Excellent lens. Good for shallow depth of field and general photography at a "normal" focal length. Contrasty render with a pleasing 3d pop.
It cannot perform miracles though - F1.4 on M4/3s is still a long way from F1.4 on 35mm film from a depth of field perspective. Nonetheless, it produces images that are sharp with a pleasingly blurred background. Probably not quite as sharp as the panasonic 20mm, but the bokeh is much more attractive than the 20mm. IMHO the best all round prime lens for M4/3s
3 of 3 found this helpful
19 April 2008
Sony SAL-1680Z 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 - Impressive Lens
I had seen several reviews of this product promising that it was a major step up from the Sony 18-70mm kit lens, but had always been put off by the price. Finding the lens at a very reasonable price on ebay I decided to buy it and I have not been disappointed. I've been really impressed with the quality of pictures this lens produces when mounted on my Sony a100 and it feels like a quality, well made piece of kit. Recommended.
1 of 1 found this helpful
16 August 2010
Excellent Monitor for Macbook
If you have a Mac, other than an iMac, this is one of the best options for a larger display. If you have a Macbook, it is beyond excellent. If you have a PC, think hard about whether this is appropriate.
What's to like? Well the LED backlighting gives some remarkably bright but even colours to the display. Its fair to say the picture quality is stunning (comparing well to my Dell u2711). If you have a Macbook, the magsafe power cable avoids unsightly cable mess. The built in speakers aren't floor shakers, but they are very precise. While the 27" size of the new Apple Cinema display is impressive, it becomes unsuitable for many situations through its sheer size as a consequence. The 24" model is a little bit more practically sized.
What's not to like - essentially, if you don't own a Mac (or the Macbook like laptops with mini displayport coming onto the market like the HP envy 14) then it becomes less attractive as you'll need an adaptor to connect (the display has a single built in mini displayport input). Also, the Mini Displayport cable is very short, so you may need an extension if your computer is on the floor.
Despite this being (at this stage) PC unfriendly, ultimately, the picture quality is stunning and I am using it with a Macbook Pro, hence my 5 star review.