Slow shutdown with 16-55mm (SELP1650) on NEX-7

[Piarco75]

I've recently bought the SELP1650 to have on my NEX-7 when I want it to be pocketable and it's not proving to be a bad lens at all (not great, but not bad!). The only niggling thing is the retraction speed of the lens when the 7 is switched off.

It's slow. Very slow, about 7-8 seconds.

Considering it's out and ready to shoot inside 3 seconds I thought it a little odd, so I tried it on my girlfiends NEX-C3. Annoyingly it's an instant retraction when it's switched off, so it's definitely an issue with the 7.

I seem to be a bit of a trailblazer as I can't seem to find anything about this on the internet. So, anyone in the Sony community able to shed some light? Another firmware update required (I won't hold my breath) or do I need to play around with the settings some more?

[Mick2011]

Hi Piarco, welcome to the Sony Forums

The lens is listed as compatible with the NEX-7 – http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dal-travel/sel-p1650/compatible-products#tab – although it does behave differently: there may be more vignetting, for example, than with other NEX bodies, .

It i sreportedly a little slow to retract with the NEX-5 too, and it may be that the lens correction functions on these bodies need to be updated; I'm not sure about this but I'll ask around.

A firmware fix is a possibility, although in all other respects the lens should function perfectly well without.

Cheers

Mick

[Piarco75]

Thanks for that Mick. You can't miss the vignetting that's for sure! The worst of it is gone by f/8 and when the image is corrected by the in-camera lens correction (which is an absolute necessity with the SELP1650 as it's the worse barrel distortion I've ever seen in a lens) but I've yet to notice any purple fringing though.

For what the lens was bought for - an uber compact zoom - it fits the bill, and it's a worthy bundled lens.

I didn't know the 5's ( I presume the original and 5N) were affected with the slow retraction so as there's at least 3 bodies affected which should mean a firmware update at some point. Hopefully!

[Mick2011]

Hello again

Just to eliminate the obvious: could you confirm you have the lastest firmware update (ver.1.01) ?

Cheers

Mick

[cmosse]

I can cofirm the slow retracting of the SEL-P1650 when used on the NEX-7. ON the NEX-6 it is quite fast (below 2sec after Power OFF), on Nex-7 it takes around 8 seconds.

[Piarco75]

Certainly do have 1.01, downloaded & installed the instant it was available - couldn't wait to turn off that video button!

Glad (kinda) to see it's not just my NEX-7, thanks for confirming cmosse

Message was edited by: Piarco75

[Mick2011]

Thanks for the update Piarco

Do let us know how you get on with the firmware fix.

Mick

[Piarco75]

All will be sorted in the new firmware announced today! Apparently the slow shutdown was linked to the in-camera correction being on... something that this lens really requires. Will confirm the effects of the new firmware on install.

Message was edited by: Piarco75

[Piarco75 · Accepted solution]

Happy to report that the recent firmware completely sorts out the issue. The sel1650pz retracts at the same speed it extends. Don't know how long I'll hold onto it though as its really not that good a lens. Convenient & compact but at a fair IQ cost!

[Mick2011]

It's a travel lens, to be fair, with the accent on low-profile portability rather than IQ. It should perform better than the equivalent glass on a quality compact but I'd certainly agree there are better-resolving e-mount lenses.

Great to hear the issue has been resolved, anyway. Thanks for the follow-up post

Mick