DZOFilm Catta Zoom 35-80mm T2.9 Black Sony E Mount (FF)

Count the primes that sit inside its range: 35, 40, 50, 65 and 75 mm all fall within the DZOFilm Catta Zoom 35-80mm T2.9 Black Sony E Mount, and the stop stays at T2.9 from one end to the other. That 2.3x span covers a full-frame sensor through a 43.5 mm image circle. On APS-C bodies it frames like a 53–120 mm portrait zoom. Fewer lens changes also mean fewer focus-motor calibrations over a long shoot day.

The zoom is parfocal. After a quick shim adjustment for the camera body (the shim kit ships with the lens), focus set at 80 mm holds as the operator widens to 35 mm. Seat a CEO 3 m from camera for a corporate interview: the wide end shows desk, chair and about 3 m of office, while the long end tightens to a waist-up single. A streamed panel can be reframed live without a soft moment. Breathing is kept low, so pulling focus from a pianist's hands to her face barely alters image size. Minimum focus is 0.74 m from the sensor plane, roughly half a metre in front of the glass.

Inside, 20 elements in 15 groups render colour close to neutral and skin without oversaturation, an easy starting point for the colourist. A 16-blade iris turns out-of-focus stage lamps and window reflections into clean discs. All three rings carry 0.8 MOD gears: focus travels 270°, zoom 100° and iris 75° from T2.9 to T22. Because the Catta zooms share one mechanical layout, a 70-135 can take its place on a gimbal or motorised rig while motors, rods and matte box stay put. Control is entirely manual, with no electronic contacts.

Standard clamp-on matte boxes slide onto the 80 mm front, and the M77 filter thread takes screw-in glass. Optional Catta COIN filters (ND 0.6 to 1.2, Black Mist 1/4 and 1/8, streak and star effects) drop into a slot by the mount, handy for gimbal and car-mount shots that leave no room for a matte box. The PC+GF composite body stays light enough for a one-handed stabiliser. The Sony E mount suits FX-series and Alpha bodies and comes off by hand, without a screwdriver, for Canon RF, Leica L, Fujifilm X or Nikon Z bayonets sold separately. Paired with the 70-135, it gives a production company 35 to 135 mm at a constant T2.9 in two lenses sharing filters and accessories.