Abrams and cinematographer Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC initially planned to shoot digitally in 3-D, but, in the end, their shared affection for the anamorphic format and their desire to maintain visual consistency with 2009’s Star Trek (AC June ’09) led them to choose film instead. Mindel likens their decision to a confrontation between the Enterprise crew and an intergalactic threat, recalling that it sparked “an epic battle.”
Source: Boldly Captured: Star Trek Into Darkness – The American Society of Cinematographers