The Vario-Tessar Sony 16-35mm f/4: The Best Camera Lens for Landscape and Nature Photography

Written by Ben Addy
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Published on June 14, 2018
ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Ben Addy
Adorama ALC

Many experienced landscape and nature photographers say it is very fulfilling for a scenery lensman to capture an image capable of showing the splendor of nature. It is a no-brainer that nature shutterbugs need the best wide-angle lens to get and convey the magnificence of that scene.

There is a variety of cameras and lenses in the market. Each one has its own distinct technology, wide perspective solution, image reproduction, and quality. Broad angle lenses are judged based on their computer designs, sophisticated manufacturing techniques, miniature computer processors, and superior focusing motor capabilities.

About the lens:

ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy

The Vario-Tessar Sony 16-35mm f/4 () is a wide-angle zoom lens that features an optical design. The lens assembly has five aspheric elements. One is the Advanced Aspherical (AA) and three extra low dispersion glass lenses, and this gives photographers the opportunity to maintain corner-to-corner sharpness as well as better resolution.

This kind of lens also minimizes distortions and irregularities in color. The Sony 16-35mm f/4 highlights the so-called T-coating that reduces flash and appearance of secondary images. It enhances clarity, contrast, and depth simultaneously, particularly with landscape pictures as well as scenes with strong back lighting. The consistent f/4 maximum aperture allows the photographers to accomplish good-looking background effects as well. This Vario-Tessar model is fitted with stable Optical Steady Shot image and is resistant to both dust and moisture. 

ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy
ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy

Lens build & features: 

  • There is no doubt the Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 is built solidly.
  • The outer barrel and filter thread are fabricated from metal.
  • The inner barrel is made from durable plastic material.
  • The zoom ring facilitates accurate zooming with equal resistance. On the other hand, the focusing ring boasts a smooth surface. These two rings are manufactured from textured metal. It can be cleaned easily despite the fact that it gathers dirt easily.
  • Said lens is quite heavy so you need to apply force for removal.

The lens is big due to the maximum opening. As a 16-35mm lens, the camera is definitely for landscapes or countrysides, architecture, and interiors, but not necessarily for street photography or portraits. This lens weighs 518 grams and measures 78 x 98.5 millimeters. Its wide-angle zoom capacity is fractionally bigger in all dimensions compared to the Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar model T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS lens, which has dimensions of 73 x 94.5 millimeters and 426 grams (weight).

ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy
ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy

Assembly:

The assembly is everything that you can expect from a Carl Zeiss lens: the zoom barrel, as well as focusing ring possessing a high resistance level, and smooth motion. Photographers focus electronically instead of manually. The focus-ring’s rotation, together with motor gearing, indicates manual focus as very exact and flexible enough for videos. In terms of optical capabilities, the lens has 10 elements in 12 groups.

Why Buy the Vario-Tessar Sony 16-35mm f/4? 

ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy
ben addy sony 16-35mm f/4 lens
Photo by Ben Addy

You will have two good reasons in opting for the Vario-Tessar Sony 16-35mm f/4. One is the convenience of the focal-length range. The other is the excellent quality at the image corners. When it comes to focal length, and the 16-mm setting is simply remarkable. For all intents and purposes, the wideness is desired by most nature photographers with regards to shooting images.

There may be fringes in the colors because of high contrast peripheries or frames with respect to image quality. However, this is also evident in the lenses of other camera brands. This effect is most visible towards the image corners while shooting at f/4 using the 16mm setting. The deviation is reduced significantly when the opening is down to f/8 and also less evident if you use the 35mm end. Borders are reduced by using a raw conversion app so it will not turn out as a major issue. All in all, the Vario-Tessar Sony 16-35mm f/4 is an ideal choice.

Ben Addy
Ben Addy is the founder of Take More Adventures. You can follow him on Instagram @takemoreadventures, on Twitter @tmafeed, and Facebook.com/tmafeed.