A-Minima advise

[Fulgencio Martinez]

Hi,

I´ll be shooting for one day in London renting an Aaton Minima.

We will use it as the only camera for some quick shoots of the city. Some might be at 50fps. The director want to use it because we will be going from one place to the other by taxi, so he thinks we will be faster with this camera and a light tripod.

All i know about the camera is from reading the manual.

I´d like to know if i should mind about anything.

What´s the better tripod for it?

Is it uncomfortable on a tripod?

Thanks,

Fulgencio

[Mark Lyon IMPOSTOR]

I'm pretty biased, I guess, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better camera for run-and-gun shooting. Enjoy! A couple of quick things: to get 50fps, you'll need to have an external battery--there's a great Aaton clip-on battery that works well. The onboard lithium batteries will only run the camara up to 32 fps.

 

Also, loading the magazine is really easy (and can be done in daylight), but threading the camera is a little tricky at first. I suggest checking out the QuickTime video on the Abel Cinetech site prior to getting your camera, unless you'll be working with an AC who knows it. Here's the link:

 

http://www.abelcine.com/Products/frames/AM...techcenter.html

 

Best of luck with the shoot.

 

--Mark Lyon

www.mightymaxfilms.com

[Mitch Gross]

I would pay a visit to the rental house to practice with the camera and get their advice on the tripod and other accessories. The camera does not have an orientable eyepiece, so sometimes tripod shooting can be limited to positions you can comfortably get your eye to the eyepiece unless you have a videotap and LCD monitor.

[Josh Hill]

I watched the Abel Cinetech Quicktime about loading the A-Minima. I just wanted to comment about having to "slap the mag" onto the camera like it were some sort of gun (I thought of Aliens: "Slap the mag in tight, you're ready to rock and roll." or something like that).

 

Just me being goofy I guess LOL