08-16-2011, 05:19 PM
Some words from the owner of Zeiss 16-80 + Sony A55 combo.
On the plus side:
- the Zeiss 16-80 lens has some un-ignorable speed advantage on the long end compared to Nikon and Canon competitors
- image quality has no serious shortcomings; even vignetting is not that much an issue with it
- smaller filter size saves you some bucks; just try to suggest which filters you need
- adding to the above, you can use the 62mm Nikon 6T macro add-on lens for true close-ups
On the minus side:
- none of these lenses is really compact; for the Zeiss 16-80 lens you'd better have a camera that's heavier than the Sony A55; the A580 sounds more reasonable; or wait for A77 to appear
- the Zeiss 16-80 + Sony A55 combo always hangs lens-down when carried, and the zoom extends in a minute; this is a major drawback in my opinion; though it doesn't creep when just pointed upward or downward and not shacked
[quote name='dhazeghi' timestamp='1313086641' post='10638']
Hello,
given that this is a lens testing site and the folks here have more than average experience comparing lenses(!), I was wondering what people think is the best (optically) of the 5x standard zoom lenses (24-120mm or thereabouts). I'm particularly interested in lenses for the smaller sensors (4/3 and APS-C) as these systems offer small prosumer bodies. From what I can see the options are:
Canon: 15-85/3.5-5.6 (EOS 600D)
Nikon: 16-85/3.5-5.6 (D5100)
Sony: 16-80/3.5-4.5 (A55)
Olympus: 12-60/2.8-4.0 (Panasonic G3)
Since all these systems offer decent prosumer 16-18MP bodies, and I'm looking for a backup walk-around kit, I figure it makes sense to consider the lenses first and foremost.
Thanks,
DH
[/quote]
On the plus side:
- the Zeiss 16-80 lens has some un-ignorable speed advantage on the long end compared to Nikon and Canon competitors
- image quality has no serious shortcomings; even vignetting is not that much an issue with it
- smaller filter size saves you some bucks; just try to suggest which filters you need
- adding to the above, you can use the 62mm Nikon 6T macro add-on lens for true close-ups
On the minus side:
- none of these lenses is really compact; for the Zeiss 16-80 lens you'd better have a camera that's heavier than the Sony A55; the A580 sounds more reasonable; or wait for A77 to appear
- the Zeiss 16-80 + Sony A55 combo always hangs lens-down when carried, and the zoom extends in a minute; this is a major drawback in my opinion; though it doesn't creep when just pointed upward or downward and not shacked
[quote name='dhazeghi' timestamp='1313086641' post='10638']
Hello,
given that this is a lens testing site and the folks here have more than average experience comparing lenses(!), I was wondering what people think is the best (optically) of the 5x standard zoom lenses (24-120mm or thereabouts). I'm particularly interested in lenses for the smaller sensors (4/3 and APS-C) as these systems offer small prosumer bodies. From what I can see the options are:
Canon: 15-85/3.5-5.6 (EOS 600D)
Nikon: 16-85/3.5-5.6 (D5100)
Sony: 16-80/3.5-4.5 (A55)
Olympus: 12-60/2.8-4.0 (Panasonic G3)
Since all these systems offer decent prosumer 16-18MP bodies, and I'm looking for a backup walk-around kit, I figure it makes sense to consider the lenses first and foremost.
Thanks,
DH
[/quote]