Documentary Archives

NAVALNY’s Bittersweet Success – An Interview with Cinematographer Niki Waltl, AAC

Editor’s Note:

Niki Waltl, AAC is the Director of Photography based for the Oscar-winning documentary “Navalny” which was primarily shot with SIGMA CINE lenses. Shortly after the awards ceremony, we spoke with Mr. Waltl about his work on the film via videoconference and followed up with an email exchange to learn more about his work on this project. The interview below has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Niki Waltl, AAC, left, ready for a day in the field. Photo by Josh Izenberg.

Can you give us a quick intro of yourself?

I’m a cinematographer from Tirol, Austria. I work on documentary films, as well as narrative projects and commercials.

How long have you been working as a cinematographer? Was that always your goal?

I’ve been working as a full-time cinematographer for a bit over 10 years now. I studied sports management in my early twenties, but that’s where I realized that business isn’t for me, and that I really wanted to become a professional cinematographer. I was already shooting skateboard and snowboard videos at the time and then decided to study direction of photography, which I did at the CECC (Centre d’Estudis Cinematographics de Catalunya) in Barcelona, Spain.

Is documentary your preferred style?

I definitely love to shoot documentaries, it’s liberating to move around quickly with a small crew. At the same time there is a certain magic to the workflow of narrative shoots, where you are be able to light situations, to block scenes and work with actors.

How did you get involved in the “Navalny” film?

A Berlin-based production company suggested me to the producers of “Navalny” when they were looking for a DP.

Niki Waltl films a scene using his SIGMA CINE 40mm T1.5 FF lens. Photo by Joseph Courey.

How much control did you have over camera and gear choices?

Pretty much full control, actually. But it was an easy decision, as I own some gear myself and that happened to be very fitting for this film. That was a RED Gemini camera and my set of SIGMA FF CINE primes. Then we also rented a full frame RED cameras to shoot the interviews (RED Monstro).

Which SIGMA CINE lenses were used in this production?

My FF CINE prime set consists of the 20, 28, 40, 85 & 135mm lenses. For the verité scenes, we stuck mostly to the 40mm on A-camera and the 85mm on B-camera. For the interviews, we used almost all these focal lengths at some point, and also rented the 24mm and 50mm, as we shot the interviews with up to four cameras.

Why / how did you choose SIGMA CINE primes for this project?

As this film is a political documentary that plays in contemporary time, we felt like we wanted a clean image. The SIGMA lenses gave us exactly that. Also, they are very fast and can be shot wide open without any problems. That was great as early on Daniel Roher, (the director) and I agreed that we want to shoot this project with a short depth of field.

SIGMA CINE prime lenses were an ideal choice for this film, thanks in part to their shallow depth of field at T1.5. Photo by Joseph Courey.

Did you have the ability to prep or was everything on the fly?

We did prep the interviews quite meticulously, especially the main interview with Alexey Navalny in the bar. We actually went in a day early to pre-light and set it up with time. There are a couple more scenes that we prepped, like Alexey running in the snow as well as Maria Pevchikh setting up the suspect board. Also, I put up a simple Chimera light in the room where we shot the phone call. But I’d say the majority of the film was captured in a classic verité approach, without any prep.

Where do you go, in your toolbox of skills, to create the image you want when you are limited?

I definitely feel most limited when I can’t control the light, which is the case on most documentary shoots; but then you can still try to work around it. For example, by trying to schedule daytime exterior scenes in the morning or late afternoon instead of shooting in harsh noon light. Also, you can always look for the right direction of the light. Personally, I prefer to position my camera in a position where my subject is back or side lit.

With a full range of SIGMA CINE primes on set, Niki was able to work in varying conditions and still achieve his desired look. Photo by Niki Waltl, screengrab from *“Navalny”*.

How long were you shooting “Navalny”?

For about two months.

Did the intention of the film change at all while you were shooting it?

It might sound strange, but this film really felt like history was unfolding in front of our eyes. Things were changing and developing all the time and we tried our best to stay on our feet and react to this as good as we could — meaning you try to capture as much as possible and to your best abilities. So I think a big part of the intention of the film was found later in the edit, when there was more time to reflect on things.

Were there any serious concerns for the filmmakers while making this film?

It was very important to keep this film secret while we were making it. That was the case all the way until the premiere at Sundance, where the film was not even announced until the very last minute, in order to prevent any possible actions of sabotaging it.

What are your ultimate goals for the films you make?

My goal as the DoP is to find a visual language that fits and supports the story. Shooting films is a very collaborative process, so together with the other departments working on the film, I want to be a great tool to help tell that story. At best everything falls into place at the end and together you are able to create something special.

