Recently I had the pleasure of renting a Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM lens for use on my Sony A7ii. At that I rented it, I was planning on shooting some indoor wedding photography where the wide angle and bright aperture would come in handy. With the current global “situation” (don’t want to use the word since it flags you in search), the event was limited to ten people and I could no longer attend.
Unperturbed, I knew I still had a $2,200 lens in my hands for a few days, so I made the most of it. My mom’s coffee shop (which is still taking orders by the way) recently renovated the entire interior and needed some shots to promote it on Facebook and to update the images on Google Maps. I decided to head over and see what kind of photos I could get. I’ve never used a lens wider than 28mm on a full-frame camera before, so I was absolutely blown away by the kind of images I was getting.
Now I’ll be the first to admit my interior photography needs some work. The edges of the frame are crowded and there’s way too much going on in this photo. But, on the bright side, by intention was to portray the relaxing nature of the interior and I think that comes across.
While this isn’t a review of the lens, I was kind of surprised at the low corner sharpness at f/2.8 zoomed out to 16mm. But looking at sample images of the competition, this seems to be the norm. Limitations of the laws of physics I suppose.
After handling the lens for a few days, I’m now seriously considering buying the Samyang AF 18mm f/2.8 FE to add an extreme wide angle lens to my toolbox. It’s only $350 brand new, and there’s just no other way to capture the feeling and look that a 16-18mm wide angle lens gives you. Regular sized objects like the espresso machine can now fill the frame and grab your attention. Average sized interiors become cavernous. And usually plain exteriors become vast, wide-open landscapes you can fall into.
