We provide experimental evidence supporting the vectorial theory for determining electric field at and near the geometrical focus of a cylindrical lens. This theory provides precise distribution of field and its polarization effects. Experimental results show a close match (≈ 95% using χ2‐test) with the simulation results (obtained using vectorial theory). Light‐sheet generated both at low and high NA cylindrical lens shows the importance of vectorial theory for further development of light‐sheet techniques. Potential applications are in planar imaging systems (such as, SPIM, IML‐SPIM, imaging cytometry) and spectroscopy. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:105–109, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.