Sharpness at 24mm

For this review, the sharpness test is carried out by photographing a real-world sample, rather than a test chart. The Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH was mounted on a Leica SL, which was in-turn mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure delay was activated to prevent camera-shake. Any changes in tone you might see across the crops are due to natural light changes during the shooting session.

The full frame at 24mm

At 24mm, the widest aperture is f/4.1. At this aperture, centre sharpness is excellent, and remains so until f/11 where you can see it is a little softer. At f/16, it gets softer again, before becoming the softest at f/22. At these narrow apertures, an overall good impression of sharpness is maintained when viewing at normal printing sizes. At the edge of the frame, the best sharpness can be seen between f/4.1 and f/8.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4.1
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22