The ALEXA Mini LF builds on ARRI's wireless control technology, which was introduced to the ALEXA line with the ALEXA SXT W. Each new ALEXA camera has advanced this capability, and the Mini LF is no exception. In this blog, I take a look at the various options available for wireless camera control and discuss the benefits of each.

Any time a new compact lightweight camera like Sony's PXW-FX9 comes out, camera assistants and operators have to spend a fair amount of time thinking about how to kit it out. To that end I recently spent some time myself evaluating and analyzing the different accessories on offer for the new camera. I also conferred with our rental department to get the perspective of a typical camera house environment and use that to compare against the more specialized needs of an owner-operator or low-budget filmmaker. Combining this insight with my own experience as a 1st AC and documentary camera operator helped me create this accessory guide, which, while not all-inclusive, should serve as a good starting point for any new FX9 owner.

When ARRI debuted their “large format” camera series with the full-size ALEXA LF in 2018, it came with a new, and somewhat radical, lens mount dubbed LPL, for ‘Large Positive Lock’. LPL is similar to the classic PL-mount (itself also an ARRI invention) used on cinema cameras since the early 80s but with a couple of noteworthy differences.

We had the opportunity to talk to Emmy Award-winning Cinematographer, Petr Cikhart, about how he got started in the industry and his use of Sony cameras on various projects. 

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation with DP Tommy Maddox-Upshaw to discuss his career, his inspirations, and his most recent work with the Sony VENICE on Season 6 of FOX's Empire, and two seasons of FX's SnowFall.

Cinematographer Robert Hanna is an Emmy-award winning, veteran commerical, and documentary filmmaker, as well as a longtime customer and friend to AbelCine. Hanna's credits include Carrier, Circus, and A Portrait of Robert Frank. He has experienced several successive technological revolutions first-hand, going from 16mm to high-definition video to 4K digital cinema and beyond.

Dan Soder: Son of a Gary debuted on HBO in December 2019. Cinematographer Andrew Wehde (Jeff Garlin: Our Man in Chicago, Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh) captured the stand-up comedy special using five Sony VENICE cameras supplied by AbelCine. In this exclusive interview, Wehde describes his visual approach and workflow. 

The Slow Mo Guys are creator/cinematographer Gavin Free and co-host Dan Gruchy. Free and Gruchy primarily use a Phantom Flex4K high-speed camera to capture various forms of natural and physical phenomenon in super slow motion at 1,000 frames per second. Popular episode subjects include jumping into a giant six-foot water balloon, diving into 1,000 mouse traps, underwater bullets (filmed at 27,450 fps with a Phantom v1610), and much more. In this exclusive interview, Free takes AbelCine behind the scenes of The Slow Mo Guys.

John Hancock Insurance Company initially engaged AbelCine for consultation on constructing a studio in their new corporate headquarters in Boston, MA.