Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G
Full-Frame Ultrawide (2025 ~ today)
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
Sony: A9 III A1 II A1 A9 II A7R V A7R IV A7 V A7 IV A7 III A7S III A7CR A7C II A7c FX3 FX2 ZV-E1 A6700 A6600 A6400 ZV-E10 II ZV-E10 ZV-1 II RX1R III RX10/4 RX100/7 Flash Lenses
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G (67mm filters, 10.7 oz./304g, 0.5'/0.15m close focus, 0.25× macro ratio, $898). bigger.
I'd get mine at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of getting it elsewhere. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used lens — and my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new lens. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
January 2026 Better Pictures Sony Sony Lenses Canon Nikon Fuji LEICA Zeiss All Reviews
Better Pictures: Vision FART Cameras Don't Matter How to Use Ultrawide Lenses How to Shoot Film
Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures
Sample Images top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
More samples throughout this review at Bokeh, Macro and Sunstars.
These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.
These are all shot hand-held as LIGHT JPGs; no tripods, no STANDARD, FINE or EXTRA FINE JPGs or RAW files were used or needed.
Torrey Pines State Beach, La Jolla, California, 1:38 PM, Sunday, 21 December 2025. Sony A7 V, FE 16mm f/1.8 G at f/8 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 15.0), Skylum Luminar Neo software to spark it up a little. bigger or camera-original 33 MP © 11 MB JPG file.
Introduction top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
This 16mm f/1.8 is a great little ultrawide.
It's smaller and lighter than you think. It's a sturdy, compact, fast ultrawide which very easily can replace a much larger ultrawide zoom if you're carrying another zoom. If you have another zoom starting at 24 or 28mm, you don't need to have another zoom to fill in the small range around 20mm.
It's much easier to carry this lens along the rest of your gear than any ultrawide zoom, and with another regular zoom, it doesn't make sense also to carry an ultrawide zoom which will duplicate much of the range between 24 and 35mm.
Of course if you primarily shoot ultrawide and are afraid to crop a little from this lens to make 20mm, then go ahead and spend more and carry an ultrawide zoom, while personal I find a fixed 16mm a very intelligent choice for those of us who actually shoot in the field.
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
New intro top
Sony's first fixed 16mm full-frame lens.
Good intro top
Small.
Light.
Reasonably tough.
Real aperture ring.
AF/MF switch.
Focus lock button.
Aperture ring click/no click switch.
Aperture ring lock switch.
Bad intro top
Production dumped to Thailand, not made domestically in Japan.
Soft plastic filter threads are easy to cross thread, typical of consumer lenses in 2026.
Missing intro top
Mounting index dot is the same white as everything else, so it doesn't stand out when you need to find it to mount your lens.
No Stabilizer switch for in-camera stabilization.
No focus or depth-of-field scales.
No infra-red focus indices.
Will not work with any teleconverters.
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
Compatibility specifications top
This works on all Sony E-mount cameras, both full-frame and crop-sensor APS-C. This includes all the variations of A1, A7, A9, A6xxx, A5xxx, FX, ZV and NEX series cameras.
This is a full frame lens and I'm reviewing it as such.
While it works fine on Sony's APS-C cameras, you're paying a premium price for the privilege of covering full frame. Using it on an APS-C camera throws away more than half of the image from this lens. Ideally use this lens on full-frame cameras (the A1, A9x and A7x series) for the results you deserve. (See also Crop Factor.)
It will not work on any Sony A-mount DSLR or any Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR of any kind. Those use the old A mount which was actually the Minolta MAXXUM mount from 1987.
Name specifications top
Sony calls this the FE 16mm f/1.8 G:
F: Full-frame coverage.
E: Sony "E" lens mount.
G: "Good," meaning Sony's nearly best, but not quite as physically tough and good as Sony's GM "Good Master" lenses.
Sony's model number: SEL16F18G.
Optics specifications top
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 Internal Optical Construction. Advanced Aspherical, Aspherical, Super ED and ED elements.
15 elements in 12 groups.
