering defect, it's disappointing to hear that this lens didn't have better QC, but I'm glad you reported it so that people can be careful when picking a sample.

Still, it's remarkable to see what you can do with a flawed lens



Oct 04, 2013 at 03:26 PM
Simon Kennedy
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Thanks for this.


Oct 04, 2013 at 04:24 PM
LightShow
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Too bad this wasn't available at the launch of the NEX-7, I might have bought one.
Now that my sights are on FF if the FE24-70Z is any better than this than it should be popular.



Oct 10, 2013 at 04:54 AM
mortyb
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Great stuff, thanks!


Oct 10, 2013 at 06:02 AM
ocean2059
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Very nice work. Thank you!


Oct 10, 2013 at 06:32 AM
Enirle
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Phillip, are you going back to 4:3? Because of the better lenses?

Enrique



Oct 10, 2013 at 09:11 AM
Phillip Reeve
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


I haven'tused a M43 camera in my life.
I think I will go the Nex-FF route.

Enirle wrote:
Phillip, are you going back to 4:3? Because of the better lenses?

Enrique




Oct 10, 2013 at 09:29 AM
Romain
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


I have received a new copy of the 16-70 Zeiss. This is the third one, after I sent back the two other. Sony was very fast changing the lens, and paid for the shipping cost, so I won't complain. I'll probably buy my next lenses directly from Sony so I can test through copies before I find a good one.

Anyway, this new copy seems very good. I only took it for a walk today, but I it definitely better than the other two I tested. It doesn't seem to have any centering issue, and I'm actually quite impressed by the results, considering the size and weight of the lens. The handling is perfect, and the OSS is a useful addition, though I was not very impressed by its efficiency.

I have uploaded around 80 raw files of photos I took today. It should give you a good idea of the image quality. I took many photos at f/4 and f/8.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/coytrzi2tofuoqb/_19TzlwCe4

enjoy

?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">
?token_hash=AAEDZKWkL3oUKJQG7ocV1V3N8B53j0QcZlig68Wx-QwICA">



Oct 15, 2013 at 04:00 PM
Pengzi
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Review: Zeiss Vario-Tessar E 4/16-70 ZA OSS (sel1670z)


Hey Phillip,

Thank you for a very informative review! I'm planning to get this lens and hope you could answer me a couple of questions
- I didn't get your test about decentered lens, was the displacement of the green door in the corner pictures, which showed the flaw? Did you contact Sony to get a replacement?
- The pictures in the review (which are rich in colors and contrast) - are they directly out of the camera or have you done any pp to them?

Thank you!
Pengzi



Dec 25, 2013 at 04:08 PM
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