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Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Photo Zone
The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 USM L was able to produce a very good performance in most aspects. The center resolution of the lens is exceptionally high regardless of the zoom and aperture settings. The border performance is lower specifically towards the extreme ends of the zoom range and at large aperture settings. At medium apertures the border performance is one a very decent level. The sweet spot of the lens is clearly at 24mm where it easily outperforms all tested Canon fix-focals to date. Typical for most full frame lenses vignetting is no big issue on an APS-C DSLR. The high barrel distortions at 16mm as well as CAs at 24mm could be a little better. The build quality of the lens is great and it is a joy to use. All-in-all it is a very good lens but if you don’t need the f/2.8 setting and that extra mm at the wide end you may as well save quite some bucks by preferring the EF 17-40mm f/4 USM L which performs basically just as good. READ FULL REVIEW
Other Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L USM EF Reviews
SLR Gear
The bottom line on this lens is that it’s really not that great an option for dSLR owners. If you’re shooting with a camera with an APS-C size sensor (any of the Rebel series, or the EOS-10D or 20D), you’d do much better with the spiffy little 10-22mm EF-S model. It covers the effective focal length range that the 16-35 was originally designed for (on full-frame film cameras), with much improved sharpness and low distortion, at almost half the price — Albeit not with as fast a maximum aperture, nor with vignetting levels as low. For full-frame shooters (1Ds or 5D owners), the 16-35 will indeed provide very wide angle coverage, but almost certainly with even further degraded image quality in the corners. READ FULL REVIEW
Photo.net
Like all L lenses, the 16-35/2.8L is ruggedly constructed and resistant to water and dust. The included lens hood bayonets onto the exterior of the lens, leaving the 82mm filter and lens cap threads free. The 16-35 incorporates a ring USM motor, which enables “full-time manual focus”, even when the lens is set to autofocus. This is very useful when you want to use Custom Function 4 on an EOS body, which moves autofocus to the exposure lock button on the rear. You can focus manually if desired and, at any time, push the rear button to give yourself a shot of autofocus. Weight is 640g, which balances reasonably well with Canon’s professional bodies and is only slightly heavier than the 24/1.4L and 35/1.4L lenses. The medium-speed prime lenses are much lighter, e.g., only 185g for the 28/2.8. READ FULL REVIEW
Ken Rockwell
This is your lens if you need the absolute widest zoom available from a top-drawer manufacturer for a full-frame camera. I get more consistent results with a 17-40mm f/4 L, which also weighs less and costs half as much. By consistent I mean getting every shot sharp without the occasional soft one. READ FULL REVIEW
Pop Photo
Absolutely stellar performance (and stratospheric price tag) in a constant-aperture zoom. High distortion at 16mm, will surely bug architectural photographers. READ FULL REVIEW
Luminous Landscape
If you are in the market for a new wide-angle lens, I definitely recommend spending the extra $250 and getting the new 16-35L. In terms of sharpness, contrast, and extra features, you will get your monies worth. A very welcome improvement is the ability to focus at 0.28m/0.9ft. In addition, for those whom already own a 17-35L and are disappointed by its performance wide open, now you have a viable choice to achieve sharp images at that aperture setting. Overall, this is one of the sharpest super wide-angle zoom lenses that I have ever tested. I recommend it! READ FULL REVIEW