As usual, we built the charts of the cameras and lenses that were used to shoot the final 95th Academy Awards nominees for Best Picture and Best Cinematography. The results are super intriguing. Explore the pictures, cameras, lenses, and trailers of the fascinating films of Oscars 2023. 

95th Academy Awards: Cameras and lenses

This is a much more comprehensive and accurate survey in continuation to the previous survey about the predicted nominees. These are the final nominees. Explore the slides below with the cameras and lenses used to shoot the Oscars 2023 nominees for Best Picture and Cinematography. You can find the trailer beneath each slide.

Best Picture

• All Quiet on the Western Front: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Sony VENICE, RED Epic Dragon. Lenses – ARRI Prime DNA, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Zeiss Compact Prime CP.3
• Avatar: The Way of Water: Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses- Fujinon MK and Premier Cabrio
• The Banshees of Inisherin: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime
• Elvis: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA LF. Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Sphero 65, Panavision T-Series “Elvis”, Petzval
• Everything Everywhere All at Once: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Atlas Orion Anamorphic, Scorpiolens, Todd-AO, ARRI Master Prime
• The Fabelmans: Cameras – Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2, ARRIFLEX 16 ST, ARRIFLEX 416. Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision PVintage
• Tár: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime
• Top Gun: Maverick: Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses – ARRI Master Prime, Zeiss Loxia, Sigma FF High Speed, Voigtländer, Fujinon Premier
• Triangle of Sadness: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, RED Gemini, RED Helium 8K. Lenses – Zeiss Supreme Prime
• Women Talking: Cameras – Panavision Millennium DXL2, Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Ultra Vista

Best Cinematography

• All Quiet on the Western Front: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Sony VENICE, RED Epic Dragon. Lenses – ARRI Prime DNA, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Zeiss Compact Prime CP.3
• Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, Lenses – Panavision 65 Vintage, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Canon FD
• Elvis: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA LF. Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Sphero 65, Panavision T-Series “Elvis”, Petzval
• Empire of Light: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime, Cooke S7/i
• Tár: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime

Oscars 2023: Cameras and Lenses charts

These are the charts that preset the data above. The first is the Camera Chart. Below, you can find the Lenses Chart. Press on the image for a full-resolution view. Credit: Y.M.Cinema Magazine. 

Discussion

Regarding the cameras, there’s no news under the sun, since it can be well noticed, the dominance of large format cameras, especially the ALEXA 65. The Mini LF is at the top. However, the Mini, the loyal Super 35 representative, has pushed down the ladder. It will be interesting to see how the ALEXA 35 performs in the next year’s Academy Awards. As for the RED cameras —they have been utilized mainly for VFX plates. As for lenses, as usual, Panavision has a super solid invincible presence. However, there’s an excellent achievement for Atlas, as the excellent Orion Anamorphic series enters this prestige list. Also, it’s very nice exploring Tribe 7 on that list. Tribe 7 was founded as a collaboration between artist and academy award-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young and Neil Fanthom, Motion picture camera and lens technologist, with a goal to craft a “contemporary image creation”. And from the other hand, it’s a bit surprising that Cooke lenses were barely used. One more thing – Fujinon cinema lenses are rocking! We end the article by talking a bit about the most exciting combination of cameras, which was on All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s a rare thing to see a DP that utilized ARRI, Sony, and RED altogether. The RED was used for VFX plates and the VENICE Rialto for the action night scenes. The main camera of the film was the 65. This great movie is proof that everything can be matched together beautifully.

Post Game Questions

1. Have you been expecting different results?
2. Where do you think the new ALEXA 35 be located on those charts?
3. Where’s the Cooke Look?
4. What had happened to the solid presence of film cameras?
5. Will Super 35 make a comeback at Oscars 2024?

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