The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM is a sharp lens, but I wanted to see how it holds up to the competition. We will be testing the GM II version of the lens before the end of February, which I think will be a really interesting comparison – until then, let’s see how it performs against some of the other Sony lenses we’ve tested, plus a Canon and Nikon ultra-wide lens just for context.
I’ll go by focal length, with the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM listed first each time:
15-16mm
At 16mm, the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM performs well – actually best in class in central sharpness, although the corners are a bit sharper on the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S and (to a lesser degree) on the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L. It’s a strong start!
20mm
At 20mm, the clear winner is the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G, which is hardly surprising – when I reviewed that lens, I stated that it was one of the sharpest lenses we’d ever tested.
Among the zooms, the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM has the best performance at f/2.8, and it beats the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 almost anywhere you look. On the other hand, at medium apertures (f/5.6 and f/8 especially), the corner sharpness of the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is unbeaten among the zooms.
24mm
At 24mm, we once again see the power of prime lenses, with the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM by far the sharpest of these four lenses.
Beyond that, it’s an interesting comparison because none of the zooms are at their strongest at 24mm. The Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 reaches the highest center and corner numbers as you stop down, but it’s actually the weakest of the three in the corners at f/2.8. Meanwhile, the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM’s corners are never fantastic at 24mm (partly thanks to the field curvature), while the same can be said of the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8’s center.
35mm
At 35mm, these two lenses are on a pretty similar level at most apertures and portions of the frame – however, at f/2.8 and f/4 in the center, it’s no contest. There, the Sony is clearly sharper of the two. The biggest benefit to the Canon is if you’re shooting landscapes at f/8 or f/11, where the corners will be a bit crisper.
Summary
Overall, we can see that the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM has pretty typical performance for a high-end ultra-wide zoom – which is to say, very good! It’s still not as sharp as Sony’s own 20mm f/1.8 and 24mm f/1.4 primes, but it’s similar in sharpness to Canon’s equivalent zoom, the RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L. Nikon’s Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S is the sharpest of the zooms overall, but that lens is a record-breaking anomaly, so that’s no surprise.
All of this is making me very eager to see how Sony’s newer 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II stacks up once I test it in the lab. If Sony has improved upon this sharpness performance even a little bit, it would make the 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II one of the best ultra-wide zooms on the market.
The next page of this review sums up everything and explains the pros and cons of the Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM. So, click the menu below to go to “Verdict”:
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