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SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II REVIEW: EASY TO RECOMMEND

Aug 29, 2023
Chris Niccolls


The classic professional photographer’s kit has for decades consisted of the
holy trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses: a 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm. Armed with
these, a photographer can cover almost any shooting situation. When Sony first
started its full-frame mirrorless camera line, it quickly made these
professional zoom lenses under the G Master moniker. Unfortunately, these lenses
were not able to deliver the high-grade results that many of the other brands
could.




Sony has recently updated its 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses, making them much
smaller and at the same time, much better optically. But what about the
remaining zoom? Well, with the G Master 16-35mm f/2.8 II, Sony has completely
updated its pro lens triumvirate.

Margaret falls in British Columbia provided the landscapes for our testing.



SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II: BUILD QUALITY AND HANDLING

One thing that the original lenses proved is that Sony can make rugged,
reliable, weather-sealed lenses. But the originals were also fairly bulky and
heavy by today’s standards and the optical performance aged poorly. Sony made
huge strides to reduce the size and weight of the 70-200mm and 24-70mm, and
succeeded. The one lens that didn’t really need to lose weight was the 16-35mm
and yet Sony still found a way to shave off some excess grams: the new 16-35mm
weighs only 19.3 ounces (547 grams). Although the difference is minor, when all
three lenses are collectively weighed together in a camera bag, the weight
savings are significant.

The new 16-35 is even smaller and lighter than its predecessor, but adds a much
needed aperture control ring.

The manual focus ring still has a fairly sloppy feeling which is an unfortunate
carry-over. However, the addition of a dedicated aperture control ring is a
welcome change. Everything else feels tight and well-built. The body housing is
of course weather-sealed against the elements, and overall the lens feels like a
professional-grade zoom.


The Sony 16-35 f/2.8 G-Master II is the last to be updated, but certainly not
the least.


SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II: FLARE AND SUNSTARS

A 16-35mm lens is one commonly used for landscape applications and that often
means contending with bright sunlight. Seeing as how I was photographing in a
beautiful sunlit canyon, the first thing to test out was flare and sunstar
performance. The G Master, with its excellent multi-coating technology, did a
great job reducing any washed out flare across the frame. Contrast remained
strong even with bright light shining directly into the lens.

The ghosting is prevalent when shooting towards bright light sources. Even at
f/8 ghosting is pretty severe. Sunstars are decent out of the new lens. The
stars themselves could be more defined, but they are dramatic nonetheless.

Various obtrusive purple blobs were quite distinct, however. Even shooting at
moderate apertures like f/8 caused distracting ghosting to appear. Fortunately,
the sunstars created by the 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II were decent: 22 fairly
distinct points coupled with long streaks of light deliver a dramatic look when
shooting at tight apertures.


SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II: CLOSE-UP VERSATILITY

The 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II can provide some pleasing almost macro shots.
You’re only gonna get about four inches of working distance from the front of
the lens but the 1:3 life-size macro reproduction is quite good for such a
wide-angle optic.

Shading over your subject with the lens itself is a real hurdle sometimes but
luckily the provided hood is quite shallow. This is a lens that can provide
dramatically close shots, while really pushing the background far away. It’s a
nice feature that adds to the versatility of this lens.


You can have a lot of fun with the macro capabilities of the new 16-35.
Wide-angle lenses also push the background far away to add depth to the image.


SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II: OKAY BOKEH

Being a bright professional lens with an f/2.8 aperture, I wanted to see what
kind of character it would bring to the out-of-focus areas. By shooting
wide-open and getting fairly close, shallow depth of field can be achieved.
Specular highlights had a generally nice appearance with minimal cat’s eye in
the corners. Highlights are smooth and round with a subtle soap bubble effect.

The transitions from in-focus to out-of-focus areas are smooth and pleasing to
the eye. I do feel that the out-of-focus backgrounds have a somewhat harsh and
energetic look. This is quite noticeable in close-up shots, or where the
background has lots of highlights.

Transitions between areas of focus are quite smooth. This lens leads the viewers
eye to areas of sharp focus in a pleasing way.


SONY 16-35MM F/2.8 G MASTER II: SHARPNESS

Let me start by saying this might be one of the sharpest and most consistent
wide-angle lenses I’ve ever tested. Pictures taken at f/2.8 delivered excellent
detail regardless of what focal length I happened to be zoomed to. Stopping down
to f/5.6 resulted in only the most minor improvements to the images. Even
contrast and consistency to the corners were excellent wide open. This is a lens
you can happily shoot at at f/2.8 all day long.

This lens is sharp. Detail is excellent across the frame, even when shooting at
f/2.8

This trend carried over largely when focusing specifically on the corners of the
frame. Although the corners benefitted a little more from stopping down to f/5.6
they were still amazingly sharp at f/2.8. I can’t think of any situation where
any user would be upset by the sharpness of this lens, even with high-megapixel
bodies.




SONY MAKES ANOTHER WINNER

The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II makes such a strong showing that it’s hard
not to recommend it to almost anyone. Even given the fact that the original was
also an excellent lens and needed the least improvement, the new 16-35mm is
lighter and better in pretty much every regard.

Of course, the main issue is going to be price. These are expensive professional
f/2.8 zooms after all. But given how versatile they are and the useful range
that a wide-angle zoom covers, if you can deal with the price, you won’t be
disappointed in the results.

Old things can be beautiful too, but the new 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II is better
than its predecessor.


ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES?

The original Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master is an excellent lens, and if you can
find one at a good used price it’s a solid choice. If you already own one, I
would probably hold onto it rather than upgrade. Otherwise, I’d get the new
version instead.

The Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8 is a good budget option with a much lower price that
still delivers high-quality images. It’s outclassed overall by the Sony but
represents good value for the dollar.


SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Yes. Finally, Sony users have a trio of pro zooms that all deliver the goods,
and smaller and lighter than ever as well.


Equipment, Reviews
gmaster, review, Sony, sony1635mmf28gmasterii, sonygmaster, Trinity, wideangle,
wideanglezoom, zoomlens

Related Articles
Sony Unveils 2 New Zoom Lenses: 12-24mm f/4 G and 16-35mm f/2.8 GM
Sony’s Next G Master Zoom Lens Will be a 16-35mm f/2.8: Report
Sony Unveils Its New G Master Line of Flagship Lenses
70-200mm Shootout: Nikon Takes the Crown, Sony G Master Needs Work
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