DZOFilm Catta Ace Zoom 70-135mm T2.9 Black PL & EF Mount (VV/FF)

At 135 mm and T2.9, a subject 10 m from a full-frame sensor has less than a metre of depth of field, and the DZOFilm Catta Ace Zoom 70-135mm T2.9 Black PL & EF Mount meets that with a 270° focus throw. Spread over that rotation, a thin sharp zone becomes easier to hit. Transmission stays at T2.9 from 70 to 135 mm, a 1.9x ratio, and the iris ring needs 80° to reach T22, a few degrees more than on the 18-35 and 35-80.

Coverage is the second argument for this telephoto cine zoom. A 46.5 mm image circle reaches VistaVision, not just 36 × 24 mm. An ARRI ALEXA Mini LF in open gate, 44.71 mm across the diagonal, sits inside it with margin, and DZOFilm's optional LPL bayonet puts the lens straight on that camera.

Show jumping makes the case in practice. From the arena rail, 10 m back from an oxer, 70 mm frames the fence and its wings across about 5 m; at 135 mm the shot narrows to roughly 2.7 m, horse and rider filling it over the poles. Being parfocal, the lens keeps focus through that push-in, and breathing stays low enough that a rack from the rider's face to the next fence leaves the framing still. The optics comprise 17 elements in 11 groups, and a 16-blade iris turns floodlights behind the course into round discs. Focus reaches down to 0.76 m, measured from the sensor plane: enough for a farrier's hammer on a shoe to fill a cutaway. DZOFilm's own user story, the New Zealand First World War docudrama Devils on Horses, relied on the Catta Ace zooms because fewer lens changes mattered with unpredictable animals.

Focus, zoom and iris all carry 0.8 MOD gears, zoom turning 100°, and ring positions plus the 80 mm front with M77 thread are shared across the Catta Ace line, so motor brackets and a clamp-on matte box carry over. The aluminium-alloy barrel comes with PL fitted and an EF bayonet packed alongside; for mirrorless E, RF, L and X cameras, DZOFilm makes Octopus PL adapters. With PL in place, magnetic KOOP rear filters slot in behind the glass: an ND8 for a sunlit outdoor arena, or a DIY bokeh frame. For a production house running mixed PL, EF and LPL cameras, one large-format telephoto zoom for all of them means one fewer lens to buy twice.