What Gear To Choose For Your Camera Package?

INTRODUCTION

Cinematography jobs come in all shapes and sizes: from documentary content shoots all the way to massive budget multi-camera feature films. Despite this, the gear that cinematographers choose to film with follows the same formula. You need a camera, lenses and filtration.

In today’s video I’m going to use my experience as a working cinematographer to break down what gear you should choose for your camera package and how to create a gear list for it.  

GEAR LIST

In a previous video I went through the basics of how cinematographers compile a gear list: by writing down the camera, grips and lighting equipment in a document, which can then be used to source quotes from rental houses or sometimes the gear can be supplied by crew members themselves.

Let's take this a step further by looking at two different example template gear lists I’ve created. One was written for a solo operator documentary or content shoot and the other was made for an industry level feature film where you’d have a full camera crew. I’ve broken the lists into subcategories of gear, listed the quantities of items required and left a column for extra notes to be added for the gear rental house or crew members to read at the gear check.

CAMERA

The most obvious place to start with is the camera itself. In this case I’ve put it under the category of A camera. If it’s a shoot with multiple cameras, such as a two cam documentary interview shoot or an industry job with two or more camera units, then I’d place them under a separate subheading labelled B camera, C camera, etcetera, depending on how many cameras are required.

For our feature package I’ve put in the always popular Arri Alexa Mini and for the documentary package a Sony FX3. Digital cinema cameras will almost always come as a kit with basic accessories, such as: cards, a reader, battery plate, cage, viewfinder and rods.

If slightly more unusual extra accessories are required, such as a viewfinder extension bracket, then it’s good to note these separately. Most standard camera kits will come with three cards, in the case of the Mini this might be three 256GB CFast cards. 

If extra media is required, for example if you’re shooting interviews which will roll for a long time, this can be requested as an additional add on.

 BATTERIES

To power this whole situation you’ll need some batteries. In the case of mirrorless or solo operator cameras, like the FX3, this will often be provided as part of the camera kit, along with a charger. 

However, when renting professional cinema cameras, it’s often advised to explicitly state how many and what kinds of batteries you’ll need. A typical digital cinema camera package will carry a combination of onboard batteries, which are either v-lock or gold mount batteries, and block batteries which are large, heavy 12V or 24V sources of power which provide juice to the camera through a cabled connection.

These block batteries are usually used for studio style setups, such as when the camera can be placed on a dolly, or for rigs where a consistent and large source of power needs to be supplied like with a Russian arm. 

Bear in mind that if you intend to use other accessories, separate from the camera, such as the focus puller’s monitor and transmitter, it may be a good idea to allocate a few additional V-lock batteries to that. This is why here I’ve decided to go with two sets of four V-locks and two block batteries.

LENSES

Choosing lenses is a topic all on its own, but is mainly determined by a few key factors. First, you'll need to decide whether to go for prime lenses with a fixed focal length, zoom lenses, or both.

DPs working on feature films will often go with a set of cinema primes with gears for a follow focus system. These tend to have a faster stop - such as these Superspeeds. DPs may also select a zoom lens which can be used to cover telephoto focal lengths - in this case a 25-250mm. 

Another factor heavily considered by cinematographers when choosing lenses, is their character. In other words do they look modern, sharp and clinical across the frame, or do they err on the vintage side, with a gentle softness and pretty bokeh.

How does their look contribute to the visual language you’re trying to create?

Then there are the practical considerations that need to be made. Do you need lenses with a very fast stop which will make shooting in lower light conditions possible? Do they need to be small enough to be balanced on a gimbal? Are they housed in modern casings with solid distance markings which will make it easier for the 1st AC to pull focus?

All of these factors and many more may be pondered before deciding on a lens combination for the job. 

If you’re shooting lower budget content or documentaries, you may find that still photography lenses align a bit better with your budget. In this world the practical considerations of the lens and its price point may slightly outweigh other aesthetic factors like the look.

On this imagined documentary shoot we’ve gone with some Sigma Arts, partly for their fast stop, and partly for their autofocus capabilities, which makes focusing the lens during interviews and on the gimbal as a solo operator a breeze.

FILTERS

Almost all shoots require a filter of some kind which gets placed in front of the lens. Often this is a neutral density filter which can be used to decrease the amount of light let into the camera, which allows DPs to maintain a wide open aperture and a shallow depth of field.

Even though most cinema cameras these days come with some form of internal ND system built into the body, many gear lists will still have a set of ND filters, such as 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9, to add additional ND to the camera in very bright conditions if the internal NDs don’t suffice.

