Sony FE 16-35 F2.8 GM Real world images (click for larger and exif)
Like every dSLR brand, Sony has a holy trinity of zoom lenses: wide, normal and telephoto 2.8 zooms. All three contain the Sony designation of “GM” or “G Master,” connoting that they are the top quality lenses produced by Sony, particularly promising the best sharpness and bokeh. (I previously reviewed the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM here). The downside of these lenses is that not only are they very expensive, they are very heavy. Typically as heavy as their dSLR counterparts. But in the case of the Sony 16-35 F/2.8 GM, the lens is actually a fair bit lighter than the dSLR equivalent lenses.
The Sony 16-35 F/2.8 GM isn’t just a member of Sony’s holy 2.8 trinity, it is also part of their ultrawide angle trinity, along with the Sony Zeiss 16-35 F/4 (reviewed here) and the Sony 12-24 F/4 G (reviewed here.)
With three choices, which is the best for which type of buyer…
Body and Handling
The build quality is top notch, feeling like metal and high quality plastics for a solid build without great weight. Zoom and focus ring are both smooth with nicely textured ribbed rubber for a good hold. The lens includes a switch for AF/MF and a focus hold button, which is valuable to re-program for eye-af.
As shown in the photos above, the aperture blades of the Sony 16-35 F/2.8 provide an especially round aperture, which would theoretically produce a superior bokeh. In practice, wide angle 2.8 lenses aren’t going to be bokeh machines. (And for that reason, I didn’t even include a bokeh section in this review).
Auto focus was consistently fast and silent.
Image Stabilization
Unlike the Sony 16-35mm F/4, there is no optical stabilization. Sony’s newer cameras are equipped with in-body image stabilization. The amount of benefit with the IBIS system varies a bit from lens to lens, as well as the handholding technique of the photographer.
I found the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM benefited enormously from the IBIS system on the Sony A9 and Sony A7riii. As shown in the below “real world” photos, I routinely obtained sharp images with shutter speeds ranging from .25 to 0.80 seconds. Some photographers will likely be able to handhold photos with exposures of a full second or longer but for me, those images were mostly unusable.
In the first daytime photo, you will note that the shutter speed of 0.8 seconds allowed passing traffic to be blurred while keeping the road sharp. The second image demonstrated the ability to even capture a nightscape including night time stars, thanks to slow handheld shutter speed and 2.8 aperture.
IBIS examples:
The Sony 16-35mm F/4 and Sony 12-24mm F/4 both offer very impressive image quality so there is already a high bar for the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM to try to beat.
Vignetting and Distortion
Vignetting is often a major issue with Sony wide lenses but it really isn’t a big deal on the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM. At the widest aperture of 2.8, it’s moderately significant but correctable. At F4, there is noticeable vignetting but rather mild. By F5.6, vignetting is almost gone.
The long end is even less concerning. Very mild barrel distortion at 35mm and vignette is a non issue.
Flare – Back lighting – Chromatic Aberration/Purple Fringing – Sunstars
Below, you can see that a real world image with severe backlighting still provides nice contrast.
Night skies:
16mm, F2.8, ISO 5000, 13 secondsI don’t do a ton of astro-photography but it is a reason to own a lens like the 16-35mm F2.8. For astro-photography, you want ultrawide to capture large skies with a minimum of motion blur and you want fast aperture. Most landscapes are shot at smallish aperture, diminishing the benefit of a 2.8 lens but astro photography will take the widest aperture you can get.
Above, see my down and dirty backyard attempt to illustrate the astro-photography capabilities of the lens. This is an area with bad light pollution so I’m not going to be getting beautiful images of the milky way. Still, you can see that the lens allows for slow shutter speed and fast aperture to capture lots of night stars.
Sharpness
All of Sony’s ultrawide zoom lenses are sharp. As most landscapes are being shot at small aperture, most lenses will be adequately sharp for your needs. So I do find sharpness to be a bit overrated once you cross a certain threshold. But let’s still take a close look:
16mm Sharpness
Let’s start with centers at the widest angle, 16mm (click for larger):
16mm border crops from F4 to F8:
And the far corners at 16mm:
In real life shooting for normal sized prints, the lens is sufficiently sharp wide open. But if you are making massive prints or pixel peeping, you will want to shoot landscapes between F4 and F8.
24mm Sharpness
Examining 24mm centers:
The borders at 24mm:
And finally the corners at 24mm:
Overall, an exceptional performance at 24mm, better than you will get from the various Sony “normal” zoom lenses.
35mm Sharpness
Moving to the long end of 35mm, centers first:
35mm borders:
And finally the extreme corners at 35mm:
In real world use, there is no aperture where you really can’t use this lens. For the best image quality, you’ll want to stop down a bit more on the telephoto end than on the wide end.
Overall:
While it doesn’t quite reach prime-lens like sharpness, the overall performance of the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 is still quite exceptional. From build quality to autofocus to image quality, the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM really does not have a downside.
Most of the Sony GM lenses suffer from two big negatives: price and weight. Fortunately, the weight really isn’t a negative to the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM. Thus, in comparison to the Sony 16-35mm F/4, the only real downside of the GM lens is the price of about $2200. But if the price doesn’t scare you away, it’s easy to pick the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM over the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8.
Breaking down the three Sony wide angle zooms:
- Sony 16-35mm F/4: Currently priced at $1348, this is a fantastic general purpose ultrawide angle lens. If you’re primarily shooting daytime landscapes, there is no reason to consider paying so much more for the GM lens. (Purchase here from Amazon.)
- Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM: At $2200, one should really consider whether it’s worth $850 more than the F4 lens. If you want to shoot handheld night landscapes, astro-photography, or use the lens for low light events (such as wedding photography), then it’s probably worth getting the GM lens. (Purchase from Amazon here. Purchase for the same price with included filters and cleaning kit from Amazon here.)
- Sony 12-24mm F/4 G: Priced at $1698, it’s quite different from the above lenses. It’s significantly wider and does not accept regular filters. It’s a less practical lens but if you love the ultra ultra wide look, it can be a superior choice for your camera bag. (Purchase here. Purchase with included extras here.
Considering that the only true negative of the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 is the price, it’s a lens that enthusiasts may want to consider if it fits within their budget. I don’t think it’s a “must own” lens but it’s a fantastic choice especially if you are shooting handheld at night or want to do astro photography. I wish Sony had an ultrawide fast prime but for now, this may be the best choice. Overall:
Rating (1-10): Score: 8.5
(About my scoring: 9-10 is a superb lens which could have a place in the bag of almost every photographer. 6-8: recommended with caveats. 3-5: A compromised lens that may still be suitable for some shooters and situations. 1-2: Just stick to your phone camera)
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This is our 14th Sony FE lens reviewed and we should be up to around 20 by the end of 2018. Please follow me on twitter (top right) and/or accept notifications from this blog to receive our updates.
