Sharpness at 28mm

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 28mm

Sharpness is excellent at the centre at the widest aperture of f/4.4 when shooting at 28mm. It remains excellent up until f/16 where it becomes a little softer when examining an image at 100%. It is softer again at f/22, but again the overall impression of detail is still pretty good when viewing at normal sizes. At the edge of the frame, the best sharpness can be seen between f/4.4 and f/11.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4.4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22