Our chosen Alexa Mini comes with only three different internal ND settings 0.6, 1.2 and 2.1. Having extra external filters allows DPs to be more precise with their exposure. So, if they need a 1.5 ND strength they could use an internal ND 1.2 and an external ND 0.3 filter to arrive at the correct exposure.

For our lower budget, documentary option which is shooting on an FX3 without any internal ND filters, I’ve added a stackable 5 stop ND and a variable ND filter. 

Variable NDs can easily tweak the intensity of the filter to quickly get solo operators their desired exposure without needing to swap to different filters.  

For both shoots I’ve also added diffusion filters, Black Pro Mists and Black Satins, which are commonly used by many DPs. When renting these filters they may come as a full set. However, I’ll often note the specific strength of the filter that I’d like to use. 

The size of the filters that need to be selected are determined by the kinds of lenses you choose. Most small or medium size cinema lenses will use 4x5.65” filters that can be attached with a clip on mattebox.

If a lens with a very large front diameter is used, such as a monster cinema zoom, you may need to get larger 6x6” filters and a production mattebox to fully cover the front of the lens. 

Most still lenses and some cinema lenses too, come with a filter thread on their fronts, like these for the Sigma Arts, which means you can use screw-in filters. When renting gear it’s important to ensure that your screw-in filters are either the correct size for the lens, or add a thread adapter which will step up the lens thread size to the filter thread size.  

MATTEBOX

To be able to hold filters and also minimise light hitting the lens and creating flares, we need a mattebox. As we mentioned, the size of this mattebox will be determined by how big the front of the lenses you’re using are. 

There are two standard sizes, 4x5.65” matteboxes which can be clamped directly onto the front of the lens, and 6x6” matteboxes which are usually mounted and held by support rods attached to the camera’s plate.

Clip on matteboxes come with different sized diameter openings that correspond to the front diameter of lenses. The Superspeed lenses we’ve chosen have an 80mm front diameter while our zoom has a 136mm front. This means we’ll need both an 80mm and 136mm back for the mattebox which can be swapped out depending on which lens it’s being used with.

Since we’ve trying to keep our solo operator package nice and easy by going with a screw-in filter - we don’t need to include a mattebox. 

FOLLOW FOCUS 

For our documentary setup we’ve also excluded a follow focus as we’ll be relying on the autofocus lenses or pulling focus manually on the barrel by hand if it’s needed.

Our cinema camera setup will however need a wireless follow focus since the lenses are manual cinema lenses, don’t have autofocus and we’ll have a 1st AC on the crew.

Because the camera is an Arri I’ve also asked for an Arri wireless follow focus kit, however you may want to request a different brand, like a Preston, a Nucleus, an RT Motion kit, or if the focus puller has their own gear go with that.

I’ve made sure to request three wireless FIZ motors, or focus, iris, zoom. This is in case we need to do any aperture pulls, or control the zoom function of our Angenieux lens with a motor.

On some long form jobs, or if shooting on film, a focus or distance aid, like a Light Ranger may be added to make it easier for the 1st AC to accurately pull focus. 

MONITORS & TRANSMISSION

On most professional sets a video feed will be sent from the camera to one or various monitors on the set. This gear is managed by a crew member called a video or VT operator. Often, this gear will be owned by either the video operator themself or a VT company.

Therefore, sometimes cinematographers will communicate the amount of monitors needed, and leave the sourcing of said gear and how the transmission and signal distribution happens to the VT operator. 

The monitors which go on the camera and which are used by the 1st AC to pull focus, are however, usually sourced from a rental house as part of the camera gear.

For the industry budget shoot I’ve accommodated for a one to three video transmission. In other words, one wireless video transmitter will send a signal to three different monitors with wireless video receivers: one monitor for the focus puller, one handheld monitor for the director and one larger monitor on a cart which can be viewed by the director, or other crew that need to view an image such as make up or the continuity supervisor.

One 7” monitor has also been included which will be rigged onto the camera and may be used by the DP or operator to view the image and gauge exposure.

For our smaller shoot we’ve only got one 5” on-board monitor which makes it a bit easier to view the image properly and pull focus than using the camera’s little built in screen. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Finally we’ve got two miscellaneous add ons. Some handles which can be attached to the camera’s cage or rods that gives the operator a nice grip when shooting handheld.

We’ve also included a magliner, which is a trolley that the camera team can use to store their gear in one place, wheel it around the set and use it as a surface for building the camera.

CONCLUSION

These two lists are a very basic guide to the kind of gear in a camera package. From there, DPs will take these subsections of gear and customise the selection of equipment depending on the technical and creative needs of whatever is being shot.