My name is Alan Stockdale and I run a Video Production company called Foundlight Productions which I set up in 2004, providing creative content from concept to delivery. I work with a broad spectrum of clients, including agencies and directly with brands. I also work closely with brands within the film industry such as Manfrotto, Litepanels, Atomos, Schneider Kreuznach and Sony, for whom I have created film campaigns. Music is at the heart of most of my projects, and by focusing on pace and rhythm, I craft stories that engage in these senses.

When I first opened the box for the FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G lens, I was amazed at how compact it was…then I picked it up. This lens is incredibly light. For all the features it has, I was quite simply shocked. In comparison to my older FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens, it’s smaller, lighter and has a ton more features.

The main difference is obviously the power zoom, but not only that, the lens keeps it’s form factor when zooming throughout the 16-35mm range with a constant f/4. This makes it an ideal lens to use on gimbals as the weight doesn’t shift when changing focal lengths.

My older Zeiss lens doesn’t have any additional features on the lens, whereas the new PZ 16-35 has an autofocus and manual focus option, a programmable focus hold button, a zoom rocker, and iris lock and the option to de-click the aperture ring which you also change on the lens itself…. that’s A LOT of options on such a compact lens.

Now let’s not skip over that autofocus and manual focus option. This lens has 4 XD linear motors inside linked to the autofocus and zoom function for speed and precision. Pair this with a camera such as the FX6 or FX3 and you have an incredibly quiet and precise zooming and autofocus system at your fingertips. The zoom speeds can also be adjusted within the camera settings if you need a faster or slower motion, all this with no noticeable focus breathing.

For certain scenes of ‘Jump In’, I needed to control the camera remotely, and to do that I connected the camera to the Sony Imaging Edge app on my phone. Through this I was able to not only choose my focus points, adjust settings and start recording, but I was also able to zoom in and out smoothly. The power zoom makes this possible and is a true game changer when needing to film remotely or if the camera is in a tricky spot to reach.

For future shoots I could see myself attaching my phone to a gimbal to use this functionality, it would be a quick and easy way to achieve the ‘push pull’ effect.

This lens really has a ton of features, and with its lightweight and compact size, I can tell it will be coming with me in my kit bag on all future shoots.