This year, CineGear Expo Los Angeles was held for the first time on the Warner Bros.’ Studio Lot in Burbank, CA. Historically, the show has bounced around a bit, starting at Universal Studios, but it called Paramount Studios home for many decades. With a new venue came a lot of new excitement and first-time attendees, but some had to be turned away at the door. For exhibitors and attendees alike, Warner Bros.’ Studio clearly wasn’t ready for the rush, and they hit some major roadblocks, most notably hitting capacity on the first day and turning attendees away. But once inside, the party was just getting started.
There were over 300 vendors this year, and while a lot of new gear announcements happened around April to align with NAB, there were plenty of surprises in store for Cinegear. Overall, 2024 felt like the year of the Camera. In previous years, buzzy topics like AI, LED Lighting and Virtual Production dominated the conversation. This year there were more jibs, Steadicams, and car rigs than we could count. With cameras getting smaller and more accessible, there will inevitably be more cinema camera owners than ever before, and henceforth more stabilization, rigging and AKS to be bought.
Before I get into some of my favorite gear, I have to take a moment to recognize what a special show it was. While NAB tends to feel like a sensory-overloaded mishmash of people and vendors, CineGear had a very intimate feeling. There were tons of top Cinematographers, Gaffers, and Creators who were just as happy to see you as you were to see them. This year felt like a big family reunion, and despite work being slow in Los Angeles, the community rallied together and packed the house, which you love to see.
@filmtools CineGear 2023 is in the books and what a show it was! The atmosphere was electric, weather was ideal and the gear was top notch. We’re already counting down the days to CineGear 2024 🙌 #cinegear #expo #filmmaking #filmmakers #paramountpictures #backlot #nycstreets #onset #filmgear
Speaking of cameras, I finally got my hands on three of the newest offerings: The Canon EOS C400, the Blackmagic Design PYXIS 6K, and the Sony Burano. These three cinema cameras represent very different price ranges, henceforth different consumer groups, with pros and cons to each. Let’s dive in:
I’ve been waiting for something like a C400 for a long time. Canon knocked it out of the park with the C70, but the rest of the EOS Cinema line was leaving some to be desired. On paper this camera sounds amazing, but hand-on I was wowed. I will say, it’s a bit bigger and less square than I was expecting, but it’s certainly the right size for professional film sets, and will impress a prospective client. The Triple Base ISO is an incredible innovation, but what really blew me away was the autofocus. I saw focus lock onto a woman’s eye through her sunglasses, and go from passerby-to-passerby quickly and effortlessly. There’s a lot to be excited about with this camera, and at $7,999.00 I think it’ll be very popular.
Blackmagic Design took some big swings at Cinegear, announcing three new cinema cameras along with a slew of other products. Their most talked-about camera was the PYXIS, a 6k Full-Frame sensor in a compact, riggable size. I finally got hands on with the camera, and while it’s definitely light, I’m a bit concerned about vertical workflow and ergonimics. The actual payload felt a bit bigger and clunkier than advertised, but at under $2,995.00 I forsee this camera being extremely popular in the prosumer market.
Sony is killing it at the higher end and lower end, with offerings like the Venice 2 all the way down to the ZV-E10, delivering wonderful color quality, low light abilities and resolution. Upon announcement, the Burano was a bit of a headscratcher. Priced at $25,000.00 there’s certainly an audience for this camera, boasting an Full-frame 8K sensor, but it feels like the camera no one asked for. It’s certainly smaller than the Venice 2, but the drawbacks leave some to be desired. We’re curious to see how this camera performs out in the real world.
There were a couple more fun innovations in the camera space. Atlas Lens Co. released the “XCALIBER” PL to PL 0.7x Focal Reducer. Smallrig and ARRI came out with new affordable wireless follow focus units, the MagicFIZ & Hi-5 SX respectively. Finally, BLK BRD achieved meme-status with their new Mantis system that could actually be a gamechanger. You can find the first half of our CineGear Roundup here, and we’ll leave the rest of the videos below.
All-in-all it was a wonderful CineGear, and while the tech was incredible, it was amazing to see so many great people in such a casual setting. On Friday afternoon I saw Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, Wally Pfister, ASC,BSC, DGA, Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, and Sir Roger Deakins CBE in about a one-hour span. I highly recommend you get your badges for next year as soon as you can, and make sure to get there early! We’ll see you there.