Photoclubalpha

I have posted this under Lens Lore but maybe the Q&A section would be a better place.

I have been wondering for a while if my CZ16080 S/N 3820096is faulty. It was purchased as a kit lens with my A700 back in January. I primarily use Wide Angle settings so only noticed in June that between 75 and 80 mm there is a rough patch. At that section there is a resistance and roughness, and I can see the barrel extension moving slightly out of alignment. I did not think it had an effect on the image quality or sharpness until today when I compared some pictures taken by my son of the same object using my old DSC-R1 with the "same" CZ lens. His Jpegs definitely look sharper and clearer. I must confess that I have always been impressed by the R1 images. Both cameras have been set at the neutral sharpness setting.

I seem to remember that David Kilpatrick had a problem with his first 16-80 lenses and had to have two replaced. I have e-mailed Sony 6 August and still waiting for a reply. I wonder if they have all gone on holiday.

Is there anyone on the forum who can provide an opinion?

This is the same problem I had with two examples. When zooming back from 80mm to 75mm, the lens goes over a 'lump' in the zooming, the image shifts slightly and it goes out of focus.

If you have this problem, I suggest you try to get a warranty replacement or repair - Sony does not acknowledge this as a problem in all countries. My properly working example of this lens has no sudden resistance, no image movement and no focus shift.

David

Thanks David.

I have sent a follow-up e-mail to Sony and I will return the lens for repair/replacement either direct to Sony or the retailer. I did suspect that I had the same problem as that described by you in earlier contributions. My son and myself took pictures yesterday of the same subject. He used my old R1 and I took pictures with my A700 & CZ16-80. His Jpegs looked sharper than mine at 100%.

John Peter