2 Advanced Aspherical elements. Advanced Aspherical is Sony's secret manufacturing process that yields uncommonly super-accurate and smooth surfaces to 10 nanometers precision. In English, this means this lens has great bokeh with no "onion rings" in the blur circles as is common in other brands of aspherical lenses.
1 Aspherical element.
1 Super ED element: magic Extra-low Dispersion glass for reduced axial secondary chromatic aberration.
3 regular ED elements: magic Extra-low Dispersion glass for reduced axial secondary chromatic aberration.
Diaphragm specifications top
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
11 rounded blades.
Electronically actuated.
Stops down to f/22.
Filters specifications top
Plastic 67mm filter thread.
Focal Length specifications top
16mm.
When used on an APS-C camera, it sees the same angle of view as a 24mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View specifications top
107º diagonal on full-frame.
83º diagonal on APS-C.
Autofocus specifications top
Internal focusing with two XD (Extreme Dynamic) linear voice-coil motors. Nothing holds these focus groups still when the lens isn't attached to a camera actively controlling focus, so the internal focus groups will flop around and sound like there is something floating around loose inside.
No external movement as focussed, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infinity Focus Stop specifications top
No.
You have to focus somehow to get precise focus at infinity, just like at every other distance.
Depth of Field Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infrared Focus Index specifications top
No.
Close Focus (distance from subject to image plane) specifications top
AF: 0.49 feet (6" or 0.15 meters).
MF: 0.43 feet (5" or 0.13 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio specifications top
AF: 0.25×.
MF: 0.30×.
Reproduction Ratio Scale specifications top
No.
Image Stabilizer specifications top
NONE, but will work well in the center of the image if your camera has sensor-shift stabilization.
Due to the laws of geometry, sensor-shift stabilization does not work well in the corners with ultrawide lenses because the corners would have to move about twice as far as the center of the sensor.
Optical stabilization works much better for ultrawides, but this lens has none.
Caps specifications top
ALC-F67S front and ALC-R1EM rear caps, included.
Hood specifications top
ALC-SH184 hood, included.
Case specifications top
None included.
Size specifications top
2.91" ø maximum diameter × 2.95" extension from flange.
73.8 mm ø maximum diameter × 75 mm extension from flange.
Weight specifications top
10.7 oz. (304 g).
Quality specifications top
Made in Thailand.
Announced specifications top
26 February 2025.
Promised for specifications top
April 2025.
Included specifications top
Lens.
ALC-F67S front and ALC-R1EM rear cap.
ALC-SH184 hood.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
January 2026
$898 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon and at Crutchfield.
About $760 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
April 2025 (Introduction)
$798 at B&H and at Adorama.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
Overall Autofocus Bokeh Distortion Ergonomics Flare & Ghosts Lateral Color Fringes Lens Corrections Macro Mechanics Sharpness Sunstars
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
Overall performance top
The 16mm f/1.8 is a sharp, sturdy little lightweight lens. It's a very intelligent alternative to any ultrawide zoom when used along with another zoom that starts at 24mm or 28mm (see Assembling a System).
Autofocus performance top
Autofocus is fast, as we expect from ultrawide lenses. As soon as the camera's AF system wakes up, it's just about instantaneous.
Bokeh performance top
Bokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is excellent — even if nothing ever gets that far out of focus with a 16mm lens.
Sony stands alone here; its trade-secret ultra-precision Advanced Aspherical process makes aspherical elements which are free from causing the usual "onion ring" effects seen with other aspherical lenses.
Here's a photo from headshot distance wide-open. I'm focused on the DAVIS logo. Click any the © camera-original file:
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6357 Vantage Vue Wireless Sensor Suite (use with WeatherLink console), 10:48 AM, Sunday, 21 December 2025. Sony A7 V, FE 16mm f/1.8 G at f/1.8 at 1/8,000 at Auto ISO 100, +0.3 stops exposure compensation(LV 14.7). bigger or camera-original © file.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/1.8 and get as close as possible.
