Sony's so-called mirrorless cameras, the NEX-3 and -5, are impressively compact especially considering they house an APS-C size sensor and flip-up rear LCD panels. But like any camera system, compatibility with a wide range of good-quality lenses is crucial.

Changes the look of the Sony NEX such that most people think it is a much cheaper camera so are astonished by the quality of the photos. A lot easier to carry around as the lens is so compact.

Easily Interchangeable; Lightweight; Quick Focus; Strong Construction

Well, there's a reason lenses are expensive and you get what you pay for. The main draw for this lens is the size and weight. Build quality's good, too. Thin aluminium and smooth focus ring. It's incredibly convenient and if you're a casual photographer who's put off by heavy equipment, a good buy.

This 16mm was the first lens I purchased together with my NEX-5 about 14 months ago and was always a disappointment, a great focal length that fails to deliver on sharpness. The optimum aperture for sharpness turns out to be 6.3 or 7.1 and is still not great, which is a shame because Sony has...

Only sharp in center

Edges blurry

Use with Sony nex5

This light weight short focal length lens is a must for the NEX-5 camera and the ultra wide adapter lens VCL-ECU1 as well as the Fish eye converter VCL-ECF1 makes this combination a "must have" to complement the other NEX lenses.

Easy to use; Compact; Build quality

I bought to use on a Sony a6500 along with a Sony E 35mm F/1.8 Oss lens. This lens is way too soft in the images and video. Compared to the 35mm, it's not even close. The 35mm is razor sharp for pictures & video with very quick focus. The 16mm will most likely be my first B&H return.

This lens come in handy whenever I dont feel like dragging along a huge backpack full of heavy equipment. There's a lot of bad reviews about this lens, but I think those reviewers are forgeting that this is a $250 lens that is small, compact and elegant looking.

Easy To Use; Lightweight; Quality Construction

It's Silver; Notthe Sharpest Out There

The photos with this lens are great! With an aperture of 2.8 you can get a nice blurry background. It lets in a lot of light. Sharp, crisp images from this lens! With the NEX5 N, and this lens, it can fit in your pocket!

The AF performance is pretty good for a contrast detection system (albeit highly dependent on the base camera). AF operations are basically noiseless. Manual focusing works "by wire" so the focus ring is not directly coupled to the focus gears but to the AF motor.