Lightweight and versatile, the newly released FE PZ 16-35mm F4 G (SELP1635G) offers refined visuals, quality, and control. It is designed with a new power zoom system contained in an ultra-light and compact lens that is ideal for small crews or solo shooting. The Mobile01 team recently got their hands on one and was thrilled to try out the world’s lightest full-frame F4 wide-angle power zoom lens. 

“With the added advantages of the power zoom, internal zoom, and ultra-lightweight, and at a price that compares favourably with G Master (GM) lenses, not to mention its well-controlled breathing effect and infinitely variable aperture ring structure, it is likely to become the new favourite of dynamic photographers in the future!” the Mobile01 team said. 

SELP1635G’s Appearance and Features 

The SELP1635G may look like a regular ultrawide zoom lens but brace yourself because it will surprise you with powerful features. Let’s start with its exterior! The lens is enclosed in reinforced plastic to allow for better mobility and make it more lightweight. This exterior, according to Mobile01, “should be the norm for E-mount lenses, even the GM lenses.” The SELP1635G weighs only 353 grams and measures 88.1 by 80.5 mm. 

Its lens is coated with fluorine and has an optical structure of 12 groups and 13 elements, two AA advanced aspherical lenses, one ED low dispersion lens, one super ED low dispersion lens, one aspherical lens, one ED low dispersion aspherical lens, and a multi-layer coating in the lens groups. With its seven aperture blades and magnification increased to 0.23x, users can delight in enhanced lens performance while enabling flexibility during shoots. For the Mobile01 team, this improvement is “much more practical than the previous 0.19x of the SEL1635Z.” 

Mobile01 recognized SELP1635G’s incredible zooming capabilities, including the physical zoom ring on the lens, the customisable buttons on the body, the on-screen touch and even the zoom paddle. Its zoom speed is determined by the depth the zoom paddle is pushed, but it can also be changed via the menu. The review article also noted the “focus hold button,” which enables users to create a better connection with their device by allowing them to customise its function through a menu of customised buttons inside the body. The lens also features a focus mode switch, designed to provide convenience in switching between Auto Focus and Manual Focus. 

SELP1635G’s Iris Lock is also among the features that caught Mobile01’s attention. This assures the user that the aperture is completely controlled by the camera body. This prevents unwanted exposure changes while shooting. Mobile01 was in awe of this feature and predicted that “In the future, the Iris Lock structure is likely to become standard on lenses with a built-in aperture ring.”. 

“The SELP1635G is designed to be dust- and moisture-resistant. The outer ring of the rear lens has a rubber ring that provides a tighter fit and reduces dust and moisture penetration. The lens is also very tightly integrated into the body,” Mobile01 said in the review. 

As an ultra-light lens, users will not need to make that much effort to take photos or even selfies. Even at an arm’s length, the user can still fit up to five friends within the frame because of its wide-angle capabilities. When paired with the Alpha 7 IV, the combined weight is just about a kilogram. “This is a great combination for mountaineering enthusiasts; it’s lightweight and the image quality is high. It is also great for recording when combined with a 3-axis stabiliser,” stated Mobile01. 

Dolly Zoom 

Dolly zoom is a visual technique where the camera dollies towards or away from the subject while the zoom lens zooms to adjust the angle to keep the subject in the same size within the frame throughout the sequence. In short, the person behind the camera zooms in while moving away or zooms out while moving towards the subject to create a sense of the scene being stretched. This lens technique has appeared in countless classic movies. Check out Mobile01’s videos below to understand the Dolly Zoom! 

“We didn’t have a slider. Both videos were shot while controlling the focal length with power zoom by hand, and because the power zoom was used for the control, we were able to achieve a constant and fluid zoom effect,” the Mobile01 team explained. 

COMPARISON (SELP1635G vs. SEL1635Z) 

SEL1635Z was released in 2014, and easily became one of the leading full-frame F4 lenses. Mobile01 mentioned that both SEL1635Z and SELP1635G have a distinct feel to their lenses and compared them side by side. Let’s dive through Mobile01’s observations on the difference between the two! Let’s start with their appearance. 

Appearance 

With one look at both lenses, one can discern what their exteriors are made of. On the one hand, the SELP1635G is made of reinforced plastic, which makes its weight lighter. Meanwhile, the SEL1635Z has a strong metallic look, with the entire lens body including the focus ring and zoom ring made of metal. This significantly contributes to its weight. 

“The SELP1635G is approximately 10.4mm shorter and 165 grams lighter than the SEL1635Z, and the internal zoom structure makes it easier to carry and work with, as the SEL1635Z zooms to 16mm, and the lens stretches further. Both lenses have a 72mm front lens opening. The SEL1635Z has built-in Optical Image Stabilisation (OSS), which is a rare feature for an ultra-wide angle lens.” the Mobile01 review stated. 

Focusing Speed 

The SELP1635G uses an XD linear motor, which supports the Alpha 1’s 30 frames per second (FPS) photo shooting and 4K 120P video recording. Mobile01 tested and compared the focusing speed of both lenses at 35mm focal length and found that the difference between the AF-S single focus was a bit indistinguishable. However, when switched to AF-C, the SELP1635G’s sensitivity was obvious as it was able to immediately and accurately focus wherever the focus frame pointed. 

Check out the comparison below: 

Breathing Effect 

Mobile01 also put the lenses’ focus breathing to the test and commended SELP1635G’s. “The SELP1635G’s management of focus breathing is outstanding, especially when paired with the Alpha 7 IV’s breathing compensation function,” its review said. 

The team tested both lenses with the breathing compensation of Alpha 7 IV turned off to arrive at more accurate results. In the comparison, the team found that even SEL1635Z’s breathing compensation fares well, too, but mentioned that SELP1635G has better control. “It would have been even better if the Alpha 7- IV’s breathing compensation function had been turned on.”

