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Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens Testing w/ Sony Alpha A7II

I know a lot of you are very interested in the FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens and have been waiting for my impressions of this lens. Well, it’s officially killer and a must have I can tell you already 😉 I’ve taken enough sample photos to see it’s awesome in the corners and distortion control is well within tolerance. I took a bunch of test style photos today to show off what the lens can do in a few standard type scenes. Some you will recognize for sure if you are a regular reader.

The full SEL1635z lens review will have lab testing and all that good stuff, but this is for those that just can’t wait! The full detailed review won’t be done till after the holidays.

SEL1635z Lens Key Specs

    • Full-Frame FE-Mount Lens
    • Aperture Range: f/4.0-22
    • ED & Aspherical Elements
    • Zeiss T* Coating
    • Silent Autofocus and Aperture System
    • Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization
    • Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction
    • Circular Aperture, 7 Blades
    • 72mm Filter Thread
    • ~$1348 US

Sample Photos – Real world Testing

So what does the FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA lens get you on a the full frame E-Mount A7II? Well let’s have a look shall we 😉

35mm vs 24mm vs 16mm – Perspective

The perspective changes radically when using such a wide-angle lens, and these photos below show you exactly what I mean by using the same scene at each focal range. These are all jpegs re-sized for the web by the way encase you are wondering. I was using average metering, hand holding, and the center focus area.
35mm @ F/8 – Click Photo For Higher Res Version!

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 160, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 160, Jpeg

24mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 125, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 125, Jpeg

16mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 16mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 125, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 16mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 125, Jpeg

That is pretty drastic how much the perspective can be altered right?? 16mm vs 35mm on a full frame camera is a huge difference!

35mm vs 28mm vs 24mm vs 20mm vs 16mm – From Same Spot

Straight off the camera jpegs….
16mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 16mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 16mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg

20mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 20mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 20mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg

24mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 24mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 24mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg

28mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 28mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 28mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg

35mm @ F/8

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Jpeg

Minimum Focus Distance Test

I also wanted to show you some separation and 35mm @ f/4 on a full frame camera will get you just that!

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 100, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 100, Jpeg

Ultra Wide Angle Effect

Here is one more FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens sample photo that I thought illustrated the wide-angle perspective effect quite well 😉 I also included the 100% crop from the center and top right areas for detailed inspection purposes. You can clearly see the noise reduction/ jpeg smoothing that is applied on the stone by the camera. This is one of the main reasons why I prefer to shoot raw quality and develop the photos myself most of the time.

Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 100, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 100, Jpeg
Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 100, Jpeg
100% Crop – Sony A7II w/ FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ 35mm, f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 100, Jpeg

Closing Remarks

That is about it for now guys, but please feel free to comment below and ask questions or whatever 😉 Behind the scenes I’m working on finishing up the RX100 III review, and then I will really start cranking out some more A7II photos, tutorials, and more…
Thanks again for checking in and your greatly appreciated support!
Jay

Support Links

Sony Alpha A7II @ BHPhoto | Amazon US | Adorama
Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 OSS ZA Lens @ BHPhoto | Amazon US, UK | Adorama

  1. Hi Jay,
    thanks for you review. This lens seems very nice, and not speaking of the combo with the A7II! I can’t wait receiving mine!
    It would be nice if you could provide access to the full res pictures to better appreciate the IQ.

    1. Hi NicoGa,
      I can do that, but how about the 36mp Sony A7r files instead? I was planning on using the A7r for the hardcore sharpness testing and what not.
      Jay

        1. Sorry Nico, I only have Jpegs loaded mostly because my Lightroom 5 needs to be undated for the Raw A7II files 😉 I will get some raws up from the A7r and/or A7II ASAP!
          Jay

  2. Jay, based on this and other reviews I bought this lens to go with my a7r and Zeiss 24-70 zoom and 35 prime lenses. I went to Amazon through your site so hopefully you’ll see a commission. The lens plus UV and polarizer filters totaled nearly $1600. I will be asking myself if the 16-35 really gives me $1600 worth of benefits I can’t already get from my Zeiss 24-70. I would appreciate your thoughts on that question.
    Thanks,
    David

    1. Hi David,
      Thanks for using the links and whether the money was worth the price tag is really going to be up to you. I did not like the copy of the FE 24-70 f/4 OSS lens I reviewed and still need another to test. Based on that review though, I would personally much rather have the 16-35mm. The 24-70mm is also a great range to have handy though. I would ideally have the FE 16-35mm for street and landscape, a FE 24-105mm f/4 OSS lens would be preferred over the FE 24-70mm, FE 55mm f/1.8 lens, and the FE 70-200mm f/4 OSS G lens. Another fast prime around 85mm and 135mm would also be pretty awesome, but likely large and heavy.
      I’m not sure what your photography style is, but the ultra wide angle yields some killer perspective results that draw the eye into the scene like a 24mm lens can not do in my opinion. I still can’t really say if it will be worth the money to you personally though 😉
      Thanks again for the support, and please consider joining the forum to share some photos and whatever else…
      Jay

      1. Of course what something is worth to one person is subjective (and depends in no small part on one’s bank balance). Bad question, sorry.
        I should have mentioned that my main interest is landscape photography and I am a fanatic for tack-sharp images (hence my purchase of the a7r instead of the a7). I always shoot at the lowest ISO possible, and I love that the a7r can shoot at ISO 50!
        I like having the 16mm option for “”big picture” landscape compositions as opposed to 24mm at most, but then again I have heard that the wider the angle is the flatter the image will be. (My mentor advised me against going wider angle and told me instead to to stitch together shots at 50mm to get wide images with greater depth. I just have Lightroom 5 and Nik Collection, though, not Photoshop, so I’m not doing that.)
        I just did some test shots comparing the FE 16-35 and FE 24-70 at 24mm. The 16-35 images are much sharper. That alone may convince me to keep the 16-35.
        I look forward to your detailed review of this lens.
        Thanks,
        David

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