ARRI Sells Its Rental Business | DJI ‘Front Companies’ Fined | Sony RX10 V – Focus Check ep125

by Felix TappeinerJuly 16^th, 2026

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Nino is flying solo again this week. However, Johnnie isn’t on vacation; he is deep in reviewing an exciting new camera, and there will be more on that next week, so stay tuned! There is still plenty to talk about: ARRI is selling its global rental business in a management buy-out backed by H2 Equity Partners, the FCC has fined alleged DJI “front companies”, and Sony revives the RX10 line after nine years and announces the LYTIA L910 smartphone sensor with LOFIC structure. Furthermore, there is firmware news for the Sony VENICE 2 and the FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55.

On top of that: new tools from SmallRig, Tilta, Blackmagic Design, MOFAGE, and LALAL.AI, sun tracking coming to both Artemis and Cadrage, and a look beyond the hard cutover on MZed.

This episode is sponsored by Hollyland. Check it out at 32:53.

ARRI sells its global rental business

(01:25 in the episode)

Three months ago at NAB, we asked ARRI’s new owner, Thomas Riedel, about the future of ARRI Rental. And this week, we got the answer: ARRI is selling its global rental operations across Europe, the UK, and North America in a management buy-out backed by private equity firm H2 Equity Partners, with Dana Harrison becoming CEO of the new global rental business. Financial terms remain undisclosed, and Illumination Dynamics stays with ARRI. The structural logic is clear: every ALEXA 35 sold to an independent rental house was a sale to a competitor of ARRI Rental – a decades-old tension that is now resolved through separation.

https://www.cined.com/arri-sells-its-global-rental-business-management-buy-out-backed-by-h2-equity-partners/

P+S Technik HEXAMO mount brings Leitz HEKTOR primes to ARRI ALEXA

(09:14 in the episode)

Staying in the ARRI ecosystem: Munich-based accessory specialist P+S Technik has announced the HEXAMO mount, which brings the popular high-end Leitz HEKTOR primes to the ARRI ALEXA platform. Installation involves removing the original ALEXA mount block by loosening a couple of screws and installing the HEXAMO camera mount in its place – a bit of a process, but a clean solution for a small but demanding niche. It is available now.

https://www.cined.com/ps-technik-hexamo-mount-brings-leitz-hektor-primes-to-arri-alexa/

DJI “front companies” fined by the FCC

(10:38 in the episode)

DJI’s US troubles continue: the company is effectively blocked from introducing new products into the US market, which is why recent releases like the Osmo Pocket 4P and the latest drones never reached US retailers. Meanwhile, brands like Xtra and SkyRover have been selling products that look strikingly similar to DJI’s – none of the DJI links are confirmed, and each company positions itself as independent.

Now the FCC has fined eight such companies – $25,000 each – notably for failing to respond to FCC letters seeking clarification, not for the products themselves. With the covered list blocking new radio authorizations and the FCC granting itself the power to retroactively revoke authorizations for products merely containing a listed company’s components, this is likely a sign of things to come.

https://www.cined.com/dji-front-companies-fined-by-the-fcc-a-selective-crackdown-that-only-hurts-filmmakers/

SmallRig split filter kits for the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

(17:33 in the episode)

Plenty of companies already offer ND filters for the Osmo Pocket 4P – Tilta, DJI themselves, Moment, and PolarPro among them – but SmallRig’s new split filter kits stand out with a snap-on, stackable design that lets you combine up to two filters. Three configurations are available: fixed ND16, ND64, and ND256 with a CPL; a variable ND 1-5 combined with a CPL and 1/4 black diffusion; and the fixed ND trio with both CPL and 1/4 black diffusion. The turnable variable ND on a Pocket-style camera is something we haven’t seen from anyone else yet. Pricing starts at around $45-50 – quite affordable, and essential if you want proper motion blur at a 1/50s shutter speed when shooting 25p.

https://www.cined.com/smallrig-split-filter-kits-for-dji-osmo-pocket-4p-announced-snap-on-dual-design-stackable-optics-adjustable-vnd/

Sony LYTIA L910 – LOFIC structure and 100 dB dynamic range

(20:14 in the episode)

The Osmo Pocket 4P is the first product on the market with a LOFIC sensor – and now Sony has announced the LYTIA L910 smartphone sensor built on the same principle. LOFIC stands for Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor: overflow charge that would normally be lost when a photodiode saturates gets stored instead, expanding highlight capacity.