Wide-angle Extent 

In the comparison of the wide-angle extent, Mobile01 noted that the physical focal length and angle of view of each lens differ from one another. While the team didn’t have the equipment to know for sure the exact difference in the angles, it mentioned that one can clearly see that the SEL1635Z is 1-2mm less. When the angle both set to 35mm, the difference is not too discernible. However, Mobile01 was thrilled to see that in the ultra-wide-angle setting, the 1mm makes a huge difference! 

See the differences for yourself: 

16mm Wide-angle Deformation 

“Looking at the photos, the difference between the SELP1635G and SEL1635Z before and after calibration is obvious. This is the manufacturer’s strategy, as it is easier to rely on the camera for ‘lens compensation’ rather than ‘dispersion suppression’ for the barrel distortion,” said Mobile01. 

Given this, the reviewers have concluded that SELP1635G renders more effort into suppressing chromatic dispersion since the camera will still result in a 16mm focal length without affecting the wide angle. 

Resolution (Alpha 7 IV, 61MP) 

To have a more accurate comparison test on the resolution, Mobile01 used a 61MP Alpha 7 IV for the project. “The following is a crop of the 720 x 480 area of the 61MP, and I was quite surprised by the results. The SEL1635Z, launched in 2014, doesn’t look any older than the Alpha 7 IV and is on par with the new generation SELP1635G. It’s amazing that such a high-performance lens could be released in an era when the maximum resolution was only 36MP (Alpha 7R)!” Mobile01 said, impressed. 

The working aperture of SELP1635G at the wide-angle setting is between F4 and F16, which is easily comparable to the SEL1635Z. However, as Mobile01 extended the focal length to 35mm, the difference became obvious. “The SELP1635G can be used with the 61MP Alpha 7 IV at F4 to F16 with confidence. With the SEL1635Z, I would recommend F4 to F5.6, as the image quality deteriorates quickly from F8,” the team shared. 

Chromatic Aberration Suppression (Alpha 7 IV, 61MP) 

The photos are 720 x 480 areas cropped from a 61MP photo. “The SELP1635G uses one ED low dispersion lens, one super ED low dispersion lens, and one ED low dispersion aspherical lens. However, these are both zoom lenses with a constant F4 aperture, not large aperture lenses, so dispersion should not be difficult to deal with,” explained Mobile01. 

At the centre of the image at full F4 aperture, there is purple fringing captured by both lenses, but it is not noticeable. Meanwhile, from the F5.6, Mobile01 found that the dispersion is completely suppressed. It also noted that there is a slight horizontal chromatic aberration on the SELP1635G photo, and the SEL1635Z is a bit purplish until it gradually improved at F11 aperture. 

Flare Resistance (Alpha 7 IV, 61MP) 

In photography, it is known that wide-angle lenses are usually designed to be more flare-resistant to bright lighting, like the sun. In this section, Mobile01 compared Sony’s own multi-layer coating and the Zeiss T* coating, establishing that the T* coating is a noteworthy feature. The results showed that the level of flare varies between two lenses, and the reviewers declared that the SEL1635Z has a more subdued appearance in terms of light spots and ghosting. 

Starburst Patterns (Alpha 7 IV, 61MP) 

As mentioned earlier, both lenses have seven aperture blades. From Mobile01’s comparison test, the reviewers found that from F4 onwards, the SELP1635G has produced a slight starburst. Meanwhile, when they reduced the aperture to F5.6, it produced 14 starburst rays, with tails beautifully tapered, resembling the shape of a sea urchin. The SEL1635Z, on the other hand, produced a branching starburst at F22. 

Mobile01 further noted that the starburst produced by the SELP1635G is the ideal starburst for landscape photographers. 

Conclusion 

“I was a bit surprised by the appearance of the SELP1635G. After the last update of the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II (SEL70200GM2), I remembered that it was time to update those GM lenses as well. I was expecting the SEL2470GM2 to be the first to arrive, but didn’t expect to see another ultrawide angle lens added to the range in recent years,” Mobile01 shared in the review. 

It noted that the addition of the SELP1635G to Sony’s ultra-wide angle lenses lineup—SEL1635Z, SEL1224G, SEL1635GM, SEL1224GM, and the fixed focal length SEL14F18GM—makes it a comprehensive list to choose from. “This number of lenses is easily the largest in the MILC market, but it also seems to make it more difficult for second-tier lenses to enter,” the team said. 

“Although it is not a GM, its capabilities are not to be underestimated, and the use of seven special lenses indicates the attention and expectations of the original manufacturer,” Mobile01 said. “The G lens adopts an internal focus structure. But it is rare to see one that comes with an internal zoom, especially with a power zoom paddle, and at 353 grams, recording is easy with the 3-axis stabiliser since the power zoom provides a stable zooming process and a more natural look on the screen.” 

The SELP1635G is the ideal lens for content creators who produce both photos and videos. With the support of an Alpha camera, like the Alpha 7 IV that is packed with 61MP, the lens can help photographers and videographers achieve optimal results with high-resolution visuals. 

Its XD linear motor is also among the many features that left Mobile01 in awe. Due to the XD linear, the AF-C has significantly accelerated, and continuous focus no longer feels like a chore, shared the reviewers. They reiterated how great it is to pair this spectacular lens with the equally ferocious Alpha 7 IV. However, the team also suggested trying it out with the Alpha 7S III and the FX3 if the user has more advanced recording needs. 

“If you are looking for the ideal E-Mount ultra-wide lens and are not on a budget, I think the SELP1635G is the right choice. Since Sony Taiwan’s pricing has rarely disappointed consumers in recent years, I’m looking forward to a nice, sweet price for Sony fans when it goes on sale!” concluded Mobile01.