Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Review

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Performance

At 16mm, the centre shows an excellent degree of sharpness from f/2.8 to f/11, remains very good at f/16 and still retains good quality at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and it is only at f/22 that the image becomes soft.

At 20mm there is a very similar picture. The centre is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and soft at f/22.

At 24mm the centre is again excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges start off very good at f/2.8, are excellent from f/4 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22.

At 35mm, the centre is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/2.8, excellent from f/4 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22.

As can be seen, there is a hint of slightly lower performance at longer lengths, but far less so that most other zoom lenses. The quality is maintained very well and although the figures do change, the actual visible difference is very small. This is actually a very high level of performance and a credit to Canon's lens making ability.

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV using Imatest.

Let's look at CA (Chromatic Aberration), which reveals a stellar performance throughout. At 16mm the centre of the field is virtually fully corrected. The edges a little less so, but even at worst less than 1 pixel. Any residual CA can easily be removed in software.

At 20mm the CA correction is even better, with the edges also being almost fully corrected over the wider apertures. At worst, the edges at f/22 are less than half a pixel adrift.

By 24mm, correction centre and edge is amazingly low and this continues up to 35mm, where the centre is still approaching zero CA. The edges at 35mm show a little more deviation, but this is still an excellent result. Colour fringing should not be evident except in the most challenging circumstances.

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimise the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV using Imatest.

Distortion is in evidence as expected, measuring -3.14% barrel at 16mm. This will be visible where straight lines are near the edges of an image, but it is easily corrected in software. At 20mm -1.17% barrel distortion is found, this changing to +0.245% pincushion at 24mm. At this point correction is excellent. Pincushion distortion then increases gradually until it reaches +1.16% at 35mm. Generally, this is not enough to be a problem, but where correction is needed, perhaps for architectural subjects, software will do the job easily.

The excellent performance continues with flare resistance. It is very difficult to induce flare at all, so the design and coatings are clearly doing an excellent job.

Bokeh, the gradation and smoothness of the out of focus areas, may not be as dramatic as with a telephoto lens, but where differential focus is achieved it still looks very good indeed.

Zoom lenses are extremely challenging to the lens designer as lenses not only have to be good at all apertures and distances, but we add the changing of focal length to the mix. Canon has done a superb job with this lens.

Value For Money

Value for money might well be difficult for some, as the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens is priced at a very substantial £2349. This compares to the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM at £1359 and the one stop slower EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at £999. The last of these also has IS, which some may deem an advantage.

Alternatives could be the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD (£929) and the Tokina 17-35mm f/4 AT-X PRO FX (£549).

For users of other marques, there are the Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR (£1019), Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8D IF (£1549), Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II (£2025) and HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR (£1499).

Where the new lens scores well is, of course, its stellar performance but in terms of cost, it is simply way above the general price levels for lenses of this type, some of which may even offer IS. However, there is still that stunning image quality, so it is certainly a lens to be aspiring to.

For more options have a look at the Top 15 Best Canon EOS lenses, or have a look at the Top 15 Wide-angle Landscape Lenses.

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