Received the 1670z this morning and immediately attached it to my Nex 6. The lens fussed a bit at first, it wouldn't focus and made a few 'interesting' whirring noises. I took it off and cleaned the contacts with a bit of alcohol and reattached it to the camera and so far it has been behaving itself.
The zoom action is very smooth but the manual focus ring is a little narrow and you don't have to turn it much to overshoot your focus, I am spoiled by the huge focus ring of the 24!
Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent lens, it really feels good in the hand and is not too heavy or large. It has very good close focus and the OSS works well. In fact this lens and the 24F18 make the perfect kit, as far as i am concerned and I recommend it.
I will keep an eye on any quality issues and update this review but with the contact cleaning I am hoping that only good images lie ahead.
CZR
11/3/13 Update
Today I had a similar issue with a different lens on the camera. So I have to conclude that the 1670Z lens was not at fault, which actually ticks me off since it was a very sharp lens! If I could do everything over again, I would just get the Nex 6 body and this 1670 lens as it covered all my needs very well.
10/6/13 Update
After a second failure, I cleaned the contacts and the pins in the camera with a cotton swab and some alcohol, so far so good, have not had any problems since.
Lens performs like a champ and is on par in every way with the high end CaNikon f4 zooms. Very Pleased.
10/12/13 Update
After a trip to the local farmers market this morning I have started the return process, the lens failed several times and I will have to get an exchange. Too bad as this one was very sharp and I am left to wonder if the replacement will be as least as good..
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This Item  Sony SEL1670Z Vario-Tessar T E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $798.00 | $798.00 | -36% $511.88 New Price: $798.00 | $548.00 | -6% $264.00 Typical: $280.00 | $599.96 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tomorrow, May 9 | Get it as soon as Tomorrow, May 9 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it May 13 - 14 |
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| Sold By | Amazon.com | AVC Photo Store & Studio | Minty Gadgets (we track serial numbers) | Amazon.com | Digital Goja | Abe's Electronics Center |
| lens type | Standard | zoom | Telephoto | Wide Angle, Telephoto | Wide Angle | Wide Angle |
| compatible mountings | Sony E | Sony E | Sony E | Sony E | Sony E | Sony E |
| lens design | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom | Prime | Zoom |
| focus type | Stepper motor | Auto/Manual | Stepper motor | Stepper motor | Auto Focus | Auto/Manual |
| minimum focal length | 16 millimeters | 13.78 millimeters | 16 millimeters | 18 millimeters | 30 millimeters | 16 millimeters |
| max focal length | 70 millimeters | 70 millimeters | 70 millimeters | 105 millimeters | 30 millimeters | 70 millimeters |
| fixed focal length | 70 millimeters | 105 millimeters | 70 millimeters | 105 millimeters | 1 millimeters | 70 millimeters |
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Would Be Perfecf if Not so Flawed
There is a lot to like about this lens and there is a lot I like about this lens but at the end of the day, it is being returned. I have wanted this lens for well over a year now. I liked the focal range, the constant f4 aperture, the somewhat compact size, the chance for high quality contrast, color and images from Zeiss. It just seemed to be the type of lens you leave on for 90% of the time. However, I have read a number of reviews and while many people praise this lens, there are a lot of people who were disappointed with it for a variety of reasons. The overarching reason seems to be the quality control with this lens and that turns out to be the reason I returned it.Most of the complaints I’ve read have focused on the decentered issue with this lens in having an imbalance between corner and even center sharpness and softness. I have to say, that testing the lens for the short time I had with it, there did seem to be some issues with some corners being softer than others but for me it wasn’t horrible and the center sharpness was superb and more comparable to a good prime than I expected. Center sharpness was good to great through most of the range and apertures and while the corners were not consistent with each other or themselves at different ranges and apertures, they were decent.The only zoom lenses I own are the kit 16-50 and the 18-105 f4 so I can really only compare the lens to these two lenses without going into comparing this to a prime. It was far and away better than the kit lens as expected in terms of the constant aperture, the focal range, and image quality in general. I also expected it to be slightly better in image quality than the 18-105 but felt the image was a good bit better than I expected making it a pleasant surprise. I really like the 18-105 but the Zeiss 16-70 was far more compact, slightly wider although losing distance, and the image quality seemed to noticeably surpass it.It sounds great so why did I return it? While I believe my copy was maybe slightly decentered, the image quality was still good so it came down to two issues I had with the lens. The first somewhat minor issue was the zoom ring. It was smooth until about the 50mm mark where it almost gets stuck making for very bad zooming if you’re using this for