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Canon 16-35mm f/4 L IS
Full-Frame EF Ultra-Wide USM (2014~)
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM (77mm filters, 21.7 oz./616g, 0.92'/0.28m close focus, $1,299 new or about $575 used if you know How to Win at eBay). bigger. I got mine at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay.
This free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or these links to approved sources 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 buying elsewhere. Never buy at retail, since unlike milk or DVDs which are sealed, Canon doesn't seal its boxes so you can't tell if it's a used lens.
November 2022 Canon Reviews Canon Lenses Canon Flash All Reviews
Full-Frame Ultrawide Lenses Compared
Canon Ultrawide Lens Sharpness Comparison
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L III (2016-today)
Canon 16-35mm f/4 L IS (2014-today)
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II (2007-2016)
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L (2001-2007)
Canon 17-40mm f/4 L (2003-today)
Canon 17-35mm f/2.8 L (1995-2001)
Canon 20-35mm USM (1993-2007)
Canon 20mm f/2.8 USM (1992-today)
Canon 20-35mm f/2.8 L (1989-1995)
Tokina 17-35mm f/4 (2011-)
Sample Images top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
Desert Staircase, 6:24 PM, Thursday, 20 January 2022. Canon EOS R3 shot in JPG quality 4, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS on EF to RF adapter at 16 mm wide-open at f/4 hand-held at 1/20 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 7.7), Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © 24 MP JPG (5 MB).
Seven Palms Oasis, 8:30~8:32 PM, 10 August 2020. Canon EOS R5, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS on EF‑to‑RF control ring adapter at 16mm wide-open at f/4 for two minutes using Bulb Timer (no remote or stopwatch needed) at ISO 100 (LV -3.0), Perfectly Clear. bigger, full 45MP resolution or camera-original © JPG file.
In this two-minute exposure the trees and clouds are moving all over, and the stars are moving, too.
Desert Sunrise. 30 October 2016. (Canon 1DX Mk II, Standard Picture Control with +4 Saturation and 7/5/5 Sharpening, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 35mm, f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear.) bigger or © camera-original JPG file (image size L, JPG quality 5) to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution properly.)
Dawn at South Tufa, October 2015, 7:29 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 24mm, f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Red Neon Vacancy Sign, Bridgeport, October 2015, 6:26 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 35mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 200, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Inside the Barn, October 2015, 9:23 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, 68 seconds at f/11 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full 50 MP (20MB JPG) file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display this resolution properly).
The numerous little stars are called sunstars, and are caused by diffraction around the edges of the lens' diaphragm. In this case, the Canon 16-35mm L IS has great sunstars.
Mono County Courthouse, October 2015, 7:55 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 20mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 2,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Bridgeport General Store, October 2015, 7:15 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 250, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
I love my Canon 16-35mm L IS, whose stabilization is so good I can handhold it at night — no tripod needed.
Inside the Ahwahnee, October 2015, 4:37 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held for ½ second at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Moonrise Over the Gas & Go, Bridgeport, October 2015, 8:05 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 33mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/5 at Auto ISO 12,800, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Shoot by moonlight handheld? No problem with the Canon 5DS R and Canon 16-35mm L IS!
Red Restaurant Porch, Bridgeport, October 2015, 7:57 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 640, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Grocery & Market, October 2015, 12:34 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 24mm, f/10 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
See also Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra, October 2015 for more.
Barn, Yosemite National Park, 19 October 2014, 9:07 AM. (Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS at 27mm, f/10 at 1/200 hand-held at Auto ISO 200, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) Bigger.
Sunstar in Aspens above Bridgeport, 19 October 2014, 4:20 PM. (Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS at 24mm, f/22 at 1/30 hand-held at ISO 100, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) Bigger.
I shot at f/22 to emphasize the sunstar.
Colors at the Mine at 4:42 PM, quitting time at Sperry Gyroscope, 19 October 2014. (Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS at 28mm, f/14 at 1/100 hand-held at ISO 100.) BIgger.
Palms at Indian Wells, 28 August 2016. Canon 5DS R, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS at 30mm, f/11 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or camera-original JPG to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display full resolution images properly.)
Moonlight, 08 July 2014. Canon 5D Mk III, 16-35/4 L IS at 16mm, f/4 at 1/3 second hand-held at ISO 12,800. bigger.
