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

The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM ($2,199) is an upgrade to the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM.

It's more expensive—the II version was priced around $1,700—but sports superior optics for better results.

It gives photographers the ability to use the lens at its maximum aperture and capture sharp images, which is what you're paying for when comparing it with the previous model or other zooms that cover a similar range.

If you demand the best from your camera, and are a fan of the 16-35mm coverage range, it's the lens to get, and earns our Editors' Choice.

Design

Despite upgrades on the inside, the 16-35mm III ($2,199.00 at Amazon) doesn't look that much different than its predecessor.

It follows the Canon L-series design motif, housing premium glass inside a tough polycarbonate barrel.

It's black—Canon reserves gray barrels for its telephoto line—with a red accent stripe at the front.

Front and rear caps, a reversible lens hood, and a soft carrying pouch are included.

The lens measures about 5.0 by 3.5 inches (HW), weighs 1.7 pounds, and supports 82mm front filters.

This is about par for the course for a 16-35mm f/2.8—Sony's version for its full-frame mirrorless cameras is a little smaller and a few ounces lighter, but it gets there because it's easier to design smaller wide-angle lenses for mirrorless cameras simply because the rear element can be closer to the sensor.

As with other L lenses, the 16-35mm is protected from dust and splashes, and Canon has added a fluorine coat to the front element to repel grease and moisture.

It makes it easier to clean the lens—just keep a microfiber cloth handy.

There are additional internal coatings to reduce flare and ghosting, so you can shoot photos with a strong backlit look with confidence.

The zoom ring sits toward the base and is roughly an inch wide—big enough to grip and turn comfortably.

It's covered in knurled rubber and is marked at the 16, 20, 24, 28, and 35mm positions.

The front element does move in and out a bit while adjusting the focal length, but doesn't extend out of the barrel.

The focus ring is farther ahead.

Like the zoom ring it has a knurled rubber finish.

It turns comfortably, with some affirming resistance for a mechanical manual focus feel.

There are soft stops at the minimum focus distance and infinity—you can turn the ring beyond those marks without worrying about harming the lens.

The focus ring also supports full-time override of autofocus, although if you prefer manual focus you'll want to set the AF/MF toggle switch, on the left side of the barrel between the two rings, to its MF position.

There is no optical stabilization.

It's not a common feature in wide-angle lenses at f/2.8—to get it in a lens from Canon you'll need to live with a narrower maximum f-stop—the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM ($1,099) includes it.

It's a concern if you're shooting handheld video, but I wouldn't fret over it too much for still capture.

If you do want a lens with similar coverage range, an f/2.8 aperture, and stabilization, look at the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD.

The 16-35mm coverage range screams wide-angle—at least when paired with a full-frame camera; on an APS-C body it covers 25-56mm range, making it more of a standard zoom.

You can shoot huge, sweeping landscapes, group shots, environmental portraits, and everything in between.

It can focus quite close, to 11 inches, measured from the sensor position, which means you can get up close and personal with subjects.

It's not a true macro—the magnification is 1:4.5 at 35mm—but you can still lean in for a shot.

Image Quality

I tested the 16-35mm III with Canon's highest-resolution SLR, the 50MP, full-frame 5DS R.

Its sensor demands more of lenses than others, and I was happy to see that this version of the lens doesn't disappoint in any way when evaluating photos for detail.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

At 16mm f/2.8 Imatest shows that the lens resolves 3,924 lines on average across the frame.

That's significantly higher than the 2,750 lines we want to see from a lens paired with a 50MP sensor.

The average holds up through most of the frame, and while the outer edges aren't as crisp, they are still quite good at 3,153 lines.

That's in contrast to version II of the lens, which showed some softness along the edge of the frame at 16mm f/2.8.

Stopping down to f/4 bumps the overall resolution to 4,124 lines, with edges that are better (3,362 lines).

At f/5.6 we see the lens at its best, with an average resolution of 4,385 lines and edges that cross the 4,000 lines—outstanding for such a wide angle.

You can shoot at f/8 with confidence (4,183 lines), but diffraction sets in a little early with the 5DS R.

At f/11 the lens slips to 3,818 lines and it continues to slide at f/16 (3,113 lines) and f/22 (2,173 lines).

At 24mm f/2.8 the lens delivers even performance from center to edge, about 3,450 lines.

There's a slight improvement at f/4 (3,566 lines), and scores hover around there through f/11.

At f/16 we see a drop (3,082 lines) and a more substantial fall at f/22 (2,291 lines).

Zoomed all the way in to 35mm, the lens shows 3,312 lines at f/2.8.

Resolution hits 3,500 lines at f/4 and hovers around there through f/11.

At f/16 it drops to around 3,000 lines, and bottoms out at 2,239 lines at f/22.

Resolution isn't the only factor to look at when evaluating a lens.

Distortion is another, and it's one that typically affects ultra-wide designs.

The 16-35mm III isn't immune.

At 16mm there is strong barrel distortion, about five percent, that draws straight lines with a distinct outward curve.

Thankfully it goes away as you zoom in, and if you do want to remove it from a wide-angle shot, it's easy enough to do with basic photo editing software.

Adobe Lightroom Classic is the de facto standard software for pro photographers and offers a one-click lens profile correction to remove distortion from images.

There's also a vignette around the edges of images, which is to be expected in a wide zoom.

It's most pronounced when shooting at f/2.8 at every focal length, and is most visible at 16mm.

We see a -5.4EV drop at the corners at 16mm f/2.8; it's cut to -3.7EV at f/4, -2.6EV at f/5.6, -1.9EV at f/8, and about -1.5EV when stopped further down.

Raw shooters can remove (or lessen) the effect using Lightroom or similar software.

If you work in JPG mode, Canon cameras will compensate for the vignette automatically when shooting JPGs, although with this lens we still see -3.1EV at 16mm f/2.8 and -1.5EV at f/4—it's not until you stop down to f/5.6 that the drop at the corners is within our -1EV tolerance.

At 24mm f/2.8 we see a -3.8EV drop when shooting without in-camera correction, and just -1.5EV with it enabled.

At f/4 you are in the clear with corrections turned on, but you'll still see darkened edges without them (-2.1EV).

The drop is about -1.4EV at f/5.6, and less than -1EV at f/8 and smaller f-stops.

The story is similar at 35mm.

There's a -3.1EV dip at the corners at f/2.8 without corrections and -1.6EV at f/4.

Thankfully the effect is lesser overall when zoomed all the way in, so the in-camera corrections eliminate the darkening even at f/2.8, and if you shoot in Raw or without them enabled, you won't notice the effect at f/5.6 and smaller settings.

Conclusions

Canon shooters searching for a wide-angle zoom have plenty of options, both brand-name and third-party, at various price points.

The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM is the most premium model available, and proves that it's worth its $2,200 asking price in performance and build quality, earning our Editors' Choice in the process.

But you might be on a tighter budget.

You won't find any third-party 16-35mm zooms right now.

Tamron has its 15-30mm f/2.8, which is a strong value and includes image stabilization; we like it better than the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II, which is still on sale.

Canon has a stabilized 16-35mm f/4L, which we still need to check out, and is priced around $1,100.

There's also the aging 17-40mm f/4L at $800.

There are wider options out there too, though when you lose coverage beyond 24mm, the lens becomes a very different tool.

But if you crave wide views above all else, don't forget about the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L, the Sigma 12-24mm f/4, and the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8—all three are excellent matches for a full-frame Canon SLR.

Thanks to Lensrentals for providing this lens for review.