Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II Review: The New Trifecta is COMPLETE!

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The original Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM was a great lens, so we were surprised when a second version was released so soon. The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II is smaller, lighter, and has the latest features we expect from current GM lenses, but how does it perform optically? We took it to Margaret Falls in British Columbia to see what Sony's latest is capable of.
Rental equipment provided by The Camera Store
www.thecamerastore.com
0:00 - Intro
1:09 - Sample Images
1:40 - Handling
2:55 - Flare and sunstars
3:45 - Close-up performance
4:07 - Big Ol’ Waterfall
4:39 - Autofocus
5:20 - Chromatic aberrations
5:37 - Bokeh
6:06 - Sharpness
7:47 - Should you buy it?

Пікірлер: 113

@CamWho1225 10 ай бұрын

Great review and love the honesty ! I have the original GM and you gave me all the answers I was looking for!

@MrBanda77 10 ай бұрын

The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II paired with the Sony Alpha A7CR could make for a great kit to capture pictures of sticks in the water, all for a price of +/-6000 USD ))

@AB_223 10 ай бұрын

So true 😂

@perryler 10 ай бұрын

Wouldn't it be hard to hold? Given the weight and size of the lens.

@illicit008 10 ай бұрын

Try the A7R4, it has the exact same light sensor as this and the Leica M11. You can get one used for quite the bargain (they're rated for 500k shutter actuations).

@JohnJenningsphotography 4 ай бұрын

@@illicit008but the Leica M has no autofocus.

@ZOB4 10 ай бұрын

I really like the relatively recent 16-35 f/4 PZ - that lens is a lot smaller and cheaper, and at that focal range I'm probably shooting at f/4 or narrower anyway.

@martinruiz398 10 ай бұрын

Love the 16-35 pz for travel, it has all the bells and whistles, and is sharp corner to corner.

@GallicGarlic 10 ай бұрын

If you say so 😅 Myself .. much prefer the f/2.8 .. but each to its own I guess 😅

@jacobcui1035 10 ай бұрын

@@GallicGarlicwhat do you need the F2.8 for? Night photography? I prefer a 1635 pz 14 gm combo

@kevc.2958 10 ай бұрын

@@jacobcui1035indoor photography

@sashinger5230 4 ай бұрын

It's cheaper, yes. But the distortion is awful...

@richarddenise3886 9 ай бұрын

EXCELLENT REVIEW!

@PhotoTrekr 10 ай бұрын

I will be buying this lens. I have and love the 24-70 GM II and the 70-200 GM II. All three of these lenses are the basis of my lens kit.

@klaymoon1 10 ай бұрын

16-35mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.2, and 70-200mm f/4 - a perfect 3 lens combo for myself.

@alhOOO2O 10 ай бұрын

That performance at 2.8 at both ends of the zoom is very impressive

@patrickchase5614 10 ай бұрын

It is, but so is the original 16-35 f/2.8 GM. It's not clear to me what they've really improved here.

@alhOOO2O 10 ай бұрын

@@patrickchase5614 I found the original quite soft at 35mm

@john_miller_ 10 ай бұрын

Can't wait for the version 1 versus version 2 video 👌

@rlin 10 ай бұрын

Was stabilization added to this update? B&H product page as of now says the Mk.II has stabilization but I'm in doubt (the page also doesn't show this as an external zoom lens)

@dwightsbeetfarms3611 10 ай бұрын

I sold my Sony 16-35 GM because it had bad flare resistance closer to 35mm. Was waiting for GM2 for a long time, but decided to go with Tamron 17-50mm f/4 instead.

@mauriciolee7349 Ай бұрын

Thank you for such an INFORMATIVE & HONEST review. As of today, May 15th 2024, yours is the only video that demonstrates PURPLE GHOSTING at f.8 and smaller aperture.

@RavesForDays 10 ай бұрын

Can anyone explain to me why this pairs the best with a 24-70 GMII over a 12-24 GM?

@architectphotog 4 ай бұрын

Hey guys, how about testing sharpness when focused set at infinity. Thanks

@jsdeon6831 10 ай бұрын

Love this lens but it would be a pain in my pocket, I'd probably go for 14mm 1.8 gm

@NathanHassani-kr4bh Ай бұрын

How's the weight with the a7cr? Does it feel too front heavy?

@inspirephotography14 9 ай бұрын

Is it good to carry both lens 1635mm gm f2.8 and tamaron 28200mm f2.8 ?

