DZOFilm Octopus II lightens PL lens access for mirrorless cameras

PL lenses have always carried a certain gravity, both in image and in weight. DZOFilm’s Octopus II tries to keep the first part and shave down the second, giving mirrorless shooters a way to put Arri PL glass on Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF and L-mount bodies without turning a small-camera build into a burden.

DZOFilm announced the Octopus II as the second generation of its Octopus adapter line, and the company put the emphasis squarely on portability. The PL-E version weighs just 190g without the base, and DZOFilm says the adapter uses a lightweight aluminum-alloy body, a stainless-steel mount, and 0.01mm manufacturing precision. It is also rated for 100,000 cycles, a spec that speaks to crews who will swap lenses and mounts constantly on paid jobs.

The practical detail that matters most on set is the detachable 1/4"-20 base. DZOFilm says it is there to shift support stress away from the camera body, which is exactly the kind of change that helps when a PL lens is hanging off a compact mirrorless rig, a gimbal, or a handheld build. The company also says the Octopus II provides 107% expanded clearance, with trade coverage describing 7.12% more internal clearance than the earlier version and up to 49% less weight depending on mount.

That makes the adapter feel less like a novelty and more like a bridge. For independent filmmakers renting cinema lenses, commercial crews working on tighter budgets, and hybrid shooters who want the mechanics and rendering of PL glass without jumping to a full cinema camera system, the appeal is obvious. DZOFilm says the Octopus II supports full-frame, S35, and medium-format lenses, and it is designed to work with the company’s Arles, Arcana, Vespid and Vespid2, Catta, Pictor, and Gnosis lens series.

The bigger story is not that PL access now exists in another adapter. It is that DZOFilm kept pushing the same idea farther, from earlier PL-to-RF, E, L and X workflows into a lighter, broader, more practical multi-mount tool. The Octopus II does not erase the limits of mirrorless, but it makes the jump to cinema glass feel a lot less like a compromise.