Hand-held at 1/3 of a second and sharp in the corners wide open! This is shot at LV -1.5, which means super dark.
The old 16-35/2.8 L II isn't this sharp in the corners at f/4, and it has no IS for sharp shots this slow hand-held. With the 16-35/2.8 L II you'd have to use a tripod, with which then you'd shoot at f/2.8 at 30 seconds at ISO 100 — but wait, at f/2.8 the old 16-35/2.8 L II isn't sharp, so to use the exposure you'd really want, f/11 at ISO 100, you'd need a remote release and an 8-minute exposure!
Introduction top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.
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The 16-35mm f/4 L IS is Canon's best ultrawide lens for nature, landscape, interior, real estate, general architecture and outdoor photography because there is no sharper Canon ultrawide, and it's the only Canon ultrawide with Image Stabilization (IS) so you can leave your tripod at home. It's also the lightest and least expensive of Canon's three sharpest ultrawides. The only other Canon ultrawides as good optically as this IS lens are the exotic 11-24mm and the new 16-35mm f/2.8 III — but neither has stabilization, and each is bigger and costs over twice as much!
While Canon's 17-40mm f/4 L and 16-35mm f/2.8 L II were the standards of the professional nature and landscape photography for years, they weren't very sharp in the corners — especially at large apertures. We always had to shoot them at f/11 for the best corner results. Many landscape professionals adapted the Nikon 14-24mm and Nikon 16-35mm lenses to their Canon cameras, or hauled the huge manual focus Zeiss lenses instead. This new lens ends all that; it's sharp down to the pixels even in the corners.
Grab the manual focus ring at any time for instant manual focus override.
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Formats and Compatibility
This works on all Canon EOS cameras, meaning all Canon DSLRs and all Canon 35mm EOS autofocus SLRs.
While it works on all these, this is a full-frame lens and it is silly to use it on Canon's APS-C cameras. For these cameras, even the 18-55mm kit lenses work better because of their broader zoom ranges more appropriate for those cameras.
On APS-C, this is a normal, not wide angle lens. For a wide angle lens on APS-C cameras, use the Canon 10-18mm EF-s. It costs only one-fourth as much, and goes much, much wider than this lens does on those cameras.
This is a superior full-frame lens, and as such, I'll be testing it on full frame.
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Name
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
Canon calls this the Canon Lens EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS.
EF: Electronic Focus. All modern Canon lenses focus with a motor in the lens.
L: Expensive as L.
USM: UltraSonic ring autofocus Motor.
Optics
16 elements in 12 groups.
Three Glass-Molded (GMo) aspheric lens elements and and two UD glass elements.
Front and rear dust-resistant fluorine coatings.
Four-group zoom system. The barrel doesn't move while the front and rear groups slide in and out.
Internal focus. Nothing moves externally.
Diaphragm
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM (EF diaphragm not visible).
9 curved blades.
Close Focus
0.92 feet (0.28m).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:4.3 (0.23x).
Focal Length
16-35mm.
Angle of View
63º - 108.2º diagonal on full-frame.
Maximum Aperture
f/4.
Image Stabilization
Rated four stops improvement.
Hood
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM with EW-82 Hood. bigger.
EW-82 hood included.
It has a lock with a release button.
Case
Pouch included.
Size
3.3" (82.8mm) diameter x 4.4" (112.8mm).
Weight
21.745 oz. (616.5g), actual measured.
Canon rates it at 21.7 oz. (615g).
Included
Lens.
Caps.
Hood.
Pouch.
Paperwork.
Announced
13 May 2014.
Promised for
June 2014.
Shipping Since
I got the first one on 01 July 2014.
Canon's Item Number
9518B002.
November 2022
$1,299 new at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon and at Crutchfield.
About $575 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
October 2022
$1,299 new at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon and at Crutchfield.
About $600 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
February 2022
$1,299 new at Adorama, at B&H and at Crutchfield.
$1,099 through a third party at Amazon.
About $675 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
September 2020
$999 new.
About $750 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
December 2016 ~ September 2020
$999.
March 2015
$1,100 after rebate.
May-July 2014
Box, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
Overall Autofocus Bokeh Breathing Color
Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters Ghosts
Lateral Color Fringes Macro Mechanics
Sharpness Stabilization Sunstars
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall performance top
The Canon 16-35mm f/4 L IS is optically superb.
