The Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G is a perfect little addition to your gear bag if you’re looking for a lightweight, compact, and (relatively) affordable lens. It’s about the size of a “nifty fifty” 50mm f/1.8. Somehow, it manages to be one of the sharpest nightscape photography lenses at its focal length! So, in today’s Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review, I’m going to dive into exactly why this is a perfect addition to your gear bag; not just for nightscape photography but for a few other genres as well.
At nearly $800, you would be wise to consider your alternatives, and we’ll do that as well. Mainly, the next-closest option is the Sony FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G. It too is very lightweight and compact, but instead of the fast prime aperture, it offers a bit of zooming, and a respectable constant aperture of f/2.8. Spoiler alert: Both lenses are G-series lenses, and they offer as many of the bells and whistles that you could ask for from a Sony GMaster lens, even. So, your final decision will just come down to personal preference, of course.
With that said, let’s dive into this review!
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Specifications
- FOCAL LENGTH & ANGLE OF VIEW: 16mm, 107° angle of view (full-frame)
- LENS MOUNT(S): Sony FE (full-frame) E-mount
- APERTURE & RANGE: f/1.8 to f/22, 11 rounded blades
- STABILIZATION: No
- AUTOFOCUS: Dual XD linear motors, internally moving
- MANUAL FOCUS: Electronically controlled; distance scale available
- OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION: 15 elements in 12 groups; 2 advanced aspherical, 3 extra-low dispersion, 1 super ED element
- MECHANICAL BUILD: Metal & plastic, weather-sealed
- MAGNIFICATION & FOCUS DISTANCE: 0.25x, 5.9 in (15 cm)
- FILTER THREADS & HOOD: 67mm, plastic one-piece hood
- SIZE: 2.91 x 3 in (7.38 x 7.5 cm)
- WEIGHT: 10.7 oz (304g)
- PRICE: $798
(B&H | Adorama | Amazon)
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review | Who Should Buy It?
If you’re looking for an ultra-wide lens, then 16mm is one of the most popular focal lengths. It is where innumerable ultra-wide zoom lenses end, and to be quite honest, I know a lot of photographers who basically NEVER use their 16-35mm etc. lens at a different focal length besides 16mm!
With that in mind, I’m actually shocked that we don’t see 16mm prime lenses like this all over the place. Seriously, where have they been all this time? There have been a lot of 14mm prime lenses on the market, mind you. A 14mm f/2.8, or in some cases even faster, is a common choice for nightscape photographers, indeed.
Still, I think that 16mm is a bit more versatile than 14mm, and I bet that a lot of photographers who do more than just nightscapes will prefer this Sony 16mm f/1.8.
It’s definitely not just for nightscape photos, of course, and we’ll get into that now. Basically, because of its size, weight, and affordability, this lens is a great choice for any photographer who has considered an ultra-wide prime but never purchased one due to the bulk and/or the price. Plus, I’ll recommend it even for the photographers who already bought such a big, heavy f/2.8 zoom, only to find that they rarely use it at any other focal length besides 16mm!
Nightscape & Astrophotography
First and foremost, the aperture and the focal length of this lens make it a strong contender as one of the most useful nightscape photography lenses in its class. To be specific, I’m talking about the ultra-wide lenses that offer portability, not just performance.
Yes, this lens is incredibly sharp, and we’ll get to that. However, I want to highlight the aperture and focal length in comparison to this lens’ alternatives. Simply put, I’m a huge fan of f/1.8 for nightscape photography, because it gives me more options. In some conditions, such as when I am working purely by starlight in the darkest skies in the country, (such as Southern Utah!) …I really need f/1.8. Other times, if there is a faint bit of moonlight, or generally any light pollution brightening my exposure, then I can stop down to f/2.8 and do significantly better than an f/2.8 zoom wide-open.
Either way, here are two things that seal the deal for me as an astro-landscape photographer:
- I virtually never find myself needing to decide between 16mm and 17mm, or 18mm, etc. If I’m reaching for an ultra-wide zoom that goes to 16mm, then I’m almost always using it at 16mm.
- As a nightscape photographer who does a lot of hiking & backpacking, I value portability. The fact that this lens weighs just 10.7 oz (304g), instead of 1.2 lbs (547g), is a huge deal for me if I’m on a week-long backpacking trip in the mountains!
Landscape Photography
Of course, if you do nightscape photography, then you probably also photograph landscapes during the day, too. So, how does this lens perform when stopped down to f/8? Again, we’ll share some sample images later, (from a 60-megapixel sensor) …but, in short, this prime lens is a strong performer. I would absolutely choose it instead of a wide-angle zoom.
