DZOFILM Arles Zoom 25-75mm and 65-180mm T2.6 Announced – Constant Aperture, Parfocal, Under 1.8kg

Lens News

by Johnnie BehiriSeptember 8^th, 2026

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DZOFILM has added two full-frame cinema zooms to its Arles line: a 25-75mm T2.6 and a 65-180mm T2.6. Both share the front diameter, gear positions, and 16-blade iris of the eleven Arles primes, weigh under 1.8kg / 4lb each, and overlap between 65mm and 75mm so a two-zoom kit has no gap. The price undercuts most full-frame cine zooms with a constant aperture, so let’s look at what the company is offering for the money.

The two lenses are the Arles Zoom 25-75mm T2.6 and the Arles Zoom 65-180mm T2.6. Both hold their T2.6 aperture across the full zoom range, close down to T22, and cover a 43.5mm image circle. The 25-75mm is a 3x zoom with 22 elements in 8 groups, a close focus of 0.51m / 1ft 8in from the sensor plane, a length of 178.1mm / 7.01in in PL configuration, and a weight of roughly 1,767g / 3.9lb. The 65-180mm is a 2.8x zoom with 20 elements in 8 groups, a close focus of 0.89m / 2ft 11in, a length of 190.85mm / 7.51in in PL, and a weight of roughly 1,782g / 3.93lb. Each lens is priced at $2,899 / €2,499, and the pair ships as a kit with a hard case for $5,199 / €4,499, with deliveries starting this month.

Where the zooms fit in the Arles family

DZOFILM launched the Arles primes in June 2024 with five T1.4 lenses from 25mm to 100mm, then added the Arles B set with 14mm, 21mm, 40mm, 135mm, and 180mm at IBC that year, and closed the range with the 18mm T1.4 in November 2025. That is eleven primes, and DZOFILM now describes the series as an eleven-prime, two-zoom matrix sharing one color science and one handling standard. A tuned Arles Lustre variant sits alongside for anyone who wants a softer, warmer rendering.

The Arles primes were built as clean, technically correct optics rather than character glass, and the zooms follow that brief. DZOFILM specifies a custom low-saturation coating that suppresses flare and ghosting, the same 16-blade iris for round out-of-focus highlights, and what it calls the signature Arles look. In practice that means an owner of the primes can add the zooms for coverage or speed of operation without expecting a visible shift in color or contrast between setups, which is the entire argument for buying within one family.

Optical design and the resolution claim

DZOFILM describes a four-group linkage optical system that manages field curvature, chromatic aberration, and resolving power across the zoom range. The 25-75mm uses seven extra-low dispersion (ED) elements and five high refractive index (HRI) elements; the 65-180mm uses seven ED and two HRI elements. The company says this combination controls spherical and comatic aberrations while holding contrast, and it puts a number on it: on an 8,000-line test chart, the 65-180mm resolves up to 56 line pairs at the center wide open at T2.6. DZOFILM markets this as “8K resolving power”.

That chart figure is a manufacturer measurement, not an independent one, and a single center reading at one focal length says nothing about corner performance or the wide end of the 25-75mm. It is also unusual for a lens maker in this price bracket to publish a resolution number at all, so at minimum it gives buyers something specific to check against their own charts rather than a vague sharpness promise.

Both lenses are parfocal, so focus holds when the focal length changes, and DZOFILM says focus breathing approaches zero at the telephoto end. Parfocal behavior is the feature that separates a cine zoom from a rehoused stills zoom. Breathing is stated as virtually imperceptible; the company does not give a figure for the wide end, where breathing typically shows most, so anyone planning rack focus at 25mm should establish that behavior themselves.

Mechanics that match the primes

The zooms carry the same interface as the Arles primes: a 95mm front diameter, an M86 filter thread, 0.8 MOD gears, and a 270° focus throw. Because the gear positions line up with the primes, follow-focus and lens motor setups do not need repositioning when a prime comes off and a zoom goes on. The zoom ring rotates through 100°. Iris rotation is 79.55° on the 25-75mm and 82.4° on the 65-180mm, both manual. Focus scales come in metric or imperial versions.

The housing is aluminum alloy, rated dust and splash-resistant, and the two lenses are within 15g / 0.5oz of each other in weight and about 13mm / 0.5in in length. Matching mass across a pair matters more on a gimbal than on sticks, and at roughly 1.77kg / 3.9lb each, these are light for constant-aperture full-frame cine zooms. For comparison, the Arles primes range from about 1,490g / 3.28lb for the 25mm to 1,846g / 4.06lb for the 135mm, so the zooms weigh about the same as a single longer prime while covering three or more focal lengths.

The 65-75mm overlap

The two zooms overlap between 65mm and 75mm rather than butting up against each other. DZOFILM’s argument is practical: a shot that starts on the 25-75mm at its long end can be matched on the 65-180mm without a jump in framing; two cameras can be lined up at the same focal length on different lenses, and cuts between angles land on identical fields of view. It also means the 75mm setting on the wide zoom and the 65mm setting on the long zoom both live inside the mid-range where a two-zoom documentary or interview kit spends most of its time.

Mounts, adapters, and the image circle question

The lenses ship in PL mount as standard, with EF mount kits sold separately and user-swappable thanks to the short rear flange. DZOFILM’s Octopus adapters extend that to Sony E, Leica L, Nikon Z, Canon RF, FUJIFILM X, and DJI DX mount cameras. The company also pairs the zooms with its Marlin 1.4x extenders, which turn the pair into a 35-105mm and a 91-252mm while keeping parfocal behavior, with what DZOFILM describes as minimal light loss; the company rated the Marlin at under one stop when it launched.

One detail worth reading off the spec sheet rather than the headline: the zooms cover a 43.5mm image circle, which is full-frame. The Arles primes cover 46.5mm, enough for Vista Vision sensors such as the ARRI ALEXA 65 at longer focal lengths. So a prime-plus-zoom Arles kit is not uniformly large-format capable; on a RED V-RAPTOR or ALEXA 65 in a VV mode, the zooms will not cover what the primes do. DZOFILM’s mention of “select medium-format coverage” applies only with the Marlin 1.4x in place, which multiplies both the focal length and the image circle. That is a workable path to a bigger sensor, at the cost of the extra element group and around a stop of light.

How the price compares

At $2,899 / €2,499 per lens, the Arles zooms cost more than a single Arles prime, which DZOFILM currently sells direct from $1,999, but well below what the established cine brands charge for a constant-aperture full-frame zoom range.

The 25-75mm T2.6 and 65-180mm T2.6 are each priced at $2,899 / €2,499 / £2,149, and the two-lens kit with hard case is $5,199 / €4,499 / £3,869. Shipping begins in September 2026 through DZOFILM’s official store. More information can be found on the Arles Zoom product page.

Would a matched pair of T2.6 zooms replace the primes in your kit, or is the 43.5mm image circle a deal-breaker for your camera? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!