The harsh mistress LBA has come out of remission for me, as it's been a while since I've acquired a new lens to shoot with. I'm trying to resist getting the DA 16-85mm but with the price coming down to a more reasonable level, it's tempted me a lot in recent weeks. Especially since I sold my DA 16-45 last year, I've been missing the ability to zoom out wide to 16mm and quickly zoom closer to a normal field of view; plus my DA 16-45 was quite sharp despite being a little slow at f/4 and a little short in reach. I thought I'd be satisfied with my DA 18-135 replacing my DA 16-45 but there are definitely times when I wish I could zoom out wider to 16mm (without swapping lenses to my DA 15mm or Tamron 10-24mm). I have thought about reacquiring the DA 16-45 but there were reasons why I parted with it-- the so-so build quality, the reverse zoom design, the short 45mm telephoto end, and the fact that I have so many other zooms and primes in the same range.
However, a few things hold me back from clicking "purchase now" on the DA 16-85 order page-- de-centering problems with the DA 16-85, and the overlap with my existing lens collection. The larger size and variable aperture are also some drawbacks but I'm willing to put up with those if the lens is as sharp as I've heard.
Among my zooms, the most obvious overlap would be with my DA 18-135 and Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. I've tried to convince myself that if I added the DA 16-85, I would not sell one of these lenses (because, like any good LBA faithful, I buy lenses and rarely part with any of them). My justification is that there are definitely times when having the 86-135mm range is useful, and the DA 18-135 is so compact and lightweight for travel. So I would actually keep both the DA 18-135 and the DA 16-85-- taking along the former when I went on vacation, and using DA 16-85 as more of an everyday zoom. I love the speed and sharpness of my Tamron 28-75 but I miss the wide angle quite a bit to consider it a well-rounded lens option.
As much as I'm satisfied with my DA 18-135, I find the images it produces are not always very sharp (but it's the trade off I'm willing to accept for the convenience of the super zoom) and as I said above, there are many occasions when I wished it could zoom out just a little wider to 16mm. Hence my thinking that the DA 16-85mm would be an ideal lens to complement my collection. I've read enough lens threads and seen enough sample images to convince me of the value in getting it, but as with any LBA-motivated purchase, I'm worried I'm just buying into the hype and that I should just appreciate the equipment I already have (of which there are many excellent zooms and primes, so I recognize that I'm lucky to even be in a financial position to consider adding more without having to sell any to pay for it.)
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Thanks for any thoughts you might have on this topic.
Last edited by seventysixersfan; 03-28-2016 at 11:41 AM.