In fact, upon our testing, we noticed that the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM in particular was definitely not as flawlessly sharp at 16mm, compared to this 16mm f/1.8.
Having said that, I will give a nod to zoom lenses for traditional landscape photography. Simply put, being able to zoom in to 24mm or 35mm can be highly valuable for any adventurous photographer that is looking to minimize the number of lenses they must carry. Personally, I’ve been on at least a few backpacking trips where my only two lenses were a 16-35mm equivalent and a 70-300mm equivalent. This will be a personal choice; maybe you prefer to pair this 16m prime with the Sony 20-70mm f/4 G instead, or the Sony 24-105mm f/4 G.
Wedding & Portrait Photography
Portrait & wedding photographers should consider this lens as well, and for similar reasons: It doesn’t take up much extra space in your camera bag, and it doesn’t cost much either.
In my experience, (20+ years doing weddings & portraits) …I myself and almost everyone I know would rather have a 24-70mm f/2.8 than a 16-35mm f/2.8. Virtually everyone I know who does weddings or portraits and owns a 16-35mm; they all only ever use it at 16mm.
With this in mind, and considering the hefty price tag of even the modest alternatives such as the Sony 16-25mm f/2.8 G, I can recommend this as a perfect ultra-wide lens for all of the portrait photographers who already have a 24-70mm (or similar) lens that they use most of the time.
Vloggers & Content Creators
Content creators of all kinds will appreciate this lens, but for slightly different reasons. First, there’s the fact that many cameras these days will use a bit of a crop factor in order to deliver certain video resolutions or framerates. In other words, if you slap on a 24mm or 20mm lens, and then get hit with a 1.2X or 1.5x crop factor in order to get a specific FPS, then you’ll be looking at a LOT less wide of a lens, effectively.
For example, if you’re using a full-frame sensor but you bump it into 1.5x crop mode, then this 16mm lens will give you a 24mm angle of view.
Furthermore, a few other camera features can add a crop to your video, and this is especially relevant to vloggers and influencers who might be doing a lot of hand-holding or solo work. Electronic stabilization, and the auto-framing system if your Sony body has it, can allow you to create really dynamic video content all by yourself.
So, having 16mm at your disposal can be a huge plus for any content creator who is using a full-frame camera such as the Sony A7C II.
Cinema & Movie Makers
Even if you’re using the most high-end video camera possible, and you have no crop-related framing restrictions, 16mm is still a stunning focal length to have at your disposal. With that in mind, I’ll wrap up my top recommendations for this lens by saying this: The Sony 16mm f/1.8 G offers all the bells & whistles that a dedicated videographer will want, namely a mechanical aperture ring that can be de-clicked. (We’ll talk more about the focus breathing etc. later!)
Architecture & Real Estate Photography
Here is where I have to switch gears, and go back to recommending a zoom lens instead. For architecture, real estate, and honestly for most types of commercial or editorial work, you’re far more likely to utilize a zoom range than an f/1.8 aperture. Especially for working in tight interior spaces, I must recommend virtually ANY 16-35mm, 14-24mm, or 12-24mm zoom as a better choice.
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review | Pros & Cons
Now that we’ve gone over the serious breakdown, (name of my “mental health soft metal” band?) …let’s get into the details of exactly how this lens performs.
There’s not a lot to complain about, and the things I can think of to nit-pick are likely not going to be a concern for the types of photo and video work that this lens is perfect for. In other words, you could entirely skip this section and just trust me that the Sony 16mm f/1.8 G has incredible image quality, build quality, and excellent autofocus… but don’t skip over the pretty pictures!
Image Quality | Sharpness
Even wide-open at f/1.8, and even on a high-megapixel sensor, the Sony 16mm f/1.8 G delivers impressive sharpness. Most of the image circle, covering at least the rule-of-thirds box plus a little more, fits my clinical definition of “tack sharp”.
In the extreme corners, at f/1.8 on a 40-60 megapixel sensor, you’ll see some loss of sharp detail, but it’s pretty manageable in the instance of astro-landscape photography where you are mainly concerned with pin-point stars. (We’ll talk more about coma & astigmatism later.)
Stopping down, this lens gets wicked sharp very quickly. Even by f/2.8-4, the extreme corners are very impressive, and by f/5.6 things are truly remarkable. All in all, zero complaints; this is a GMaster level of resolving power, indeed.
Image Quality | Bokeh, Colors & Contrast
One of my favorite things to do with an ultra-wide lens that can focus very close is to totally exaggerate a close-up subject, and in this case, the Sony 16mm f/1.8 G’s rounded aperture blades to not disappoint; bokeh is buttery smooth as you’d expect.
