Sony E PZ16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (299.99 USD) is the basic kit lens for its APS-C mirrorless cameras line. It includes the popular a6000 series. This zoom is among the lightest and smallest available for any camera system. While it may not be as impressive as more expensive glass, it does serve its purpose well as a beginner zoom. It is a good idea to bundle it with a camera as this will reduce the cost by about $100.
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It's compact, but not silent
Sony's smallest zoom, the E PZ 16-50mm, adds only 1.2 inches to the depth of the body in the collapsed, powered down position. It has a throat that is just as narrow as its lens mount (2.6 inches diameter). The lens almost doubles in size when powered up and ready for use. Sony managed to incorporate optical stabilization into the small lens despite its tiny size.
Sony does not market a lens cover. I wouldn't worry about it—the lens can show some flare when shot straight into the sun, but a hood won't do anything to remedy it. The hood will not stop flare from coming in very close to your lens. However, you can often avoid this by moving your camera slightly. If you are still concerned, you can purchase a Fotodiox hood for $10. It screws into the 40.5mm filter hole.
The outer barrel is fabricated from lightweight metal—the lens weighs just 4.1 ounces. Sony does not offer splash or dust protection. This is available in the upper-echelon and midrange cameras such as the a6400, a6600, and a6600. The lens will no longer be sold in black as of 2020, although it was sold previously in silver.
When you turn on the camera, your lens must extend. This takes approximately a second. This motor and zoom operations are quite loud. If you want your in-camera audio to be heard, it is best not to zoom during video shots. Video users will appreciate the fact that autofocus can be almost silent. Breathing, the effect where the angle of view changes along with focus, is minimal—another plus for video use.
The lens has a single control knob and a zoom rocker. The ring also adjusts the focus if your camera has autofocus. However, the zoom speed can't be adjusted and moves very quickly. While this is great for stills it can make it hard to achieve a smooth, slow zoom when shooting video.
Focus can be used up to 9.8 inches for 1:14.8 life-sized reproduction. Although it's not a macro lens, you can zoom in on smaller objects and focus close to them. This image was taken at 50mm f/8 using the NEX-3N. It is not cropped.
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Very good image quality
The 16-50mm has been used with many cameras throughout the years. The a6400 software and Imatest were used for this review. I also tested the lens using the a6100. The models feature Sony's latest 24-MP APSC image sensor. It is also available in the a6600.
The lens can resolve approximately 2,270 lines using a center-weighted evaluation at 16mm f/3.5. The central part of the frame is very sharp. However, the edges and center area show a slight softening. It is very blurry around the edges, which becomes even more apparent at smaller f-stops.
Stopping down just a little bit to f/4 ups contrast in the mid parts of the frame, bringing them in line with the 2,380-line average score—a result we consider to be very good. The frame achieves very high quality results at both f/5.6 (a little more than 2,500 lines) and at f/8 (a bit less than 2,000).
Optic diffraction is a phenomenon that scatters light through small openings. It's noticeable at f/22 and causes the whole image to look a little soft (1,465 line). It's not a problem with 16-50mm lenses, but it is something that can be experienced with all lenses.
The midpoint of zoom is 33mm. At this point, the largest aperture available is f/5. This is also the highest level of optical performance. It produces images that are clear through most of the frame with a 2,775 line average. The edges are also quite good (2,135 line), but they get even better at f/8 (2661 line). At f/11, diffraction begins to manifest itself, but image quality doesn't suffer until the setting of f/22 (1 599 lines), or minimum f/32 (910 line) is reached.
The image quality at 50mm has the same qualities as at 16mm but at a smaller aperture. The average resolution at 50mm is excellent (2,330 lines), with very soft edges and corners. It's a little bit better at f/8, but peak performance is at f/11 at this focal length—our lab tests report an excellent 2,720 lines, with sharp results from center to edge. The images are good at f/16 but will lose some quality at f/22 (1 680 lines) or f/36 (762 lines).
Distortion isn't a concern when shooting in JPG format or processing Raw images—your camera or Raw processor will leverage a profile to remove it automatically. It's easy to control the story with the Vignette.
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Buy It as a Kit
Although the Sony E 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 PZ OSS may not be the best, it does the job within its limitations. Sony engineers placed great emphasis on size and weight when designing the E 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 PZ OSS. The zoom can be slipped into large coat pockets by combining with the a6000 series of camera. It does its job, despite the fact that it is not wide open at f-stop and has a noisy, oversensitive zoom dial.
Sony has better lenses, but they will cost more. Although the E 18-135mm lens is compact and light, it has a greater zoom power and performs well. It costs $650 more. There's also the premium E 16-55mm F2.8 for $1,300—it's an outstanding zoom, but not an option if you're shopping on a budget.
The 16-50mm is most likely what you are thinking of as a starter lens to a new camera. It is not something I recommend you buy. However, at $100 more than the a6000 series kits it makes, this lens can still be a great starter option and a gateway to Sony's excellent camera system.