Are Cinema Lenses a Scam? :)

That’s Matti Haapoja’s “get ‘em to watch” title for an hour-long discussion with some very knowledgeable people at ARRI Americas, and people who use their lenses.

I didn’t know that Haapoja is back on YouTube.

Hopefully he also does “Are Photo Zoom Lenses a Scam (on a cinema camera)”

The fellow in the green at 7:50 has pretty interesting things to say in the course of this video. He’s in charge of "de-tuning".

Definitely a click bait title. I don't have to watch to know from experience that no, cinema lenses are not a scam. The prices however are unreasonably high at times.

Definitely a click bait title. I don't have to watch to know from experience that no, cinema lenses are not a scam. The prices however are unreasonably high at times.

The video isn’t about the question, it's about the answer to the question.

Definitely a click bait title. I don't have to watch to know from experience that no, cinema lenses are not a scam. The prices however are unreasonably high at times.

The video isn’t about the question, it's about the answer to the question.

Ok, I'll watch it when I can. Will add to watch list.

Well that was a long video but well worth watching. Lots of good advice in there and a perspective that recognizes the diversity of needs and choices we have.

He should give the same treatment to various ARRI cameras which were touched on lightly in this video about lenses.

Haha, I’m refuse to watch based on the clickbait title alone.
Why this has become popular over the years is beyond me.
Maybe I’m old, but it just sounds ridiculous.

Then I’ll cut to the chase: ‘you get what you pay for’ and ‘pay me now or pay me later’ are the themes thoroughly illustrated by a long serious look at ARRI lenses and a glance at ARRI’s 65 and 265 as well as Atlas anamorphics.

The title is pure click bait but you learn what efforts support charging those rates. It’s down to earth and possibly slightly out-of-character for the influencer.

The title is pure click bait but you learn what efforts support charging those rates. It’s down to earth and possibly slightly out-of-character for the influencer.

Actually, Matti Haapoja, despite having over one and a quarter million subscribers, quit YouTube over a year ago. He wanted to change focus and was prepared to walk away from the money. It was clear then that he wanted to make content like this. It’s unclear whether this marks a return to YouTube.

It’s obvious why he chose the title. It’s a question that people ask in real life, and he, ARRI and others with whom he speaks, answer it. Interestingly, ARRI understands this, and co-operated fully. Indeed, ARRI officials specifically address the question of price in the video. The only people for whom this is a problem are a few people on the Blackmagic forum who regard obvious questions as beneath them. How many of you have even seen an ARRI Alexa 65? Haapoja isn’t the one with the problem.

Rick is right. This video is worth watching, all 59 minutes of it. I daresay the people who look down on Haapoja might discover that they learn a few things. That was Haapoja’s and ARRI’s whole objective in making this. God forbid it should be entertaining along the way

P.S. Matti Haapoja is a Finnish immigrant to Canada. He’s a close friend and working associate of Peter McKinnon. They both built large followings on YouTube. About a year ago, Haapaoja was one of several well-known people on YouTube who, in a short timeframe, walked away from the platform. McKinnon, with six million subscribers, remains, although he has made some significant changes to his content.

Some people might be interested in this. Like Matti Haapoja and Pete McKinnon, Andrew Huang has a successful Toronto YouTube channel. He shows his 2.4 million subscribers how to make music. When I first came across him, he had about 50,000 subscribers. As far as I know, this video that he posted a couple of weeks ago is the first detailed account of how a successful YouTuber makes his content.

This is an example of what Huang means by making music from found sound. The finished video, commissioned by Volvo U.S., is at 8:15. The plugin for making the panels/windows in this video is what he says he intends to release publicly.

It’s obvious why he chose the title. It’s a question that people ask in real life, The only people for whom this is a problem are a few people on the Blackmagic forum who regard obvious questions as beneath them. How many of you have even seen an ARRI Alexa 65? Haapoja isn’t the one with the problem. .

"People" may well ask that question in "real life", but one wouldn't expect such a question to seriously arise on a cinematography forum. Nobody can stop you from posting influencer links, but taking offense when the links are not celebrated would seem a bit rich, no matter how many subscribers the influencer may have and whether or not the party in question has ever handled an Arri 65.

When it came to the discussion on the ARRI 65 and 265, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to touch on the URSA Cine 17K and other directions that BMD is heading. Did not happen but that’s fair as BMD’s really large format cameras aren’t released… yet.

When it came to the discussion on the ARRI 65 and 265, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to touch on the URSA Cine 17K and other directions that BMD is heading. Did not happen but that’s fair as BMD’s really large format cameras aren’t released… yet.

This was a Haapoja/ARRI project. For ARRI, it was an opportunity to show off its optics and explain why they’re so expensive, and why some of its lenses aren’t even available to purchase. As you suggested earlier, it will be interesting if Haapoja and ARRI make a companion video on ARRI cameras. I would not be surprised if they’ve discussed it, and will be watching the reception that this video gets.

Note what Haapoja didn’t do. He wasn’t there to judge/evaluate ARRI lenses. I’m quite sure that ARRI knew, going in, that he wasn’t going to do that. Indeed, Haapoja sets the tone when he says, at the outset, that the people he was meeting “know more about lenses than I ever will”. It’s also clear that ARRI put some effort, at its end, into organising this.

I would think that Blackmagic Design’s marketing group will watch this video and think about whether it gives them some ideas. My own read of the video is that there’s something to be said for working with someone like Haapoja, who’s fairly well-known, and also well-liked. Look at the number of comments from viewers welcoming him back to YouTube. He brings something to the table that a talk by a high-end cinematographer/technical authority is unlikely to.

Since yesterday, the video has had 30,000 views, so it’s off to a good start on what is a pretty niche subject.

It’s interesting that Haapoja believed that he could “sell” an hour long video on YouYube about an inherently technical subject, especially after a year’s absence.

He’s a little ‘crazy like a fox’ in that video. Part of the schtick. I liked it though.

He’s a little ‘crazy like a fox’ in that video. Part of the schtick. I liked it though.

After two days, Haapoja’s video is at 51,000 views. He and ARRI will both be happy. Maybe we'll indeed see a companion video on the cameras.