Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G Announced

Sony has announced their latest lens and this time its the Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens.

The lens will be available from May 10th in the US for $1198 and preorders start tomorrow April 17th. In the UK it will cost £1250 and in Europe the price is €1400.

The design is constructed of 16 elements in 13 groups, including three extra-low dispersion elements and four aspherical elements (one of which is an ED aspheric).

According to Sony the optical performance is better than the original 16-35mm GM and not all that far behind the newer GM II.

The lens makes use of twin linear motors to drive its internal focus design and it is fully compatible with the a9 III’s blistering 120fps modes.

The minimum focusing distance is just 0.17m (6.7″) at 16mm or 0.22m (8.7″) at 25mm in manual focus mode. These figures do increase slightly to 0.18 and 0.24m in autofocus mode.

On the lens body you’ll find an aperture ring with a switch to enable or disable the clicks. There’s also an MF/AF switch and a customizable focus hold button.

Focus breathing is minimal and this can be eliminated altogether when used with a camera that supports Sony’s focus breathing compensation function.

The lens is also compatible with Sony’s ‘Dynamic’ IS feature that relies on extensive communication of gyro data between the lens and camera.

Key Specs

Format	35mm full frame
Focal Length	16-25mm
Maximum Aperture	F2.8
Minimum Aperture	F22
Lens Construction	16 elements in 13 groups
Angle of View 35mm	107°-82°
Number of Diaphragm Blades	11 circular
Minimum Focusing Distance	0.18(W)-0.24(T)(AF), 0.17(W)-0.22(T)(MF) m (0.59(W)-0.79(T)(AF), 0.56(W)-0.73(T)(MF) ft)
Maximum Magnification Ratio	0.20(AF), 0.23(MF)
Filter Size	67mm
Dimensions (Diameter × Length)	74.8 x 91.4 mm (3 x 3-5/8 in.)
Weight	409 g (14.5 oz.)
Supplied Accessories	Hood (model):ALC-SH178 Lens front cap:ALC-F67S Lens rear cap:ALC-R1EM

Early Reviews

Here’s a collection of early reviews that have been published so far.