16-35 FE Zoom lens.....3rd lens lucky! Passed brick wall test.

After 4 long months Sony replaced my 16-35 FE lens for the second time. The first two were blurry on the right side at 35mm and f/11. I tried a friend's 16-35 FE lens and it was blurry on both sides. My lens was blurry on the right side using his A7RII. The lens was sharp if we focused closer to the camera, say half way.

I took the lens in to be tested by Infinite in Sydney. They found no fault optically or mechanically with the lens. We didn't get the camera tested as it worked well with other lenses.

Finally I took the lens into the Sony headquarters at North Sydney. Max Blair in customer relations was the first person at Sony who actually listened to me. We got James who will test the lens and went outside to take a few shots. I left the lens with them for a week to do some field tests. They found it was a bit soft on the right so Max decided to send me another copy of the 16-35 lens because I was a long and loyal customer. I received the replacement lens yesterday and in some test shots outside I was pleased because I couldn't detect any softness on the edges at f/11. Today I did the large factory Brick Wall Test using real estate signs on the sides and middle to inspect. I focused on the sign in the middle. Result. Lens passed at all focal lengths from 16mm, 24mm and 35mm. It passed at all the apertures as well which was great.

Max and  I discussed why the lens I returned was soft on the sides but sharp if focused closer. Perhaps it is something to do with how the camera interacts with the lens. It could be a firmware issue. I hope others don't have this problem because it sure was frustrating let alone not having that wide zoom for over 4 months.

Big thank you to Max Blair at Sony Australia who sorted this out for me.

I do thank Douglas and others who supported me in other threads re this issue.

35mm  f/11

24mm  f/11

16mm  f/11