In this video, Ian McCausland, Rental Equipment Manager for Abel LA, demonstrates how to load the magazine and set the footage counter for the Aaton Penelope. As you will see, this process is very simple.  More »

In this video, Ian McCausland, Rental Equipment Manager for Abel LA, takes you on a tour of the new Aaton Penelope 35mm camera. The Penelope is convertible between a 2-perf or 3-perf movement, quieter than previous Aaton 35s, and offers a new viewing system, as well as other enhancements. More »

Most film frame formats waste a large portion of the available film stock. This is built into the history of 35mm film, which began as a 4×3 (1.33) silent (no soundtrack) frame, known as SILENT APERTURE. With the advent of sound, the 1.33 area was retained but shrunk, wasting nearly 25% of the available negative while the camera continued to consume the full 4-perf volume of stock (this is known as ACADEMY APERTURE).

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This chart compares the specs of Aaton Super-16 and 35mm film cameras, all of which are available from AbelCine Rental.

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Here are the latest software releases for Aaton cameras and related electronic accessories.

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For forty years, Aaton cameras have been known for their reliability, intuitive design, quality construction and exceptional images. The Xterà continues in this tradition while introducing some significant improvements. With features like assistant and operator side displays, improved power management, a generous junction box, and a new, progressive scan video assist that delivers full resolution images, the Xterà is suited to more styles of film production than ever before.

The Xterà has inherited everything that’s given Aaton Super16 cameras their legendary reputation, including their ergonomic design and outstanding image quality. What’s more, all existing XTRprods are easily upgradeable to Xterà level. More »

Super16 to 2/3″ Chip Frame Size Comparison

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To create the Academy Award-winning documentary March of the Penguins, Director Luc Jacquet and Director of Photography Laurent Chalet had to find a camera that could withstand a year-long shoot in the Antarctic.

Freezing temperatures, sudden storms, and isolation demanded a camera that was extremely rugged and reliable. The camera they selected was the Aaton XTRprod. To capture the film’s breathtaking footage, two cameras were winterized at Aaton’s factory in Grenoble, France.

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by Nathan Milford

With Aaton’s announcement that their new 35mm camera will be available in a 2-perf flavor, the already growing curiosity about the format in industry journals, forums and mailing lists is growing into full-fledged buzz prompting many cinematographers to closely scrutinize the format. This document is an attempt to consolidate this information for cinematographers, directors and producers.

2-Perf, originally conceived as TechniScope in the 1960’s, is a system for obtaining a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio on standard 35mm film stock using spherical lenses. It is an ideal format for cost-conscious producers and filmmakers who wish to compose for a widescreen image.

Nominally, a 35mm motion picture camera will produce an image four perforation high utilizing most of the width ofthe negative, wasting a sliver of negative reserved for an optical sound track.  Further wasted is much of the frame as the 1.37:1 image, typically, is further cropped to 1.85:1 or 1.78:1.

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