DZOFilm Summer 2022 Roundup

It’s been a few months since we talked about DZOFilm here on The Cine Lens. Which means they’ve introduced a number of new products that we’ll go over as a round-up instead of flooding our feed with every new lens they announce.

Catta ACE Zooms

Last time we posted an update with DZOFilm lenses, it was the introduction of their Catta Zooms. Since then, they’ve announced the Catta ACE Zooms which feature the same optics, but with a native interchangeable PL and EF mount as well as an upgraded, all aluminum body instead of the cast polymer body of the original Catta Zooms. The Catta ACE also sacrifice the clever coin filter slot in favor of the less spacious PL and EF mount. The rest of the tech specs carry over seamlessly from the Catta to the Catta ACE.

	Catta Ace 35-80mm	Catta Ace 70-135mm
Focal Length	35-80mm	70-135mm
T-stop	T2.9	T2.9
Format	FF/VV	FF/VV
Image Circle	46.5mm	46.5mm
Lens Mount	PL, EF	PL, EF
Min Focus.	2′ 5″	8′ 6″
Front Dia.	80mm	80mm
FilterThread	77mm	77mm
Iris Blades	16	16
Layout	20/15	17/11
Body	Aluminum	Aluminum
Data	None	None
Length	8.3″	8.3″
Weight	3.6 lbs.	3.7 lbs.

Marlin 1.6x Expander

DZOFilm made waves in the industry when they introduced the Pictor zooms. They were the company’s first step into the Super 35 format cinema market and PL mount lenses. Due to their rich character and highly affordable price tag, the Pictor Zooms did very well for DZOFilm. However, the demand for large format cameras continued to grow. This left a lot of owners of the Pictor Zooms that may have upgraded their camera to something with a larger sensor looking for a larger format lens. The Catta line was a decent option, but that meant buying more lenses! But what if you didn’t have to buy more lenses? What if you could increase the coverage of your lens with a simple adapter? Enter: the Marlin 1.6x Expander from DZOFilm. This new product, while not a novel solution, is certainly unique at its price point and build quality. The Marlin 1.6x allows you to take almost any Super 35 format PL mount lens and increase its coverage to Full Frame on a variety of mirrorless cameras. The product is available in a variety of camera mount options including PL, E, RF, L, and LPL. All of these models include a PL lens mount which means you have to start with a PL lens and end with a camera that has one of the mounts I just mentioned. As always, there is a certain amount of light-loss when increasing the image circle of a lens and in this case, the light loss is 1.5 stops.

Vespid Prime 21mm and 40mm

As promised at launch, DZOFilm announced and has begun shipping the brand new Vespid 21mm T2.1 and Vespid 40mm T2.1. What started as a small 5 lens set has now grown into a full fledged 10-lens set including a 16mm, 21mm, 25mm, 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 90mm Macro, 100mm, and 135mm! That’s quite impressive for an outfit that is still relatively new to the cine lens market. The introduction of the last two focal lengths, the 21mm and 40mm, is meant to mark the completion of the set. Again, DZOFilm has set the bar as far as price:performance ratio goes. While the Vespid Primes can’t go toe to toe with something like Cooke or even Sigma in terms of image quality, they’re an undeniable value for what they are. The image character is, dare I say, nostalgic. The build quality is well above that of similarly priced competitors. And the consistency from lens to lens within the set is surprisingly good despite being ten lenses deep now!

	Vespid 21mm	Vespid 40mm
Focal Length	21mm	40mm
T-stop	T2.1	T2.1
Format	FF/VV	FF/VV
Image Circle	46.5mm	46.5mm
Lens Mount	PL, EF	PL, EF
Min Focus.	1′	1
Front Dia.	80mm	80mm
FilterThread	77mm	77mm
Iris Blades	13	13
Body	Aluminum	Aluminum
Data	None	None
Length	3.9″	3.9″
Weight	2.1 lbs.	2.1lbs.

Gnosis Macro Primes

The final product announcement for this roundup is only a few days old at the time of publishing this post. While DZOFilm did offer a 90mm Macro as part of the Vespid Prime line, clients had been asking for a wider range of proper anamorphic primes. Hence, the Gnosis Macro Primes. This small set of proper macro lenses includes a 32mm, 65mm, and 90mm T2.8. The lenses offer super close focus with the same impressive build quality of the Vespid Primes. They’re notably larger than the Vespid primes but are still constant volume which is always nice for a macro lens. Uniquely, the Gnosis Primes come standard in LPL mount with PL and EF mount kits included with each lens. This is an odd choice to me, but perhaps it’s a sign that LPL is finally catching on.

	Gnosis 32mm	Gnosis 65mm	Gnosis 90mm
Focal Length	32mm	65mm	90mm
T-stop	T2.8	T2.8	T2.8
Format	FF/VV	FF/VV	FF/VV
Image Circle	46.5mm	46.5mm	46.5mm
Lens Mount	LPL, PL, EF	LPL, PL, EF	LPL, PL, EF
Min Focus.	6.6″	9.3″	10.2″
Front Dia.	114mm	114mm	114m
FilterThread	105mm	105mm	105mm
Iris Blades	16	16	16
Body	Aluminum	Aluminum	Aluminum
Data	None	None	None
Length	4.4″	4.4″	4.4″
Weight	3.2 lbs.	3.2 lbs.	2.3 lbs.

That just about wraps it up for all the new products DZOFilm has introduced since our last update. What do you think? Is the cine lens market already too crowded? Is DZOFilm nailing it by making quality products at affordable prices? Or is the quality just not high enough and they’re just making too much fluff? What do you want to see next from DZOFilm? Let us know in the comments. If you’re interested in learning more or shopping for any of these products, you can find them and the complete DZOFilm product line at Duclos Lenses or find the products mentioned in this post here:

• DZOFilm Catta ACE 35-80mm T2.9
• DZOFilm Catta ACE 70-135mm T2.9
• DZOFilm Catta ACE Zoom Lens Kit
• DZOFilm Marlin 1.6x Expander
• DZOFilm Vespid 21mm T2.1
• DZOFilm Vespid 40mm T2.1
• DZOFilm Vespid 10-Lens Kit
• DZOFilm Gnosis 32mm T2.8 Macro
• DZOFilm Gnosis 65mm T2.8 Macro
• DZOFilm Gnosis 90mm T2.8 Macro
• DZOFilm Gnosis Macro 3-Lens Kit