@shoottheband5001 10 ай бұрын

4:35 : Jordan Drake has a Big Guy moment: "As God is my witness, I thought waterfalls were quiet"

@coyote9448 10 ай бұрын

Am I alone in wishing sony would update the 28mm f2 lens? I really like that focal length and im hoping for something more exciting for it. Maybe 28mm f1.4 or g series 28mm compact like the 24, 40, 50 trio.

@pickneyjoshua9295 9 ай бұрын

Oh man yes. I love 28mm, and the lack of option on Sony is disappointing.

@wtfnahmean 10 ай бұрын

Sony I hope to God you're upgrading the 24105 soon, that lens definitely need to get smaller and lighter!

@michaelmiller7928 10 ай бұрын

1:50 you state its 1/3 Noct here but say verbally it's 1/4 Noct just over. Which is it?

@nomnom8692 10 ай бұрын

With no internal zoom Im more towards the 16-35pz

@massimonegrini9598 10 ай бұрын

wellcome back Chris and Jordan!

@PetaPixel 10 ай бұрын

We’ve been back for a while! Time to subscribe and check out a few months of episodes! - Jordan

@Kevon420 10 ай бұрын

I guess the 24-105/4 OSS GM II is next, but I would like a 28mm f1.4 GM as well.

@alpenfoxvideo7255 10 ай бұрын

where is the 24-105 GM in the first place? XD

@aus935 10 ай бұрын

great lens but wish it was internal zoom

@paullavin5449 10 ай бұрын

I know you guys wouldn’t mention it, but the number of people that watch your excellent work and can’t be bothered to hit the like button is really disappointing. It’s such an easy thing to do and really helps the channel.

@stkuj 10 ай бұрын

I dont really need 2.8 in this zoom range, I think I'll save some $ and go with the f4 version.

@samanmahdiabadi 10 ай бұрын

or save 1000 bucks and go with a prime at f/1.4 ... 16-35 doesn't really make any difference ... until you're talking about 100mm+ wide to tele ...

@frankfeng2701 10 ай бұрын

16-35 GM2 has the least upgrade among the three GM2 lenses.

@gonzalotapia1020 10 ай бұрын

That's right, but because the 16-35 is the one with the least room for improvement, it has excellent image quality and is not that big

@Jaannapolska 10 ай бұрын

yeah i see no reason to go to the GM2@@gonzalotapia1020

@frankfeng2701 10 ай бұрын

@@gonzalotapia1020 It also has the least competition from third-party lenses of which there is no 16-35.

@johnsoncityaerialphotograp7201 10 ай бұрын

Yeah it was the most recent of that previous generation and plenty of XA glass.. the 12-24 2.8 GMreally took it to another level as far as the super wide goes.. but this will have the faster motors to keep up with the a1 and coming a9 III and probably handle distortion much better in a smaller package.. definitely on my upgrade list over my mark 1 for my real estate stuff

@frankfeng2701 10 ай бұрын

@@gonzalotapia1020 Internal zoom and 1mm wider would have been nicer.

@Richard_Bumblebee 10 ай бұрын

4:49 lol why are you testing auto-focus speeds with your battery on life support?

@MrJafar 10 ай бұрын

This lens is fantastic.

@juanmm9297 10 ай бұрын

I’ll probably keep my mark 1 for now

@gabrielmachadobsb 10 ай бұрын

Is the manual focus linear and repeatable? Everything about it sounds great, but that's an important thing for video and could make or break this lens for a lot of us

@PetaPixel 10 ай бұрын

This does have linear MF response, but there are no hard stops or index on the ring. - Jordan

@hidaven 9 ай бұрын

Another vote for the (less than half priced) PZ 16-35 f4. Wayyyyyy lighter, sharp as a tack, and the power zoom is a game changer for anything video related. Yes the sunstars are better on this newer f2.8, but not too bad at all on the PZ. Many times, my travel kit includes the R5, 24-105 jack of all trades, and the PZ 16-35. Appreciate the honest non-shilling reviews. Glad you found a home here as the photography world would suffer a big loss if you were to give this up and get into skateboarding. lmao.

@Princeton_James 4 ай бұрын

I have it and the F4 kills me. Love the size and I find the rendering to be average. Morning really stands out to me about that lens.

