VMI – Taking Stock

It has been ten days since RD took over at VMI, and what a whirlwind it has been. A lot of people have got in touch with me across the … Read more

RD Group announces acquisition of VMI.TV

RD Group has announced the acquisition of VMI.TV, the nearly 50-year-old camera, lens and lighting rental house.  The acquisition “secures the future of a deeply established independent supplier, protects access to … Read more

We’ve been super busy-busy

VMI has been busy-busy over the past 12 months and have supplied camera equipment for 17 drama series, 5 x Natural History Series, plus several features, promos, commercials,corporates and feature films. … Read more

Shooting Anamorphic in Full Frame and S-35

Everyone appreciates the cinematic quality of shooting anamorphic.

With the popularity of Full Frame, it made sense for VMI to make more options available for capturing in both anamorphic and Frame. This is a new article to explore these options.

Next Generation Director’s Finder

The ubiquitous Director’s finder has been an essential part of the DP’s toolkit since the invention of film but the recent innovation and widespread adoption of mobile phone apps which … Read more

Mid-range cameras don’t mean compromise

At VMI we’ve noticed a recent trend among filmmakers and wondered if you agree? We’ve spotted that a significant number of productions are ‘trading down’ from using traditional top of the range cine-cameras…

Leitz Summicron-C 40mm T2.0

VMI Guide to Film Lenses

Article introducing the differences between film lenses and explaining the terms and factors which distinguish them.

Is 4K or 6K Enough.  Do we even need 8K or more?

This article aims to explore that there are further considerations to make when considering the image size and CODEC, which means more data, more transfer time, more media resource and in post, more render time, ultimately costing production more money.  However, there is also a sustainability argument which becomes relevant, since more data also means more energy usage and a greater carbon footprint.

Macro and Micro Cinematography

We all love to see images of extreme magnification to show a world which we can’t experience with our own eyes but just like all cinematography, this is hard to do well.
The choice right lens for the specific shot is key and this article aims to explain the differences between Close Up, Macro and Micro photography/cinematography and in particular, to introduce the cinematographer to a relatively recent new type of lens, which are called Nelsonian Lenses made by Infinity Photo-Optical and which use microscope techniques to create unique images which are not possible using traditional optics.

Beginner’s Guide to Depth of Field

This article is written mainly for those who want to know the very simple concepts which allow camera operators to manipulate the Depth of Field in order to make them look more cinematic.

2016 Anamorphic Prime Lens Chart

Compiled by Tom Fletcher and Gary Adcock with information gathered from numerous conversations with various cinematographers, colorists, colleagues and manufacturers and reproduced with kind permission from Tom Fletcher. Click on the chart to … Read more

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