(SR5) 16-50mm f/2.8 lens is SSM (and not a Zeiss lens!)
Before to go bed I can share a little rumor with you
After posting the 16-50mm lens rumor today I got some feedback from known and new sources. They all said the upcoming new 16-50mm f/2.8 lens will be SSM! And it is not a Zeiss lens!
Good Night folks!
Andreas (veeery tired)

noobidoo
10 months ago |First!
SonyA77
10 months ago |What?
Sky_walker
10 months ago |Told ya’. It will be SSM… yet everyone panicked that it’s gonna use SAM. And here is the confirmation it’s not.
*rejoice*
df
10 months ago |ควยidiot
thundersha
10 months ago |Sounds Great
(can we still expecting ZA 16-80/2.8-3.5?)
admin
10 months ago |Don’t know. But I just got rumors about a the other lenses. I am working on it to post them as soon as I can on SAR.
SAR77
10 months ago |Well that’s great news! Now comes the hard decision between this lens and the CZ 16-80 3.5-4.5, what do you think would be best on the a77 with the current info about it?
SonyA77
10 months ago |Who knows? If you don’t need the focal length, the new SSM lens. But it could be a lemon for all we know.
Andy
10 months ago |Is it correct that all the new Zeiss lenses will be intended for FF?
JB
10 months ago |Can’t wait for the new lens rumours.
Sony needs to get some new lens out there. Lack of lens is hurting Sony.
Max Kimmich
10 months ago |I agree with you. Compared with the big boys, Sony is leaving too much behind. I’m drooling for the A77 (and I really hope it comes out in August instead October), but if I am going to stay with Sony, I want more lenses. I will try the A77 with my lenses. If it doesn’t satisfies me, I’ll be sad to resign to my lenses, but I will have to change to Nikon.
Jakop.com
10 months ago |Thanks Andreas have a good night.
kalpurush :)
10 months ago |Yes! I am going to have a good sleep as well!
Edgars
10 months ago |???????????????????
FF ZA 135mm 1.8 SSM
FF 150mm f2.8 macro
FF G 400mm f5.6 SSM
FF G 24-135mm f4 SSM
FF G 70-200mm f4 SSM
???????????????????
Futile
10 months ago |I’m ok with that outcome.
Zeiss would be great, but SSM for all Alpha lenses is needed. I just shot a wedding this weekend with the 5Dmk2 and L lenses (it was great)…. Sony has some good equivalents, but they just ain’t as fast in the AF department (even with SSM). Anyways, right now I’m enjoying my NEX5 + toylens
Kersten
10 months ago |I really couldn’t care less if it’s Zeiss or not. It’s SSM!
Hopefully with the same nice colorrendering as other sony G glass.
I’m satisfied.
Sky_walker
10 months ago |+1. As long as quality is fine I don’t care of the label.
David
10 months ago |I disagree. The SSM seems just as fast as a Canon equivalent to me. And the screw drive lenses are pretty fast too, though not silent. Even the cheap 50 1.7 flies into focus with an a850/900. And I’m surprised you said the 5d2 had quick autofocus
Sky_walker
10 months ago |Focusing speed in major part depends on lens design. Motor used isn’t as important as some would like to see it (but never the less it’s still a factor).
SonyA77
10 months ago |Depends what body and lens you are using. The right body and screw lens easily beats SSM.
Futile
10 months ago |I typically use my A700 + 50mmF1.4 / 85mmF1.4 / 20mmF2.8 / 16-80mmZeiss.
The 50mm is fast, but focus is hit and miss. The rest are slower, but more accurate (apart from the 85mm).
I established a while ago that the majority of my out-of-focus issues stemed from the common focus+recompose habit. I didn’t seem to suffer from that on the 5Dmk2? No idea why.
Sony
10 months ago |What is ‘SSM’?? Thanks!
SonyA77
10 months ago |Have a look near the bottom of this page. Also browse the lens database and reviews if you are buying lenses
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/lens_glossary.asp
JB
10 months ago |Dont forget the Holy Trinty.
???????????????????
FF ZA 35mm 1.4 SSM
FF ZA 50mm 1.2 SSM
FF ZA 85mm 1.4 SSM
???????????????????
JS
10 months ago |Yeah, I’m always baffled by the assertion that sony needs more lenses…..exactly how many lenses would satisfy people and how many would these people be buying?
Raul S.
10 months ago |Look at Canon and Nikon users…they enjoy having a vast selection of lenses at their disposition, even if they don’t buy all of them…Options it’s what makes users stay on a brand. And from time to time, they buy things and make recommendations to other photographers…
Anyway, I’m keeping with Sony hoping they will get better in a few months. And right now they’re pretty good, just need more options.
Matt
10 months ago |Bad example. Big selection even if you don’t buy them all.
That is like people stick to a Porsche because there is a big range even if you can only afford the key-ring.
