The new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II lens enters the lineup as the 74th E-mount lens and the smallest and lightest in its class. Professional photographer and YouTuber Miguel Quiles had a few weeks to put it to the test. “I’m happy to say that it’s sharp from corner to corner, it focuses fast and accurately, and I believe it’s going to be a great option for wedding and landscape photographers, or anyone who needs a versatile wide-angle lens.” Watch the video below as he takes a deep dive into the new lens. Learn more about the new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II HERE.

“All in all, if you’re looking for top tier image quality and performance this is a lens you definitely have to try out.” – Miguel Quiles

The Basics

Quiles first examines the outside of the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II, which features a declickable aperture ring, an iris lock switch to make sure the aperture ring stays in the A position, two customizable focus hold buttons that can be customized to your camera menus, and a focus mode switch.

“The lens itself is compact and light, weighing only 19.3 ounces,” he explains. “It’s also dust and moisture resistant. You’ll notice too that as you move from 16 to 35 millimeters, the lens itself doesn’t extend out very far. Because of that, the center of gravity barely changes which makes this an awesome lens to use for video on a gimbal.”

The lens also features an 82mm filter thread that allows you to use screw-on filters like variable NDs and circular polarizers. The front element also has a fluorine coating that repels things like oil and water, which Quiles says might happen if you take this lens with you for the types of photography it's popular for.

Inside The Lens

Quiles also takes a closer look at what’s inside the lens. “To minimize chromatic aberrations it has 1 aspherical element, 3 extreme aspherical elements, 1 extra low aspherical dispersion element, 2 extra low dispersion elements, and 1 super extra low dispersion element. In total there are 15 elements in 12 groups, along with four Extreme Dynamic Linear Motors which provide fast, accurate, and smooth autofocus and silent zooming when you’re shooting video.” The lens also has a minimum focusing distance of .22m across the entire zoom range with autofocus, which he explains will allow you to get up close to objects and take some interesting shots. 

A Versatile Lens For Adventures & More

Because the new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II is so compact and lightweight, Quiles says it was an easy one to bring along. “Having taken this on hikes to take some of these images, I have to say that the lightweight and compact size of this lens really inspired me to take it with me on my adventures. The image quality was amazing as well paired up with the Sony Alpha 7R V for both stills and video.”

“All in all, if you’re looking for top tier image quality and performance this is a lens you definitely have to try out.” 

Learn more about the new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II HERE.