@seanbirtwistle649 10 ай бұрын

best on the internet guys

@we.visuals 10 ай бұрын

Don’t forget about the 12-24 GM. The last remaining zoom GM that needs love.

@danielprislovsky7267 9 ай бұрын

My Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM II arrived in the mail just now. As someone who has handled it, can you tell me if the barrel is supposed to be loose inside? Lens works well, but when you turn it over, the insides literally feel like they're slamming back and forth. I've never had a lens do that. Normal? Thanks!!

@laurendemi_art 4 ай бұрын

Same with mine! 🤔

@jonnybondphoto 10 ай бұрын

Any idea on when it will be available for pre-order or outright for sale?

@ABP8214 10 ай бұрын

B&H has it for pre-order. It's going for $2300US.

@jonnybondphoto 10 ай бұрын

@@ABP8214 thank you.

@firejellyisu 3 күн бұрын

I’m with my a7c2 and a 551.8 Among all those wide lens, do u think 1635 gm2 is a good choice There r so many diff options … 1635 f4 2070 f4 etc..

@adrianwongmedia 10 ай бұрын

When you guy do your test chart, do use the room lights or you guy use a COB?

@niccollsvideo 10 ай бұрын

We use LED soft tube lights.

@RealDaveTheFreak 10 ай бұрын

I want this for L-Mount! 😭😭😭 (we only have a 16-35mm F4 or 16-28 F2.8)

@martin2do 10 ай бұрын

I just sold my Tamron 17-28 because I thought they would make a v2 probably. I am thinking about selling my Sigma 35mm 1.4 to gather enough money for this one. If I can find it for 1500-1600€ on the grey market that'll be great. Otherwise I'll cross my fingers abd try to look for a cheap "old" V1.

@Avm371998 10 ай бұрын

Is this a good lens for real estate interior photography?

@danieldougan269 10 ай бұрын

It would be ideal for that. Then again, there is an f4 version that is much more affordable and would probably serve you just as well. That extra aperture stop is probably not a big deal for that sort of work.

@piotrch0 10 ай бұрын

12-24 is better. For tight spaces every mm counts

@danieldougan269 10 ай бұрын

@piotrch0 That's a good point. 16-35 is still pretty wide though. But if you are going to spend that kind of money, the 12-24mm might be the way to go. The advantage of the 16-35 is pairing it with the Tamron 35-150mm lens and bypassing a 24-70mm altogether.

@JohnJenningsphotography 4 ай бұрын

Can also use for Astro….incredibly versatile.

@Wha2les 10 ай бұрын

That blue ghosting is pretty jarring.

@unstanic 10 ай бұрын

It’s mind boggling to me. Song makes the most compact cameras, but then their lens are huge! How does this make any sense…

@hugoparente1908 10 ай бұрын

Please Sony, just update the "8 years old" Sony FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS, make it G, 67" filter and lighter. For those who are cross-eyed like me, thank you. The great masters of photography already have enough top lenses.

@albuslee4831 7 ай бұрын

Had no idea Chris had another channel.

@safemode8598 10 ай бұрын

Hey, Where's my Video review of the lens?

@ismagine 10 ай бұрын

🎉

@joseswalls 10 ай бұрын

I was expecting internal zoom 🙄

@Fostit 2 ай бұрын

''Already very good''

@harvmara613 10 ай бұрын

This will be my second Sony lens, after the 70-200 GM2. Yasss!

@aperture8983 10 ай бұрын

Sigma 16-35 f1.8 art

@JohnJenningsphotography 4 ай бұрын

Too heavy.

@MrJafar 10 ай бұрын

4:24 I found a GLITCH ! Time to switch DaVinci!

@RokDAWG1 10 ай бұрын

Interesting…it’s not such a major improvement that it makes me just wanna drop my old lens.

@MudvayneS10 10 ай бұрын

So this still has the external zoom and now this annyoing aperture ring. 100g less is nice, but 1mm for wideangle would have been better.

@GallicGarlic 10 ай бұрын

Many come here just in the hope to see their choices validated by their pairs .. 😅 Make your own choices .. pick a style .. enjoy 😊 photo .. not cameras 📷

@joew4373 7 ай бұрын

Why do you think purple fringing is ok on a lens that costs £2300 pounds.

@MrFraiche 10 ай бұрын

Dang, this badboy's coming in hot at $2300 USD. Was hoping for a 30% weight decrease to warrant an upgrade but guess MK1 ain't so bad.