Distortion performance top
The FE 16mm f/1.8 has no visible geometric distortion (straight lines stay straight). It always shoots with electronic distortion correction active — it can't be turned off — because electronic distortion correction is part of its optical design. By correcting this electronically it allows the lens to be smaller, lighter and sharper than if it also had to correct distortion optically.
Of course as an ultrawide lens even the slightest tilt will change the angles of straight lines and 3D objects at the sides will get stretched-out; that's what every ultrawide lens is supposed to do if you use it incorrectly.
For more critical scientific use, use a correction factor of +0.50 in Photoshop's lens correction filter to JPG images. Yes, with correction ON the distortion is invisible, but there is still tiny bit left if you're holding rulers up to images. This is typical today.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from raw data may or may not correct the distortion as is done in-camera as JPGs. You're on your own there; I don't bother with raw data.
Ergonomics performance top
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Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger. |
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger. |
This lens handles great.
I love having a real, dedicated aperture ring, which puts this above most other brands in letting us set apertures directly. Sadly the clicks are equally strong at every third of a stop; I'd prefer that they were much deeper at the full stops which would make setting by feel much easier.
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
What's called IRIS LOCK is really a lock preventing the aperture ring from moving to or from the A setting.
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
The CLICK control lets us turn the aperure ring clicks ON or OFF.
Flare & Ghosts performance top
Flare and ghosts seem very well controlled.
See examples at Sunstars.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top
There are no lateral color fringes as shot with the default automatic correction ON.
With in-camera correction deliberately turned off, there is only the very slightest cyan/pink fringing visible at 300%.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from that raw data may or may not correct this as is done in-camera with JPGs. You're on your own with raw; I don't bother with raw data.
Lens Corrections performance top
My Sony A7 V corrects for any or all of Falloff ("Shading Comp."), Lateral Color ("Chromatic Aberration Comp.") and Distortion.
By default these are all ON.
Falloff ("Shading Comp.") and Lateral Color ("Chromatic Aberration Comp.") may be turned OFF if you like.
Distortion correction is always ON; it's part of this lens' design to correct it electronically rather than optically. This gives the designers more freedom to make the lens smaller, sharper, faster and less expensive.
If you shoot raw data rather than JPG images, whatever software you use to create visible images from that raw data may or may not correct this as is done in-camera with JPGs. You're on your own with raw; I don't bother with raw data.
Macro Performance performance top
This can focus up to about a half-inch (one cm) in front of the front element, so the real limitation is getting light on your subject, since that close it will almost always be in the shadow of the lens.
While it seems to get close, it's a fool's errand to try this because it's nearly impossible to keep the subject lit.
At f/1.8
It's not that sharp this ridiculously close wide-open at f/1.8. The biggest limitation is spherochromatism, which is what causes magenta or green fringes on things not exactly in focus.
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 10:43 AM, Sunday, 21 December 2025. Sony A7 V, FE 16mm f/1.8 G at f/1.8 at 1/3,200 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.3). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.84× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
The texture you're seeing is the watch face solar cell.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
At f/8
Of course every lens is super-sharp at f/8:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, 10:43 AM, Sunday, 21 December 2025. Sony A7 V, FE 16mm f/1.8 G at f/8 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.3). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.84× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
The texture you're seeing is the watch face solar cell.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
Mechanical Quality performance top
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
It's a sturdy lens with a plastic exterior and a metal mount.
Exterior Finish
Black plastic.
Front Bumper
None.
Identity Ring between Front Element and Filter Threads
Plastic.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Plastic.
Vanity Trim Ring just behind Hood Mount
Anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring
Rubber-covered plastic.
Aperture Ring
Hard plastic.
Barrel Exterior
Plastic.
Slide Switches & Button
Plastic.
Identity
Printed around front of lens, also a debossed metal-like plate on the top of the barrel.
Internals
Seem like mostly plastic.
Dust Gasket at Mount
Yes.
Mount
Chromed metal.
Markings
Just paint; nothing's engraved.
Serial Number
Sony FE 16mm f/1.8 G. bigger.
Laser-engraved in black on black on the bottom of the barrel above "Made in Thailand."
