Lenses

Sony 16-55mm F2.8 G Review (The Best Lens of 2015 in 2019)

Chris Gampat
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12/26/2019
7 Mins read
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Last Updated on 07/17/2023 by Chris Gampat

In my eyes, the Sony 16-55mm F2.8 G is a great lens that should have come out many years ago. A utilitarian option for photographers steadfastly committed to the a6000 series of cameras, this lens is small, got great build quality, good image quality for what this is, and it offers convenience. But, in 2019 when this lens was released, Sony should have innovated a lot more. Quite honestly, it shows that even though Sony is an extremely innovative company, in some ways they’re still catching up. The Sony 16-55mm F2.8 G is one of the best options for APS-C cameras, and it should have come out in 2015.

This article was updated in July 2023

Editor’s Note: Part of this review includes sections from our first impressions post. Our first impressions were done on a Sony press trip for journalists where room and board were fully handled by Sony. The Phoblographer’s Editors are trained to resist all the temptations to give overly positive reviews in the face of the glitz and glam of press trips. And further, we’re working on even stricter policies to ensure 100% transparency.

Pros and Cons

What’s so great about this thing?

Pros

  • Image quality is very good
  • Autofocus speed on Sony’s latest cameras is great
  • Weather sealed
  • Convenient and small every day carry lens
  • It’s great for events

Cons

  • With Sony’s level of innovation, I’m amazed they didn’t give this lens a faster aperture to compete with Sigma’s options.
  • Someone is bound to complain about the lack of image stabilization in the lens. So, I guess we have to.

Gear Used

We tested the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G ($1,298) with the:

  • Sony a6600
  • Profoto B10
  • Vi Vante Lambskin Tiger Strap

Tech Specs

Tech specs taken from the Adorama listing of the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G:

  • Standard zoom with outstanding corner-to-corner G Lens resolution
  • Constant F2.8 max aperture maintains exposure and depth of field
  • Lightweight (494g) 16-55mm (24-82.5 mm full-frame equiv.) zoom lens
  • 2x Advanced Aspherical, 2x Aspherical, 3x Extra-low dispersion lens elements and Nano AR coating.
  • Extreme Dynamic linear motor and 9-blade circular aperture
  • Flourine coating on front element, dust and moistue resistant
  • 13″ (0.33m) min focusing distance for excellent close-up performance
  • Lens Mount: Lens Mount: Sony E Mount
  • Lens Format: Lens Format: APS-C
  • Fixed Mirrorless FL: All Zooms
  • Mirrorless: Zoom: Focal Length: 16-55mm
  • Maximum Aperture: Maximum Aperture: f/2.8
  • Lens Type: Wide Angle to Telephoto Zoom Lens
  • Special Features: Aspherical, Dustproof/Splashproof, Weather Resistant

Ergonomics

Taken from our first impressions post

The Sony E 16-55mm f2.8 G lens is compact in size and feels well balanced when mounted onto one of Sony’s crop sensor, mirrorless bodies. You’ll find the focusing ring at the front of the lens, with the zooming ring situated midway up the barrel of the lens.

A customizable Focus Hold button, along with the Autofocus/Manual Focus mode switch, can be found on the side of the lens. This is standard for most Sony lenses.

The inner barrel of the lens extends outward as you zoom in. To that end, note that this isn’t an internally zooming lens.

Looking at the front of the lens, you’ll find the markings for the maximum aperture, focal length, and filter thread, along with the minimum focusing distance surrounding the front element.

Build Quality

During our testing of the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G, we decided to give in to our inner masochist and take it out into the rain. Here in NY, it tends to rain pretty hard, but luckily, the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G survived the showers. Right after we came indoors from the downpour, we went to work using the lens. It performed flawlessly. We’re elated that it continued to perform well. Sony’s weather sealing and durability continue to improve. And it’s admirable that the company keeps trying to improve build quality while keeping their products lightweight.

Update July 2023

In 2023, we tested the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 with the Sony a6700. The lens, which is around four years old at this point, continued to function well in the rain. Sony provided us with a statement, which they didn’t want to be attributed to anyone, more or less comparing the weather resistance to those of other brands. These statements typically make our eyes roll so hard that we get headaches for weeks.

However, it’s nice to know that Sony’s lenses are holding up overall. Specifically, we’re glad to know that the zoom lenses meant for the company’s APS-C lineup are holding up. Sony hasn’t treated APS-C cameras with the same diligence that they have the full-frame lineup of cameras. This, too, goes for the company’s lenses. And typically, we’d tell you to reach for Tamron lenses instead. But this lens does a solid job.

