First Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens Reviews Roundup

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The new Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens is already in stock and shipping in the US for $2,199 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama. The EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM is an indispensable ultra wide-angle zoom lens for professional and enthusiast photographers who demand superlative operation and performance, in virtually any condition. Combining outstanding image quality, a fast, constant aperture and a rugged design, the EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM delivers eye-catching results whether capturing detailed, nuanced landscapes, dramatic interiors and much more.

And the first Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens reviews are now available online (from The-Digital-Picture, Lens Rentals, Photography Blog and Ken Rockwell). Check out!

From The-Digital-Picture:

The 16-35 L III is the new standard wide angle zoom lens for professional and serious amateur wedding and event photographers, photojournalists, sports photographers, street photographers and many others. The next time you are looking at your low light event photos and wishing that the results were sharper, remember this lens – it may have your name on it. If image stabilization is not needed, this is the ideal lens for landscapes and the rest of the ultra-wide angle needs covered by 16-35mm.

From Lens Rentals:

From a resolution standpoint, the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Mk III is the best f/2.8 wide-angle zoom available. You might be better served with the f/4 IS and some money in your pocket. There are also some very good wide-angle f/2.8 zooms available from third party manufacturers that are a lot less expensive and might offer more bang-for-the-buck. But if your style of photography needs the highest resolution you can get with a wide-angle lens, well this is it. I don’t use a wide-angle zoom all that often, but when I do, it will be this one.

From Photography Blog:

Given its L-series billing, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM build quality is satisfyingly excellent, and it makes a perfect partner to a full-frame Canon DSLR like the EOS 5D Mark IV that we tested it with. Auto-focusing is very quiet and very quick, with the ability to manually override it and focus manually if required proving a nice touch. The fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 used in conjunction with a high-ISO monster like the 5D Mark IV is a low-light shooter’s dream ticket, making it easy to hand-hold the camera and get the shot, despite the lack of image stabilisation.

Image quality is quite simply fantastic. Chromatic aberrations are almost completely absent, bokeh is impressive despite the wide-angle nature of the lens, and the Subwavelength and an Air Sphere coatings successfully prevent contrast loss attributable to flare. The only real optical issues are some obvious vignetting and barrel distortion at the 16mm wide-angle focal length, and a slight lack of sharpness when shooting wide-open at f/2.8 at the 28mm and 35mm focal lengths.

From Ken Rockwell:

This is clearly Canon’s top pro ultrawide for news, action and sports where we need a faster aperture for faster shutter speeds to stop motion — or for astronomy. It’s also Canon’s newest, biggest and heaviest ever. This lens has no Image Stabilization; it freezes subject and camera motion with its faster f/2.8 speed.

For nature and landscapes where things hold still, I prefer my smaller and lighter 16-35mm f/4 L IS whose stabilization system lets us forgo a tripod and eliminate camera motion — but it can’t do anything to stop subject motion. Each is extremely sharp.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens: $2,199 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Body: $3,499 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.

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