Similarly, the other subjective aspects of image quality are beautiful, too. The colors are vibrant, the contrast is clear and crisp. Once again, I feel like we’ve got a GMaster lens, but it’s been tagged with a “G” price simply because it’s f/1.8 and “tiny”…
Image Quality | Vignetting & Distortion
Back to the highly technical aspects of image quality, and we get to the one achilles heel of virtually all modern mirrorless lenses: This optic relies quite heavily on a correction profile in order to remove both vignetting and distortion.
Most photographers will never need to worry about this, because under normal conditions, the lens profile does its thing beautifully. Distortion is rendered to virtually zero, and vignetting is also minimal, especially when stopped down.
However, for those photographers who really push the envelope of nightscape photography, you might want to turn one or both of these corrections off in-camera, and here’s why:
- Any sort of strong vignetting correction can reveal significant noise in the extreme corners of a poorly exposed and/or extremely high ISO image. It can also reveal a bizarre color ring effect that becomes more prominent when used in neutral white/gray conditions such as blankets of snow or overcast skies.
- The distortion correction can also present issues, if you are at an extremely high ISO and you apply any sort of “heavy” editing to your images. Even if you use noise reduction, the noise levels of higher ISOs will render a nasty plaid, circular banding pattern.
Again, this is an issue that is present on virtually all mirrorless lenses today, so I only add it as a word of caution to those nightscape photographers who might run into this issue. Everyone else, just leave the in-camera corrections turned on, and enjoy!
Image Quality | Sunstars & Flare
I often prefer the sunstars of fast-aperture prime lenses instead of wide-angle zooms, and the Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G did not disappoint in this regard. Even by f/11, the sunstars are sharp and pronounced. You can improve their exact appearance by “hiding” your pin-point light source behind something, such as tree foliage.
Image Quality | Color Fringing, Aberration, Coma & Astigmatism
This is the section that all astro-landscape photographers are waiting for! I have lots of good news:
- Field curvature is near-zero; just set focus for stars that are approximately in the rule-of-thirds zones, and enjoy nearly perfectly focused stars everywhere in the frame!
- Color fringing is minimal, and what little there is cleans up very nicely using the Lightroom or similar raw corrections.
- Coma & sagital astigmatism are also quite minimal, even at f/1.8, even on a high-megapixel camera. Stopping down to f/2.8 almost completely eliminates aberrations on stars in the corners of your image frame!
All in all, I want to wrap up by saying this: If you’re looking for a time-lapse lens to do nightscape time-lapse videos on a 12-24 megapixel sensor, you’ll find this lens delivers jaw-dropping results, especially by f/2.8. Furthermore, for those of you who are looking to use 40-60 megapixels and make huge prints of your nightscape images, you will also be very impressed by how well this lens does.
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review | Design & Durability
I haven’t run into a G-series lens that didn’t feel like it was just a GMaster in a smaller package. That is to say, this Sony 16mm f/1.8 G is built rock-solid and feels very durable. I’m very grateful to Sony for creating so many of these G-series lenses that deliver such professional quality in such an affordable package.
Focus Breathing & Weight Balance
For those of you who capture video and are looking to ensure a high-end, cinematic look to your final results, you’ll be pleased to know that I found focus breathing to be minimal on this lens. It’s present, as is understandable for such a wide focal length, but you’ll only really notice it if you’re absolutely racking focus from close-up to infinity. Even then, if you’re “pulling” focus slowly, it will probably go undetected.
Ergonomics & Portability
This is one of the Sony 16mm f/1.8’s biggest assets, so pay attention! Simply put, you won’t find a smaller, lighter ultra-wide lens that is this good. Period. (The other lenses that deliver similar image quality are much bigger and more expensive; also, the other lenses that are even close to being this compact & lightweight don’t offer the same excellent image quality.)
First and foremost, the above make this a perfect lens for adventurous travelers who do a lot of walking or hiking to create their imagery. Also, it’s an excellent choice in terms of weight balance, for those who are looking to use a gimbal to create video content!
Autofocus Performance
Sony put two linear motors in this lens, and as you can imagine, the glass that moves back and forth to focus is relatively lightweight. So, this results in incredibly fast and virtually silent focusing. It’s very precise, which can be tricky for fast-aperture lenses that have such a wide angle of view that their depth of field is “tricky” at far distances.
It seems counterintuitive, but that’s been my experience in the past: A lens that should have ample depth of field at, say, a distance of 50-100+ ft, would often falter to nail focus at apertures faster than f/2.8. This was more of an issue on DSLR cameras; they used an off-sensor autofocus module which could get miscalibrated. Today, with dual-motor lenses like this G-series, focusing is a non-issue.
