Product Reviews

I have owned this lens for a few weeks now and it’s an absolute workhorse. Great optics in a robust body.

Love it, super sharp! super high quality, and high value for money compared with competitors

This lens has always produced excellent image quality, very sharp even on the A7RIV (I've only used it stopped down), with only very slight softness in the corners. It's nice and light so not a chore to carry on long treks. Weather sealing appears to be very good.

I shoot surf photography and sharks and this is actually a great lens because I’m shooting higher apertures I don’t need it to be super low, but the focal length it perfect for me as I love 35mm but the 16mm gives me a view that really opens up making it great for up close sharks or up close surfers.

Excellent lens for the function. Nothing bad about it.

Wanted to explore it more… my lady took it and does not want to return it. Still too early to write more, so far is is great, and believe will amaze more during the continuous use

I bought this over a month ago it’s a great lens and I’m very happy with it.

The F4 FE1635Z makes for an excellent balance between price, performance and features. Unusual for this type of lens (16-35mm) is its built in optical stabilization. This feature increases its versatility and compliments its superb lens performance.

Had to return for repair 3 months after purchase. Still not happy. It was faulty from manufacture but was away from home working so missed out on a refund.

Bought two as the first one I sold and greatly regretted the decision. The best wide angle lens there is when mounted on a Sony body

On an A7iii this is amazing - small & light enough to carry all day, super sharp up to about 32mm, plenty of reach if needed by selecting APS-C in an emergency. A perfect Landscape lens, but also my number 1 travel lens. So smooth to zoom or focus. 72mm. The close focus is so good it also makes an excellent environmental portrait lens for many macro-subjects. Hold it really high & look downish for people, or use it low to the ground for landscapes. I just wish it had a focus-hold button, an OS switch or a MF switch.

I bought this lens two months ago and I'm happy I did it

I changed from Nikon to Sony because I wanted to go mirrorless and the Sony fitted the bill. I'm using the Sony a7111 with the Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA. It would be an understatement to say that I love this lens! It's sharp, and I mean SHARP! Once focussed it stays there, the focussing ring is smooth but firm, no creep whatsoever. I mostly use manual focus but this cameras auto focus is very fast and accurate. Shooting mostly at f11, edge to edge and corner to corner images are sharp enough to cut through doors at Fort Knox. Of course it's down to me to make sure I focus accurately but when I get it right I couldn't be happier with the results. It's not Sony's top 16-35 zoom but from the build quality and performance you'd think it was! Highly recommended...

I recently purchased this lens and so far I an delighted with the results it lives up to expectations

Super sharp, top build, smooth action..... just love it!

Good lens with sharp images and fast focus. Much cheaper than a 2.8 g master with enough change to buy a couple of other lenses.

I love landscape and architecture photography, and this lens is perfect for that. It's a bit bulky and heavy to carry around all day.

I was looking for a high quality wide zoom for my Sony A7Riii, mainly for landscape work. The obvious candidates were the Sony f/4 or the GM f/2.8 lenses. Having checked various websites and compared test shots I bought the F4 ZA and have not been disappointed in any way. IQ is excellent - I don't often print 3-metre wide images, though they appear perfectly OK on-screen. The size and weight are modest, especially in view of the IQ delivered, and build quality cannot be faulted. A truly excellent lens.

Using this lens for landscape and architecture and so far i’m Very pleased.

I bought this when I broke my 5d Mark iii along with the A7Riii and the image quality is loads better than with my 11-24mm. Focus is quick and overall image qulaity is fantastic.

Picked up this lens a week ago and have tried it out at home and at a wedding. I recently traded in my canon 5divs for two a7iii's and the 16-35 was a lens I used for a limited number of shots during the day, yet essential ones. it joined my new 85 1.4 G master and 35 f1.4 distagon (please make a Gmaster 35 f1.4 as soon as possible!). I am pleased to report that the 16-35 f/4 vario- Tessar is not only comparable to the canon version, but it seems to be sharper, while being slightly smaller lighter. Probably because of the absence if is, but still. A great lens that I'm very glad to have in my kit. My only gripe is that it is a little expensive for what you get, and I am not sure why. I gave design four stars because the focus is not internal and I would like a manual focus switch.

I've not used the lens in 'anger yet apart from quick test shots so can't comment on the quality of the images it produces but as far as the look and feel of the lens is concerned up to now I am very happy. Beautiful satin black finish, the lens fits snugly and tightly to the camera body, much tighter than my Canon 5d Mk3 body and lenses. Comes with a lens hood which clicks nicely and securely in place, a carry pouch, and, obviously, front and back caps. The zoom ring I particularly like, its a good size and is smooth to operate across its range and has reassuringly high amount of friction as you zoom in or out. No sloppiness or sticking so no problems if you wanted to use the lens for video as well as stills. Just waiting for an opportunity to get out and see how the glass performs now . . . .

