At the end of February we talked about the Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G, a particular standard zoom that has chosen to shorten the focal length to ensure compactness while maintaining a high maximum aperture.
The lenses designed with that philosophy were in fact two, and today we can also talk about its wide-angle equivalent, the Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G.
It is an almost identical lens, which together with the 24-50mm forms a particularly suitable pair for travel photography compact enough not to weigh down the backpack, bright enough to allow handheld shooting even in those somewhat difficult situations (indoors, shots after sunset) in which the equally compact f/4 or f/5.6 zooms would be more difficult.
Like its bigger brother, the 16-25mm F2.8 G also measures just under 75mm in diameter (74.8mm to be precise) and approximately 92mm in length (91.4mm). It weighs about thirty grams less, 409g versus 440g, and uses the same 67mm diameter filters.
Weighing approximately 850g, therefore, these two zooms cover focal lengths from 16 to 50mm with a constant F2.8 apertureand for this reason, we are certain, they will find their admirers.
Also in this case, the zoom is unfortunately not internal, but the excursion here is really modest, around 8mm, which minimizes both the logistical inconvenience and the possible greater intrinsic weakness of this solution.
The equipment includes, in order, the small aperture ring, equipped with the now usual CLICK ON/OFF selector, followed by the zoom ring, fluid and precise as always, and the “by-wire” focus ring. Both measure approximately 14mm. The 11-blade diaphragm closes down to f/22.
Between the last two there is also the badge with the product logo, a customizable button and an AF/MF selector, close together and placed in an ideal position for operation with the thumb of the secondary hand.
The stabilizer is absent, which, as is known, in the Sony ecosystem is integrated into the camera body. It seems reasonable, with focal lengths of this type, not to complicate the construction of the lens by inserting an optical stabilizer as a support, as normally happens with telephoto lenses.
The complete optical scheme has not been explained to us, but it certainly includes three aspherical lenses, a further low dispersion ED aspherical lens and three spherical low dispersion ED lenses. The front element coated with fluorite (F-coating), to reduce possible contamination (dust, fingerprints) and facilitate cleaning.
The lens is also protected against the entry of dust and humidity (DMR specification, acronym for Dust and Moisture Resistant), although Sony does not specify the exact degree of protection, limiting itself to a cryptic warning that reads “Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture-proof”.
The minimum focusing distance is obtained at 16mm and corresponds to 18cm (17cm if using manual focus), for a maximum magnification of 0.20x (0.23x with manual focus).
The autofocus is implemented by two linear motors, like its bigger brother 24-50mm, and thanks also to the internal focusing, silent and powerful enough to support the monstrous 120 fps burst of the A9 Mark III, or 4K 120p shooting. The impression of use is that subject locking is almost instantaneous in all cases, regardless of the focal length set or the position of the subject.
Speaking of video, it is worth mentioning that the lens is compatible with the Focus Breathing Compensation function available on some camera bodies.
The test, carried out on the same 61 Mpixel A7C R camera body on which the 24-50mm had also been tested, returned similar behaviour, which we can summarize in this way: great detail and sharpness in the center of the image, with values that remain very good even at the edges, but not at the level of alternative lenses such as the FE 20-70mm F4 G.
Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G on A7c R. 25mm camera body, f/4, 200% magnification.
Even with respect to other parameters of merit, such as chromatic aberration, this 16-25mm is positioned one step below the less bright alternative. However, it should be underlined that, in more than one respect, the 16-25mm F2.8 G proved to be superior to the 24-50mm F2.8 G. But let’s proceed in order.
The resolving power at 16mm is simply exceptional: at maximum aperture F2.8, which at 16mm is also the best working aperture, the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G exceeds the threshold of 6000 LW/PHand the degradation when closing the aperture is decidedly slow still at f/8, the optics well above 5000.
Furthermore, unlike the 24-500mm, which struggled a bit at the upper end, this 16-25mm at 25mm it almost exactly copies the behavior at 16mm, with the only exception of the wider aperture, which scores around 4000 LW/PH. To get the maximum at 25mm, you need to close a stop. However, it is enough to get to f/4 to get back close to 6000 LW/PH even at 25mm.
At the corners of the frame the values remain very good but, as mentioned, not on a par with alternatives such as the recent 20-70mm. In this case, as can be seen from the summary graph, the best aperture is f/5.6, an opening value at which approximately 4700 and approximately 4300 LW/PH (16mm and 25mm) are reached respectively. The 20-70mm, by way of comparison, never drops below 5500 under the same test conditions.
Chromatic aberration is far from dramatic but visible at 16mmwhere it reaches a maximum peak of around 1.4 pixels, while still insignificant at 25mm. Again, the result is slightly better than the 24-50mm twin.
Above: 16mm. Below: 25mm.
Good news also on the vignetting front which, despite the extreme focal length, is unexpectedly low: less than 2 EV is the maximum drop at the corners at 16mm, with an average value of -1.73 EV at maximum aperture, which quickly stabilizes below the single stop loss at all smaller apertures. At the edges, it starts from -0.62 EV at maximum aperture, and then reaches and maintains around half a stop of loss at all smaller apertures.
At 25mm, the light loss at the edges is always negligible: the worst figure is around 6/10 EV, obviously at the corners and at maximum aperture. In all other cases, less than half a stop, therefore almost invisible.
Good rendering of out-of-focus light points. Almost absent astigatism, no noteworthy onion effect.
Nothing to worry about on the front either distortionsalways barrel-shaped, but well contained at 16mm, obviously considering the extreme focal length, and almost completely absent at 25mm. There are no other noteworthy defects noted upon visual analysis of the sample images.
The new FE 16-25mm F2.8 G has a list price of 1400 Eurosto which possibly add the 1300 of the 24-50mm to complete the pair.
The alternatives to evaluate, considering the 16-25mm as a separate product, are the 16-35mm F4 Z4 OSS, a less bright stop but equally compact and with a similar price (1250 Euro), or the more valuable 16-35mm F2.8 GM, with the same maximum aperture, but bulkier and decidedly more expensive (2500 Euro).
Considering instead the pair formed by 16-25mm and 25-50mm, it is worth considering the 20-70mm F4 G. built according to a different philosophy (reduction of space by reducing the maximum aperture), and therefore not directly comparable, but for those who don’t consider the extra stop an indispensable plus, it constitutes an excellent “all in one” travel optics.
Tags: Sony #1625mm F2 .8 zoom light
