Voigtlander 10mm f/5.6 for Sony E: Maxed-Out Field of View, Rectilinear Design

Get Voigtlander Heliar 10mm f/5.6 Aspherical and Voigtlander Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical III at B&H Photo.

My favorite all-around wide angle lens remains the superb Canon 11-24mm f/4L (about $2899), but the 11-24 is heavy and expensive, plus awkward on Sony mirorrless (requires lens adapter as well).

Since I have now reviewed the Voigtlander Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical III for Sony mirrorless (more coming soon), I intend to do the same for the new Voigtlander Heliar 10mm f/5.6 Aspherical (about $999).

Voigtlander Heliar 10mm f/5.6 Aspherical

Offering an incredibly wide field of view while maintaining a rectilinear design, the Heliar-Hyper Wide 10mm f/5.6 Aspherical Lens from Voigtlander is dedicated to full-frame Sony E-mount cameras, and features an updated Heliar design to limit distortion and maintain consistent sharpness and illumination to suit mirrorless camera designs.

One aspherical element is employed in the 13 elements, 10 groups optical design to control spherical aberrations and distortions throughout the aperture range.

The lens also uses a manual focus design to permit fine-tuned control over focus placement, with a minimum focusing distance of 11.8", and a Selective Aperture Control System allows you to de-click the manual aperture ring for smooth, silent exposure adjustment to suit filmmaking applications.

• Incredibly wide 10mm focal length lens is designed for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras and provides a 130° angle of view. It is also compatible with APS-C models where it will produce a 15mm equivalent focal length.

• Rectilinear (non-fisheye) design maintains straight lines toward the periphery of the frame for a more realistic portrayal of architectural and other geometrically complex subjects.

• Updated Heliar optical design helps to maintain consistent peripheral illumination, eliminate color fringing, and reduce distortion; making it ideal for use with mirrorless digital cameras. [DIGLLOYD: this means a tweaked rangefinder design that will be impaired for mirrorless in out zones, just as with the 15/4.5].

• One aspherical element is featured in the optical design to control spherical aberrations and improve clarity, sharpness, and resolution.

• Manual focus design permits smooth, refined control along with a minimum focusing distance of 11.8".

• Selective Aperture Control System produces a stepless, de-clicked aperture ring, which provides silent and smooth exposure adjustment that is well-suited for video application. The aperture ring can also be configured to utilize traditional 1/3-stop clicks for more intuitive tactile control over exposure settings.

• Ten-blade diaphragm contributes to a smooth quality of bokeh.

• Built-in lens hood guards the front lens element and also helps to control lens flare and ghosting.

• Contacts transfer all Exif data between the camera and lens in order to permit full use of camera functions, including focus magnification, image stabilization, and lens corrections.

Compare to its 15mm sibling: