Sony announces F4 Wide-Angle Power Zoom G Lens

Sony now boasts a total of 66 E-mount lenses with the introduction of the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G (SELP1635G) – a wide power zoom with evolved image quality, high performance autofocus and superior operability designed to meet the needs of the world’s best creators.

The new lens packs Sony’s vast expertise in lens design into the world’s lightest full-frame wide-angle power-zoom lens with a constant F4 aperture, delivering outstanding performance and control. The compact lens offers refined image quality, expressive capability, and control that will appeal to today’s demanding content creators. It is also a great choice for stills, with beautiful G Lens rendering, astonishing AF performance, and easy-to-use power zoom in a remarkably compact lens that is perfect for compact camera bodies. Overall barrel length remains constant while focusing and zooming, making the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G convenient for everything from vlogging and movie production to remote capture and landscape photography.​

“There is a growing need for ‘hybrid’ products that deliver for both stills and video as the demand for quality content creation continues to grow, especially online”, said Yann Salmon Legagneur, Director of Product Marketing, Digital Imaging, Sony Europe. “The FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G is perfectly designed to meet the needs of those demanding users and remove any barriers to their creativity as the world’s lightest constant F4 wide-angle power zoom”.

Evolved Image Quality

The FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G offers an extraordinary blend of breath-taking resolution and beautiful bokeh in a compact lens. The optical path includes two AA (advanced aspherical) elements, a standard aspherical element, one Super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and one ED glass element, and one ED aspherical element. Chromatic and spherical aberration are simultaneously controlled to provide excellent optical performance throughout the image area and 16-35 mm zoom range.​ The use of AA elements in an advanced optical design also ensure excellent close-up performance throughout the zoom range – minimum focusing distance is 0.28 meters at 16 mm and 0.24 meters at 35 mm, with a maximum magnification of 0.23x. What’s more, an optimised coating effectively suppresses flare and ghosting for clear, well-defined images.​

A circular aperture and carefully designed spherical aberration work together to deliver smooth, deep full frame bokeh that can add maximum atmosphere and visual impact.

High-Performance AF

For the first time in an Alpha lens, the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G uses six of Sony’s original XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors for both focus and zoom drive. The fast response and smooth, quiet operation of this system gives users new creative freedom.​ With Sony’s flagship Alpha 1 body it is possible to maintain accurate focus while shooting stills continuously at up to 30 frames per second.

Focus is especially critical when shooting slow motion, 4K, or 8K movies. The FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G works with α-series bodies to reliably acquire focus, and smoothly and silently track even fast-moving subjects. High-thrust XD Linear Motors, optimised optics, and responsive control add up to extraordinarily precise AF performance without compromising the lens’s compact dimensions.

Imagery, power zoom and operation refined for demanding movie applications

Based on feedback from leading creators, Sony specifically designed the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G to deliver the refined imagery and control they need.​It features the latest lens technology to reduce focus breathing as well as focus and axial shift when zooming to ensure the highest quality images are easily captured. Focus, zoom, and aperture operation are also extremely quiet, greatly reducing noise and vibration that can interfere with movie recording. ​

With a newly designed electronic power zoom system that is XD linear motor driven, the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G provides advanced control with the response and immediacy of non-powered manual zoom. A zoom lever with variable zoom speed makes it easy to execute super-slow constant-speed. Power zoom minimises camera shake that can occur when operating a zoom ring and ​when used with compatible camera bodies, users can customise the zoom ring direction to suit shooting conditions.

Another fantastic feature is the ability to use buttons and controls on compatible bodies or accessories to remotely control zoom.

Furthermore, Linear Response MF ensures that the focus ring responds directly and linearly to subtle control when focusing manually and an aperture ring makes manual aperture control fast, direct, and easy.

Superior Mobility, Control and Reliability

World-class design and technology come together to deliver a compact, lightweight lens that also boasts power zoom for unprecedented focus, zoom and aperture rings – thus making it ideal for mobility and handling. As the world’s lightest F4 wide-angle power-zoom lens, the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G weighs just 353 grams, approx. 30% less than the SEL1635Z and is just 80.5 mm x 88.1mm in size with a filter diameter of φ72mm.

The overall length of the lens remains constant while focusing and zooming for ideal balance and handling. Consistent balance makes this lens an ideal choice for gimbal-mounted movie shooting. The focus ring can be easily controlled with a finger while shooting movies, and the adjacent focus and zoom rings are stepped so they can be easily differentiated and operated by feel while viewing the monitor.​

More impressive features for the FE PZ 16-35MM F4 G include the Iris Lock Switch that can be engaged to prevent the aperture ring from being accidentally moved between the [A] and F4 – F22 settings and the customisable focus hold button for convenient control.

Lastly, the lens has a dust and moisture resistant design as well as a fluorine front element coating to keep it clean and reliable for outdoor use.