Aapo Lettinen

Ordering deadline for the first batch of this motor is March 15th, 2026. Price 850usd including shipping if ordered before 1st February, otherwise 900usd. The first batch will be delivered somewhere between May2026 and July2026 though I likely have a working test motor in April already to shoot short film stuff as test. The ordering deadline for the second and final batch is June 15th, 2026. Price 1000usd including shipping. If there would be dramatical changes in world politics before Summer then it is possible the second batch would not be made at all so please order from the first batch if you already know you need this motor. Paid orders will always be delivered whether wartime or not.

All the rest of the orders for extra batches made in Fall/Winter 2026 will be collected in June2026 latest. If earlier deadline mentioned for certain product then that is followed instead. Depending on the political climate and your location it is possible that the orders also need to be paid in full when placing them. This may change suddenly but looks like that most of the stuff which has April2026 or earlier ordering deadline is still possible to get by payment plan unless otherwise mentioned. Partial payment plans are likely only available for Europe, UK, Australia, NZ from June2026 onwards. If the Orwellian downfall of democracies continues and worsens at this pace and these horrible incidents become everyday thing then I will start to migrate to other industry already in Summer2026, a year earlier than planned, which would likely cause me quickly cutting off all product lines which don't generate profit

Ordering deadline for 100ft A-minima magazines is 10th February 2026. If wanting fully assembled full quality mags the deadline is strict as I need to test them individually with the camera. Later orders missing the deadline would get unfinished magazine which needs manual maching and adjustment before can be used. Prices apply to orders paid for before the deadline. Higher pricing for later orders and as mentioned manual finishing needed if missing the deadline and ordering too late. Should get first cnc parts soon to continue with the prototype. The goal is to have usable prototype in January so that I can order all the parts for the whole batch in early February

I have access to reference GSMO and I'm working on the update at the moment. I am replacing the whole right side cover of the camera with new cnc made aluminium cover and build the new control electronics inside that. It also allows making mounting points for modern battery plates like v-lock plates. The project is moving forward now. Ordering deadline is March15th, 2026 for all orders, need to be at least partially paid by then. Only one batch will be made as I need to order all the aluminium parts at once and manually finish them to fit perfectly to the camera. Not available later. Price 1200usd with shipping for the installation kit if fully paid for before deadline. 1400usd if partially paid before deadline and the rest afterwards. Shipping somewhere in Summer2026. It is likely the side panel will have a oled display with similar style speed selection and footage counters than my Aaton Counter but will need to test it. In any case the new panel will have a framerate display and a footage counter display.

Ordering deadlines for the Spring2026 motor and accessory projects: Aaton A-minima 100ft magazine: February 10th, 2026. Absolute deadline and paid fully when placing the order. I may not be able to make these afterwards at same quality and the price will be very different so please let me know in January or early February if needing one. If missing the deadline you would need to manually finish the magazine by yourself before it can be used so it is very critical to order in time. NPR 20-speed Advanced motor v2.0 : March 1st, 2026. This is similar than the v1 version of the NPR motor but has different aluminium body and slightly lower price. I need the orders when the final v1 motors have been shipped to be able to guarantee pricing and calculate batch size and order parts early on. One batch made in Fall2026 or early Winter. CP16R 45-speed update, the final batch: March 15th, 2026. After the deadline I will raise prices and it may not be possible to get the full installation kit anymore as I will sell my reference camera in April-May after which can mainly make circuit boards. Very limited supply because these are time consuming to build and I usually don't make extra ones. If still wanting this cp16r update please contact me asap. ACL2025 crystal motor with 20-speed controller, compatible with other cameras too: March 15th, 2026. I will make one batch before Summer and likely second batch in Fall2026. Original price of 1600usd only applies to orders which are paid before the March deadline, will raise prices after that. CP-GSMO update electronics: March 15th, 2026. Every and all orders need to be in and at least partially paid before that date because this update has cnc machined parts which need to be individually tested with the camera body and manually finished to fit so need to order them all at once in March. Only one batch will be made, this has too precise fitting to be available later. Aaton Counter v1, the Spring2026 batch: March 15th, 2026. I have parts to make 10 more devices if needed. If missing out you can still get one from the late Fall / early Winter batch in October-November2026 but can't guarantee pricing. NPR 4-speed "affordable NPR motor": March15th, 2026. I have plans to make another batch in Fall2026 but it is slightly different model and more expensive. If wanting the most affordable version need to order now in Spring. 4-speed Universal Motor V2.0 : March15th, 2026. This model is otherwise quite similar than the pink v1 version but has connections to input extra speeds from Aaton Counter and to use Aaton Counter as footage counter with it. Additionally the crystal sync algorithm is newer than on the v1 motor so it is better at low speeds. One batch will be made in Spring2026 and another batch in early Winter2026 with different pricing. Original 4-speed Universal Motor: order asap if needing one. will assemble devices until the supply of aluminium casings runs out. Contact me ASAP if wanting the original model in pink or champagne colour. When the supply runs out I will concentrate on the V2 model. 50-speed crystal stroboscope light: March15th, 2026. led display to select crystal speed and high power led for stroboscope. I will make one batch and then consider if it is practical to make more so please let me know asap if needing this product, preferably before deadline to ensure you get one Bolex 1:1 axle crystal motor and 8:1 axle crystal motor: March15th, 2026. I will need to purchase a reference Bolex to make these so will raise pricing after the deadline, needing the camera in March. There is enough orders for 1:1 motor to be made but no orders yet for 8:1 model so if needing the 8:1 please contact me asap even now in January-February as I will rearrange the development work if 8:1 not needed by now which would affect its pricing and schedule. Early orders for 1:1 will speed up its development by one or two months so if already knowing you would need it then it will speed up the project if placing the order early. Arri 16S 20-speed crystal motor: approx April15th, 2026. This may change as the project is dependent on the schedule and tests of the ACL2025 project and I don't have reference camera body yet. Early orders will speed up the development. You can DM here on the forum or on Instagram (aaplet14). Email also works. (Don't send facebook messages, they DO NOT WORK and I can't read them at all)

