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Cinefade VariND System – Hands On Demo

June 5^th, 20191

by Graham SheldonJune 5^th, 2019

It’s been a few years of development but the Cinefade VariND recently started shipping and we had a chance at Cine Gear to catch up with Oliver Christiansen, the inventor of the Cinefade, for a hands on demonstration and to see how the system has progressed. The device looks promising and can deliver more features beyond its signature Cinefade effect (the ability to control depth of field independently from exposure). Details below:

My colleague, Tim Fok, recently broke down all the key specs in his article available HERE.

The Cinefade is designed to work with compatible 2-stage matteboxs and is powered by LBUS cable. In general, the entire system seems quick to setup and having a variable ND (obviously useful for cameras lacking internal ND) and a rotating polarizer (great for car to car) is very useful in my opinion.

Control unit for the Cinefade system. Image Credit: Graham Sheldon

While the depth of field effect outlined in the video is admittedly very cool it may not see use all the time on set and thus the addition of the polarizer and ND capabilities make this a device that could certainly live on the front of the camera over weeks of filming. That being said, all these features do come with a cost and pricing ranges from $6655 to $8885 depending on the kit you select. As that price point this is likely to be a rental item for most and it will be interesting to see how DP’s and Directors adopt the Cinefade depth of field effect in their projects going forward.

Already several films and television projects have found unique ways to use the system and you can find which projects the device has been used on HERE.