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Roger Deakins

Filmmaker

British·b. 1949·Website ↗

Known for:

Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer with a preference for naturalistic lighting and spherical primes

Education:

Bath Academy of Art, National Film and Television School

Sir Roger Deakins is an English cinematographer with over four decades of work spanning documentary, drama, and science fiction. He trained at the National Film and Television School and has since earned 16 Academy Award nominations, winning for Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and 1917 (2019). His long-running collaborations with the Coen Brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve have produced some of the most visually distinctive films of the past 30 years. He was knighted in 2021, the first cinematographer to receive the honour, and co-hosts the Team Deakins podcast with his wife and collaborator James Ellis Deakins.

Roger Deakins's Gear List(6)

ARRI ALEXA Mini LF

ARRI

Connection Source

ArriWebsite

Connection note

First film ever shot on this camera (1917); continued using on Empire of Light

Product description

Large-format digital cinema camera pairing the compact ALEXA Mini body with a full-frame sensor. First used on 1917 (2019), also used on Dune and Dune: Part Two.

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Last updated March 18, 2026

Connection note

Primary camera on Sicario (2015) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Product description

Studio variant of the ALEXA XT with an optical viewfinder and mechanical shutter. Used on Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and A Most Violent Year.

ARRI

Connection note

First Bond film shot digitally (Skyfall, 2012); Deakins used two prototypes

Product description

First ALEXA variant with an optical viewfinder, designed to bridge digital capture with a traditional film camera workflow. Used on Skyfall and Prisoners.

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Zeiss Master Prime Lenses

Zeiss

Connection Source

ShotonwhatWebsite

Connection note

Primary lens set across No Country for Old Men, Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049

Product description

High-speed cinema prime lenses rated at T1.3 across all focal lengths (12mm to 150mm), with low distortion and consistent color rendition.

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ARRI Signature Prime Lenses

ARRI

Connection Source

ArriWebsite

Connection note

Current primary lenses; 90% of 1917 shot on the 40mm

Product description

Full-frame cinema prime lenses designed for the ALEXA LF system, with minimal vignetting and focus breathing.

ARRI

Connection note

Used on The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Product description

The Arriflex 35 BL (Blimped Lightweight), introduced in 1972, was the first self-blimped 35mm motion picture camera quiet enough for sync-sound shooting without an external housing. Its mirror-reflex viewfinder and rugged construction made it a standard tool in European and independent filmmaking from the 1970s onward.