Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F/4 Lens Review for Underwater Photography & Video [VIDEO]

Featuring Logan Wood

Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F/4 lens is no-brainer for Sony shooters underwater. Wide enough for splits, and tight enough for portraits. Ikelite Video Producer Logan Wood breakdown why this wide-angle zoom goes in his camera bag on every trip.

Scroll down to read the video transcript.

"This is hands down my most used lens underwater. It's sharp, compact, and easy to use. Without a doubt it's in my bag every trip I go on."

 

Equipment Used

• DL 8 inch Dome Port # 75340
• DLM 8 inch Dome Port V2 # 5516.82

 

This is hands down my most used lens underwater. It's sharp, compact, and easy to use. Without a doubt it's in my bag every trip I go on and sometimes the only lens I bring. The Sony 16-35mm PZ F/4 might not be a topside shooter’s first pick, but underwater this is the lens you want to use. Let me show you why.

 

Size

Off the bat, physically this lens is a great, compact size. Typically full frame lenses tend to be a lot larger and heavier than this lens so just the size alone gives it an immediate advantage. It's only 353 grams so in my bag, on my camera, or in my housing this lens does not add a lot of weight at all. Its 3.5 inches (8.8cm) long and doesn’t extend when it zooms, so it's not going to add any bulk to my system. All this makes it so quick to just back load the camera and lens into the housing and get going.

"The Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F/4 lens is only 353 grams so whether it's in my bag, on my camera, on in my housing it does not add a lot of weight at all."

Dome Options

Because the lens uses an internal zoom there is no change in the length of the lens when you zoom. This pairs especially well with domes underwater and maintains the same optical distance no matter where you're zooming from 16mm to 35mm.

Because this is a wide angle lens the ideal setup is with the larger 8 inch dome, and I'll use that dome whether I'm shooting it on a DL housing or a smaller DLM housing. I've used it behind the shallower compact dome but I tend to stick with the larger 8 inch dome for this lens. Ultimately, the housing is pretty streamlined with this lens so using the larger dome doesn't make too much of a difference especially if I'm on scuba.

The Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F/4 lens inside an Ikelite 200DLM underwater housing with the full size 8 inch dome port for DLM housings.

A while back I used to shoot a lot underwater with the larger f/2.8 version of this lens but I found that the image quality was not significantly better to justify the added weight of a larger lens. So if you're on the fence between the two for underwater I would go with the F/4 PZ version.

 

Focal Length

This lens zooms from a wide 16mm to 35mm which is a fairly standard wide angle zoom. Most camera brands will have some sort of variation of this lens. 16mm is great for getting shots of the reef, larger animals, or splits at the surface. And 35mm is nice for getting a bit more detail of your subject.

Capture the whole story at 16mm. // 16mm • 1/250 • f/16 • ISO 640 © Logan Wood

Honestly, I usually keep it zoomed out at 16mm but in a pinch if I don't want to get close to my subject, like some wildlife for example, I will punch into 35mm and that zoom range is nice to have.

 

Power Zoom

Now the real advantage of this lens is the power zoom or “PZ” function. Which is basically Sony's way of saying that you can zoom the lens electronically through the camera. Traditionally on land you'd use a zoom rocker if your camera has one. But if yours doesn’t or you’re in a underwater housing, like most of us are, you can assign custom buttons to the back of your camera to zoom in and out.

I usually assign the center button and down button on the d-pad to zoom in and out. Watch Power Zoom Your Sony PZ Lens Underwater to learn how to set that up in your Sony camera. This means that I don't need a zoom gear at all for this lens, which makes it super easy that I don't have to think about anything when I'm packing or setting up my housing.

Savor all the fine details at 35mm. // 35mm • 1/160 • f/8 • ISO 200 © Logan Wood

 

Autofocus

The autofocus of this lens is powered by two XD (Extreme Dynamic) Linear Motors, and they're fast, quiet, and smooth. Practically speaking, it locks onto subjects just fine and barely makes a sound.

Like most lenses, the autofocus performance mostly depends on the camera model that you're shooting on, but across all the Sony models that I've shot, this lens has been quick and reliable.

The autofocus on this lens keeps up with fast moving sharks, dolphins, and whatever comes your way underwater. // 16mm • 1/250 • f/16 • ISO 640 © Logan Wood

 

Focus Breathing

Another plus is how stable it feels when changing focus. There’s almost no focus breathing, which means that the frame doesn't shift or zoom when racking focus between subjects. PZ lenses are more geared towards video shooting so this stems from Sony's effort to make the lens better as shifting focus between subjects during a shot.

 

Minimum Focus Distance

The close focus ability is also impressive. You can focus down to 11" at the wide end and just over 9" at 35mm. This lets me get right up to my subject for close focus wide angle shots, which are always fun to shoot underwater.

The Sony FE PZ 16-35mm F/4 lens is a great tool for close focus wide angle photography underwater. // 16mm • 1/160 • f/8 • ISO 200 © Logan Wood

 

That's my breakdown of this compact killer lens, the Sony 16-35mm PZ F/4. If I missed anything, or you have any other questions, please shoot us an email to ikelite@ikelite.com.

 

Additional Viewing

POWER ZOOM Your Sony PZ Lens Underwater [VIDEO]

Top 3 Best Lenses for Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Underwater [VIDEO]

Sony Mirrorless Lineup Explained for Underwater [VIDEO]

Sony a1 II vs A1 // Which is Better for Underwater Photo & Videos??? [VIDEO]

 

 

Logan Wood is a published photographer, cinematographer, and Producer at Ikelite. Stemming from a great appreciation for the outdoors and living an active lifestyle, his work focuses on capturing and sharing the natural world through the latest technologies. When not in the studio, Logan can be found cruising on his bike, going to concerts, and researching where to go next. You can see more of his work at loganwood.net and on Instagram @jlowood