If Trump attacks NATO then will stop taking new orders immediately but if it is "just" the South American countries then continuing as normal. Paid orders would be delivered when possible again whether it is wartime or not. I won't abandon customers for world politics. Just expect extra delays if something happens. Buying more materials from US in wartime would not be possible so the ordering would close immediately if there would be an attack against NATO. Hoping for more peaceful times and continuing crystal sync projects normally unless something extraordinary happens.

Did you get your training data or still need more input from real people? 😂

Dynamic range matters if it is really crappy like on Nikon cameras which typically have had from 9 to 12 stops no matter what their marketing says. Getting to over 13.5 real measured usable stops starts to make real difference. Over 15 stops needed if you can't control the lighting at all which rarely happens in professional shoots but is common in documentary, aerial and underwater stuff. Color reproduction always shows instantly and you can't fake it if there is memory colors especially skin colors. Sensitivity matters on lower budget shoots and everything documentary related. On these it is generally unjustified to shoot with a camera which cannot get to at least 3200 or 4000 iso with perfectly clean results unless one gets some substantial workflow benefits from the lower sensitivity camera or shoots with two different cameras, one optimized for day scenes and other for interiors and night and broll

A bit AI-generated-feeling post because the ending does not make any sense but anyway 🙄 Old large format glass dug out and fitted to largest possible format sensor available is specifically for marketing purposes. I have worked on movies enough to know these things, the producers would never allow it if it does not help greatly with the marketing and the format choice is tailored to those purposes. It can sometimes help with the so called artistic vision but that is not the main reason for using it. Additionally quite often it can make the movie worse by making it more difficult to shoot by technology and logistics without adding anything real to the storytelling. As I previously stated, people don't see subtle lens differences. Shooting on some cool old special glass has only value if you brag about it so much on marketing materials that people get interested like this movie has to be so special experience for them using super rare lenses on it. If the movie is good, they forget to look for subtle lens difference in 2 minutes. If the movie is bad, the lens differences are so small that they get uninteresting in 30 seconds. And yes pre-2010 sensor technology is outdated. It can still be used of course but it got uninteresting 10 years ago already. When Alexa35 came out I was like thank God finally they update the colors and saturation of that dull alev3 realm

Large format digital can be very good choice for hollywood epics but I would choose something newer than the almost 20 years old sensor technology the Alexa65 has. Unless it specifically needs to look like classic Alexa or one needs the "digital 65mm" for marketing then it is often much better choice to choose a modern VV-sensor camera which has everything higher quality and much smaller and lighter weight and consumes less power. As I mentioned, people don't see subtle lens differences. And large sensor allows sticking even low-ish quality glass on it and still get superb result for large screen. People do see color reproduction differences immediately. All modern cameras except Nikons have good dynamic range so on dr it is harder to impress people on normal shooting unless you really intent to write the movie as a dynamic range test.