@notsafefortorque9060 10 ай бұрын

A new Intro?

@NotAnotherChannel_Channel 10 ай бұрын

Sony just out there throwing the kitchen sink at us.

@PedroKin 10 ай бұрын

I have the 16-35 Mk1 and i don't think the quality is that great, if this is not much of an improvement I will be rather disappointed, the "star" on city photography on my 16-35 is a disaster and this is not better I have no idea what Sony is doing

@petercharles6652 10 ай бұрын

Trifecta was already complete with the 12-24mm f2.8. Too much overlap with this lens and the 24-70mm between 24-35mm...

@therdore2008 10 ай бұрын

2nd~~~~~~

@fouuladvand48 10 ай бұрын

No internal zoom. Sony cmon. It would have been 10mm longer. This is no professional weather sealing. This is just a "we can make it as small as possible game" without regarding the usage. This lens is made for landscape photographers. Dust, moisture, bad weather. Who cares about the weather sealing rubber at the end of it when it can pull in dirt all the time through the zoom.

@jackiechan8840 10 ай бұрын

All about sigma for me. I ain't got Sony lens cash!

@photographerjonathan 10 ай бұрын

What bank does the average person have to rob in order to afford the Sony Trinity of GMll glass. I wish Tamron would come out with a 24/70 f2.8 and a 70/200 f2.8. that tries to be even better than the G masters. but it seems like maybe their agreement with Sony is to not compete straight on which is why we get lenses like the 17/28, the 28/75 and the 70/180 from Tamron. which are smaller and lighter and are all really good for the money. and they do not compete head on with the Sony glass. but it would be so cool if Tamron could compete head on with the Gm glass with no compromise. like the Sigma 85 Art comes close to doing. Or the new Samyang 135 f1.8. and I also wish that Sony would unlock the fps on 3rd party glass. because I don't think its the 3rd party lens that won't shoot the high frames per second. I think its the Sony firmware that won't allow it. along with focus breathing compensation. which gives A1 and A9 owners or video shooters an extra reason to want to pay the money for the GM glass. I'm sure this is all part of the agreement between Sony and 3rd party manufactures. even though I think Sony gets a percentage of the money from Tamron E mount lens sales. they still don't want them directly competing. but I have an older Tamron Canon mount 24/70 f2.8 that is excellent image quality. without pixel peeping. so there was a time when Tamron made the conventional focal lengths.

@Hackasaures 10 ай бұрын

Three ads in one video is a little too much…

@kevc.2958 10 ай бұрын

lightest and smallest among the rivals, but not as wide and most expensive, little difficult to swallow. Sony users probably just get the sigma 1628 or 1424.

@piotrch0 10 ай бұрын

16-35 is not a part of the trifecta. 12-24 is. And 12-24 f/2.8 needs to be updated. 16-35 is for those who don't need

@joe2snj 10 ай бұрын

The classic holy f2.8 trinity always has been 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm. Plus what needs to be updated on the 12-24mm f2.8 GM? It only came out 3 years ago and even now there’s no other lens like it.

@daesong1378 10 ай бұрын

@@joe2snjI was thinking that, the 12-24 isn’t even that old.

@CStonePhoto 10 ай бұрын

You're clueless

@piotrch0 10 ай бұрын

How's having 12-24 instead of 16-35 that is leaving 12-16 uncovered while having a 24-35 overlap clueless?@@CStonePhotoIf we're talking about a multiple lens set-up (3 lenses), why not go for no (or just 1mm) overlap? If you're buying three lenses, carrying them with you, how is having a 16-35 instead of 12-24 better is beyond me. . Every manufacturer has had 12-24s for years now, sometimes even dipping to 11 or 10 mm on the low end. For a reason. When you're in tight interiors every mm counts and 16 is nowhere near enough. Even with big ones, you can't get a ceiling of a big church flat-on with a 16, but you can with a 13.

@piotrch0 10 ай бұрын

I'm not saying something needs an update per my logic. I'm alluding to Sony's own logic. There was non need to update 16-35 was it really? I'm saying if we look at the trio, 12-24 2.8 is only one that lacks the mark II so far, is all. @@joe2snj

@aperture8983 10 ай бұрын

16-55 f 2.8 already in market make no sense for 16-35

@PetaPixel 10 ай бұрын

16-55mm f/2.8 is a lens for crop bodies.