NOTE: I did try autofocusing on stars, and it can work, if you’re lucky. Personally, I just prefer to always manually focus on stars.
Manual Focus Performance
Sony’s manual focus experience has always been great, with ample focus aides and customizations. With how sharp this lens is, and how sensitive the electronic focus control is, I never had any trouble manually focusing with this lens, even on stars.
My preferred technique, by the way, is to magnify a bright star that has been composed at about a rule-of-thirds point in the image, as opposed to focusing on stars in the dead-center of the image frame. This offers a good balance of precision for both the center and the corners of the image.
Features & Customizations
Despite being a truly tiny lens, Sony has included every feature they usually do with their G-series. It has a dedicated AF/MF switch, which is one of my main pet peeves about many third-party and older non-G lenses. I love having a physical AF/MF switch on my lenses! This has also been a headache on some Canon lenses, such as the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM; its switch is “Focus/Control”, which can result in confusion and headache. (More about this competitor lens later!)
Back to the subject at hand: the Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G has a dedicated aperture ring that can be de-clicked for smooth video aperture control. Lastly, there is even a customizable function button, which you can program in-camera to do things like AF-L or AF-ON.
Value
The value of this lens is undeniable, for multiple reasons. If you’re simply on a budget, and are looking for the best-performing Sony lens that reaches 16mm, this is it. If you’re less concerned about the cost but more concerned about portability, this is also the best value. If for whatever reason you don’t care about either the price or the portability, and you just want a 16mm prime that offers a faster aperture, then once again, this isn’t just the best value, it’s your only choice!
For nearly $800, though, it’s clearly not priced like the “nifty fifty” you might visually mistake it for. Considering that even the good quality third-party alternatives cost more, however, I’m still convinced that this lens is an incredible value.
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review | Compared To The Competition
There are two or three main competitors that we’ll consider, depending on the type of work you do. First and foremost, we must answer the question; prime or zoom? That is, would you rather have f/1.8, or would you rather have access to other focal lengths?
For example, if you’re keen on the fast aperture, Sony also offers the 14mm f/1.8 and the 20mm f/1.8. In that regard, choosing this lens is a good middle ground for those who might not do very much ultra-wide imagery, and just want something simple to complement their 24-X zoom.
Having said that, what if you’re a very serious nightscape photographer? You might want to own two wide-angle prime lenses, such as the Sony 14mm f/1.8 and the 20mm f/1.8, or maybe the Sony 24mm f/1.4GM.
Moving on; if you honestly don’t really need the f/1.8 aperture, you simply shouldn’t buy it, period. The zoom alternatives are just that much more useful! The Sony 16-25mm f/2.8, even with its extremely modest zoom range, is a gem. It’s tiny and ultralight, and is relatively modestly priced when compared to GM options. The Sony 16-35mm f/4 PZ is another unique option, with a similarly incredible weight savings, at about the same price as the 16-25mm f/2.8.
I won’t recommend the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II, nor the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, because although those are incredible lenses, they are in a totally different league. Their price tags, and their weight class, puts them likely out of reach of folks who’ve started off considering this sub-$800 prime lens.
Another reason for this is, the third-party alternatives are excellent, too. There’s the relatively lightweight Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8 DN Contemporary, and the “exotic” Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DN Art. Although both of these are bigger, heavier, and more expensive than the Sony 16mm f/1.8, they’re more reasonable alternatives compared to making the jump straight past $2K.
Sony 16mm f/1.8 G Review | Conclusion
When Sony first announced this lens, I had my doubts. For the price and the size/weight, surely it wouldn’t be that good? Once again, I was wrong. When Sony puts a “G” label on a lens, it’s an incredible optic, indeed.
On the one hand, a 16mm prime is a unique offering that some photographers and video content creators won’t ever consider. However, as soon as you get interested in night photography of any kind, from astro-landscapes to nighttime portraits, this could be your new favorite lens. Also, if you’re doing any sort of video that involves a cropped frame for whatever reason, once again you should be eyeing this lens as an alternative to less-wide optics.
So, don’t be fooled by its diminutive size; the Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G is a high-end professional lens. It is, quite simply, the “nifty fifty” of ultra-wide-angle lenses…
Check Pricing & Availability
The Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G is available for $798 currently, without any rebates. I would expect that, from time to time and especially as this lens becomes less of a hot new item, you might be able to patiently wait for a $50 savings or more, someday. Honestly though, it’s a screaming deal even at its debut MSRP!