Alexa65 was often chosen 50/50 marketing reasons and look. It is really old sensor technology, the colors not as good as unimpressive sensitivity compared to modern offerings. Digital cameras don't have a texture unless talking about fixed pattern noise and the compression artifacts. Lenses matter a bit but the lens needs to be really special looking to draw enough attention to be useful. Lenses do have a "texture" but it is really subtle unless one deliberately tries to enhance it to the max. like shooting wide open all the time to draw attention to it. Venice is pretty modern and often used purely for cinematic and workflow reasons and often better choice when largest possible format is not needed for marketing reasons

Resistance is futile you say😂

I think it is pretty impossible to make a well funded controversial movie nowadays in the United States. Especially if it is a documentary. There has been some in the past but now the political climate is so tough that people would fear making anything which could feed the inferno. Stuff where Americans are treated heroes can still be made no problem but tough stuff, no no no. The tough stuff pretty much needs to be made by someone else, in some other country and on another continent, with such political relations that the country does not risk too much backlash about it. Not going to get too political here but it is quite telling that the best documentary series I have seen about the founding of the United States was made by Canadians because it could not be made in the United States, much too critical about the underlying political matters and treating of minorities and shooting down established myths iconic to the USA culture, even cowboys got their share of that 🤔

Schindler's list is an exception of course, it does not feel like Spielberg movie that much. But it still being made more "family-friendly" than I think is justified for a film with that dark subject matter. Son of Saul was more hard hitting movie I think and made with fraction of the budget. Really nightmarish scenes which Spielberg would never make because the distributors would fear losing ticket sales. Smaller budget generally allows taking more risks to a point of making movie so hard hitting it can even traumatize some viewers for life. I don't remember much anything from larger budget war or horror or holocaust films. All the nightmare stuff is smaller budget movies which are not trying to be family friendly

Making what you want has huge risk of pissing off paying customers and losing financing. Thus increasing the budget always means making the end product more mediocre and watered out, then adding some glitter like expensive actors and explosions to sell it safely with the content made politically correct and harmless. Making really good movies requires getting the money from elsewhere and just making what you want as long as it is legal. Not worrying if pissing off half the world with the project. Real art cannot worry about pleasing every and all people. It needs to create a reaction and be bold and have unique point of view. One just cannot too that by diluting the original idea with water 5000 times so that it is easy enough to swallow by every and all of the people in the world. Spielberg movies for example are incredibly well made blockbuster products. Not exactly high art but they are well tailored all family products which generate huge revenue every time. They are much closer to art than Marvel films for example but still nowhere near any art realm. Blended too much and sugar added to fill the void. Everyone likes sugar right?

GenAI tools could be useful to make short films which make fun of genAI people. With the techbros characters growing brain fungus and their brain jumping out and starts ripping of peoples thumbs because it wants likes👍 😁

It is like the China in the past times, they only did historical classics set to ancient times because it was not allowed to make movies about current political issues! I think the current western indue genre is so spoiled specifically because they want to please everyone but then they are just making a cheap looking shoestring version of a blockbuster and no one wants to see that because it literally does not have any reason to be consumed. If wanting stupid mindless action flick, why choose the badly made one with no name actors and bad ai explosions? Does not work even for cringe value. Indie films need to be brave and bold and rough. Like fck the pg ratings we do what we want! Make fun on controversial issues and use the death threaths as marketing material! Piss off some concervatives intentionally and make profit to sell the movie to all their opponents 😂 It is hard to be non-conformist. That is why most indie filmmakers fail. They try to please everyone and thus make so mediocre uninteresting product that no one wants it. Pissing off people is the key. I can give some good examples of very controversial movie ideas if you guys don't get too offended, I am sure I can get every single one of you angry with my little short film concepts 😂

I always try to promote hybrid productions where both film and video are used. Different visual style is not an issue, it is beneficial actually. The only situation where it might sometimes cause issues is if trying to intercut film and video within the same scene without good planning. Black and white film will always survive. It is so much easier to manufacture and there is other established manufacturers than Kodak. To me, the film and digital are both fine. The reason I prefer film on some situations is that the workflow benefits certain types of projects and storytelling styles really well, creating this "method filmmaking" environment which produces interesting results. The main issue with AI is that it is too lazy and zero effort, a cheating method to shortcut to end result without any creative process. It can never be a real creative tool for that reason

