DZOFILM Catta Ace 18-35mm T2.9 Ultra-wide Angle Cinema Lens Announced

Lens News

by Jakub HanJanuary 13^th, 2023

The new DZOFILM Catta Ace 18-35mm T2.9 is an ultra-wide-angle parfocal full-frame cinema zoom lens with user-interchangeable ARRI PL, LPL, and Canon EF mount. It should start shipping at the end of January for $3,899.

The Chinese lens company DZOFILM expands its line of full-frame cinema zoom lenses today. After launching the first pair of the DZOFILM Catta cinema zoom lenses that were designed for mirrorless mounts (check Nino’s review of the lenses here), the company quickly added a version for SLR mounts (ARRI PL, LPL, and Canon EF) called Ace. Announced almost a year ago, the two DZOFILM Catta Ace lenses –  35-80mm and 70-135mm T2.9 – today get a third sibling that further expands the wide end of the line. Let’s take a short look at the new DZOFILM Catta Ace 18-35mm T2.9.

DZOFILM Catta Ace 18-35mm T2.9 cinema zoom lens

The new ultra-wide-angle lens also comes in black color to match the existing Catta Ace line. Just like the two existing Catta Ace lenses, the new 18-35mm comes with a user-interchangeable ARRI PL, LPL, or Canon EF mount. With its aluminum alloy body, the lens weighs around 1,850g and the length is 179.5mm (7.07″) with the PL mount attached or 187.5mm (7.38″) with EF or LPL mount.

In terms of optical structure, the lens contains 20 elements in 14 groups and comprises four ED (extra-low dispersion) lens elements and an aspherical element. As DZOFILM claims, these should maintain the image performance of the existing Catta Ace lenses and reduce distortion and chromatic aberration at the wide end.

The lens is parfocal and shows minimal focus breathing according to DZOFILM. The minimum focusing distance is only 0.51m (20.08″) from the sensor plane so you should be able to focus on objects that are very close to the front element and nicely separate these from the background. The 20-blade iris is available between T2.9 and T22 and the 0.8 Mod geared iris ring has a 77° rotation angle. The geared focus ring has 270° rotation angle. Last but not least, the zoom ring has a 100° rotation angle.

Whereas the two existing Catta Ace lenses produce a 46.5mm image circle that can cover virtually every standard digital sensor (up to VV) in the open gate mode, the new 18-35mm lens produces a 43.5mm image circle which is enough for full-frame sensors but might show vignetting on the Alexa LF (full sensor width mode) and similar large format cameras. The lens can accomodate 77mm front filters.

Price and availability

The new DZOFILM Catta Ace 18-35mm T2.9 lens is available for pre-order right now. The company promises to start shipping by the end of January 2023. The price for a single lens is $3,899.

Furthermore, DZOFILM decided to lower the price of the Catta Ace 35-80mm and 70-135mm lenses to $3,299 each after changing the package of a single lens from plastic cases to color boxes. The price of a 3-lens-kit with a hard case is $9,599.

DZOFILM Catta 18-35mm T2.9 for mirrorless mounts

The good news is that DZOFILM simultaneously launches the 18-35mm T2.9 Catta zoom lens for mirrorless mounts. The company says it will come for Sony E-mount in black or white color (no mention of other mounts, but the other Catta zooms come with multiple mirrorless mounts that are user-interchangeable. The price is $3,229 and the lens should be available in February 2023. The price of both Catta zooms 35-80mm and 70-135mm (black/ white, E mount) is $2,469, and a 3-lens kit will sell for $6,999.

Do you shoot with DZOFILM lenses? How do you like the look and ergonomics? What do you think about the new 18-35mm T2.9 lens? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.