Screengrabs from *“Navalny”* which received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2023

How does it feel for this piece to be recognized with such a prestigious award?

The success of this film is of course a very special experience for us filmmakers; but that is bittersweet in knowing that behind the powerful story I have helped to tell, there is still a man suffering in prison at the very moment. It is because of the bravery of Alexey Navalny, his family and his team, that we were even able tell this story.

What advice would you give to your younger self entering this career?

Always be kind, work in the light department for some time and shoot lots of still photos.

“Navalny” Director Daniel Roher, Director of Photography Niki Waltl, and the title character, Alexei Navalny himself.

“Navalny” is now streaming for viewing on most major platforms.

Documentary Shooting with Sigma Cine Primes

Producer and DP, Graham Sheldon, discusses his early resistance to shooting a doc series on prime lenses due to fear of a rough terrain and a tight schedule, but how inevitably the elevation in image quality from the SIGMA primes was well worth the shift from depending on zooms alone.

I used to buy into the idea that when shooting run & gun, primes are too prohibitive. I’d save them for situations or scenes I knew I could control, like interviews or character meetups. Like many others, I thought the heft of a cinema prime made swapping lenses mid-scene time consuming and obnoxious, but the truth is… we buy into many of these ideas because they’re told to us over and over again as we’re coming up in our careers. Often enough, tried and true standards are only really standards because we get comfortable with what is sufficient. I’ve found that a little extra effort and small pushes past my comfort zone can up my game. Most importantly, the payoff in the image is almost always worth it. This was definitely the case in a recent documentary series my company produced, for which we decided to exclusively shoot with the Sigma Cine Primes.

My production company recently created a six episode slice of life documentary series shot all over Switzerland. Occasionally this took us to the middle of the alps at elevations as high as 11,000ft. Sometimes we were in extreme heat; sometimes we were in the snow.

Our crew was never larger than eight people. We shot with 2-cameras: a Monstro 8K VV and a Helium 8K Super 35. The DJI Ronin 2 was usually attached to one of them. My producing partner, Rin Ehlers Sheldon–who I also happen to proudly call my wife, operated the gimbal setup. I operated handheld, on sticks, and piloted drones when environment and government permitted. We shared an AC. Tough on us, but definitely tougher on him. Our UPM and our other producer filled in when they could, taking on 2nd AC duties. Needless to say, this was not a cushy shoot, but we were in one of the most beautiful places in the world, creating something we all believed in.

During pre-production, Rin was really advocating to shoot the entire series on primes, and I was really pushing against that idea. While both RED cameras yield images that justify a more time-consuming build, you really have to plan to rig them in a doc friendly manner. The form factor is basically a cube until you choose your own adventure in the rigging. I didn’t really want to make the kit more high maintenance by utilizing primes. Yet, we do really pride ourselves on not compartmentalizing our skills for different genres. If we’re shooting a doc, we’re going to bring our narrative game. If we’re shooting fiction, we’re going to bring the flexibility and innovation we utilize on our docs. I just hadn’t applied that idea to my lensing previously.

There is a delicate balance on travel-heavy doc shows between packing too much and packing exactly the right amount of kit. It’s a real art. We packed the 14, 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, and 135mm SIGMA Cine primes, conveniently of course, in the custom SIGMA 7-lens hard case.

Here’s how that played out.

In every scene, we’d have a general idea of the location from scouts and fixers. After we’d arrive, Rin would assess what we call “zones of play,” which would either be determined by what the subjects were naturally doing or by where that action could be shifted without disrupting that honesty. We’d manipulate the lighting in those zones, ideally so that the instruments and modifiers would be out of sight, often through windows and doorways. Whenever we could, we tried to enhance what was there, rather than manufacture the look. For the most part, there weren’t very many surprises. We had great scouts that were able to give us a head’s up about the light at different times of day.

We usually try not to mess with how a scene will go the first time through. If urgency factors in, Rin or I might call a hold to grab an insert of something in real time. For instance, while two people are making cheese, we aren’t going to come back the next day to shoot the curds at stage 2 of the process to get our inserts. This was really the only kind of scenario when a lens swap would be really tricky. For that reason, one of us almost always had the 35mm for the first take of a scene: primarily because it’s a gorgeous 35mm, and secondly, because of its versatility.

More often, however, we were able to pull off a swap or shoot with complementary focal lengths. We both really believe you can find ways to “take a moment again,” without neglecting the truth, all while fulfilling a shotlist that makes your doc more cinematic. If you’re planning and picking your lens swap moments carefully, you don’t have to kill the momentum of a scene and most importantly, you aren’t damaging your story. The details you get from going back and grabbing inserts or the ease you get in a subject having them retell a memory in closeup is nearly always worth the extra time.