It is a genuinely different route from the industry’s dual-gain approach, which typically doubles rolling shutter because the sensor is read out twice – with LOFIC, highlights and shadows are read out simultaneously and treated differently. Sony claims 100 dB of single-exposure dynamic range and 4K 60p HDR from the 1/1.28-inch, 50-megapixel sensor.

https://www.cined.com/sony-lytia-l910-announced-lofic-structure-100-db-single-exposure-dynamic-range-and-4k-60p-hdr/

Sony RX10 V announced – first update in nine years

(25:48 in the episode)

Sony wants a piece of the compact camera resurgence that Fujifilm has been leading, and the answer is a refresh of a nine-year-old bridge camera. The RX10 V keeps the same 20.1MP 1-inch stacked Exmor RS sensor as the Mark IV but adds the much faster BIONZ XR processor with a dedicated AI unit, bringing real-time recognition autofocus for people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains, and planes, 575 focus points with 71% coverage, and blackout-free 30fps stills. Video is the strongest story here: 4K 120p in 10-bit 4:2:2 with S-Cinetone and S-Log3, 16 user LUTs, active stabilization, AI auto framing, digital audio via the hot shoe, and 4K 30p USB streaming – all through the 24-600mm equivalent ZEISS zoom.

https://www.cined.com/sony-rx10-v-announced-24-600mm-zeiss-zoom-ai-recognition-af-and-4k-120p-video/

Sony VENICE 2 firmware 5.00 released

(33:45 in the episode)

Sony’s VENICE 2 gets firmware 5.00 with a new Signature preset look for monitoring – no technical documentation has been published around it yet, so we reserve judgment on skin tones and highlights until we see footage.

More concretely, the camera can now output 4096×2160 at 47.95fps over a single 12G-SDI line, closing a real gap for the 48fps theatrical large-format crowd in live and multicam scenarios. The CNA-2 is now usable as a LAN conversion adapter for multicam, remote operation, and virtual production, and there are smaller practical additions like better out-of-range visibility in ICVFX mode and a brighter bubble gauge. Note the update path: you must be on version 4.10 first. Sony has also confirmed a roadmap until 2027 – a nice commitment to a long product life.

https://www.cined.com/sony-venice-2-firmware-v5-00-released-signature-preset-look-4k-47-95p-12g-sdi-output-cna-2-lan-support/

FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55 firmware 1.10 and the roadmap ahead

(36:56 in the episode)

Firmware 1.10 for the GFX ETERNA 55 is mostly housekeeping, headlined by white balance stability fixes with PL lenses. One real production warning: Fujifilm explicitly states that color tone may change after updating, so finish projects shot on the previous firmware before installing.

The bigger news is the roadmap: version 1.20 later this year brings in-camera MXF playback, settings backup/restore via a dedicated app, further SDI/HDMI latency improvements, and additional anamorphic de-squeeze options including open-gate 4K 4:3 – something that arguably should have been there from the start for this camera’s anamorphic audience.

https://www.cined.com/fujifilm-gfx-eterna-55-firmware-1-10-released-roadmap-promises-automatic-nd-control-lanc-support-and-mxf-playback/

Cadrage Studio officially released

(40:32 in the episode)

Cadrage Studio, the pre-production suite connected to the long-running Cadrage Director’s Viewfinder app, has officially exited its free beta. The script sits at the center of the software, combined with shot lists, storyboards, and even 3D scanning of locations from your phone that turns into floor plans – a really comprehensive package we haven’t seen combined in one app before.

https://www.cined.com/cadrage-studio-officially-released-pre-production-suite-exits-early-access-with-subscription-pricing/

Artemis and Cadrage add sun tracking

(43:18 in the episode)

The two biggest director’s viewfinder apps are converging on sun-position pre-vis. Cadrage Viewfinder – still a one-time purchase, so existing owners get it as a free update – already has sun tracking built in, while Artemis announced it will integrate the functionality of its separate Helios sun tracker app into the main viewfinder.

