I waited for too long to get a 16-35mm lens. During my Danish Summer Holiday, there were many places where I wished I had a lens wider than 24mm, especially indoors when I stayed at farmhouses. When visiting towns and beaches, I also wished I had a 16mm, so I could fit the entire landscape into a single frame. In both cases, having the surroundings in one frame tells more of a story, both in the foreground and the background.
Then a chance came by and I bought the Sony 16–35mm F2.8 GM II. There were four situations after I got the lens that made me really appreciate having a wide-angle lens.
In town: I get to put so many elements into a single photo, which gives more context to the scene.
Outdoor: It gives a more natural look of an event that took place, instead of always zooming in and isolating the subject.
Conference: I get to photograph the entire room in one frame, including the people and the surroundings.
Dusk: More of the surroundings fit into the frame, creating a beautiful ambience and showing what the place actually felt like.
I think my dislike for wide-angle photos came from the look of the 13mm ultra-wide lens on my Apple iPhone 15. On the iPhone, I found the images distorted and unpleasant looking. The same can happen with this Sony lens, especially when the camera is tilted upwards or when objects and people are near the edges of the frame. They can look distorted. However, unlike what I was used to seeing from the iPhone, the photos from the Sony lens can be corrected and coloured beautifully in Lightroom.
After using the 16-35mm, I started to understand that a wide-angle lens is not just about fitting more things into a photo. It is also about showing the surroundings and giving the subject a sense of place. Sometimes, the foreground and background are just as important as the main subject in telling the story.
Viby Sjælland
August 2026