Noises When Shaken
Strong klunking from the focus groups flopping around unless the camera is turned on.
It's normal for it to feel like something is flopping around loose inside, because something is.
Truth & Ethics
Offshored to Thailand, not made in Japan.
This is never disclosed in any advertising, marketing or online offers for sale.
Sharpness performance top
Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 or smaller at ISO 1,600 or above at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.
People worry waaaaay too much about lens sharpness. It's not 1968 anymore when lenses often weren't that sharp and there could be significant differences among them; ever since about 2010 all new lenses are all pretty much equally fantastic.
This lens is sharp, limited of course by diffraction at the smallest apertures.
One gotcha is to be sure to buy yours new from B&H, new from Adorama, new from Amazon or new from Crutchfield because Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used lens. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do.
I usually buy my gear new from B&H for review and never have had problems. I borrowed this sample from Sony for review, and as a loaner it's been around and touched by a lot of people. Oddly the only time I've gotten flakey or broken products for review is when manufacturers have loaned them to me; I've realized years ago that loaners aren't cherry-picked; if anything, they've arrived broken compared to buying new!
The sample I've reviewed here was soft on the right side wide-open at f/1.8. Softness on one side isn't from the design of the lens; it's from someone having dropped it along the way or having been shipped around too much and things getting knocked out of alignment. As you can see from the MTF curves (if you have Ph. D. in physics), this lens is ultra-sharp as deigned, and my loaner was certainly super-sharp right out to the corners on the left side:
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MTF at f/1.8. |
MTF at 24mm at f/8. |
Sony's MTF at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm. Sagittal (radial) shown as solid lines. Meridional (tangential) shown as dashed lines.
While it's usually valid to compare rated MTFs between different lenses of similar vintage from the same maker, every maker measures or simply calculates MTF very differently, and therefore one cannot compare these curves between brands. For instance, Sony seems to ignore diffraction and simply calculate overly optimistic MTFs that hug 100%, which no real lens can do at f/8, while other brands are more realistic and include diffraction. Only Canon offers any insight on how they arrive at their curves.
See also my article on MTF and Canon's article on MTFs.
Sunstars performance top
With a 11-bladed rounded diaphragm, I get superb 22-point sunstars on brilliant points of light from f/8 and smaller.
Ignore the vertical smear at large apertures. This is a sensor artifact called interline transfer smear and is a camera, not a lens, defect.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Compared top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
Have a look at the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 which comes in a mount for Sony.
The Viltrox weighs much more because it's made of metal, not plastic. It only focuses about half as close (but still super close) and adds a useful LCD screen and a preset focus lock — and costs only half as much.
Recommendations top
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Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
This is a great lens to use as part of a kit with another zoom. It's much less to carry than an ultrawide zoom, and is much faster for low-light and astronomy.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap (exactly like an iPhone) so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either.
The very best protective filter is the nearly indestructible Hoya multicoated HD3 67mm UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
For less money, the Nikon 67mm NC (No Color/Neutral Clear), Hoya 67mm NXT Plus UV and Hoya 67mm UV MC are all excellent filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.
The least expensive coated filter is the Chiaro 67mm 95-UVAT UV, which I haven't tried but ought to be swell.
If I was working in nasty, dirty areas, I'd use an uncoated 67mm Tiffen UV filter instead. Uncoated filters are much easier to clean, but more prone to ghosting.
Nikon's 67mm Circular Polarizer II is excellent.
Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.
All these filters are just as sharp and take the same pictures, the difference is how much abuse they'll take and stay clean and stay in one piece. Since filters last a lifetime or more, there's no reason not to buy the best as it will last you for the next 50 years. Filters aren't throwaways like digital cameras which we replace every few years, like it or not. I'm still using filters I bought back in the 1970s! The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt, and you'll be using it long after you've thrown this lens away in 50 years.
I'd get my FE 16mm f/1.8 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or get it used at KEH.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of getting it elsewhere. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, dropped, incomplete, gray-market, store demo or used lens — and my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new lens. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new lens before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken.
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