CINELUX pins Kickstarter date, prices and full details for REDUXA A1 focal reducer

CINELUX has moved beyond its July teaser and published dates, prices and fuller technical details for the REDUXA A1, a focal reducer aimed at older ARRI ALEXA bodies. The British maker says VIP access opens on October 20, the Kickstarter campaign follows on November 10 and will run until December 10, and manufacturing will begin as soon as the crowdfunding drive closes.

The company shows three price tiers on its product page. For the REDUXA A1 the VIP price is listed at $1,795, the Kickstarter price at $1,995 and the post‑campaign retail price at $2,795. CINELUX also lists a PURA A1 option that lacks the optical element and Focal Shift mechanism, with VIP, Kickstarter and retail prices of $895, $995 and $1,395 respectively. A PL mount is offered as an add‑on; the product page lists +$325 for VIP, +$350 on Kickstarter and +$400 at retail. The page displays amounts in dollars, and CINELUX warns that the Kickstarter campaign will be priced in GBP and that final amounts may vary slightly with exchange rates; shipping and import fees are not included.

Mechanically the REDUXA A1 is compact. The unit is under 2cm deep and ships with a positive‑lock EF mount as standard; a PL mount is designed to fit directly over that EF adaptor. CINELUX quotes rear‑element clearances of 9.5mm when an EF mount is fitted and 17.5mm with PL. The company says users should check rear‑element protrusion before mounting lenses because of those clearance figures.

Electronics are built into the body so compatible EF lenses retain lens‑to‑camera communication and allow aperture control from the ALEXA. The REDUXA A1 is designed to take the image circle of full‑frame EF and PL lenses and present it to the Super 35 chip used by ALEXA Classic, XT and SXT models. CINELUX describes the optical reduction as 0.71x and says the change in format and light gathering is approximately equal to gaining "one extra stop" of exposure.

Perhaps the most distinctive engineering choice is a movable optic inside the reducer that CINELUX calls Focal Shift. Rather than rely on fixed optics, users can physically shift the internal element to tune each mounted lens for sharpness and coverage. Those adjustments can be stored as calibration presets and recalled later via the unit or the companion software. CINELUX also highlights that Focal Shift can allow certain lenses to focus closer than their advertised minimum focus distance; in its example a lens that normally focuses at one meter can be made to focus, in the company’s words, "far closer, without diopters or lens changes." The system therefore promises a way to modify close‑focus behavior without adding extra optics.

A companion app for iPhone, Android and the web provides access to the calibration presets and to aperture control, giving a way to manage stored Focal Shift settings and to change iris from the camera operator’s interface. The product page singles out ALEXA Classic, XT and SXT as primary targets; an FAQ expands that compatibility list to include ALEXA Classic, Plus, M, XT and SXT models.

CINELUX is also offering the PURA A1 as a parallel product for lenses with deep rear elements or for crews that want EF communication without the optical element. The PURA A1 keeps the same electronics so EF lenses still relay information and the camera can set aperture, but it contains no glass and does not offer Focal Shift. Its rear clearance is 9.5mm on EF and 32.5mm on PL, and full‑frame lenses mounted on PURA will be cropped to Super 35 rather than reduced optically.

On optics and validation the company says the product is in final prototype testing. CINELUX lists the test targets as optical performance, coverage, calibration accuracy and mechanical tolerances. Provided those tests complete as expected, production is due to begin immediately after the Kickstarter campaign finishes.

The pricing structure and the limited VIP stock are part of the launch plan. The VIP tier is capped at 50 units only and offers the earliest, cheapest access; the wider Kickstarter run then opens for a month. CINELUX has not provided a shipping date.

The REDUXA A1 follows CINELUX’s previous work in the adapter and focal reducer space; the company’s earlier NEXA‑MAG product was made for RED DSMC1 and DSMC2 cameras, and CINELUX says it is also developing the REDUXA R2 focal reducer for RED DSMC2 bodies. That continuity suggests the company is building an adapter lineup aimed at legacy cine cameras that increasingly need straightforward ways to use modern full‑frame optics.

What this means in practice for shooters is that a REDUXA A1 will let crews mount full‑frame EF and PL lenses on an ALEXA Classic, XT or SXT and recover a Super 35 image with a measurable light and field‑of‑view benefit compared with simple cropping. The 0.71x reduction, EF electronic pass‑through and stored lens calibrations are the features CINELUX is pitching at cinematographers who want to reuse full‑frame glass on older ARRI bodies without losing aperture control or courting rear‑element collisions.

CINELUX’s marketing materials include the blunt statement "Alexa Classic was never designed for electronic EF lenses." That framing helps explain why the company emphasises EF communication and built‑in electronics as part of both REDUXA and PURA products: the goal is to simplify mounting, preserve in‑camera aperture control and avoid the reliability headaches of purely mechanical adapters.

For buyers and rental houses there are trade‑offs to weigh. The REDUXA A1 adds an optical stage between lens and sensor and its Focal Shift is a novel way to tune coverage and focus behavior, but users must confirm rear‑element protrusion fits within 9.5mm (EF) or 17.5mm (PL). For lenses whose rear elements go deeper than those clearances, the PURA A1 offers an alternative with more PL clearance — 32.5mm — at the cost of foregoing optical reduction and Focal Shift.

CINELUX’s stated launch calendar is: VIP access opens October 20, the Kickstarter campaign runs from November 10 to December 10, and manufacturing is planned to start once the campaign closes. The product page displays the tiered dollar prices and the company cautions that the Kickstarter will be billed in GBP and that final totals may vary with exchange rates; buyers should also factor in shipping and import fees that are not included in the listed amounts.

If the prototype testing validates optical coverage, calibration repeatability and mechanical tolerances, the REDUXA A1 will be one of a small set of modern focal reducers aimed specifically at bringing full‑frame glass into Super 35 ARRI workflows while preserving electronic lens functions and adding a novel per‑lens tuning system. Until CINELUX provides shipping dates, rental houses and shooters must assume delivery timing will follow the company’s manufacturing timeline after the campaign closes.

CINELUX’s product page, the published FAQ and the Kickstarter schedule are the current sources for the dates, clearances, pricing tiers and feature set; the company’s statements and quoted lines appear on that page and in its campaign materials.