video. This might change with some breaking in but from my experience with Zeiss lenses, their rings are buttery smooth and this was disappointing to say the least.My second major issue the straw that broke the “cameras” back was what looks to be a large dust particle inside the lens. I have added pictures to show it. I know dust isn’t necessarily an issue inside the lens and I know that eventually even the best of lenses will get dust inside due to the nature of their design but for my new $1000 Zeiss lens that already has a sticky zoom ring and slightly decentered issue, I couldn’t justify keeping a brand new lens with a large piece of dust in it brand new. I have purchased a number of lenses on Amazon and none of my Zeiss or Sony lenses have ever got to me with a large piece of dust clearly inside the lens.In the end I want to like this lens for all the good that it has. The compact size for the focal range and fixed aperture not to mention good image quality for a zoom is really one of a kind for native E-mount glass. Add to that image stabilization, T* coating, and Zeiss colors and contrast and you have a truly amazing lens….on paper. In reality it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped and I’m not sure if there is something inherently flawed in the design or if this could be the amazing lens people want it to be if it just had good quality control. For now because of the potential it has and the image quality I have seen, I am comfortable giving this 3 stars.I’ve heard good copies of this lens exist and if that is true, I can still recommend taking the gamble to see if you get one. The price is high which is going to make me hold off on taking the gamble again right now, but unless Sony releases something similar to this soon I think I’ll probably end up taking the plunge again eventually. This could be the ultimate travel lens for Sony E-mount cameras but if you don’t want to take the gamble and don’t mind a bigger lens with slightly inferior image quality, the Sony 18-105 F4 PZ lens might be a better option at a fraction of the cost.(Pictures - 1.)16-70 on A6500 2.)Zeiss 24 f1.8 on left 16-70 f4 on right 3.) Dust inside brad new lens)
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
This Mighty Zeiss is a 4X zoom, but it's 3X as long as the kit zoom and weighs 3-1/2 times as much because it's solid metal and glass. It isn't stealthy. It has a crisp no-nonsense professional look, as it should, being Zeiss badged and producing professional image quality. It also holds f/4.0 throughout its 4X range, equivalent to 24-105mm (full-frame).
It is not cheap. I probably couldn't afford it, but I'd buy it again, and recommend it to you.
I carefully read many reviews and saw complaints, especially about the lenses arriving decentered. At unboxing, I tested and found no flaws at all. I've been using it almost daily for 3 months now and it is my walkabout lens, often paired with my new-to-me Sony SEL1018 10-18mm Wide-Angle Zoom Lens (Renewed). Together they give a really useful range from 15mm to 105mm, but if I go out with just one lens, it will be the 16-70 f/4 Zeiss.
Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase
The Perfect (but $pendy) Replacement for the Sony 16-50 Starter Lens
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
I have long been perfectly content with my Sony 16-50mm "kit" lens. I used it a great deal, liking its compactness, light weight, and inconspicuity, but I also recognized its limitations, such as its slow-and-slower f/3.5-5.6 variable aperture, and the fact that it was only a 3X zoom.Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
This Mighty Zeiss is a 4X zoom, but it's 3X as long as the kit zoom and weighs 3-1/2 times as much because it's solid metal and glass. It isn't stealthy. It has a crisp no-nonsense professional look, as it should, being Zeiss badged and producing professional image quality. It also holds f/4.0 throughout its 4X range, equivalent to 24-105mm (full-frame).
It is not cheap. I probably couldn't afford it, but I'd buy it again, and recommend it to you.
I carefully read many reviews and saw complaints, especially about the lenses arriving decentered. At unboxing, I tested and found no flaws at all. I've been using it almost daily for 3 months now and it is my walkabout lens, often paired with my new-to-me Sony SEL1018 10-18mm Wide-Angle Zoom Lens (Renewed). Together they give a really useful range from 15mm to 105mm, but if I go out with just one lens, it will be the 16-70 f/4 Zeiss.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2015
Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase
Great and lightweight! I bought this lens for my Sony a6000 mirrorless camera after my friend recommended it and its been amazing so far. I don't know much about cameras (very much an amateur) who only shoots for fun and takes a bajillion photos everywhere I go, but it works great with the a6000 body that I have. The 16-70 mm is pretty standard and lets you zoom in okay, but not always as far as I'd like. I might just have to invest in a different lens if I really want to get those faraway shots or spy on birds and squirrels :) Here are some shots I took with this lens (the blood moon would've been even better if I had a tripod! But pretty good for not having one)
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Raju Mudunuri
Received as promised! Great service!
Reviewed in India on October 18, 2017Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase
