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Sony Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f3.5-4.5 ZA Gordon Laing, August 2007

More results : Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting

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Sony DT 16-80mm vs Sony DT 18-70mm wide-angle geometry comparison

To compare the geometric distortion of the Sony DT 16-80mm against the 18-70mm at their shortest focal lengths, we photographed a test chart consisting of a grid pattern at an aperture of f8. The images were then analysed with Imatest using 5th Order line calculation and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Smaller percentages are better.

Zoomed-out to 16mm, the Sony DT 16-80mm exhibited 4.03% barrel distortion which is slightly worse than the DT 18-70mm kit lens at 18mm, although it's not a massive difference and barely noticeable in practice; to be fair, the DT 16-80mm of course also offers wider coverage.

Sony DT 16-80mm
Using Sony Alpha A100
Sony DT 18-70mm
Using Sony Alpha A100
Sony 16-80mm at 18mm f8
Sony 18-70mm at 18mm f8
16-80mm at 16mm f8
Distortion: 4.03% barrel
18-70mm at 18mm f8
Distortion: 3.6% barrel


Sony DT 16-80mm vs Sony DT 18-70mm telephoto geometry comparison

To compare the geometric distortion of the Sony DT 16-80mm against the DT 18-70mm at their longest focal lengths, we photographed a test chart consisting of a grid pattern at an aperture of f8. The images were then analysed with Imatest using 5th Order line calculation and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Smaller percentages are better.

Zoomed-into its longest focal length, the Sony DT 16-80mm exhibits 0.52% pincushion distortion, which is measurably worse than the kit lens when it's zoomed-in. It's not terrible by any means though, especially when compared to other 5x lenses with similar ranges; the Canon EF-S 17-85mm for example exhibits 0.967% pincushion distortion when zoomed-in. Our final results page tests the Sony DT 16-80mm light fall-off.

Sony DT 16-80mm
Using Sony Alpha A100
Sony DT 18-70mm
Using Sony Alpha A100
Sony 16-80mm at 80mm f8
Sony 18-70mm at 70mm f8
16-80mm at 80mm f8
Distortion: 0.52% pincushion
18-70mm at 70mm f8
Distortion: 0.27% pincushion

Sony DT 16-80mm lens results continued...

Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
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