DZOFilm Vespid Prime2 18mm T1.9 PL Mount (VV/FF)

Ninety degrees, edge to edge: that is the horizontal angle an 18 mm lens gives a 36 mm-wide full-frame sensor, and the DZOFilm Vespid Prime2 18mm T1.9 PL Mount delivers that view at T1.9. Widest of the six Vespid 2 primes, this ultra-wide cine lens covers VistaVision bodies like the RED V-RAPTOR VV through a 46.5 mm image circle.

The bigger change sits in the mount. Contacts in the PL flange send Cooke /i metadata (focal length, T-stop, focus distance) into each clip on compatible ARRI, RED, Blackmagic, Sony and Canon cameras, so VFX artists tracking ultra-wide plates start from recorded values, not guesses. A side LEMO port feeds virtual production systems. This time it is PL only, with no EF option. Octopus adapters fit it to Sony E, Canon RF, L-Mount, Fujifilm X or a DJI Ronin 4D, though metadata stops at the adapter.

Fifteen elements in twelve groups pair precision-ground aspheres with multi-layer nano coatings against stray light. At T1.9, just over a stop faster than the original Vespid 16 mm, a server aisle lit only by status LEDs becomes a corporate-film set. Floating elements control aberrations down to 0.25 m from the sensor, where magnification reaches 1:7.6 and a full-frame shot spans about 27 cm: a guitar pedal under a musician's boot fills the foreground with the stage still in view. Breathing is near nil, distortion tightly held. Colour matches across the set, with cleaner shadows and softer highlight roll-off than the first Vespids.

Focus marks, engraved in metres, spread over 300° of rotation, 30° beyond the original Vespids. The ten-blade iris covers T1.9–T22 in 68° on a linear scale, near 10° per stop, handy for iris motors. The 0.8 MOD gears occupy one shared position on all six lenses, which also share an 80 mm front and M77 thread; first-generation KOOP rear filters do not fit, so ND goes up front. The aluminium housing resists dust and weather at critical seals. On a gimbal without a focus puller, T4 and focus near 3 m keep roughly 1.5 m to infinity sharp. The floating rear group moves with focus, so test-fit rear ND or third-party PL adapters first. This full-frame cine prime suits music documentaries, commercials and live events.