Freelensing Cine – Professional Freelensing Mount for RED, ARRI & Sony

by Olaf von VossApril 12^th, 2022

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Freelensing, the art of detaching the lens from the mount and creating unique shots (read our article here) is fun, isn’t it? But it’s difficult to execute, especially with larger lenses. That’s why there’s Freelensing Cine, a new professional adapter that gives you precise control over your freelensing shots.

By providing not only a free-moving mount adapter but a whole cage-like rigging system, Freelensing Cine absorbs the weight of the optics, resulting in effortless positioning of even heavier lenses.

We had the opportunity to talk to Sergio de Uña, founder of Freelensing Cine during BSC Expo in London. Thanks to Jake Ratcliffe from our sponsor CVP, he filmed Nino for this review.

Freelensing Cine

I must warn you, although this device looks quite fun, it is indeed intended for professional work and therefore is not exactly cheap. Small batches and lots of R&D do push the price further north: the Freelensing Cine costs around €/£ 22,000 (excl. VAT).

The Freelensing Cine is available for either RED V-Raptor, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, or Sony VENICE cameras for now. This includes the complete rig needed to freelens your given lens with the camera of choice.

The Freelensing Cine takes PL mount (spherical, fixed) lenses up to 4 kg, and as there are no additional optics used, so the system is not prone to loss of brightness. Depending on the lenses image circle, you can shift the focal plane more or less radical. In other words: The larger the area covered by the lens, the greater the ability to shift the image.

This is basically a combination of freelensing and tilt/shift functions, but with greater control. And because the entire system is precisely centered on the sensor, you can move your lens around without vignetting or light hitting the sensor directly.

• Universal, on 19mm rods
• Optics: Rotation angle in X and Y axis, Tilt and Swing: + – 20 degrees (depending on lens and camera).

• Displacement in X and Y axis lateral and vertical + – 25mm.
• Sensors: S16, S35, FF

It is still possible to mount follow focus systems or fluid zooms since the Freelensing rig itself offers 15mm rod mounts that will always align with the mounted lens.

The great thing about this new device, at least in my book, is the ability to not only get creative with freelensing but also gain control over the technical aspects of focusing. You can align the focal plane exactly as the shot at hand requires, making impossible shots repeatable and controllable.

Link: Website

What do you think? Would that be interesting for one of your next projects? Do you have experience with freelensing? Let us know in the comments below!