Voigtlander 10mm/1:5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E Review

There are wide lenses and ultra-wide lenses, and then there's the Voigtlander 10mm/1:5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E ($1,099), which is wider than any other rectilinear lens with full-frame coverage.

We're reviewing the version for Sony cameras—there's also one for Leica rangefinders, but it's not quite the same exact lens.

You can get pretty similar results with Sony's FE 12-24mm F4 G or Canon's EF 11-24mm f/4L, but both are bulkier and more expensive.

The Heliar is of those lenses that you may only use for an occasional shot, but nothing else out there will get you the same look.

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Design: Almost Purely Mechanical

The E in the Hyper Wide Heliar E's name refers to Sony's E-mount, used in both its APS-C and full-frame mirrorless cameras.

The version of the lens we reviewed can be used with either, although you won't benefit from its extreme angle of view with the smaller APS-C sensor size.

Voigtlander also sells it for Leica M cameras, although that version of the lens doesn't focus quite as close as the Heliar E.

The Heliar is black, with a finish that is not quite glossy and not quite matte, and an integrated lens hood.

The barrel is metal, as is the included slip-on lens cap, which features the Voigtlander logo in a cursive script at its center.

The lens itself measures 2.3 by 2.7 inches (HD) and weighs 13.1 ounces, quite compact when you consider its angle of view.

To compare, the Sony FE 12-24mm, already considered small for an ultra-wide zoom, is 4.6 by 3.5 inches and 1.2 pounds.

Canon's EF 11-24mm f/4L, which can be used on Sony cameras with an adapter like Sigma's MC-11, is 5.2 by 4.3 inches and 2.6 pounds.

There is no filter thread, which is a bit of a downer.

The most commonly used type of filter for such a wide lens, the graduated neutral density filter that landscape photographers use to balance brightness of land and sky, typically requires the use of an add-on filter holder.

NiSi makes a holder for the Heliar, priced around $170.

The lens is almost purely mechanical.

It has a physical aperture ring, adjustable in third-stop increments from f/5.6 through f/22.

There are electrical contacts on the E-mount version of the lens—they're not included with the Leica M edition.

Their inclusion means that your Sony camera will record focal length and aperture data in images, correctly enable in-body image stabilization (the lens does not have its own stabilization system), and activate manual focus magnification automatically.

The manual focus ring is similar to those found on some other Voigtlander lenses.

It alternates between shallow areas, natural depressions to rest for your fingers, and raised sections with metal ridges.

I found it equally comfortable to turn the ring when gripping either, though I recommend using two fingers to turn it.

It requires about a 90-degree turn to move from the minimum focus distance to infinity.

There is a corresponding depth of field scale, with markings down to f/16, and with such a wide angle and aperture the depth of field is quite deep—you won't get much background blur, aside from shots captured near the minimum focus distance.

The E version of the lens focuses as close as 11.8 inches (0.3-meter), so you can work fairly close, but you're never going to get macro results from the lens—it's just too wide.

The Leica M version doesn't focus as close.

It's limited to 19.2 inches (0.6-meter) and it's not rangefinder coupled, so you'll have to focus using the distance scale or a digital Leica's rear LCD or add-on EVF.

If you use a different mirrorless camera brand, you should be able to find an adapter to use the Leica version of the lens with your system.

Image Quality: Very Little Distortion, but Not the Sharpest Lens

I tested the Hyper Wide Heliar E with the 42MP Sony a7R III and Imatest software.

Typically I frame our lens resolution test chart so it fills the frame, but the Heliar is so wide that I wasn't able to do so and properly focus on the chart.

The following results are the composites of two batches of testing.

The first with the chart centered, but only taking up about half of the frame, and the second with the chart framed at the corner.

This gives us information on both central and peripheral resolution.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

At f/5.6 the Heliar E resolves about 2,500 lines on average.

That's on the soft side—we want to see at least 2,750 lines from a 42MP sensor.

Central resolution is acceptable, but not exceptional, at 3,084 lines.

But it drops off as you move away, showing just 1,937 lines at the edges of the frame.

You'll get better results as you narrow the aperture.

At f/8 we see 3,101 lines on average, and a much better 2,509 lines at the edges of the frame.

That's still a bit soft, but given the extreme angle of coverage it's almost to be expected.

Resolution reaches near excellent levels at f/11, where we see 3,751 lines on average—the sharpest the lens can manage.

Edge quality drops off a bit here, to 2,258 lines.

At f/16 diffraction cuts the average to 3,429 lines and edges to a mere 1,718.

Finally at f/22 we see just 2,489 lines on average with blurred, 1,079-line edges.

The Sony FE 12-24mm is a lot sharper.

At f/4 it averages just shy of 3,400 lines, with edges that show a strong 3,057 lines.

Corners are blurred when shot wide open, but sharpen significantly at f/8.

But we must remember that it's more expensive, not as wide, and bulkier.

The FE 12-24mm shows a strong 3.7-percent barrel distortion at its widest angle, typical of a wide zoom.

The Voigtlander is a prime lens, and shows 2.1 percent.

Given the angle of coverage, it's a modest amount.

It didn't detract from the images I shot in the field, and it's very easily compensated for using image processing software.

I recommend Adobe Lightroom Classic CC.

Even though barrel distortion is well controlled, objects at the extreme right and left edges of the frame tend to appear a bit wider than in real life.

Lightroom can also compensate for darkened corners, but the Heliar E casts a heavy vignette.

Even the in-camera correction offered by Sony cameras only cuts it to -2EV at the corners, which is still noticeable in most images.

It's not as heavy as you get when shooting in Raw format or with JPG corrections turned off, we see about -3.5EV at the corners, regardless of f-stop.

You can certainly brighten them with software, but if you're shooting at a high ISO you'll find that doing so will introduce some image noise.

I didn't correct the vignette in any of the images in this review.

A Unique Perspective

I adore shooting with ultra-wide lenses, especially when traveling.

They provide a view of the world that's very different than what we can see with our eyes alone, perfect for capturing images of vast landscapes, working in cavernous urban environments, or moving in closer to a mundane subject to capture it from a more dramatic perspective.

The Voigtlander 10mm/1:5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E checks all of those boxes.

It's wider than anything else out there—I used it side-by-side with a 14mm lens and was shocked to see how much more of the world the 10mm could see.

It's the lens for photographers who think their current ultra-wide simply isn't wide enough.

But it has its drawbacks.

It doesn't offer the convenience of a zoom, and the heavy vignette and just-okay edges are likely to detract from some images.

But it's such a unique tool that I can't resist recommending it.

It costs less than the two closest zoom lenses in function—the Sony FE 12-24mm and Canon EF 11-24mm—and takes up a lot less room in your bag.

Most Sony shooters should probably opt for the FE 12-24mm, which I consider to be one of my favorite lenses for the FE system.

But if you aren't happy with what 12mm gets you, the Hyper Wide Heliar E is worth adding to your kit.

Thanks to Lensrentals for providing the camera and lens for this review.