Venus Optics has announced it’s second “Zero-D” optic in the compact 10mm f/2 for micro four thirds. Weighing just 4.4 ounces and with a 96-degree angle of view, the new lens is an ultra-fast and ultra-wide travel-friendly optic.
The goal of the lens, according to Venus, was to make a small, wide, compact lens that would work well hand-held or on gimbals for video shooters as well as something small enough to fit in a pocket for photographers. In that small package, the lens is made of 11 elements in 7 groups with three extra-low dispersion elements.
This is a size comparison between this new lens and two other Venus lenses:
And compared to a stack of Oreo cookies:
Venus claims the lens has excellent control of optical distortion commonly found in wide-angle lenses and as such should perform well in architectural and interior photography.
Below are a few sample images taken with the new lens:
This image, in particular, does an excellent job showing the distortion control, as vertical lines are quite straight:
The Venus 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT is available for pre-order now with a United States retail price of $399. A specific release date was not provided and the Venus website was down at the time of publication.
Update: The Venus Optics website is back online, and the 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT appears to be available for purchase immediately.