DZOFilm X-Tract 18-28mm T8 FF Probe Zoom Lens (90° Periscope) PL Mount

Light reaches the zoom groups of the DZOFilm X-Tract 18-28mm T8 FF Probe Zoom Lens (90° Periscope) PL Mount only after a quarter turn. It enters a square window at the tip and meets a PET film with a silver coating, so the camera stays upright while the lens looks straight down or sideways. DZOFilm bills it as the first 90° probe zoom at T8. One reflection mirrors the picture; flip it horizontally on set and in the NLE.

The right-angle view pays off where tilting a cinema body is slow or risky. Lower the tip into an architect's scale model and the camera, level overhead, sees the plaza at pedestrian eye height. Slip it through a washing-machine door and it looks around the drum for an appliance spot. A locking 360° ring re-aims the window and squares the horizon without touching the rig. Parfocal optics hold focus as the zoom rides 18–28 mm on a creeping slider: a macro dolly zoom.

Its 26 elements in 19 groups include seven high-refractive-index and six ED pieces, limiting distortion to ±2% and reducing the yellow cast many probes carry. Breathing at 24 mm is 0.5%, versus 39.2% on other 24 mm probe primes. DZOFilm quotes 68.6% relative illumination against their 54.9%, so corners sit about 0.54 stop below centre rather than 0.87. Six millimetres between window and subject at 28 mm gives 2.1:1 magnification. The 43.2 mm circle covers full frame; in Super 35 Open Gate, DZOFilm cites a 22–35 mm equivalent.

Sealing is rated IP57, submersion to 28 cm is allowed, and treated front glass repels water and fog; DZOFilm tests between −30 °C and 70 °C. Focus sweeps 300°, zoom 100°, and the ten-blade iris runs T8–T45 within 72°, each ring with a 0.8 MOD gear. Weight kept near the mount steadies gimbals and robot arms, and the shallow rear seats in an Octopus or a PL adapter for E-mount, RF or LPL cameras. Owners of the 0° model, note: this square front shares its filter with the 360° periscope, not the round 0° tube. The foam-lined hard case adds a Y-bracket, three O-clamps, shims with driver and a UV filter. A single sealed 90° periscope probe lens handles top-down and side-on inserts that would otherwise need an overhead rig and hours to build it.