In this article we battle between Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GMii vs Sony 15mm F1.4 G vs Sony 11mm F1.8 vs Sony 35mm F1.8 and find out why G-Master?

In today’s video we are taking a look at the 16-35mm F2.8 GM version ii vs the 11mm F1.8, the 15mm F1.4 and the 35mm F1.8 lenses on the Sony A7Cii and the Sony A6700. Before we get into the comparisons, here is how I made the sample pictures which are available in the link in the description below. 

1. I made sure that the in-camera exposure metering shows 0 ev with multi metering mode.
2. The ISO is close to 100.
3. WB is set to auto so you might as well ignore the differences in white balance.
4. Photos were shot in uncompressed RAW in the A7Cii vs Lossless compressed RAW in the A6700.
5. Only in the widest apertures I had to use silent shutter and for the rest, mechanical shutter was used. 
6. No ND or any other filters were used
7. The focus points set to the corners

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The reasons why you might want to consider buying A GM lens over the other lenses:

1. Sharpness & Micro contrast
2. Flaring & Ghosting
3. Distortions
4. Chromatic aberrations
5. Size, Weight, Price & Usability

Mind you, this GM lens is a Zoom lens whereas the other lenses we are comparing with are prime lenses. We pay such a premium for the prime quality in zoom lenses. Let’s just say that objectively, GM lenses have better weather sealing and this lens in particular has 2 motors for autofocus but I find the lenses we are testing with are really good AF lenses except for the old 35mm F1.8 lens which has just acceptable AF performance.

Sharpness (especially corners to corners) & Micro contrast

Let’s start from the sharpness comparison. As I’ve given you the samples from these lenses in every aperture stop, I want to pick up the F8 Versions of each lens to compare, as according to the MFT charts, the lenses are the sharpest at F8. We know that the Centre sharpness of all of these lenses at F8 are good. So, I am skipping to the corner sharpness only in this video. If you want to know the overall sharpness, you can compare from the given files.

Since the 11mm is 16.5mm FF equivalent, I am picking up the 16mm A7Cii’s image as the reference image at F8 and 11mm A6700’s image as the active image at F8. The 11mm is clearly softer than the GM image. Isn’t it obvious given the price difference? 

But if you were to just have the image from the 11mm a6700, it is not bad at all. I would say, with a little tweak in contrast, the image becomes better! For the price, 11mm is fantastic. But the 16-35mm at 16mm is much better. 

Now since the 15mm on the A6700 is 22.5mm FF equivalent, I’ve taken up the sample from the a7cii shot at 23mm with the GM lens and comparing them, even though the 15mm F1.4 G lens looks sharper than the 11mm F1.8 lens, is it not as sharp as the 16-35mm F2.8 GM ii lens at 16mm. This further is evident when I compare both the G and GM lenses on the a6700. The definition of the window curtains are better visible in the GM lens.  You can see with just a little bit of exposure increase, the difference is much apparent. But I would say, the 15mm is not too far from the GM lens and for the price, it is an absolute winner. Even at F1.4, the sharpness at the corners are fantastic. 

Comparing the 35mm F1.8 non G or GM lens with the GM at F8, they are very close. Where the GM lens has an advantage is the micro-contrast. The GM image looks a tad bit more contrastier than the 35mm F1.8 lens. Comparing the GM lens mounted on the A6700 at 23mm, it is performing the same indeed. 

Flaring & Ghosting 

I should say that the flaring is an issue with the GM lens. It is really high when compared to the other lenses we are comparing today. I didn’t expect this but it is understandable. Other lenses have very tiny front elements compared to the bulbous front element on the 16-35mm GMii F2.8. Lets take a moment to appreciate the Sony GM team to make this lens so light even at F2.8. 

For comparison, the Canon’s 15-35mm F2.8 with IS weighs 240 grams whereas this GM lens weighs only 547 grams. 300 grams lower. Also, this GM lens is super tiny. 

Given all these, this amount of flaring should be acceptable in most situations. 

Distortions

Regarding the distortions, at 35mm, the lens converges to the middle, at 23mm, it has minimal distortion and at 16mm it bulges in the middle. But if lens profile is enabled, the image looks pretty good. Also the in camera corrections works really well for jpegs. When it comes to the tiny lenses, the distortion is crazy when the lens profiles are turned off. 11mm is almost spherical. 15mm is no better and of course at 35mm, there is no distortion. Comparing them to the 16mm, you see why you pay for the GM quality. Distortions are very well maintained. 

Chromatic aberrations

It is a pleasant surprise that the 11mm lens is free from chromatic aberrations even at F1.8 with really good close focus sharpness.  That is not the case with the more expensive G lens which has significant chromatic aberration at f1.4. This of course cleans up at F8 for all the lenses. GM lenses do not have any sort of chromatic aberrations. Sharpness at the close focus distance is amazing in all the lenses but I should say that the DOF is a thin sliver when the GM lens is used at F2.8. For close focus photography, I suggest shooting at F8. 

Size, Weight & Usability

Lens(Sony)	Weight(g)	Price(USD)
11mm F1.8	181	548
15mm F1.4 G	219	748
35mm F1.8	281	748
Total	681	2044
16-35mm F2.8 GM	547	2298

As you can see here, even if the individual lens weighs just about 200 grams each, the overall weight for the 3 lenses comes close to 700 grams. Instead of getting all these lenses separately, you can invest in the GM lens and you will end up paying just about $250 for a lighter and really fantastic optical performer in most aspects. I wouldn’t say the same for the 1st version of the 16-35mm lens though. This second version of the 16-35mm GM lens is really good. 

What about the other lenses then? 

You see, they are primes and where they deliver is giving wider apertures, especially during low light conditions for APSC cameras. I’ve used the 11mm for several travel vlogs in this channel. It is super pocketable and light weight. It is perfect for wideangle timelapses too. Given the small filter thread at 55mm, I use a step-up ring to use 67mm ND filters to get amazing timelapses. Just love this lens.

The 15mm lens is perfect for talking head videos for me. It is kinda wider than 24mm lens and it delivers in speed, sharpness and excellent bokeh. It does whatever the 11mm does and better except for the chromatic aberations. Even though it is like 22.5mm FF equivalent and not 20 or 16mm, I think it is sufficiently wide for most applications. 

The 35mm lens is what I am using for the B-roll shots. It is such a value for money. With its F1.8 aperture, If I want to travel light with the A7Cii, the 35mm f1.8 lens is what I take. The biggest drawback of this lens is the chromatic aberrations. But apart from that, I think it is a very good performer. 

So the bottom line is that when you want prime level or more than prime level performance in a single lens instead of 3 lenses with different focal lengths, that’s when you need to consider the GM lens. For situations where you can’t change lenses, GM lenses will handle the job of 16mm, 24mm and 35mm lenses. But on the other hand, I don’t even know when I am comparing FF lens with APSC lenses. Maybe just curiosity. 

But there is one more thing, since I have 2 bodies, I have all 4 of these lenses and depending on the situation, I will choose which one to use. 

Anyway, that’s it for the video. Please like, share, comment, subscribe, hit the bell icon to stay tuned for more such videos. Peace!