In summary
The Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS completes the basic suite of zoom lenses released by Sony for its full-frame E-mount cameras, providing the widest angle of view so far. Although it can be used on both α7 (full frame) and Sony’s APS-C E-mount cameras, most potential purchasers will be from the former group.
This lens is relatively large by CSC standards and similar in size and weight to equivalent DSLR lenses, which makes it less than ideal for smaller and lighter camera bodies. For this review, we used the α7 II camera, which is well balanced with the lens.
Full review
The Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS is the only dedicated ultra-wide-angle zoom lens so far for Sony’s full-frame E-mount cameras. It can also be used on APS-C E-mount cameras, where is spans a focal length range equivalent to 24-52.5mm in 35mm format. Its constant f/4 maximum aperture is fast enough for most applications and built-in Optical SteadyShot stabilisation provides up to four EV of shake correction, enabling hand-held shooting in low light levels.
Side view of the Sony Vario Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens without hood and cap. (Source: Sony.)
The optical design of this lens comprises 12 elements in 10 groups, including five aspherical elements ““ one of them a large diameter advanced aspherical element ““ plus three ED (extra-low dispersion) elements to minimise chromatic aberrations throughout the zoom range while constraining the overall size of the lens. The diagram below shows the positions of the exotic elements.
The optical diagram for the Sony Vario Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens (Source: Sony.)
The f/4 maximum aperture remains constant throughout the zoom range, while the iris diaphragm consists of curved blades that close to an almost perfectly circular aperture to produce smooth defocusing highlights. The built-in Optical SteadyShot stabilisation claims to be able to correct up to four EV of camera shake. Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating on lens elements subdue the effects of lens flare and ghosting.
Who’s it For?
The Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS completes the basic suite of zoom lenses released by Sony for its full-frame E-mount cameras, providing the widest angle of view so far. Although it can be used on both α7 (full frame) and Sony’s APS-C E-mount cameras, most potential purchasers will be from the former group.
This lens is relatively large by CSC standards and similar in size and weight to equivalent DSLR lenses, which makes it less than ideal for smaller and lighter camera bodies. For this review, we used the α7 II camera, which is well balanced with the lens.
Build and Ergonomics
As expected for its price, the build quality of this lens is excellent. It feels solid in the hands, the control rings move smoothly and when the inner barrel is extended it shows no signs of instability.
Only the middle groups of the optical system move during focusing but the inner barrel extends by roughly 15 mm when the lens is zoomed out from the 35mm position to 16mm. (This is unusual as most zoom lenses are longest when zoomed in; but it has no effect on handling or performance.)
The filter thread at the front of the lens does not rotate, allowing hassle-free use of angle-critical attachments like polarisers and graduated filters. The lens is also ‘weather-sealed’, although we found no rubber ring around the mounting plate. However, the metal mounting plate fits securely to the camera leaving no gaps for moisture or dust to enter.
The focusing ring is located just behind the lens hood fitting. It’s about 17 mm wide and clad in a finely-ridged grip band. This ring turns through 360 degrees when the camera is switched off and manual focusing is driven electronically with minimal feedback to guide users. Unfortunately, there’s no infinity stop and it’s difficult to focus manually on infinity because the focusing ring can be turned well past it.
Immediately behind the focusing ring is the zoom ring, which is 28 mm wide and rotates through roughly 30 degrees. The leading 22 mm of this ring carries the same ribbing as the focusing ring, while the trailing edge is unribbed and carries focal length markings for 16mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm and 35mm focal lengths.
Behind this ring is a 20 mm wide section of the barrel with Zeiss, Sony and FE 4/16-35 engraved on it. The barrel then slopes inwards before straightening again roughly 10 mm in front of the lens mount. There are no additional external controls on the lens barrel as stabilisation is driven from the camera. No distance scale is provided.
The lens is supplied with front and end caps plus a petal-shaped plastic lens hood that attaches via a bayonet fitting. The lens hood was easy to attach and remove and appeared to work well, preserving image contrast and colour vibrancy in shots taken with extreme backlighting. A soft carrying pouch is supplied with the lens.
Performance
Subjective assessments of test shots showed the review lens to be a good performer, delivering good centre-of-field sharpness, well-resolved detail and accurate colour rendition. Quite a lot of corner softening was found at the shorter focal lengths, probably caused by curvature of field, which is not uncommon in ultra-wide-angle lenses. Stopping down largely eliminated it.
Imatest confirmed our subjective assessments and showed the highest resolution came with the 35mm focal length at f/5. Other focal lengths came close, as shown in the graph of our test results below.
Resolution remained high through to about f/9, where diffraction began to take effect. However, even at the smallest aperture settings, there was high enough resolution for the lens to be useful, which makes this lens a good choice for landscape photography.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained within the negligible band throughout the focal length and aperture range of the lens, as shown in the graph above. We found no visible coloured fringing in any test shots.
Vignetting (edge and corner shading) and rectilinear distortion were also negligible for all practical purposes in JPEG images from the camera. Since both aberrations are auto-corrected in the camera, we also examined raw files and found both were evident, although not to a great extent.
Slight vignetting could be seen at f/4 with all focal length settings but it disappeared at around f/6.3. The 16mm focal length showed moderate barrel distortion, which changed to slight pincushioning around 20mm and increased gradually thereafter.
Autofocusing was generally fast and accurate and almost silent, which makes this lens a good choice if you want to shoot movies. The camera’s menu would not allow us to select the system provided in the lens so we were unable to test its stabilisation system.
Backlighting was handled very well and we found it very difficult to force the lens to flare unless a bright light source was well inside the image frame. Even then, images retained much of their contrast and colour depth.
Such a wide-angle lens is not usually suitable for close-up work but the 35mm focal length is usable with larger subjects. Bokeh at f/4 was nice and smooth.
SPECS
Picture angle: 107 to 63 degrees (83o to 44o APS-C)
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 12 elements in 10 groups (including 5 aspherical, 3 ED elements)
Lens mounts: Sony E-mount
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) with Focus Hold button and Auto Clutch
Stabilisation: Optical SteadyShot
Minimum focus: 28 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.19x
Filter size: 72 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 78 x 98.5 mm
Weight: 518 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and end caps, lens hood, soft carrying pouch
TESTS
Based on JPEG files shot with the Sony α7 II camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/4, 16mm focal length.
Vignetting at f/4, 24mm focal length.
Vignetting at f/4, 35mm focal length.
Rectilinear distortion at 16mm focal length.
Rectilinear distortion at 24mm focal length.
Rectilinear distortion at 35mm focal length.
Close-up at 16mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/4.
Close-up at 35mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/4.
16mm focal length, ISO 125, 1/60 second at f/4.
35mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/4.
16mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/11.
35mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/100 second at f/11.
16mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/125 second at f/8.
35mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/60 second at f/8.
Strong backlighting; 18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/10.
Strong backlighting; 16mm focal length, ISO 50, 1/250 second at f/9.
35mm focal length, ISO 50, 1/100 second at f/7.1.
35mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/40 second at f/9.
20mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/20 second at f/7.1.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Sony ILCE-7M2 (α7 II) camera.
Rating
RRP: AU$1799: US$1350
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.5
- Image quality: 8.8
- Versatility: 8.5