The divide is what still keeps real arts alive. We need more of it, not less 🙃 I am carpet bombing the divide, salting the ground, putting land mines on it and setting up couple of turrets which shoot anything which tries to sneak through😂 ---- Please post my freakin medal below before adding to The List 😘

- what kind of benefits one gets when added to The List - would you still subscribe to my lens polishing OnlyFans if I start one - can I add you to some of my Lists too - does one get a freakin medal or other trophy one can show to friends and family

Wow there is a list where all the cool guys are🤩

AI good for finding cancer and shooting down Russian drones. Pretty much everything else AI stuff is just garbage and feels like being pulled in sewers by people who are already there and want everyone else to suffer with them too. If defence technology or medical tech does not become a new career for me, I feel like the backup plan of starting an OnlyFans where I would polish camera lenses in glitter strings would be surprisingly good (compared to the dollar wh*re business model the AI stuff seems to drive all mainstream human culture to)

It is possible that AI will be the death of narrative cinema. Ultimately the fake content becomes so uninteresting and worthless that there is no reason to watch it at all. There is no emotional connection especially when real actors are replaced with AI characters which have AI voices. Film based cinema started with documentary and I think the end of cinema as we know it will be documentary films too. If they can keep them strictly AI free or at least label the AI visualizations and everything else is known to be real by default. It needs to be journalism based pure documentary. Go too biased and the trust is lost again. The illusion cinema/narrative cinema started with the magic lantern and it will end up with magic lantern. Narrative cinema reduced to single image illusions generated in situ for 2 second amusement. Just like fireworks, they look wonderful but a second later they are gone. I think the whole narrative cinema will end up reduced to ai generated live illustrations, probably holographic and pretty abstract like endless fractals with music. The documentary genre will always survive as long as it is self regulated to present somewhat truthful stories instead of politically and economically motivated lies (paid propaganda)

human lives never had any value. it has always been a game of power and resources and driving people against each other on purpose. But human culture did had a lot of value up until the genAI nightmare started. The issue with genAI content creation is that the value of human culture is dropping to zero too. The worst thing AI has done so far is that EVERY SINGLE PIECE of new art, any video or image or written text or recorded speech or evidence is suspected to be AI by default and you need to prove it being real for people to value it or even notice it at all. And it is so difficult to prove real that it is still uncertain if you really made it. The trust has gone. Absolutely obliterated. I can't let anyone else to make music for my short films for example because I can't trust them not cheating by making it partially or in full with AI and claiming they composed and played it by themselves and demanding full money for the "work" they did nothing of. Scamming is made so easy that anything is expected to be a scam by default unless proven otherwise. And still difficult to trust even if it is proven to be real a million times and you know the person. If someone recording music I need to personally see them playing live to trust they did it by themself. It is destroying the whole society piece by piece. I would had very much preferred the Terminator movie's dystopia with the red eyed killer robots, they would had been much less damaging and much easier to deal with because the survivors would still had some real human culture left. This fuckin genAI nightmare we have now is essentially ripping the humanity apart and it does not matter anymore then if some killer robots would win because the very core of the humanity was lost long before and everyone was essentially dead already

I don't think making open source really makes enough of a difference. To make a difference, one needs a fully developed product which can be bought as a full kit and some kind of distribution. Those need funding. And funding needs either a kickstarter or other pre-sales to make it at least partially commercial. I have used tens of thousands on developing this stuff over the years, maybe 50k or more. It is prohibitively expensive if you want to make good stuff for many different camera models. I just fear people kind of throw it all to waste starting to invent similar products for same use over and over and over again. I mean, for goodness sake, just at least consider buying some cheap batch of leftover 4-speed boards when I quit after next year. Then you at least have a backup plan if all the open source projects fail and universal style simple system needed. I can make 10 or 100 or 1000, as many as needed as long as knowing early enough and some costs paid beforehand if it is large batch. If wanting to make a camera specific crystal update kit as open source, the Arri16bl is a great candidate like mentioned earlier on the thread. I am not planning 16bl stuff so there is no competition and you could kickstarter it easily