Best Sony Wide Angle Lens: Sony 16-35 f2.8 & f4 PZ/G/GM/ZA comparison

Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM ($2200): SDP.io/16GM
Sony 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS ($1400): SDP.io/16ZA
Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f4 G ($1200): SDP.io/16PZ

Tony Northrup compares Sony's three 16-35mm zoom lenses, perfect for wide-angle landscape photography and general/travel photography. The Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM is the standard wide-angle for professionals, but it's VERY expensive and it lacks some features like a declickable aperture ring. The oldest lens, the Zeiss 16-35 f/4, is... old.

The newest lens (brand new!) is the 16-34 f4 PZ, with power zoom. It's small, light, zooms internally, and it has a declickable aperture ring. How does it perform in our tests?

0:00 Introduction
2:01 Video Autofocus
2:33 Gimbal Test
3:42 Dolly Zoom Test
4:37 Handholding long exposures
5:37 Maximum magnification / minimum focusing distance
6:22 Bokeh
7:13 Sharpness
8:57 Low-light and noise
10:28 Declickable aperture ring
10:56 Summary

[SlotCarNewsOfficial]

The 16-35pz was the lens that got me to switch from Fujifilm and Canon to Sony.
The zoom and quality and size of that lens is a massive help for my video and photo work for my newspaper (full time job shooting video and stills).
Even though it's not seen by many as a "pro level" lens it totally is. This lens is such a perfect tool for nearly all my work (and my own channel videos) that I have no issues at all suggesting it for nearly any normal use-case. Certainly for most hobbyist shooters is MORE than adequate.

[driliagor]

2.8 is still not enough for a astro. So the correct combo is 16-35 PZ for general landscape since most of us use f8-11. And get a dedicated astro lens like 20 mm 1.8.

[metphmet]

I have the ZA since 2014, It is very nice lens . It is a really sharp lens especially slightly stopped down ( 42Mpx) . I can only recommend it from the used market. I don’t see any reason to change it for the new G.but if I had to buy one today it would be the G for sure because of its performance at 35mm. which makes it a real versatile lens.

[DirtMcLurch]

I own the Zeiss Batis 18mm 2.8. It's super lightweight and compact, well balanced on my A7RIII. No gripes with the results. As a bonus, the lens hood is removable so I can use a 10 stop ND for daytime long exposure landscape photography. Definitely recommend.

[arfmf]

I have only to congratulate you Tony on this one you demonstrate real life differences that are extremely meaningful

[CypiXmusic]

I just wanna give you a big compliment for the most technically proficient comparison/review type of video I've seen to date. No bells and whistles, just very technically sound comparisons visually properly prepared. Kudos!

Edit: Only slight heads up, at the lightness test it would have been good to also see the SELP 16 35 G (to compare corner darkening)

[richbottarini]

How about a comparison between the new 16-35 and Tamron 17-28

[anulearntech]

I love my Tamron 17-28 f2.8 pocket zoom. Light weight internal zoom. 67mm front filters. Great IQ, weather resistant.

[michaelroach]

12:33 - Just picked up the Zeiss 16-35 used for $500😅real estate is generally F7.1 or up, so I'm not really worried about sharpness at f4

[phoenixvette]

Been watching Tony for years but this is the most goofy I've seen him. How Fun! Thanks for the info!

[derrick]

thanks for the review and detailed testing and summary. Love your content keep it up.

One thing I have to criticize is the pricing listed in this video... Right now in Europe (new) are ZA > 750, PZ - 1200, GM > 2500 if you buy second hand...the ZA ("like new") for 535, - and the cheapest used version of the PZ I found was (very used condition) for 800, - not to talk about the GM. So for me, the budgeted aspect was the deciding factor as to why I went for the older model. Especially as I rarely work as a videographer which in my opinion the PZ was primarily designed for.

[brucedowsing]

Tony; why didn't you test the new PZ lens against the GM lens in the low light, given its superiority over the Zeiss lens.

[MollyFitzBrown]

Wow, I can’t wait for the pz lens to release! Thanks for this comparison.

[danielbogos]

I wish I could see how GM performs at f4 as well when it comes to sharpness. Its a bit unfair despite the PZ having the f4 as lowest.

[bondgabebond]

Great review. I would think in low light situations like you demonstrated, it is time to pull out a 35mm 1.4 prime. Even the 2.8 zoom doesn't look too good.

[gregscarcella]

Great review of all three. It helped me decide. I’m probably going with the F2.8. Thanks Tony

[Jonathantuba]

I have the 16-35 GM2, but am still tempted by the new PZ lens for it lightness, compactness, apparent greater sharpness and the power zoom when using for video. I think this new 16-35 paired with my 70-200 GM2 would make great travel set up to cover virtually anything

[brianmckeever]

I was just imagining how often you had to clean your home to use it as a studio! The kitchen is immaculate!

[pattypotratz]

Thank you for the thorough details of the 3 lenses. Very helpful to making a good decision on our projects.

[abhishekbanerjee]

I want to see what is in your camera bag video for Sony ecosystem 😅 which Sony lenses you paid money to buy. Thanks in advance Tony