Cinematographers Unveil the Cameras and Lenses Behind This Year's Standout Films

As the year draws to a close, the IndieWire Craft team has been speaking with cinematographers about the cameras, lenses, and creative approaches they used on their latest films. The insights they've gathered showcase the diverse ways filmmakers can leverage equipment to achieve their desired look and feel.

For some projects, the choice of camera was driven by practical considerations, like the lightweight Canon 5D that allowed director Pete Ohs and his crew to blend in as tourists while filming "Erupcja" on the streets of Warsaw. In other cases, the equipment was a means to a more philosophical end, as seen in Malik Hassan Sayeed's use of film stock for "After The Hunt," which he felt captured a "kind of emotional texture" and "tactile quality" that grounded the story.

Even when dealing with the inhuman, such as in Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein," cinematographer Dan Lauston carefully calibrated the ALEXA 65 and Leica Thalia lenses to soften the skin tones while preserving the deep blacks, creating a unique visual style to match the subject matter.

Across these diverse projects, the cinematographers have demonstrated how their equipment choices can be crucial to the overall aesthetic and emotional impact of a film, whether it's embracing the rougher edges of a DSLR or harnessing the unique qualities of celluloid.