The Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II is the long-awaited update to Sony's original 16-35mm GM, which was around six years old. It's hugely popular with travel photographers and videographers, but I firmly believe any lens can be a portrait lens, so I took it to a real street portrait shoot on the Sony A7IV, plus some video tests on the A7SIII.
Every photo in this post was edited with my Fall Lightroom preset pack, and I share 100% crops of the unedited files in the video.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM II specs and price
| Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II | |
|---|---|
| Focal length | 16-35mm |
| Maximum aperture | f/2.8 |
| Weight | 547g (the original weighed 680g) |
| Filter thread | 82mm |
| Autofocus motors | XD linear motors |
| Controls | Aperture ring with click switch, iris lock switch, AF/MF switch, two focus hold buttons |
| Price | US$2,299 / A$3,999 RRP at launch |
Who is this lens for?
Even though the 16-35mm is a favourite for landscapes, cityscapes and vlogging, you might be surprised with what it can do for portraits. I had my camera set to continuous autofocus with a wide focus area to let the camera and lens do all the work, and Eye AF was extremely responsive and sticky. Like most GM glass, it made the shoot a breeze. See the portrait examples.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Build and design
The Mark II has a focus ring, zoom ring and aperture ring, which is a must for me on GM glass now, plus a click switch, iris lock switch, AF/MF switch and two focus hold buttons. It's dust and moisture resistant, but it zooms externally, and I would have loved to see internal zoom like the 70-200mm GM II. At 547g it's much lighter than the Mark I, and gimbal users will be happy to know I had no balance issues while zooming. See the lens build.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Image quality and sharpness
I love checking which focal lengths I use most with a zoom. Surprise, surprise, it was 35mm, followed by 16mm and then 28mm, but I used every single millimetre of the range. Sharpness and detail were superb throughout, even at 16mm, where wide-angle zooms sometimes struggle. Colours are rich and true to life in the shade. The only time it struggled was in backlight, where the photos looked slightly washed out with a blue cast from the flare, even with the lens hood on. See the image quality section.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Unedited
Edited with Fall
Unedited on the left, edited with my Fall preset on the right.
Focus accuracy
I had no issues with focus accuracy at all in stills mode. In a series of close-up portraits at 35mm, every shot was tack sharp apart from one where she looked away and one with motion blur. That's a good reminder that you can still get motion blur at 1/500s with a moving subject, which is why I keep my shutter speed as fast as the light allows. See the focus test.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Bokeh, chromatic aberration and lens flare
The bokeh is round and clean across all focal lengths, and it has great control of chromatic aberration, with plenty of clean backlit shots. The flare is pretty typical for a zoom: a large, soft, round flare plus a few smaller defined spots. For landscapes and cityscapes a blue flare is easy to work with, but for portraits blue doesn't flatter skin tones. I find warmer flares much easier to use creatively. See the bokeh and flare.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Unedited
Edited with Fall
Unedited on the left, edited with my Fall preset on the right.
Video and vlogging
For video, autofocus was very sticky and responsive as the model moved, and the XD linear motors kept up on both the wide and long end. Focus breathing was very minimal on either end. I think this is the ideal vlogging lens: at 16mm you can see so much in the frame, and it stayed balanced on the gimbal when zoomed to 35mm, although it is a heavy rig to hold out for a long time. Watch the video tests.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Edited with my Fall preset.
Is the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM II worth it?
If you shoot travel, landscapes or video, this is a fantastic upgrade: lighter, sharper across the whole range, with excellent autofocus and minimal focus breathing. For portraits it surprised me with how sharp and reliable it was, and I loved having 16mm to 35mm in one lens. My only real wishes are internal zoom and a warmer, less obvious flare in backlight.
Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM II FAQ
Is the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM II good for portraits?
Yes. It's sharp across the whole range with very reliable Eye AF, and I used every focal length from 16mm to 35mm on my portrait shoot.
How much does the Sony 16-35mm GM II weigh?
It weighs 547g, much lighter than the original 16-35mm GM at 680g.
Does the Sony 16-35mm GM II have internal zoom?
No. It zooms externally, although it stays balanced on a gimbal when zooming.
Is the 16-35mm GM II good for vlogging?
Yes. At 16mm it's wide enough to hold at arm's length, and it has minimal focus breathing and sticky video autofocus.
What preset did you use for these photos?
All the photos were edited with my Fall Lightroom preset pack.
All the photos in this post were edited with my Fall Lightroom preset pack. You might also like my Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 review and 24mm vs 35mm for portrait photography. Browse all my packs in the Lightroom Presets for Portraits collection, and if you're stuck between a few, you can buy any 3 presets and save 10%.
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