Ease of Use

The Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is a straightforward lens to use. You mount it to the camera, point, focus, and shoot. There aren’t a lot of controls on it save for the AF/MF switch and the customizable button on the side of the lens. Of course, there are also rings for manual focus and zoom control. Overall, a photographer can mount it to their camera and shoot in Professional mode (ha) or switch it to manual mode and shoot.

Something Sony should consider is an aperture ring control like they have on some of their higher-end primes. Since the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is a constant f2.8 aperture throughout the range, it would make sense in real-life use. One dial on the camera can be set to control shutter speed while the other is set for ISO control. Then, when you want to change the aperture, you just use the aperture ring around the lens. That would be a worthy solution since the company still doesn’t give us three good exposure control dials on their APS-C bodies.

Update July 2023

In 2023, we’re still waiting for something extra special for APS-C cameras. Sony is the one brand that we truly would’ve thought might’ve delivered something like a 16-55mm f2 lens for APS-C cameras. However, that never came. Instead, the Tamron 17-70mm f2.8 came for APS-C cameras. And overall, I’d much rather reach for that lens instead because of the extra versatility that it offers to you.

Autofocus

We took the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G into the studio to see how well it tracked dancers moving. For this test, we wanted Bridie to get a particular movement going. Combined with the Sony a6600, it tracked her really well.

Then we decided to try the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G on the Sony a6600 for face detection and candid movements. Again, it proved to work very well.

When it comes to the autofocus with the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G, we can’t really find a fault. At f2.8, it’s got the equivalent depth of field of a full-frame camera at f3.5. And with that in mind, almost any camera can sustain effective tracking with this depth of field.

Image Quality

The Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is by and large a lens that is very standard. By that we mean it does a whole lot well, but nothing that will really make your jaw drop. It offers the user decent bokeh, sharp image quality, standard colors, and an overall good experience for this kind of lens. To be honest, it’s the best of its kind. And for the professional photographer using the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G, that’s all they need.

Bokeh

With the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G, you get a little bit of bokeh. It’s not going to be creamy, but it will totally be hazy. It will also look a million times more organic than the fake, manufactured bokeh your phone offers. Portrait photographers using the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G are honestly going to want a prime lens. However, event photographers using the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G will really appreciate how they can get so much in focus at f2.8 and still effectively single out a subject in their scenes.

Color Rendition

The color rendition from the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is pretty standard. Again, this is more of a utility lens than anything else. But at the same time, it’s one of the best utility lenses for APS-C cameras out there. To that end, the color isn’t the best that Sony offers, but it’s damned good!

Chromatic Aberration

We didn’t find any. Considering how far technology has come, we shouldn’t have found any to begin with.

Sharpness

Most of the sharpness from the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G comes out when you use a flash. But to be honest, the sharpness here is still very good. It’s far better than any Zoom Fujifilm has made and even better than Canon’s options. However, all of Sony’s FE lenses are still better than the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G when it comes to sharpness.

Extra Image Samples

Editor’s note: most of these images are straight out of the camera. Some have been given edits to simulate what folks would actually do with the images. This makes our review a lot more relatable.

ISO 6400

Conclusions

The Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is by all means a good lens. Photographers who really like the Sony APS-C cameras will really like it. You can shoot so many things with it but where it will really shine is with events. You’ll almost never want to carry another lens with you. But for what it’s worth, I think that Sony should have released this lens many years ago. Fujifilm has had one for years. In 2019, when it was released, the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G should have been f2 or f1.8. Sigma has made both f2 and f1.8 zoom lenses and so it baffles me why Sony hasn’t. If Sony had just made this lens with a faster aperture, folks would’ve been buying their cameras for this lens alone. But alas, that’s not the case.

Likes

  • Small
  • Lightweight
  • Built well
  • The utilitarian lens Sony needed a long time ago

Dislikes

  • This lens would have made sense if it were released years ago
  • Why not something more innovative with a faster aperture?

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G receives four out of five stars. It’s a good lens, but came out years too late. Want one? They’re available from Amazon.

Sony 16-55mm F2.8 G Review (The Best Lens of 2015 in 2019)
The Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G is by all means a good lens. Photographers who really like the Sony APS-C cameras will really like it. You can shoot so many things with it but where it will really shine is with events. You'll almost never want to carry another lens with you. But for what it's worth, I think that Sony should have released this lens many years ago. Fujifilm has had one for years. In 2019, when it was released, the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 G should have been f2 or f1.8. Sigma has made both f2 and f1.8 zoom lenses and so it baffles me why Sony hasn't. If Sony had just made this lens with a faster aperture, folks would've been buying their cameras for this lens alone. But alas, that's not the case.
4
autofocus Bokeh build quality Chromatic Aberration color rendition ergonomics Event photography image quality portraiture sharpness sony Sony 16-55mm F2.8 G weather sealing
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.