Sony Zeiss FE 16-35mm F4 Review
THE BEST SONY FE WIDE ANGLE LENS
In my highly biased opinion, based on three years of in-field experience, the Sony FE 16-35mm F4 is one of the most capable lenses in the Sony FE lineup. I'll add a qualifying statement to my headline above: in reality, there is no "best" lens because each eyeball behind the camera is unique and has a different set of priorities.
Photographers who use the Sony FE 16-35mm Lens
I first realized I wanted to get my hands on the Sony FE 16-35mm Zeiss after seeing what photographer Chris Burkard was doing with this glass. He's taken some fantastic images with this lens:
Landscape shot by Chris Burkard with the Sony FE 16-35mm
Chris says, "I shot the photo shown here with the 16-35mm in Wanaka, New Zealand atop Mt. Roy. Due to the elevation and weather it was probably -5 F; when you are shooting these kinds of conditions, build quality is really important. I've put this lens through more harsh conditions than the average person ever will, and it has never let me down."
Another photographer I admire, Phillip Reeve, has taken a number of inspiring photographs with the Sony 16-35mm f/4:
Landscape shot by Phillip Reeve
Its quite telling that after Sony loaned him this lens, he went and bought himself one and says, "All in all the Sony FE 4/16-35 ZA OSS is my lens of choice whenever I need to be flexible and I have taken many of my favorite pictures with it over the last two years."
I found a number of other photographers that put the 16-35mm to great use. Thibault Roland shows what you can do in black and white. Spencer Pablo takes advantage of the bold colors you can draw. On the video end, Brandon Li uses the 16-35mm in cases where he's shooting in low light and/or wants a little more Bokeh. Plenty of other examples out there.
Build Quality
This Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS T feels substantial and nicely built in my hands. The outer barrel is made of metal and inner one is made of plastic. The textured focus ring is especially smooth with an agreeable amount of resistance.
I will say that its a bit front-heavy on my Sony A7SII (I'd imagine more so on the Sony A600). This isn't a surprise given the heft (518grams), length (10cm), and diameter (72mm) of the lens. I find this to be a worthwhile tradeoff for such a useful zoom range and quality glass. Size is relative, of course: this lens is 500 grams less than FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM but heavier than most primes you might find in this range.
Some reviewers have mentioned that the camera lacks a weather gasket like the Canon L series has. This suggest the possibility that the lens might not hold up in bad weather. In reality, I've found this lens to resist snow, rain, and dusty conditions quite well. Colby Brown took this lens to the extremes of humidity to ice-cold in Hawaii and then Canada without running into any issues. Chris Burkard also remarked on its reliability in the harsh weather conditions.
Overall Optical Performance
This lens is very sharp. From 16mm to 35mm the centers show excellent sharpness from f4 onwards. The corners are a little soft at f4, but reach peak performance at f8. Some reviewers have noted that this lens has a weakness at 35mm - its a little softer in the corners than it is at the other focal lengths. Overall though, I have no problem shooting photos with this lens stopped wide open.
Sony FE 16-35mm. Lightning Strikes San Francisco. David Sigismund
Some nitpicks:
-Chromatic aberation is negligible and easily correctable in Adobe Lightroom.
-Vignetting at 16mm f4-f5.6. Very subtle at all other focal lengths.
-Noticeable barrel distortion at 16mm
-Moderate pincushion distortion from 28mm upwards.
-Flares are quite possible depending on the intensity of the light and how you angle the lens.
Focus (Auto and Manual)
The autofocus works reliably in good light and hunts a bit in lower light (indoors with little ambient light). You can still get a focused shot in low light, but you might have to wait a second or more.
Its worth noting that autofocus performance depends on the camera body you have it attached to. In my case, I've been using a Sony A7SII. Results my vary with older models.
The minimum focus distance is rated as 28 cm. This isn't a macro lens, but its a respectably close distance.
How about manual focus? I'm not a fan of the focus-by-wire implementation in Sony FE cameras. Keep in mind, I'm coming from both a photo and video perspective. In video, manual focusing is important. Ideally, from a videographer perspective, this lens would be equipped with click-less aperture as well. Having said this, I developed an intuitive feel for the focus-by-wire and focus ring on this lens over time.
Bokeh
The amount of background blur you will get is limited by its speed and focal length, but the bokeh on this lens was a pleasant surprise. Here's an example of mine:
It really depends on the background you are working with, but I've been happy with the out of focus elements at f4.
Everyone has their own, often strong opinions about what constitutes great bokeh. Some have called the bokeh on this lens "nervous". I don't really agree and I won't delve further.
Sony FE 16-35mm Solar Eclipse. David Sigismund
Sun Stars
The 28 blade sun-stars are fun to play around with on this lens. Here are some examples:
28 blade sun-star on Sony FE 16-35mm. Credit: Colby Brown Photography
28 blade moonstar
Conclusion
The Sony FE 16-35mm is an excellent lens (affiliate link). If I had to rate this lens I'd give it a 9.5 out of 10. Color, contrast, and clarity are all top-notch.
This is the one lens that comes along with the Sony A7SII on a majority of my outings. I can nitpick about the large size and some of the distortion at certain focal lengths, but these idiosyncrasies don't stop me from taking some of my favorite images. Any distortions are easily correctable in Lightroom.
A great lens is worth the money. This one goes for about $1250 and should last for decades. Unlike a new DSLR, which becomes obsolete in several years, a great lens lasts for decades or more.
I bought mine at Amazon:
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