Focus performance top
AF is virtually instantaneous, and also silent and accurate.
AF Speed
As expected for an ultrawide lens, AF is essentially instantaneous.
Auto/Manual Switching
Just grab the focus ring anytime for instant manual-focus override.
To lock it into manual mode, move the switch on the lens.
Bokeh performance top
There is rarely anything out of focus with an ultrawide lens. If you do get anything out of focus, bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is excellent.
Here are shots at headshot distance:
Davis 6250 weather station, 28 April 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 28 April 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at 46mm at f/4 and get as close as possible.
It's not always about sharpness: Sasha, 06 July 2014. (Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 16-35mm f/4 IS L at 35mm at f/4 at 1/125, Athentech Perfectly Clear.) bigger.
Color Rendition performance top
The color balance of this 16-35 seems the same as my other Canon EF lenses.
Distortion performance top
The Canon 16-35 IS has moderate barrel distortion at 16mm, and little distortion from 20-35mm. Bravo!
For critical use, use these values in Photoshop's Lens Distortion tool to remove the distortion. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
|
at 10' (3m) |
16mm |
+4.2* |
20mm |
+1.5 |
24mm |
0.0 |
28mm |
-1.2 |
35mm |
-1.5 |
© 2014 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
* slight waviness remains after correction.
The best news is that the distortion is of a low order, so it usually corrects completely with Photoshop's Lens Distortion tool, no fancier software needed.
Ergonomics performance top
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
Ergonomics are easy: it's a big lens with big focus and zoom rings.
Focus is easy; a fingertip will suffice.
Zoom is stiffer; you'll want to use at least two fingers.
Falloff (darkened corners) performance top
Falloff is negligible, even without a profile.
It's barely visible wide open at 16mm, and goes away a stop or two down.
Longer focal lengths don't have any significant falloff, even wide open.
Filters, Use with performance top
There's no problem with vignetting, even with thick or rotating filters.
There's no need for thin filters; regular thick and rotating filters work great.
In fact, I can stack a Tiffen rotating ND grad filter over my Hoya HD polarizer AND another regular filter, and I get no vignetting so long as I don't zoom wider than 23mm!
Even at 16mm I get no vignetting on full-frame with my Hoya HD polarizer and another regular filter.
I only grabbed my Hoya HD polarizer because it was handy for this vignetting experiment; don't use polarizers at the 16mm end because they make skies look funny.
I'm not a fan of the plastic filter threads. A $1,200 lens should have metal threads. They feel pretty loose; the filter has some play left and right.
Focus Breathing performance top
Focus breathing (the image changing size as focused) is mostly of interest to cinematographers who don't want the image changing size ("breathing") as the lens is focused among different subjects.
The image from the 16-35 IS gets smaller as focused more closely.
Ghosts performance top
There are no ghosts. I had to go way out of my way to shoot directly into the noontime summer sun and then add a lot of exposure, process in Perfectly Clear and put a dark tree in the area where I expected ghosts in order to to see any.
These are the worst I could do:
Shot directly into the sun at 16mm at f/9, 17 July 2014. bigger or full resolution.
Shot directly into the sun at 35mm at f/10, 17 July 2014. full resolution.
There's no problem with flare or ghosts.
In actual use, there will be none.
This is excellent performance.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top
Even without an in-camera profile, there are no color fringes except for the tiniest bit of red-cyan at 16mm.
This is much better than any other Canon ultrawide lens, and of course it will correct with a profile.
On the 18 MP APS-C EOS Rebel T100 which has no lens correction, there still isn't any lateral color, at least at the 35mm end (11/2022).
Macro performance top
Macro gets close.
It's rated as 11" or 28 cm, but that's from the image plane at the back of the camera.
I measure its close-focus distance as 4.5" (11 cm) from the front of the lens!
Here's what you get zoomed at 35mm on full frame:
GPW Watch at close-focus distance at 35 mm at f/4 on full-frame (would be even bigger on APS-C).
Crop from above 6MP image at 100%. If this is 6" (15cm) on your monitor, the complete image printed at this same high magnification would be 30 x 20" (75 x 50 cm) at this very same sharpness. Only the face is in focus; there is so little depth-of-field that the hands and bezel are out of focus.
Not only does it get close, it's sharp, too — even at full aperture as I've shown here!
