Review: Sony FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G lens

Like many photographers, my first taste of photography was with a prime lens. 

Later, and as my photography shifted towards a wider variety of subject matter, I found myself drawn to zooms, and although today I use a combination of both, for professional work like weddings I would now stick almost entirely with zoom lenses for their flexibility.

For this kind of work, it's the holy trinity of the 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm that are the 'standards' for a reason - there's very little you won't be able to capture with this combination.

And yet if you think about it, there's a bit of overlap there - between the 16-35mm and 24-70mm there's 11mm of focal length that you're effectively doubling up on. And when fast f2.8 lenses of this type won't leave you with much change out of $3,000+, it raises a question - are we paying for something we can get away with not needing?

It's this reason why I was so interested in testing out Sony's 16-25mm f/2.8 G lens. It retails for around $2,200, about $1,000 less than Sony's flagship FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II lens, and yet loses none of that lens' wide aperture.

Intended as a companion to the Sony FE 25-50mm f/2.8, the new lens is aimed at photographers who want a smaller, more compact setup. So, how does it perform?

The build

Firstly, at just 409 grams, the 16-25mm is very lightweight for an f/2.8 lens. Despite this, it still features a de-clickable aperture ring (although this doesn't feature a lock switch), and one custom button, so you're not really losing much compared to the GM. At a maximum length of 91.4mm and 74.8 mm in diameter its also quite compact too. 

Inside are three ED (Extra low Dispersion) glass elements and four aspherical elements that include one ED Aspherical glass element. 

Inside, twin linear motors power the autofocus, with performance quick and effective, probably helped by the relatively short focal length. Sony says the AF on the lens is fully capable of keeping up with the A9 III body at up to 120 fps. 

Finally, Sony says the lens has a dust and moisture resistant design. All seams are sealed, with the buttons and switches using silicone rubber gaskets, and a rubber ring seals the lens mount. The front element features a fluorine coating.

It's also worth noting that to keep the size and cost low the 16-25mm F2.8 G lens does not feature image stabilisation. The lens takes a 67mm front filter, the same as the FE 25-50mm f/2.8, which visually at least, is almost identical.

All in all, I was very impressed with the size and weight of the 16-25mm f/2.8 G lens. On my own A7IV the lens made for a lightweight package that's really unusual for an f/2.8 lens. 

Image quality

The good news continues with the image quality too. I found only the slightest softening in the corners wide open, with images displaying good sharpness at narrower apertures. In fact, having used the more expensive 16-35mm GM lens, I struggled to see much difference in image quality.

At the centre of the frame image quality at f/2.8 throughout the entire focal length range was sharp, and images display nice contrast and detail. That said, there is some barrel distortion at the wider end of the focal length, although this is easily corrected in post. 

Bokeh was well controlled and appealing and there is very little flaring too. 

Autofocus

Autofocus is consistent, fast and accurate, and the minimum focussing distance (180mm) is also very good too, as the fun of a wide angle lens is often getting as close as you can to your subject. In addition, low-light AF performance is also good.

The addition of a customisable AF hold button is also really welcome. A good use of this button is with the camera set to continuous focus, press this button to lock focus at the current focus distance, allowing for a focus and recompose technique.

I also really appreciated the dedicated AF/MF switch, allowing this regularly used setting to be changed without accessing the menus.

Speaking of manual focus, there's a rubberised focus ring, although this is a little small and a little lacking in feedback, but it's probably about the only size Sony could get away with on a lens this small.

The wrap-up

Currently the cheapest way to get into a Sony wide angle f2.8 zoom lens, the 16-25mm f/2.8 G is an excellent option for photographers who want a fast aperture but don't need all the bells and whistles of the higher end glass.

If you shoot with a smaller body like the A7C series, the 16-25mm is a fine choice for a compact 'run and gun' package, but even for the bigger A7 series, this is a fine choice.

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