It really depends on whether they have the lens at the price and quality you want.
kalpurush :)
10 months ago |Not many people might not buy Sony lenses but a lot of photographers would buy new A-mount lenses if it is available in the market. More choices of lenses will attract other brand users as well IMHO
SonyA77
10 months ago |For the vast majority of their intended market, Sony don’t need a wide selection of lenses. It’s why they are in no hurry with lenses.
They make money from releasing new bodies, not expensive lenses that the majority of Sony dSLR users will not be able to afford or want!
Before somebody says that “they” need more lenses, you are in the MINORITY of Sony users. The majority are people who will never buy anything more than the kit lenses.
We here are the minority who want more lenses, but we aren’t the ones making huge profits and sales for Sony.
john
10 months ago |200 F2.8 G
200 F4 Macro G
300 F4 G
JS
10 months ago |Well, between Zeiss and G Series and all the old Minolta glass….I’m covered and don’t see the problem.
Carl
10 months ago |All of these ones already exist, if you don’t mind the screw. Both 200s are excellent.
What I want is a fast wide angle. Something in the 18-24mm range that’s at least f/1.8. Too bad Sony never went through with KM’s 24/1.4 design.
SRL
10 months ago |Okay, and just a real
ZA 35mm 1.4 SSM
ZA 50mm 1.2 SSM
Frank
10 months ago |That’s great!
Marcohard
10 months ago |Not a Zeiss! I love the color of Zeiss.
Maveric19
10 months ago |Great news. I can’t wait for the test results on the A77.
pancanikonpus
10 months ago |Stunning SAR!
I saw at M43 Rumor, they used to run vote to ask lenses from Panny and the vote result are come true. Why not at SAR we did the same. only the most votes ask Sony to produce the lenses.
frosti7
10 months ago |because sony gives a frak
Sky_walker
10 months ago |There was already such poll. Look in the history. Most lenses winning were totally unrealistic to happen or miles away from budget of everyone visiting this website. LOL
Carl
10 months ago |Wasn’t the most popular a 24-120/4, or something to that effect? That’s a pretty stock lens type. Neither the Canon 24-105 IS nor the Nikon 24-120/4 VR is especially expensive when you consider the range they cover.
Sky_walker
10 months ago |Well, I guess my memory doesn’t serve me well.
70-200 f/4 taking second place also wasn’t anything unrealistic.
Still though people went crazy with voting for stuff like “50mm f/1.0 SSM”, “100mm f/1.8 Macro” or “85mm f/1.2 SSM”…
Carl
10 months ago |Well, there’ll always be people like that on the net. If you go down the list and pick out only the formulas that are realistic, the top few come across as quite worthy choices.
Having said that, I personally would likely buy a 50/1.0 if the image quality was up to snuff. I like fast glass.
AdamC
10 months ago |FF ZA 35mm 1.4 SSM
FF ZA 50mm 1.2 SSM
FF ZA 85mm 1.4 SSM
would be priceless… ! … 2k$ / item ? or more ?
add a77 + aFF = no more complaining about sony’s lenses and hardware…
I won’t believe if I won’t see them in my local store…
Rob
10 months ago |My Sony “G” 70-200 SSM costs about $2k – wonder what this one will cost? I thought someone said more than the CZ 16-80….. Any hints out there that I’ve missed?
acolyte
10 months ago |Yeah you missed the rumor. This is a DT lens and rumored to cost $750-$800
Rurik
10 months ago |There was no info that this 16-50mm is a DT.
It should be FF.
My December
10 months ago |No other brands have made a FF lens in the range of 16/17-50/55mm (the nearest to this is the Canon 17-40mm). Since other brands’ 17-55mm lenses are DX/APSC/Crop lenses, so this 16-50mm SSM will definitely be a DT lens as well.
Besides, its only natural the A77 (a APSC sensor camera) is shipped with an APSC lens as well.
Carl
10 months ago |The 17-40L is a pretty popular lens, however, so it’s not like no market exists for longer range wide zooms.
Mark
10 months ago |There are APS-C SSM lens cost around 1k, 70-300 G SSM is one. So the new 16-50 SSM (hopefully G lens) will be good.
My December
10 months ago |The Sony 70-300mm G is not a DT lens. It can be used in FullFrame too.
Mark
10 months ago |Thanks for the correction. 70-300 G indeed is a FF lens.
Davidlam
10 months ago |How about DT10-24/4, DT60/2 Macro, DT50-150/2.8 to fill the gaps ?
klw10
10 months ago |This makes sense that it will not be a Zeiss lens.
James C.
10 months ago |The SSM on the 70-300mm G lens is very quick and quiet. If true, the 16-50mm lens will be a worthwhile addition to the Sony lens line. I can’t wait to see what the new Zeiss lens offerings will be.
Zstan
10 months ago |SSM!! Very good news. Now we more quality lenses for aps c!
A new UWA would be most welcomed.
SonyA77
10 months ago |If you want UWA don’t bother waiting for Sony, get the Sigma 8-16mm
FullFrame NEX (24x36)!