Mechanics performance top
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
The Canon 16-35mm IS L is all plastic on the outside, and metal on the inside. It's not as tough as the 16-35mm f/2.8 L II.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Mount
Plastic.
Identity Ring
Painted on front plastic ring inside the filter threads.
Front Barrel
Plastic.
Focus Ring
Rubber covered plastic.
Mid Barrel
Plastic.
Zoom Ring
Rubber-covered plastic.
Rear Barrel
Plastic.
Switches
Plastic.
Internals
Mostly metal.
Moisture seal at mount
Yes.
Mount
Metal.
Markings
Paint.
Serial Number
Laser-engraved into plastic lens barrel, 180º behind focus window.
Date Code
None seen.
See Canon Date Codes.
Noises When Shaken
Mild clunking.
Made in
Japan.
Sharpness performance top
There is no sharper ultrawide for Canon, however image sharpness depends more on you than your lens, and lens sharpness doesn't mean much to good photographers. It's the least skilled hobbyists who waste the most time blaming fuzzy pictures on their lenses, while real shooters know that few photos ever use all the sharpness of which their lenses are capable due to subject motion and the fact that real subjects are rarely perfectly flat.
Shot at the test range at infinity, the 16-35 IS is ultrasharp at all apertures, all focal lengths and at all points in the image. It is a little less sharp in the last couple of millimeters in the full-frame far corners at f/4, but it's so good and so much better than anything ever made by Canon that I'm not complaining. The 16-35mm IS brought state-of-the art sharpness to Canon ultrawides for the first time. Only the newer 11-24mm f/4 and 16-35mm f/2.8 III are as sharp; everything else is inferior.
Even at f/11, older Canon lenses couldn't do this:
Sling Chair, 06 July 2014. 5D Mk III and 16-35 IS at 24mm at f/11. bigger or full resolution.
Here are Canon's MTF curves, which look excellent as well:
 |
 |
MTF at 16mm. |
MTF at 35mm. |
Image Stabilization performance top
Image Stabilization works great. Presuming you know how to shot a rifle and thus shoot a camera properly at slow speeds, I get perfectly sharp shots most of the time at 1/4 second, and can get sharp shots at 1/2 if I shoot a few frames and pick the best.
I use a simple technique when I'm on the edge: just shoot several frames, and one is usually much sharper than the others. Use that, and delete the rest.
"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while free-standing with no support or bracing. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp are all the frames:
At 16mm on EOS R5 (with in-camera stabilization, firmware 1.1.1)
| % Perfectly Sharp Shots | 1s |
1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
| Stabilization ON | 0 |
0 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Stabilization OFF | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
50 |
67 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
I see four stops of real-world improvement. Note: the R5's IBIS does little to nothing to improve IS in stabilized lenses.
At 24mm on EOS R3 (with in-camera stabilization, firmware 1.0.1)
| % Perfectly Sharp Shots | 1 |
1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
| Stabilization ON | 0 |
17 |
83 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Stabilization OFF | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
83 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
I see a three-stop real-world improvement.
At 35mm on EOS R5 (with in-camera stabilization, firmware 1.1.1)
| % Perfectly Sharp Shots | 1s |
1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
| Stabilization ON | 17 |
5 |
33 |
33 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Stabilization OFF | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
67 |
67 |
100 |
100 |
I see about three stops of real-world improvement. Note: the R5's IBIS does little to nothing to improve IS in stabilized lenses.
Sunstars performance top
Canon 16-35mm sunstar at 19mm at f/11. bigger.
Canon 16-35mm sunstar at 16mm at f/11. bigger.
GL550 headlight at 35mm at f/13. Full Resolution.
With its rounded 9-blade diaphragm, this Canon 16-35mm IS makes only muted sunstars at most apertures.
Use f/22 for the best results:
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click any to enlarge.
The good news is that the 16-35's sunstars are very symmetrical. If you can get them, they look great.
Compared top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
See also Full-Frame Ultrawide Lenses Compared.
Compared to Canon
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II, 16-35mm f/4 L IS and 16-35mm f/2.8 III. bigger.
