Sony 16-25mm f/2.8 G: Another G-Whiz G w/Great Focal Range, Sharpness & More - But There's a Caveat

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CORRECTION: price is $1,200, not $1,100; weight is 409g, not 420g!
Sony's latest G-WHIZ 16-25/2.8 G convinces me that EVERY manufacturer should be making a 16-25/2.8 INSTEAD of the current holy trinity wide angle standard 16-35. There is SO much to like about this lens, but distortion at the wide-end when doing critical urban landscape work makes it sub-optimal for the most eagle-eyed among us.
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[@3BMEP]

CORRECTIONS: price is $1,200, not $1,100; weight is 409g, not 420g!

[@albedo0point39]

I've already placed my order for this. While it doesn't seem that large of a zoom range, 24mm is my favoured 'walk around' focal length for travel and city shots. I used to own the 20mm 1.8 - but found it too wide for general use, but too narrow for interiors and close shots in more built up areas. Getting a good 16 and a good 24/25 in one compact package without having to change lenses ticks lots of boxes for me, and I'm looking forward to its arrival.

[@safesurfer1965]

Thanks for that short review. I'm hopping too for a lens profile in ACR and Lightroom to correct that distortion. If that works, this lens will be ideal for my light travel kit with the A7iv and the 24-50 G. Would be interested in an updated review from you when the profile arrives.

[@andywe7524]

Great Review, thanks and Greetings from Frankfurt!

[@3BMEP]

Hallo Frankfurt!

[@mattrom52]

This was the review I was most looking forward to. I was close to purchasing the 24-50mm then the rumor came out they were releasing a 16-25mm. So I held off and waited. It’s a much more useful lens than the 24-50mm since I always shoot with a 50mm prime. Having the flexibility from 16mm is really handy!

[@tsdevine]

The "built in" profile tag means that CA was corrected via info in the RAW file, this does not correct for distortion. You need a "real" Adobe lens profile to do that.

[@3BMEP]

Thanks for the clarification!

[@user-fl6lw8kk3h]

The focal range is really interesting. Like the 24-50 or the 20-70. Unique!

[@elnitram4313]

I'm curious how the lens compares to cropping in to APS-C on a 16mm prime lens. I like the size but 1.5x zoom isn't much.

[@RickSanchez__642]

Just bought the Sony 20mm 1.8. Not sure if I should return for this zoom lens. At least 400€ more where I live

[@duvalpenny100]

Can't go wrong with either lens. I love the 20G but also see the appeal of this new lens. I'll probably stick with the 20G, but I would love to try this one out too.

[@Tharrel]

Honestly, I don't really see any point of new lenses anymore. It seems to me that all brands already have full lineups of fast, sharp lenses of any kind. The changes to new lenses are minimal and you can easily get amazing results with already existing lenses. What do you think Hugh? Other than the companies wanting to make more money off of us, do you think there's a reason for us to be at all interested in what new lenses come out?

[@EELinneman]

Would this be solved by a new version of ACR with this lens profile? Or a new release of Sony's software with a profile to address the issue?

[@3BMEP]

Maybe! I hope so!

[@frankygamaliano7058]

The distortion looks terrible 😮

[@3BMEP]

I’m hoping Adobe’s profile will take care of it.

[@albedo0point39]

While the LR geometric corrections are yet to arrive, did you get a chance to check a jpeg out of the camera? This would be de-warped by Sony's processing (showing what potential there is to accomplish this), while your LR test would not.

[@3BMEP]

I didn’t see enough of a difference to be happy (I don’t mean to be flippant)

[@richarddutchholland4780]

Better off buying the 20mm f1.8

[@Amcacs5654]

Nah

[@richarddutchholland4780]

@@Amcacs5654 Yeah..because I’ve already got the 24-70 f2.8 G master ii

[@spikepang]

I bought 16-25 2.8G and plan to sell 20 1.8G.

[@richarddutchholland4780]

@@spikepang I own the 24-70 G master ii and the 20 1.8 so it would be a waste for me

[@hugoparente1908]

Oh no...another 16mm...please Sony look at Nikon 14-30 F4.