The 4 Best Zoom Lenses From 2016

When it comes to choosing a lens, a zoom is by far the best option. Not only does it allow you to see distant scenes up close, but it removes the weight of carrying two or more additional lenses. If you are someone looking to add a new zoom to your cartel, have a look at these four options.

Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 PRO

A zoom lens, the 7–14 mm, functions as a 14 to 28mm on a micro four-thirds sensor. With 7 aperture blades and a close focusing distance of 20cm, the lens offers a large bulge at the front. There are textured rings, and the lens focuses fast on models such as the OMD EM5 Mk I and the Pen F. The image quality is fantastic and the colors are quite saturated. As we also added, “One of Olympus’s biggest strengths has always been just how incredibly sharp their lenses are. Hands down, nothing compares with the exception of Zeiss and Sigma.” It is a lens that won’t disappoint.

Canon 16-35mm f2.8 L III USM

A lens designed for DSLR, the 16-35mm features a 0.28m close focusing distance, and weighs about 790g. It has a simple design, but has a large body with two simple rings. It is weather sealed, which makes it ideal to be paired with many offerings. The 16-35mm also focuses fast, in any lighting condition, and the image quality is flawless. The distortion is corrected easily, and the colors are “very true to life.” It is an expensive lens, and so, it is better suited for professionals. In fact, if you shoot landscapes, streets, or documentary work, this lens is for you.

Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 E ED VR II

A 24-70mm is ideal for street, portrait, environment, wedding photographers and photojournalists. The autofocus is preferred, allowing one to focus in both good and low light. Nikon’s own 24-70mm weighs 3.7 pounds, offers a 3.6x zoom, and has a big build. The lens is designed for professionals, so it has a nice LCD at the barrel, comes with multiple switches and has nice large rings. At the telephone end, you get great bokeh and the color rendition is pretty exceptional. “This lens renders incredibly sharp images that you’ll be very proud of when shooting buildings, people, etc.,” we added in our review.

Sony 70-200mm f2.8 G Master OSS

The Sony 70-200mm offers 11 aperture blades, a close focusing distance of 0.96m and weighs 1490g. The lens is large on a Sony camera, has all the controls on the lens itself, and a 77mm filter. The lens is weather sealed, and comes with a focusing system that nails every scene perfectly. As we added in our review, “The lens can still track moving subjects very well through a scene and maintain focus. The best results came at f4.” The bokeh is exceptional, the colors are accurate, and the skin tone rendition is great, too. Since it is a Sony lens, expect great sharpness as well.