The timing is probably no coincidence: Light Framer Pro, a new cinema viewfinder app with sun tracking that we covered two weeks ago, may well have spurred both. Combining camera, lens, and format previews with the position of the sun is extremely useful for location scouting – a job many of us have been doing with separate apps like Sun Seeker for years.

https://www.cined.com/artemis-and-cadrage-add-sun-tracking-directors-viewfinder-apps-converge-on-sun-position-pre-vis/

Blackmagic UltraStudio Express 3G announced

(45:39 in the episode)

Blackmagic Design introduced the UltraStudio Express 3G family – pocket-sized, USB4 bus-powered capture and playback devices at $175 each, split into a Recorder 3G and a Monitor 3G. They handle SD and HD up to 1080p60 in 10-bit 4:2:2 and use the DeckLink API, so virtually every application recognizes them.

This is a 1080p family for streaming, archiving, and reference monitoring – and a popular trick is using them as an output device in DaVinci Resolve to bypass macOS color management for accurate grading. As always with Blackmagic, the price is hard to argue with; we just wish there were a 4K option at this end of the lineup, since 4K has really become the standard.

https://www.cined.com/blackmagic-ultrastudio-express-3g-announced-usb4-capture-and-playback-3g-sdi-and-hdmi/

Tilta universal cooling system announced

(48:44 in the episode)

Tilta announced a universal camera cooling system built around a thermoelectric plate that cools down to 0°C, with three cooling modes, a TFT display, and USB-C or magnetic battery power. It works across Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic LUMIX bodies.

https://www.cined.com/tilta-universal-cooling-system-announced-thermoelectric-plate-three-cooling-modes-and-usb-c-or-magnetic-battery-power/

LALAL.AI Lynx targets noise in production dialogue

(52:04 in the episode)

LALAL.AI announced Lynx, a new neural model built exclusively for speech denoising that now powers its existing Voice Cleaner and voice/noise stem tools. The standout use case: stripping copyrighted background music from location or event footage while preserving the dialogue – think of a stage speech with music playing that you couldn’t get turned off. The model is six times smaller than the company’s Andromeda model, and a planned update targets far-from-mic speech.

https://www.cined.com/lalal-ai-lynx-announced-targets-noise-in-production-dialogue/

MOFAGE POCO II drop-in filter mount now available to order

(56:16 in the episode)

The original MOFAGE POCO earned its popularity as a budget-friendly PL mount adapter with an integrated drop-in variable ND – a clever matte box alternative that puts the VND behind the lens. The POCO II keeps everything that worked and adds a swappable front mount, so you can now move between ARRI PL and Canon EF lenses on one adapter.

https://www.cined.com/mofage-poco-ii-drop-in-filter-mount-now-available-to-order-new-ef-mount-increased-clearance-and-more/

Beyond the cut – dissolves, morphs, and other transitions

(59:00) in the episode)

Finally, the weekly MZed plug: a really good article by Mascha called “Beyond the Cut”, covering dissolves, morphs, wipes, and other transitions – and, crucially, where they actually serve the story. Beginners tend to overuse cross dissolves to paper over cuts that don’t work; professionals notice, because these transitions carry meaning. The article ties in closely with Mascha’s Mighty Cut webinar, which is now also available as a recording on MZed.

https://www.cined.com/beyond-the-cut-dissolves-morphs-and-other-transitions/

That’s it for this week! Any questions or comments? Write us at [email protected], leave a comment under the video or this article, and don’t forget to subscribe to Focus Check on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. See you next week – with an exciting new camera review!