Sony 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T DT Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera

Product Description D1) SONY 16-80MM 3.5-4 ZEISS Lens From the Manufacturer Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 ZA Zoom LensThe lightest and most compact zoom in the Carl Zeiss lineup, this lens offers the greatest zoom range making it a superb single-lens solution for many photographers. It delivers acclaimed Carl Zeiss optical performance and handling with image quality that rivals the best prime lenses at any focal length.TechnologyCircular ApertureWhen changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.Aspherical lens elementsAspherical lens design dramatically reduces spherical aberration while also reducing lens size and weight. Spherical aberration is a slight misalignment of the light rays projected on the image plane. This is caused by differences in refraction at different points on conventional spherical lenses which degrade image quality in large-aperture lenses. Specially shaped “aspherical” elements near the diaphragm restore alignment of light rays at the image plane, maintaining high sharpness and contrast even at maximum aperture and can also be used at other points in the optical path to reduce distortion. Well-designed aspherical elements can reduce the total number of elements required in the lens, thus reducing overall size and weight. Advanced Aspherical (AA) elements are an evolved variant, featuring an extremely high thickness ratio between the center and periphery. AA elements are exceedingly difficult to produce, relying on the most advanced molding technology to consistently and precisely achieve the required shape and surface accuracy, resulting in significantly improved image accuracy and quality.Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coatingCoated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss - and this superb lens features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not simply applied to any lens - the T* symbol only appears on multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore guaranteeing the highest quality.Distance encoderThe distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.Additional FeaturesInternal focusingOnly the middle groups of the optical system move to achieve focus, so the overall length of the lens does not change. Other important benefits include fast autofocusing and a short minimum focusing distance. Also, the filter thread at the front of the lens does not rotate, which is convenient if you’re using a polarizing filter.2006 Sony Electronics, Inc.All rights reserved. Sony, ± (alpha) system and Super SteadyShot are trademarks of Sony. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.

• 5x zoom designed specifically for DSLR APS-size CCD
• Superb performance from wide angle to telephoto
• 2 glass-molded aspherical lenses for extra precision
• Circular aperture for pleasing defocused effects.Equivalent 35mm when mounted on an APS format DSLR - 24 - 120mm
• Auto clutch to stop manual focus ring rotation, wide focus ring for a solid feel in manual focusing