The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 and the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 is the longer of the two lenses at 64mm. The Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake with a length of 23mm, is 41mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 also has a larger diameter of 73mm compared to the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake's 62mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake weighs 74g, 66% (146g) lighter than the Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2's weight of 220g.
Filter Threads
The Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 has a filter size of 67mm whereas the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake has a 49mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 67mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2:
And these are the 49mm filters that we recommend for the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake:
Lens Mounts
Both the Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 and the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake has the same Sony E lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony E lenses are Sony A9 III, Sony A7C Mark II and Sony A7CR.
Focal Range
Tamron 20mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 20mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
30mm.
On the other hand, the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 16mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 24mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.