Sony 16-35mm f/4 OSS – New Full Frame E-Mount Lens

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by Tim Fok September 15^th, 2014

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Sony has added to their E-mount line up with the new 16-35mm f/4 OSS. The wide angle is designed for full frame coverage and features Optical SteadyShot image stabilization.

The Sony 16-35mm f/4 OSS is another Zeiss branded lens, sporting a Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating to aid limit ghosting and flaring.

Whilst matching the new Canon 16-35mm f/4 in spec, this is quite a different lens. It’s E-Mount, therefore designed for compatible mirrorless Sony cameras and in turn is small in size and weight. At 78×98.5mm & 518g it will be well matched with cameras like the Sony A7S.

The Sony 16-35mm f/4 OSS is constructed of 12 elements in 10 groups and has a 7-bladed aperture diaphragm. The lens is dust and moisture resistant.

“Only the middle groups of the optical system move to achieve focus, so the overall length of the lens does not change when focusing. Also, the filter thread at the front of the lens does not rotate.”

This lens has potential to be a great companion for the Sony A7S, on full frame it becomes a wide to mid zoom and switching to APS-C gives you a bit more reach (24.5mm to 52.5mm). Add to that the image stabilization & small form factor and it’s quite a handy carry around lens.

Some may hesitate by the deemed slow constant aperture, but with the astonishing ISO performance from the full frame sensor of the A7S, they’ll be little left desired for lowlight and depth of field.