The Batis line of autofocus lenses for full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras carries the premium price that you expect from Zeiss. The latest entry, the ultra-wide Batis 2.8/18 ($1,499), is the most expensive of the three lenses released so far, and covers the widest angle of view. It shows almost no barrel distortion, a big plus for an ultra-wide lens. It's a solid option if you want of a lightweight, ultra-wide prime with solid light-gathering capability, but our ultra-wide Editors' Choice for the Sony mirrorless system is the Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS ($1,249.99 at Dell) .

Design

The Batis 2.8/18 ($1,298.00 at Amazon) measures 3.2 by 3.9 inches (HD), fairly typical for an ultra-wide prime, and supports 77mm front filters. The barrel is metal, but the reversible hood is plastic. It's surprisingly light at just 11.6 ounces. The 16-35mm zoom is about the same size (3.1 by 3.9 inches), but it's heavier (1.1 pounds) and captures half the light when both lenses are shot wide open.

The only control is the manual focus ring, which is finished in smooth rubber. It turns without too much tension, and the top OLED display shows the focus distance and depth of field when focusing manually. Focus is electronic, so turning the focus ring simply activates the focus motor, which can bother photographers used to a more tactile manual focus experience. If that's you, consider mounting the Milvus 2.8/18 via an adapter, or using the native, manual focus Loxia 2.8/21 ($1,499.00 at Amazon) for wide-angle coverage.

The Batis focuses on subjects as close as 9.8 inches from the image sensor. Its ultra-wide field of view means it's not going to magnify subjects at macro levels—at the closest distance it delivers 1:9.5 magnification—but it's good enough to get up close and personal with your subjects if desired. There's no image stabilization, but modern Sony full-frame bodies have that feature built-in.

Image Quality

I shot our high-resolution test chart with the Batis and the 42MP Alpha 7R II ($1,798.00 at Amazon) . At f/2.8 the lens puts up an excellent 3,107-line sharpness score using Imatest's center-weighted evaluation, better than the 2,200 lines we look for in a high-resolution image. But image quality is not even across the frame. Results are crisp through most of image area, but the outer third averages just 1,560 lines, muddy results on the A7R II.

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Sharpness across the center and mid parts of the frame improves as you stop down—3,230 lines at f/4 and 3,530 lines at f/5.6—but edges are still soft. They get a little bit better at f/8 (1,993 lines), where the average score jumps to 3,762 lines.

If you're a landscape photographer and want the sharpest image possible, even at the edges, you'll want to shoot at f/11. The overall score hits 4,042 lines with edges that improve dramatically (3,482 lines). It's the sweet spot for the lens, as there's a drop in fidelity at f/16 (3,541 lines) and f/22 (2,495 lines).

Distortion, which can be a serious issue for architectural photographers, is extremely well controlled. The Batis shows about 0.8 percent barrel distortion, which is a nonissue for most types of photography and will require only modest correction for architectural work. Distortion is one of the weak points of the 16-35mm; it shows about 2.3 percent at 16mm. That's acceptable for a zoom, but something that requires correction in Lightroom ($9.99/Month at Adobe) , although it is a simple, single-click solution.

Corner illumination is an issue with the Batis. At f/2.8 the corners are 2.5 stops dimmer (-2.5EV) than the center of the image, giving photos a noticeable vignette effect. It's lessened as you stop down, dropping to about -1.7EV at f/4 and about -1.4EV at f/5.6. The effect is much less noticeable at f/8 and narrower settings.

Conclusions

Landscape and architectural photographers are likely to love the Zeiss Batis 2.8/18. Its field of view is wide enough to capture both exteriors and interiors of buildings, or beautiful wide vistas, distortion is nominal, and shooting on a tripod at a narrow aperture is a typical workflow. It's also fairly compact and very light, making it an ideal choice for travel. We give preference and our Editors' Choice to the Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS, which offers the benefits of a zooming design, as well as in-lens image stabilization, making it a better all-around option for about the same cost. It does show some distortion, but since that's a single-click correction with modern imaging software, it's not a deal breaker, even for demanding photographers.

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Further Reading

• Tamron Details Affordable 70-180mm F2.8 Zoom Lens
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• Oops! $13K Camera Lens Sells for $95 Due to Prime Day Error