There's a version of this article that lists $80,000 worth of cinema gear and calls it "essential." This isn't that article.
After ten years of shooting feature films internationally — often with a minimal crew, always on the move — I've compressed my kit down to what actually matters. Everything fits in one bag. Every item earns its place on every shoot.
The Philosophy Before the Gear List
Gear addiction is a real thing, and it kills creative momentum. There will always be a better camera. A sharper lens. A lighter gimbal. The filmmakers who wait for the perfect kit are the ones who never finish anything.
Everything I'm about to describe is built around one principle: speed of execution over technical perfection. When you're shooting in Berlin under a bridge, or chasing golden hour in a foreign city with actors who are in the moment, setup time is the enemy.
Camera: Sony A7 IV
The Sony A7 IV is the core of my production setup, and it's replaced everything I used before, including Blackmagic. Three or four feature films later, I haven't looked back.
Stills capability. This sounds like a minor thing until you're in Iceland and you find the perfect location for your poster — and your cinema camera can't shoot a 33-megapixel still. The A7 IV does. One camera, one bag, both functions covered.
Battery life and reliability. Roughly two hours per charge, consistent performance in varying climates, and in years of use it has never overheated on a shoot.
10-bit color and autofocus. The autofocus on Sony's current generation is genuinely good enough to trust during complex movement — which changes how you direct. You stop worrying about focus and start watching your actors.
Lens: Sony G Master 24–70mm f/2.8
I shoot almost every feature film on a single lens. This is it. The reasoning: a zoom lens on a run-and-gun narrative feature is a creative decision, not a compromise.
When your camera is on a gimbal and your actors are giving you something, the last thing you want to do is stop the scene, swap lenses, and rebalance. You lose the moment. You lose the performance. You lose the shot. With the Super 35 crop mode, I'm effectively working with a range closer to 40–105mm with a single button.
Gimbal: DJI RS3 Pro
I'm on the gimbal for roughly 95% of my shooting. There's something I call "spinners" in my style: unscripted, fluid camera movements that orbit around actors, go up stairs, float through spaces. The RS3 Pro makes this possible without a second operator or a dolly setup.
When the total camera package is light, the gimbal becomes an extension of your body rather than something you're fighting. That freedom is where creativity happens.
Filters: Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8 + Freewell Variable ND
Indoors: The Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8 adds a subtle glow to practical light sources — windows, lamps, candles — without looking like a filter effect. It takes the clinical edge off digital footage and adds something that feels closer to film.
Outdoors: A variable ND filter for exposure control in bright conditions. There's a slight color shift at extreme settings, but it's correctable in post and the tradeoff in flexibility is worth it.
Sound: The Full Picture
Sound is where I see the most false economies in independent filmmaking. Your audience will forgive a slightly soft image long before they'll forgive muddy dialogue.
Recorder: Zoom F3 — 32-bit float, small, portable. You can't clip the recording. Runs four to five hours per charge.
Outdoor Shotgun: Sennheiser MKH series — I invested in professional microphones rather than rent. Cameras become obsolete every two or three years. A great microphone is good for decades.
Indoor: Schoeps CMC + cardioid capsule — For interior dialogue, this captures voice with a richness and proximity that a shotgun can't match.
Lavalier: Sennheiser MKE 2 (digital) — I use this for roughly 90% of scenes. When the camera is spinning freely on a gimbal, the lav gives my sound operator freedom while I work. Workflow: lav for the scene, boom for safety takes.
The Actual List
- Camera: Sony A7 IV
- Lens: Sony G Master 24–70mm f/2.8
- Gimbal: DJI RS3 Pro
- Indoor filter: Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8
- Outdoor filter: Freewell Variable ND
- Recorder: Zoom F3 (32-bit float)
- Outdoor mic: Sennheiser MKH series
- Indoor mic: Schoeps CMC + cardioid capsule
- Lavs: Sennheiser MKE 2 digital
- Bag: Peter McKinnon camera bag
Ten items. One bag. Eleven feature films.
What This Doesn't Include — and Why
No tripod. No slider. No follow focus. No monitor. No matte box. This is not how every filmmaker should work. It's how I work, with my style.
The point is to know what your work actually requires — not what gear review culture tells you that you should want. The Sony A7 V will come out. It will probably be excellent. The question I'll ask is: does it do something dramatically better for the specific way I make films? If not, I'll keep what I have and put the money into production instead.
Go make your film.