Only used it a few times but the pictures of buildings have turned out great

I bought this lens for landscape photography. The images are super sharp, even hand held. The 16-35mm focal length is ideal for landscapes. F4 is not the fastest but for landscapes this is fine. Anything faster and the price goes way, way up. The build quality is great, the focusing ring is smooth. On my a7ii body the auto focusing is very quick. I havent had any flare problems to this point. I wish Sony had included a distance scale on the lens. All in all i am very happy.

I love it! Very sharp, no aberration at all ! I love the focal length

Great lens for my new Sony E frame camera that I have Olympic had just over a week

I have had the Sony A7R11 for around a month. Decided to move over from Nikon as a press photographer I thought long and hard before I took the plunge. I purchased the 16.35 and 70-200 f4 lens . I must say I am pleased with the results and the operation and menu settings. Will be adding the 24-70 f2.8 soon. Not yet tried it for the football so the Nikon gear is still around for the time being.

I have had this lens about a year now and I am very impressed, I am not a pixel peeper exactly, but it appears tone sharp at any settings, it is relatively compact an whit IS I don't really need the extra expense and weight of faster glass.

I have had this lens just two weeks, so have not had a great chance to use it yet. However early test shots show that it has the Zeiss contrast and colour rendition that puts it in a league of it's own. This is my second Zeiss lens, this time I went for the 16-35 rather than the 24-70 as I have a Sony A6000 (APS-C format) and thought this would also be a pretty decent wide angle even on the smaller sensor.

Another good Sony lens to add to my arsenal. This one bought for tavelling to fit my A7R2 abd A6300.

I bought this lens 2 months ago as i was going on vacation to NYC, i was not disappointed with its performance, the pictures were exultant quality all hand held with difficult lighting.

I have tried 5 copies of this lens in total - 2 were decentered - always soft on one side in all focal lengths, 2 had soft corners until stopped down to f11, my final copy is still not perfect but the best of the bunch. The wide end 16-24mm is superb even wide open but from 26-35mm things get progressively worse with 35mm being virtually unusable until f14. This is not what I would expect form an expensive lens with a Zeiss logo. The stress associated with securing a good copy is really too much - Sony must do something to eliminate the sample variations - the production QC is below standard expected at this level. My experience has really put me off from buying another expensive Sony FF lens. The built quality is superb but it's not that important if the optics are below par! I would still recommend this lens but only if you get a good copy, otherwise you would be better off using a 3rd party manual wide-angle zoom with an adapter.

This lens has joined my selection of Sony lenses. Being s recent convert from Canon L series glass I am quality conscious and can say this lens meets and exceeds my expectations . Great partner to the 55 MM and 85 MM Batis

Initial impressions are excellent build quality and ideal for landscapes. Very sharp and at 18mm the horizon appeared dead straight with just the preset basic lens correction in Lightroom. It's also nice that the front ring doesn't move when you focus, which is handy if you've lined up a graduated filter.

Recently purchased this lens to complete my FE lens collection. As a simple amateur I think the quality is superb, and the field of view excellent. It is sharp and produces with my A7 and A7s excellent images. Would recommend.

Great lens. Build quality is excellent. Feels great on the A7 body. Optically first class. The OSS will be of great help in low light situations.

I have only had this lens for a month, so my experience is short. The lens was bought a I needed and wide angle lens particularly for interior and architectural photography, but also would use it for landscapes. The lens performed well with my A7R, acquiring good autofocus with good dynamic range and colours. When photographic interiors which were very close there was considerable distortion of the verticals, but this is to be excepted and can be corrected in Photoshop. The lens performed well in landscape with no visible distortions. In both genre the photos were pin sharp. The build is exceptional in is feel and look, with smooth control rings. Although I normally use a tripod, the stabilisation appeared to work well when I used hand held, with no noticeable movement blur, even at high resolution.

Have just returned from holiday so have taken around 1000 frames so far. Always wanted this wide angle zoom length. Although heavier than the 24-70mm it still balances nicely on my A7r. Internet reviews seem to suggest its strongest at 16mm and f4 which appears to be true. You would think that stopping down to f5-11 would sharpen things up nicely but the reverse seems to be true. This together with the 55mm is a good combination. Still deciding whether to get the 70-200mm FE lens. (The 55mm is stunningly sharp so any other lens never seems quite as good!)

The picture quality is excellent, it's sharp, has well saturated colours, and good contrast. Classic design, good functionality. Robust build quality, beautifully engineered.

I have only had this lens for a few weeks so it is too early to pass a comment that is based upon experience. However this is a superb lens and fills a gap at wide angle so together with the 24-70 lens I have a very complete package

I have only used it a couple of times. Results are very good.