This IS lens is without question Canon's very best ultrawide lens for photographing things that hold still. The old 16-35mm f/2.8 L II was much less sharp, and while the newer 16-35mm f/2.8 III is as sharp, it lacks stabilization and is much bigger, heavier and more expensive. The 11-24mm (not shown here) is an exotic that's also ultrasharp, but can't be used with front filters (no grads), covers a less useful zoom range and is very big, heavy and expensive. If you don't worry about price, weight, filters or stabilization then the 16-35mm f/2.8 III or 11-24mm also have superb optics; they just don't make as much sense as this ultra-high performance and practical 16-35/4 IS.
The 16-35mm f/2.8 III is a stop faster to optimize it for moving subjects: sports, news and action. The 11-24mm is a less practical lens for people who need an insanely wide lens for special effects.
The Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II and all the other older lenses are much softer in the corners at f/2.8.
Here are crops from corner areas. Click any of these for the camera-original 50 megapixel files from a Canon 5DS R:
As you can see, this 16-35/4 IS and the 16-35/2.8 Mk III are equally great, and the old 16-35/2.8 II is so blurry it looks broken.
Of course no one really shoots daylight landscapes at f/2.8 and expects the corners to be ultrasharp, but if you do, this new lens is night and day better than the old Mark II.
Since we're also dealing with depth of field and other issues, don't read much more into these shots than that the old Mk II was for news and sports, not landscape shooting, and that the f/4 IS and this new Mk III are both excellent. This IS lens looks a bit sharper in the corners because the depth of field at f/4 is deeper than the Mark III at f/2.8.
Canon 20/2.8 USM, 17-40/4 L, 16-35/2.8 L II and 16-35/4 L IS. bigger.
This lens weighs more than the 17-40mm f/4 L and a little less than the 16-35mm f/2.8 L II, either of whose performance it exceeds.
See Canon Ultrawide Lens Sharpness Comparison and All Canon Ultrawides Compared for more.
Compared to Nikon
Nikon's 16-35mm f/4 VR is very similar.
There a many problems using the Nikon lens on a Canon camera with an adapters: the Nikon lens has no autofocus, no VR, no IS, feeds no lens data to the EXIF, has no lens profiles available, and most critically, has a completely manual diaphragm. You'll have to open and close the diaphragm by hand for each and every shot.
People used to mess with this before the introduction of the Canon 16-35 IS, but now that Canon offers essentially the same lens in a native Canon mount, forget about using the Nikon 16-35 or 14-28 on a Canon. The optics are all as good, and the Canon 16-35 IS has ergonomics a zillion times better for use on Canon.
Compared to Zeiss
I'd likewise forget the huge manual focus Zeiss lenses.
Before this 16-35mm the manual-focus Zeiss lenses were the smartest choices if you needed the very best optical performance for an ultrawide on a Canon DSLR, and again this new lens makes the Zeiss lenses completely obsolete.
The Zeiss lenses are too big and heavy and focus too slowly manually and don't zoom. Forget them today.
Usage top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM. bigger.
Leave the STABILIZER ON all the time. You ought to turn it OFF if you're on a tripod, but it shouldn't cause any problems even if you leave in ON.
Recommendations top
Sample Images Intro Specs Performance
Compared Usage Recommendations
I got my 16-35mm f/4L IS at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
For nature, landscapes, fine art and architecture, this is Canon's best ultrawide lens ever. There's no question about this; the only other lenses as sharp are the 16-35/2.8 III which is bigger and heavier and has no stabilization; the 16-35/2.8 III is for action, news and sports — not nature and landscapes. The 11-24mm is a huge exotic lacking stabilization and you can't use front filters with it. The 11-24 is for special effects where you need unreasonably short focal lengths. The 11-24 is a great lens, just not as useful as a 16-35.
For news, action, astronomy and sports, the much more expensive 16-35mm f/2.8 L III is a stop faster. Image Stabilization is of no help if the subject is moving or on a tripod, but f/2.8 will let you use a faster shutter speed or lower ISO for sharper pictures when things are moving or extremely dark.
For everything else, this 16-35mm f/4 L IS is the best there's ever been — and it's much less expensive today than when it came out in 2014. It's the only lens besides a telephoto zoom that you'd need to be ready to shoot anything.
I bought mine at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield. My biggest source of support for this free website is when you use those links or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything. Unlike a bottle of milk or a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disc, Canon doesn't seal its boxes so you have no idea if you're actually getting a used product if you risk buying at retail. Never buy at retail.
Thanks!
Ken
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As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!
Thanks for reading!
Ken.