Cine Gear is the premiere US cinema technology exhibition for sure. If so, why did all the major companies were absent from this year’s event? Industry leaders like ARRI and RED have shirked and not participated in the Expo. Furthermore, where’re Panavision, Sony Cine, Panasonic’s cinema devision, Canon Cinema? All of them were bailed as well. That was a major event for filmmakers, without industry pushers. That’s their own loss since Cine Gear Expo 2021 was truly great and with a lot of potential from many aspects.

Cine Gear 2021: The right decision in the right place

The recent Expo was before the burst of the pandemic. Two years later, Cine Gear organizers picked up the gauntlet, and with a lot of courage, produced an outstanding event at the L.A Convention Center. The Expo was not allowed to be carried out at Paramount Studios, due to COVID. Hence, the decision to choose L.A Convention Center was made due to very high standards of safety. The hall is huge, high ceiling, and there’s plenty of room for the exhibitors and the attendees. Indeed, as an attendee, I felt very safe, since all participants were wearing a face mask, and were fully vaccinated (or a negative PCR tested). Yeah, this was even better place than Paramount. If so, why did almost ALL industry “leaders” shirked? 

No ARRI

Cine Gear Expo 2021 was the perfect stage for ARRI to preset a prototype of its upcoming ALEXA S35 4K. Also, it was the perfect stage to show all other innovations, like the AMIRA Live, and more accessories. In regard to lenses, ARRI missed the opportunity to show its new Signature Zooms. Yes, the Mini LF was all over the place, but no ARRI booth, and that’s a shame. Filmmakers, and especially film students were extremely disappointed as they didn’t find the ARRI booth. Premiere cinema exhibition without ARRI, is strange, and that’s not a good thing.

No RED

Yep, RED hasn’t shown up. Zero RED booth at the Explo. Like ARRI, RED has done a tremendous R&D job since Cine Gear 2019, by developing the Komodo and the Raptor. Moreover, the Convention Center is 20min from RED’s headquarter. And still, zero presence.

No Canon

That was strange. Not even one Canon booth at Cine Gear 2021. Why did the Japanese giant has decided not to participate in this event? Also Canon has created a lot of inventions during the last two years, especially in its Cinema division. Furthermore, this supposed to be a considerable opportunity to show prototypes like the Cinema EOS 8K, and more, since this company keeps on inventing cameras like hotcakes. Thus, where are those hotcakes? If I’m not mistaken, only ONE Cinema EOS (C700) was shown at the Musashi booth. 

No Panavision

Now this one is a real bummer. At Cine Gear 2018, Panavision had the best show in town. Since then, the cinema legend did not launched something new. However, Panavision still dominates the high-end filmmaking industry with its advanced digital cameras, legendary film cameras, and most unique piece of glass. Film students were eager to explore the Pana-booth and deeply disappointed with the total disappearance of Panavision from the event.

No Sony

Well, Sony did preset something, and it was the…Xperia Pro integrated with an app. But there was no mention regarding its cinema cameras, although the Cinema Line was significantly expanded during the last two years. For instance, I don’t remember that I even saw one FX9 in the entire hall.

Kudos to Kinefinity, Tilta, ASTRO, Musashi, Filmotechnic, and all others

On the other hand, the Kinefinity booth was full of action and enthusiasts. Kinefinity has demonstrated the MAVO Edge together with a new glass. Tilta presented its products focusing on steadycams and gimbals dedicated to vehicles. More intriguing booths were the ASTRO that showed its 8K cameras and ecosystem, and outside the hall in the fresh air, Filmotechnic stole the show with its cars and arms. At Another interesting booth Musashi has introduced its cinema zooms. BTW, speaking about cinema glass, I have’t seen even one Cooke (well, there was a Cooke attached to SISU Cinema’s arm). Thus, the Cooke Look was absent from this Cine Gear as well.

Closing thoughts

Cine Gear Expo 2021 had a huge potential. The venue was ideal and even better than Paramount. The resolution to execute it constitutes a brave and smart decision. However, the absence of leading camera manufacturers, caused a lot of cinephiles to be disappointed about those ‘leaders’. And that’s a shame. It’s a shame for ARRI, RED, Canon, Panavision, Sony Cooke, Sigma, and more ‘top’ cinema companies.