In short, my wife was right. If you have time to plan out a scene logistically, you have time to swap from a 35mm to an 85mm when you need and want it. Genre shouldn’t determine optics, the mood and the moment should. If that’s your priority, you will make the time, and the magic won’t be an accident. You shouldn’t shoot all comedy on a 50mm at T4.0, and you shouldn’t shoot all docs on a zoom. You should have an artistic or emotional response to how the glass captures an image and that response should determine your lens choice.

Sigma’s consistency in their focus and iris ring spacing, coupled with the uniformity of the front diameter (95mm) of each lens really facilitates quick lens swaps. The rod mounted follow focus never needs to move, and the matte box slides right into place without having to worry about different donut sizes.

RED Cinema, in my opinion, doesn’t have the reputation of making particularly low-light friendly cameras, but the new DSMC2 line has really made them competitive. For scenarios where the REDs did need help, the speed of the Sigma Cines, really came through. Being able to shoot at T2.0 and even at T1.5 made all the difference in darker scenes, especially when we weren’t able to give the environment a boost lighting-wise. While we did bring an LED fresnel, soft bi-color 2×1 LED panel and a small literibbon kit, I was pleasantly surprised by how often we were able to make use of available light.

We were about as far from a soundstage as you can get on this one. At one point we were filming at over 11,000 feet overlooking the Aletsch Glacier, and the SIGMA primes never missed a beat despite the temperatures, moisture, and altitude. We had a little trouble with breathing (not from the lenses, from our own human lungs) given the altitude, but we swapped a battery here or there and just kept moving as the weather would change hour to hour. We never lost communication between the camera and the lenses either, which is pretty impressive on a glacier.

In addition to leveling up the aesthetic, there are also practical benefits in choosing this line of primes. Apart from primes weighing less than cinema zooms, they also generally have less breathing and just take up less space in front of the camera: which makes them easier to balance on your shoulder or a gimbal and takes less out of you after hours of holding them up in operation. If you know how to use them, these primes can also give you an image that stands right up next to that produced from other manufacturers that cost 10 to 25 times as much.

I love a cine zoom, but I am really happy with how this show looks and the mindfulness the choice demanded of me in every single scene we shot. We all know slowing down a bit can keep us safer, but it can also help us shoot smarter. How many of our choices and practices are justified by what we’re shooting and how many are justified by our habits and “standards.” Give yourself a shakeup on your next shoot, and you may surprise yourself and your audience.

Gear Used:

RED Monstro VV
RED Helium S35
Sigma Cine EF 14mm, 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm
Filters: Schneider HBM 1/8

SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM vs SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A

Editor’s Note: This article discusses the differences between the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, which is still in production, and the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, which has since been discontinued.

The SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A sets the new benchmark for fast standard prime lenses for full-frame DSLRs, and is offered at a very fair price for its total performance. Originally introduced in 2008, the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is still in production, and it remains an exceptional fast fifty designed for both the performance and build expectations of professional photographers at a price that puts it well within reach of enthusiasts looking for both fantastic optics and a pro build quality. Choosing either one of these full-frame SIGMA 50mm F1.4 stablemates over an OEM lens is a wise choice; choosing which one is exactly right for your bag really is basically a matter of budget, plus weight and size considerations. But either way, adding one of these SIGMA 50mm F1.4s to your kit is a great idea.

The Original High-Performance 50mm F1.4

To repeat, the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is still in production, and ships for a pretty fantastic street price, especially with our regular Instant Savings deals. At 3.3” x 2.7” and weighing in at 17.8 ounces, this lens is heavy and stocky. Packing eight elements in six groups, it close focuses to 17.7 inches at 1:7.4 magnification. Nine rounded aperture blades and an aspherical element make for pleasing defocused and focused image elements, while a full-time manual-focus ring allows for on-the-fly adjustments.

The World-Beating 50mm F1.4

The SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A was announced earlier this year and has been the talk of the photography world ever since. Pairing world-beating optics and imaging performance with a hypersonic motor for fast, quiet AF, along with four zone microtuning, wrist-flick Manual Focus override and firmware updates via the USB Dock, this lens has already gained a number of prestigious awards, and earned tons of positive reviews from the most demanding photographers around the world. Physically, it is a very large standard lens, at 3.4” x 3.9 inches and weighing in at 28.7 ounces. Much of that weight comes form the 13 elements in 8 groups, so it is a more complex optical design. Super low dispersion glass and super multi-layer lens coatings, along with nine round aperture blades renders photographs with extraordinary image quality. Field distortion is virtually non-existent. Demand is incredibly high, and supplies are still very limited thanks to its very fair street price.

