Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II Lens

Blending G Master quality with the most compact and lightweight design in its category, Sony completes its set of f/2.8 G Master zoom lenses with the new FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II Lens. This wide-angle zoom, tailored for both video and photography professionals, features advanced optical enhancements, improved autofocus capabilities, and refined ergonomics.

G Master Image Quality

Engineered to compete with prime lenses, this zoom features redesigned optics that deliver enhanced resolution, sharpness, and bokeh quality. Its constant bright f/2.8 aperture enables shooting in low light and achieving a shallow depth of field. Incorporating one Super ED and two ED elements, it effectively minimizes chromatic aberrations and color fringing, ensuring superior clarity and color accuracy. Additionally, five aspherical elements—three of which are extreme aspherical (XA)—reduce spherical aberrations, distortion, and mitigate 'onion ring' bokeh for cleaner image rendition.

Faster AF and Floating Focus Mechanism

The upgraded focusing system delivers faster autofocus, enhanced close-up capabilities, and refined handling. Utilizing four XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors, it significantly outperforms the previous DDSSM system, offering quicker, quieter, and more accurate AF performance suited for both video and still photography. This improvement enables reliable focusing on fast-moving subjects, supports shooting at up to 30 fps with full AF maintained even when stopped down, and allows continuous focus tracking throughout zoom adjustments. The floating focusing mechanism preserves image quality across the entire focus range, complementing the lens’s impressive close-focus ability with a minimum distance of 22cm and 0.32x maximum magnification. An internal focusing design ensures faster response and stabilizes the lens’s center of gravity during zooming.

Improved Control and Video Capabilities

Reflecting the evolving demands of both photographers and videographers, this lens incorporates features tailored to video production. It minimizes focus breathing, focus shift, and axial shift during zooming to maintain stable composition and consistent framing. Compatibility with the Breathing Compensation function on select cine-line and Alpha cameras further enhances video precision. Linear Response MF ensures smooth and intuitive manual focusing, while the manual aperture ring offers a de-click option for silent operation. Additionally, the zoom drag torque is adjustable to suit different shooting preferences.

Compact, Lightweight, and Robust Design

As the smallest and lightest f/2.8 wide-angle zoom in its category, this lens combines portability with professional-grade durability. It is approximately 20% lighter and 10% more compact than its predecessor, making it ideal for diverse shooting scenarios. Weather-sealed with rubber gaskets and a sealed lens mount, it resists dust and moisture for reliable use in challenging environments. The manual aperture ring offers tactile control, with options for silent de-clicking or locking to ‘A’ for electronic aperture adjustment. Two programmable focus hold buttons and a focus mode switch provide intuitive handling. Constructed with a hybrid of metal and plastic, the lens balances robustness with lightweight design. The front element’s fluorine coating resists water, oil, and dirt, simplifying maintenance, while the redesigned lens hood reduces size without sacrificing protection.