The image circle measures ø43.3 mm, enough for a 36 × 24 mm sensor. Take the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF, a native PL body with a 42.59 mm sensor diagonal. Its 12K open gate sits inside the circle, de-squeezes in camera at 1.5x and opens to about 2.29:1. A 2.39:1 master from that frame gives up roughly 4% of the height. The same master from 2x glass on that sensor would discard more than a fifth of the width, which is the practical argument for a 1.5x anamorphic lens on large sensors.

Mirrorless bodies deserve a monitoring check first. DZOFilm warns that some need recent firmware or an external monitor to preview a 1.5x de-squeeze, and Fstoppers ran into it on a Canon R5. Our team can confirm coverage and preview options for your exact body and recording format ahead of the order.

A 14-blade elliptical iris supplies the hybrid part of the recipe. Compression stays at 1.5x, but out-of-focus highlights narrow into the slim ovals DZOFilm calls waterfall bokeh, a look normally tied to 2x fronts. Lit office windows behind a presenter at dusk become stacked ovals. Testers add a caveat: cat-eyed shapes at T2.1 tidied on closing down in Fstoppers' review, and RedShark noticed some clipped outlines. Highlights roll off gradually, and sunstars appear from T2.8 if a low sun clips the edge of a roof.

Flares depend on a neutral coating borrowed from DZOFilm's Pavo range, so each streak inherits the colour of the lamp behind it. A green exit sign draws a green line, a tram headlamp a warm one, and no house tint lands on top of a client's palette. RedShark's flare test on high-CRI fixtures produced a white main streak and a teal secondary. The effect stays shy without a direct source, so a streak has to be lit for.

Focus reaches 0.53 m from the sensor plane, leaving around 40 cm of air in front of the glass. At the 0.111x maximum magnification, our arithmetic gives roughly 22 cm of subject height on a 24 mm-tall sensor: a whole face, or a cellist's left hand on the fingerboard, with no dioptre in the matte box.

Because the cylinders sit at the front, the factor stays constant down to that distance. DZOFilm credits the layout with containing anamorphic mumps, the facial widening seen on close shots. There is a time saver too: a squeeze that never drifts allows batch de-squeeze in post, handy after a full day of interviews.

First ACs get 270° of rotation over metric marks. The throw is not linear, so it is worth rehearsing pulls on a wireless motor before the take. The iris runs T2.1 to T16 across 51.96°, the shortest travel in the series. No focus shift showed up while stopping down in testing, and breathing stayed slight.

Swap to the 32 or 75 mm and the rig mostly stays put. All three share an 80 mm front that takes a clamp-on matte box, M77 threads and 0.8 MOD gears, which spares a gimbal rebalance and a repositioned motor. DZOFilm also names LiDAR focusing on the DJI Ronin 4D as compatible.

PL mount is the only factory option, a structural limit according to DZOFilm. Four flange slots let it turn a quarter for vertical deliverables, which stands the flares upright too. The compact back end clears VND drawers and PL adapters, and the separately sold Octopus range reaches E, L and RF bodies. Shims, screws, a T6 driver, caps and stickers come in the box. Back focus is a shim job per camera, with no toolless dial, so allow prep time.

Electronics are absent: no Cooke /i, no autofocus, so VFX notes are kept by hand. The barrel is aluminium alloy with a titanium-tone, anti-fingerprint finish, rated from −30 °C to 70 °C but not weather-sealed.

It will not suit every booking. Fstoppers treats the series as a stylised choice and steers landscape work needing crisp corners elsewhere. For interviews with a filmic edge, brand films, music promos and web drama, one 45 mm gives a production company an owned anamorphic cine lens that can go to work on the next job, with the 32 and 75 mm matching it later.