Head-to-Head Comparison

The SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM at F/2.0. Close-focused on a beach umbrella shows great focal plane sharpness, and very shallow depth of field with pleasingly rendered defocused areas.

The same image as captured by the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens, again at F/2.0. The 50mm Art is sharper, has higher maximum magnification and closer focusing than the original 50mm F1.4 EX.

Overall, the 50mm Art does outperform the 50 EX, but both are far and away a superior purchase decision to the nearest competitors. Independent testing shows that on a crop sensor camera, both SIGMA 50s best the top-of-the-line Canon, the 50mm F1.2L. And remarkably, both of the SIGMA 50s come in at a street price below the heavy Canon pro standard prime offering. Switching to the top-of-the-line full-frame sensor for Canon, it’s virtually a dead heat for silver between the 1.2 L and the EX; while the Art 50 is way ahead of the pack. (Exhaustive independent testing on top-line Nikon sensors is lagging slightly behind Canon reports, but everything so far points the 50 Art seriously outpacing the Nikon F1.4 choices as well on all sensor formats.)

The 50mm Art has the edge in close-focusing over the original 50mm EX. At F4 here both lenses show great focal plane sharpness on the flowers in the foreground and lovely background rendering. But when going wide open to F1.4, the Art lens definitely outperforms the EX version.

The same scene as captured by the 50mm EX lens.

So, really, what it comes down to is total performance, budget, physical size considerations, and availability to determine which SIGMA 50mm F1.4 is right for you. Especially when offered with our regular Instant Savings deals, the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is an incredible bargain for a lens of this caliber. And it is ten ounces lighter, and overall noticeably smaller, both in the hand and when hauling a camera bag.

Captured by the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM at F2.0 for very shallow depth of field. A herring gull on the beach. Even close to wide open, this lens is very sharp on the focal plane.

The EX lens, focused a bit farther afield, at F4. This lens feels solid in the hands, and is more compact than the Art version.

The 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens is larger and heavier, as it is designed with an eye first and foremost at performance above all else. Though heavy, it is balanced, and even though it is priced significantly more than the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, it is still more economical than the OEM lenses it leaves in the dust in terms of overall performance and value.

Here, we see the Shark River Inlet bridge at 1/800 F4.5. The SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens is a long lens, and weighs over one and a half pounds. It is razor-sharp and has virtually no field distortion.

1/2000 F4 on the Art 50mm. And the view from the top of the same bridge. This lens is designed for exceptional performance.

And then when you add in everything about what the SIGMA Global Vision lenses offer: USB Dock for multiple-zone microfocus adjustment and firmware updates, Mount Conversion Service, and A1 MTF testing for every single unit before leaving the Aizu factory; it makes that $949 street price that much more incredible. This is a world-class lens. And that’s why it is so hard to keep in stock. Worldwide demand remains incredibly high, because photographers and videographers have truly fallen for all this lens offers.

So which SIGMA 50mm F1.4 lens is right for you?

Ask yourself these questions:

Am I looking for the absolute best standard prime camera lens with autofocus I can buy at any price and at any size for my super-high resolution DSLR? If you say “YES!” to both of these, you definitely want to order the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A right now, even if it means waiting some time for backorders to fill!

Am I looking for the absolute best optical performance and pro-quality build in a standard prime for my DSLR, but I am on a limited budget? Well, in this case, how is your budget defined? The 50mm F1.4 | Art is more economical than any of the three top-line 50mm primes it competes directly against and has significantly better image quality. And the 50mm F1.4 EX also competes incredibly strongly in this class as well, at a fraction of the price of the OEMs.

Am I looking for a 50mm F1.4 that will give the best possible performance wide open at F1.4? In this case, it’s the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens that’s got the edge.

This farm market scene was captured at F1.4 through the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens and focused on the word “farm” on the sign in the tent. Wide open, the lens is still super-sharp with well-controlled high-contrast edges.

Here’s the same image shot through the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, again at F1.4. As you can see, wide open, the Art lens has the edge in total image quality.

Am I looking for the best 50mm F1.4 I can buy right now, but I am on a very limited budget? In this case, the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM is a great choice, especially with our Instant Savings deals.

Whether you choose the original high-performance 50mm EX or the incredible new Art 50mm, you’ll be adding a fantastic fast F1.4 standard prime to your kit, and both ship with a four-year warranty through authorized retailers.