10 months ago |Hey Andrea!
Any word on the Sony NEX E5? The NEX C3 is starting to ship, I was wondering about the E5, I might upgrade my NEX 5 for a new one, or maybe the NEX 7.
Pictures/Features/Prices/Availability???
Keep up the good work!
kalpurush :)
10 months ago |Thanks Andrea for the good news. Though I still hope it is a FF G lens, not a DT!
My December
10 months ago |Because if it is a FF lens, the Sony 16-35mm CZ would go to a waste.
Jennzhen
10 months ago |Not really, the IQ might be less than 16-35mm CZ, so you still have to choose between IQ and wider range.
Nightingale
10 months ago |Would also like to see more of the old Minolta lenses in a new SSM Sony version.
Many of the old Minolta lenses cost almost as much as the brand new from Canon and Nikon.
But have no warranty and might lack spare parts.
This is not so attraktive for newcomers.
I would like to see the 200mm/f4 macro, 400mm/4,5, 300mm/f4 and of course my most beloved 200mm/f2,8
Thanks for all the work, Andrea
SonyA77
10 months ago |How many newcomers do you think will be interested in a 200mm f4 macro, 400mm f4.5, 300mm f4 and a 200mm f2.8?
Sony is not yet in a position to produce a line of ultra expensive lenses for the few tiny amount of Sony users who would buy them.
It has taken decades for Canikon to build their user-base(s) so they have plenty of pro users wanting pro lenses. This justifies the development and manufacturing costs for Canikon.
I think a lot of users here need a reality check when it comes to how quickly they think Sony will produce lenses that will not sell in huge numbers…:D
Carl
10 months ago |Sony’s market share is about the same as Minolta’s was, and yet Minolta made those lenses.
And if Sony only cared about volume sales, why are they still making that exorbitantly expensive 300/2.8? Or any of the Zeiss lenses for that matter? Heck, most of their lens line is irrelevant to consumers who just want to take photos of their kids with a DSLR. Even a 16-50/2.8 is unnecessarily flash, low end customers probably wouldn’t be able to tell a difference from a standard 18-55mm.
SonyA77
10 months ago |…and Konica-Minolta went out of business in camera terms. There’s the clue!
Carl
10 months ago |That’s the fault of Vectis, and Minolta not releasing an affordable DSLR until mid-2004, almost half a decade after their competition.
WiredAfrican
10 months ago |+1 to SonyA77
Once Sony has a larger pro following you should see a wider range of high quality lenses and hopefully better pricing on them as economies of scale kick in.
Sony should not forget though that there are a growing number of us very loyal Sony customers that realise the benefit of quality glass and would be prepared to spend a little more to have the best possible lenses in their bag…..at least 2 to cover the 16-50-200/300mm ranges (most preferably sub f3.5) and then possibly 1-2 primes (definitely sub f3.5). At least that’s what I would want, so I could cover the type of photography I do. Having bought a DT when I bought my first Sony A350, I’m never going to buy another DT quality lens….lesson learnt.
Nightingale
10 months ago |So you think a 200/f4 macro for maybe 1200€ would be harder to sell, than a 300/f2,8 for 6000€ or 500/f4 for maybe 9000€.
I doubt that.
I think a lot of people would invest the extra money to get the Sony macro instead of the Tamron/Sigma.
And Sony has the big advantage, they don’t have to invent those lenses, they just have to produce. They have all the plans for extraordinarily good lenses from Minolta and just don’t build them. What a shame.
SonyA77
10 months ago |They are all hard to sell, that’s the point. There is no market for them, unlike Canikon who do have plenty of people with fat wallets.
Sony have produced a few one-offs and re-release Minolta lenses as a marketing exercise at key points in their camera body development, nothing more than that.
Minolta went bust and you can’t even hire Sony lenses, it’s not rocket science, there is NO market yet big enough for them!
Carl
10 months ago |You can most certainly hire Sony lenses, at least in the major markets.
Given that super expensive telephotos are major part of their business, it’s not surprising that Sony is less interesting to rental places than Canon and Nikon are.
SonyA77
10 months ago |@Carl, it’s very simple economics. If there was a large market for expensive Sony lenses, then Sony would make them. I really can’t make it any simpler to understand than that…
Carl
10 months ago |If a company gets into a chicken or the egg situation where they don’t want to invest in new products because the market isn’t interested in them, and the market isn’t interested because they don’t offer the needed products, they’ll never grow market share. They’ll just stagnate and end up like another Topcon or Yashica.
lhkjacky
10 months ago |Good news!!
It is SSM~~~!!
How about the size of the filter diameter?
67? 72? 77?
Pacman
10 months ago |that’s great!
Pertabolis
10 months ago |This surely will be a nice lens.
Will it also be sold alone ??
Houckster
10 months ago |One poster writes: And Sony has the big advantage, they don’t have to invent those lenses, they just have to produce.
Actually, at least some of Sony’s lenses are rebadged Tamrons.