You Can&039t Afford This Expensive Hollywood Camera Gear
Unless you have hundreds of thousands in the bank, you probably can’t shoot these professional cameras without renting them.
We’ve taken a look at the cameras and lenses used in the latest Oscar-nominated movies, but how much would it cost if you decided to buy one of these camera bodies instead of renting them?
well, there are two categories here. these cameras are so expensive you can’t even buy them, or if they’re available to buy, you’ll spend tens of thousands of dollars just to get the body, without any ability to do things like record images. So while your starting point in the $50k range may seem more affordable than you thought, don’t forget that you easily need another $50k worth of accessories, then lenses on top of that.
cameras are so expensive you can only rent them
the cameras that only the best movies in the world work with.
imax cameras
For starters, the IMAX cameras are so expensive and rare that you can’t buy one. You can only rent these cameras for allegedly around $16,000 per week, but that’s likely for the body only. Don’t forget the entire camera package and the film itself.
How expensive are these cameras? well, imax won’t tell, but christopher nolan and crew damaged at least three imax cameras on the productions of the dark knight, the dark knight rise, and dunkirk. each time, the camera has been insured for around $500,000.
up alexa 65
Again, so rare and exclusive that you can’t buy one. IMAX partnered with several camera manufacturers to create a new “Filmed in IMAX” lineup. The ARRI ALEXA 65 is the company’s flagship camera with the industry-leading capture technology.
The camera body cannot be sold individually as it requires the entire Alexa 65 system and workflow to function, which means the camera body alone costs around $150,000. For a camera package rental, you’re looking at around $10,000 a day.
The Arri Alexa 65 was used to capture movies like The Revenant, Joker, Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nations, and Captain America: Civil War.
panavision millennium dxl2
panavision does not sell any of its cameras, they are only available through its rental service. The latest flagship camera is the Panavision Millennium DXL2, which was a collaboration between Panavision and Network Monster Sensor. this is panavision’s answer to the alexa 65, and it also earns the nickname “shot on imax”.
The body camera rental fee is said to start around $1,000 per day, with insurance fees of $300,000 in equipment and $1 million in liability.
the panavision millennium dxl2 was used to capture films such as star wars episodes vii, viii, ix, midsommar, extract and f9.
expensive cameras available to buy (if you have the cash)
what if you wanted to own the camera and even rent it yourself? here are the best hollywood cameras you can buy.
up alexa lf and alexa mini lf
ARRI’s newest and wildly popular ALEXA Mini LF (large format) and ALEXA LF are the current top consumer-level offerings from the German camera manufacturer. These cameras you can actually buy, if you have the budget.
the arri alexa lf body only starts at $98,200 usd, and go up as soon as you want to start adding things like capture units and memory cards. For the more compact Alexa Mini LF, prices start at $58,760.
the two cameras are often used together in scenarios with the alexa lf in the role of camera a and the mini lf as camera b, often used in stabilizers or tight fight scenarios. Cameras captured the Oscar-nominated films Judas and the Black Messiah, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and World News.
red ranger monster 8k vv
The Monstro 8K VV (Vista Vision) sensor is the network’s flagship product, so technically advanced that it’s a crucial part of Panavision’s Millennium DXL2. If you’d like to have that tech to yourself, the manufacturer’s current top-of-the-line body is the Red Ranger with a monster 8K VV, starting at $59,950. If you want to save a few thousand, you can opt for the monster in the DSMC2 body for $54,500. again, that’s just the body.
The monster dsmc2 was paired with the millennium dxl2 in the extraction and is featured in the viral behind-the-scenes shots of director sam hargrave’s vehicular stunts.
sony venice
The Sony VENICE is the flagship camera body of Sony’s CineAlta line. While developed for film and television, the camera has become much more of a television go-to camera, capturing limited series and select seasons of shows like Ozark, The Crown, The Boys, and Bridgerton. The camera body alone starts at $49,000.
To see the cameras used in this year’s Oscar-nominated films, swipe through this list or check out the article.
For more equipment tips and advice, check out these articles:
- Film Crew Highlights of 2020: Freelance Editing
- Best Gear to Create Your Next Tiktok Video
- Best Lavalier Microphones for Video Production
- how and why to switch between video and camera gear
- gear roundup: best laptops for video editing
cover image via imdb.
