Review of Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L Performance Review
A Work in Progress and Under Revision

This is an initial brief performance review of the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L lens. The major strengths of this lens over the EF 17-40mm f/4L lens are the obvious wider 16mm perspective and faster f/2.8 aperture. The EF 17-40 generally gives slightly sharper edge performance with less chromatic aberration than the EF 16-35. However, differences are small. The greater widefield capabilities of the EF 16-35 L (108° diagonal field of view compared to 74° diagonal field of view for the 17-40L) make the relatively minor differences in corner sharpness and chromatic aberration a small price to pay for those seek the widest possible ultrawide zoom performance. Summaries of performance of the EF 16-35mm L and the EF 17-40 L on an EOS-1Ds Mark II follow that include comparison with performance of the EF-S 10-22mm lens on an EOS-20D.

Lens Specification

18 June 2006 Note: This is a quick assessment of lens performance before going off to use the lens on a photo trip. Examples and more data will follow when I get the time in the next few months. This lens was run on a new lens with date code UT0812 (August, 2005 construction)

Overall Summary of Lens Sharpness

17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm
Examples at 20mm on Edmund Scientific Lens Resolution Chart

Image centers are sharp at f/2.8.
Image corners and edges are mildly soft at f/2.8 and progressively sharpen to peak sharpness at f/8. Image quality in the corners is very good by f/5.6. Corner image sharpness drops off slightly at f/16. See vignetting, linear distortion and lateral chromatic aberration summaries at f/11 below.

16mm
Examples at 16mm on Edmund Scientific Lens Resolution Chart

Image centers are sharp at f/2.8.
Image corners and edges are very soft at f/2.8 and progressively sharpen to peak sharpness at f/11. Image quality in the corners is very good by f/5.6. Corner image sharpness drops off slightly at f/16. See vignetting, linear distortion and lateral chromatic aberration summaries at f/11 below.

Corner Sharpness at f/11

Focal Length or Equivalent	EF 16-35mm f/2.8L	EF 17-40mm f.4L	EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and 20D
16mm	Mildly soft		Soft
17mm	Sharp	Very Sharp	Mildly soft
20mm	Sharp	Very Sharp	Mildly soft
24mm	Sharp	Sharp	Soft
35mm	Sharp	Sharp	Mildly soft

Linear Distortion at f/11

Focal Length or Equivalent	EF 16-35mm f/2.8L	EF 17-40mm f.4L	EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and 20D
16mm	Moderate barrel		Mild barrel
17mm	Moderate barrel	Moderate barrel	Mild barrel
20mm	Minimal barrel	Minimal barrel	No distortion
24mm	Negligible distortion	Negligible distortion	Negligible distortion
35mm	Mild pincushion	Mild pincushion	Mild pincushion

Chromatic Aberration at f/11

Focal Length or Equivalent	EF 16-35mm f/2.8L	EF 17-40mm f.4L	EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and 20D
16mm	Moderate CA		Mild CA
17mm	Mild CA	Minimal CA	Mild CA
20mm	Minimal CA	Negligible CA	Minimal CA
24mm	Minimal CA	Negligible CA	Minimal CA
35mm	Negligible CA	Negligible CA	Negligible CA

Vingetting at f/11

Focal Length or Equivalent	EF 16-35mm f/2.8L	EF 17-40mm f.4L	EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and 20D
16mm	Moderate		Mild
17mm	Moderate	Moderate	Mild
20mm	Negligible	Negligible	None
24mm	Mild	Negligible	Negligible
35mm	None	None	None

50% MTF at f/11 Field Center (Field Edge) lp/mm

Data determined using Koren 2003 lens test chart.

Focal Length or Equivalent	EF 16-35mm f/2.8L	EF 17-40mm f.4L	EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and 20D
16mm	71.0 (71.5)		64.75 (64.75)
17mm	71.0 (70.75)	72.5 (71.0)	64.9 (64.0)
20mm	70.85 (70.85)	70.75 (69.25)	64.6 (63.5)
24mm	69.5 (70.75)	70.85 (69.5)	64.8 (64.5)
35mm	70.75 (70.75)	70.85 (69.0)	63.75 (64.60)

Field Comparisons at f/16 of EF 16-35mm @ 16mm, of EF 17-40mm @ 17mm with EOS-1Ds MkII and EF-S 10-22mm @ 10mm with 20D

Field of View
Corner Sharpnessness
Center Sharpness

Room Test with EOS-5D and EF 16-35mm f/2.8L @ 16mm and @ f/2.8, f/4 and f/5.6 (handheld)

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