DZOFILM PAVO 2X Anamorphic Lens Series – First Look

by Francesco AndreolaApril 20^th, 2023

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Right before NAB 2023, Chinese lens manufacturer DZOFILM teased its first-ever anamorphic lens series called PAVO. Their new adventure starts in full swing with the introduction of a 6-piece lens set featuring a cinematic 2X squeeze factor.

DZOFILM’s cinema lens offering has grown considerably over the last few years. It now includes the large-format Catta/Catta Ace and Super35 Pictor zooms, three flavors of Vespid full-frame primes (Prime, Retro, and Cyber) as well as the Gnosis full-frame macro set.

On the show floor at NAB 2023, my colleague Johnnie stopped by their booth to meet Susan Wu from DZOFILM, who told us more about their forthcoming “run & gun anamorphic” series, as she describes it. Let’s take a closer look!

DZOFILM PAVO 2X anamorphic lens series – sneak peek

Initially, the DZOFILM PAVO 2X anamorphic prime lens set will consist of 6 focal lengths – 28, 32, 40, 55, 75 and 100mm, all sharing the same fast T2.1 aperture. Moreover, two additional telephoto lenses are likely to join the tribe next year.

The lenses are engineered for use with Super35mm sensors or film, come with a user-interchangeable ARRI PL/Canon EF lens mount, and offer a 2X squeeze ratio with the anamorphic element placed right behind the focusing group, Susan claims. This is quite a promising beginning for someone who’s just getting started producing this type of lens.

Users can choose between two different flare color options. One will be blue, but the company is still swinging between gold or neutral for the second option. The blue flaring lenses will have a silver outer shell, which will be gold on the second option.

Users will be asked to decide between metric or imperial units for the focus markings. Finally, the lenses have a front outer diameter of 95mm and, with the exception of the 28mm, can also accommodate screw-on filters.

Price and availability

According to DZOFILM, a full 6-piece sample kit of the PAVO 2X anamorphic lenses should be available in Summer 2023. The complete set will come in a hard case with shims, rods, a screwdriver and the interchangeable lens mount.

Currently, there’s no official information about pricing and release dates, but please stay tuned to CineD for future updates.

What’s your first impression of the DZOFILM PAVO 2X anamorphic series? What do you think about the company entering the anamorphic market? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.