OL: Sony 16-35mm f/4.0 PZ FE Review


Sony 16-35mm f/4.0 PZ FE: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Optical limits posted its full Sony 16-35mm f/4.0 PZ FE, which you can read here or check out excerpts from below:

In terms of optical performance, it is more consistent than most ultra-wide zoom lenses that we have tested so far. Usually, these lenses tend to be decent at their widest setting, but the performance falls apart at the “long” end of the zoom range…the Sony lens produces an extremely sharp center and a good to very good outer image field throughout the zoom range and all relevant aperture settings. RAW image distortions are high, even excessive at 16mm, so it’s clear that image auto-correction is required for this lens. With activated auto-correction image distortions are basically absent. It’s a similar case with respect to vignetting. The RAW vignetting is very high at 16mm. With auto-correction on, the light falloff is reduced by about 1EV (f-stop) at 16mm although you can still notice some vignetting at 16mm f/4 at least. The issue is well controlled at other settings in this case. Lateral CAs are low even in RAW images. Sun stars are pretty good with a sweet spot around f/11…out-of-focus blur is quite decent at very close focus distances… Flare can be an issue in critical scenes… The Sony lens is amazingly compact and lightweight – yet this doesn’t compromise the build quality. While the lens body is made of plastics, it feels quite sturdy. The internal zoom mechanism as well as the dust- and moisture-resistant design also contributes to the high-quality perception. Sony has implemented a power zoom mechanism that can be controlled via the zoom ring and a zoom rocker… There’s also minimal focus breathing… Overall, the Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G represents a significant update over the old Zeiss “predecessor” while keeping a relatively sane price level. – highly recommended!

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