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Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS Full-Frame Lens (2014)

71% Neofiliac76% External
Keywords: autofocuse-mountexternal-zoomfull-framelensmirrorlesssonystabilizedwide-anglezeisszoom-lens

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Photo 0of Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS Full-Frame Lens (2014)Photo 1of Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS Full-Frame Lens (2014)

Product Overview

Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS is a wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E-mount. It covers the full-frame image circle. Introduced by Sony in 2014, it has 12 elements in 10 groups.
Like most zoom lenses, the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS is externally-zooming. For incremental weathers, Sony is kind enough to include weather sealing.
As a wide-angle lens, this zoom can be prove quite versatile, even though it is not really bright. The built-in image stabilization can be useful for some handheld video work and for low-light stills.

Ratings

What we found**

Neofiliac score 71% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
  • Sharp towards the wider end
  • Weather-sealed
  • Optically stabilized
Cons
  • External zoom without zoom lock
  • Metal exterior with plastic interior
  • Zeiss tax
  • Worse than Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN

What external reviewers found***

External score 76% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
  • Excellent image quality at 35mm f/4
  • Good image stabilizer
  • Very good sharpness at f/8
  • Excellent sharpness in the center from f/4 at any focal lengths
  • Lightweight and compact
  • Compact design
Cons
  • No built-in stabilization
  • Bokeh is on nervous side
  • Flare resistance
  • Larger body than f/2.8
Read More
See Product Comparison

Price Comparison

Specifications

Construction

Aperture Blades
7 blades
Colors
Black
Form Factor
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
Image Size
Full-Frame
Lens Mount
Sony E-mount
Optical Formula | Elements
12 elements
Optical Formula | Groups
10 groups
Optical Formula | Special Glass
5 Aspherical3 ED Glass groups

Dimensions

Filter Diameter
72 mm / 2.83 in
Size | Diameter
78 mm / 3.07 in
Size | Length
99 mm / 3.90 in
Weight
518 g / 18.30 oz

Function

Angle Of View
107.1° Diagonal | 96.7° Horizontal | 73.7° Vertical (wide) ~ 63.5° Diagonal | 54.4° Horizontal | 37.8° Vertical (tele)
Aperture
f/4 ~ f/22
Autofocus
Yes
Focal Length
16 mm ~ 35 mm
Focus Type
Extending front
Image Stabilization
Yes
Weather Resistance
Yes
Zoom Type
External zoom

Performance

Max Magnification
0.19x
Min Focus Distance
280 mm / 11.02 in

Production

Accessory
Lens hood included
Debut
2014-09-15
Model Name
SEL1635Z
See Product Comparison

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Launch Comparison
Clear List

External Reviews

phillipreeve[1]

Reviewer score 75%
Reviewers from phillipreeve have found the following***:
The SEL1635z shows a noticeable amount of barrel distortion at 16mm, whichis nearly gone by 20mm. The amount of background blur you can get out of theFE 4/16-35 is of course limited by it's moderate speed and short focal length. The bokeh is on the nervous side and I found it to be some times detrimental to the image. Flare resistance is no contest: The Canon is pretty bad and the Sony quite good.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Excellent sharpness in the center from f/4 at any focal lengths
  • Good image stabilizer
  • Very good sharpness at f/8
Cons
  • Bokeh is on nervous side
  • Flare resistance

digitalpicture[2]

Reviewer score 78%
Reviewers from digitalpicture have found the following***:
At 35mm f/4, the f/2.8 lens turns in a far better performance. At 20mm, differences are hard to detect aside from the Sony continuing to have more lateral CA. At 24mm and 28mm, I like the Canon centers slightly better and the Sony's corners slightly better.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Excellent image quality at 35mm f/4
  • Lightweight and compact
  • Compact design
Cons
  • No built-in stabilization
  • Larger body than f/2.8

User Reviews

Comments

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References

  1. ^ Long-Term Review: Sony FE 16-35mm f4 ZA OSS T*. [phillipreeve]. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/sony-fe-16-35mm-f4-za-t-review/. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  2. ^ Sony FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS Lens Review. [digitalpicture]. https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sony-FE-16-35mm-f-4-ZA-OSS-Lens.aspx. Retrieved 2022-01-26.

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Scores are not directly comparable across industries.

These key takeaways ("pros" and "cons") and summaries are identified from third-party reviews. They may differ from the original texts.

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