Alexa 35 Reaction: Arri's First New Sensor In 12 Years
We’ve been hearing rumours that Arri has been developing a new Super 35 4K camera for years…Well, it seems it’s finally time. A brochure for the new Alexa 35 has leaked that outlines all the features of this new camera.
If you follow the channel you’ll know that I don’t really react to new stories but rather focus on discussing a more general overview of filmmaking topics. However, since I think this new Alexa 35 has the potential to take over the high end cinema camera industry in a similar way that the original Alexa Mini did all those years ago, I’m going to run through and react to some of the key features of this new camera.
BACKGROUND
Before I start, I should probably mention that Arri’s approach to camera development and releasing new cameras is a bit different to some other brands. Brands like Red, for example, are known for putting out cameras as soon as they can and then sorting out any bugs or issues that arise in early testing.
Arri is far more conservative and precise about their releases. They don’t release new gear very often. The Alexa 35 represents Arri's first new sensor that they have developed in 12 years. So, when they do choose to unveil a new piece of gear to the public you can rest assured it has been thoroughly tested and carries a reputation that it will live up to all the specs that they mention.
SUPER 35 4.6K
Arri’s cameras are all developed to fulfil a specific section of the cinema market that relates to its sensor size, specs or physical size of the camera. For example, the Alexa Mini was developed as a Super 35 camera which was small enough to be used on a gimbal. Or the Alexa 65 was developed to provide a 65mm digital sensor size.
The Alexa 35 was developed to be an update of the Alexa Mini, with a Super 35 sensor, a small form factor and the crucial update of recording higher resolutions. Apart from its effect on the images, a big reason this increase in resolution was made was to meet the 4K requirements needed to film Netflix Originals. Previously this was only possible with their cameras that had larger sensors like the Mini LF and was unavailable in the Super 35 format.
As I’ve said in a previous video, Super 35 sensors have a different look and field of view than large format cameras. Since it’s been the standard format throughout cinema history, there is also the largest range of cinema lenses to choose from.
SPECS
So let's run through some key specs. Like their other new cameras, the Alexa 35 can record in ProRes or ARRIRAW. It tops out at 4.6K in Open Gate and can record up to 75 frames per second onto the larger 2TB Codex drives, which goes down to 35 frames on the 1 TB drive.
In regular 4K, 16:9 mode, this frame rate is pushed up to 120 in ARRIRAW. This is a nice upgrade from the Mini LF and will cover most slow motion needs on set, before needing to change to a dedicated slow motion camera like a Phantom.
An impressive feature of this new sensor is that Arri has found an extra one and a half stops of dynamic range in the highlights and another stop in the shadows. This brings the total exposure latitude of the camera to 17 stops.
They also claim that the highlights have a naturalistic, film-like roll off to them. To me, how a cinema camera handles the highlights is one of the most important factors in creating a pleasing filmstock-like look. It’s something that the previous ALEV 3 sensor did well, which I’m sure will continue or be improved upon by this new iteration.
As many DPs tend to push a more naturalistic lighting style these days, I think the increased dynamic range that they claim will help control the light in more radical exteriors and make sure there is detail in the highlights from hot windows in interiors.
More manufacturers these days, such as Sony, have been moving to a dual ISO model that has a standard ISO for regular use and a boosted native ISO for low light situations.
It seems Arri hasn’t gone quite this far but has made a move in the direction of improving the low light performance of the camera with what they are calling an ‘Enhanced Sensitivity Mode’. This can be activated when the EI is set between 2,560 and 6,400. They claim this creates a low noise image in low light and is targeted at filmmakers who want to use available light during night shoots.
When it comes to colour, Arri has developed a new workflow called Reveal colour science, which they claim is a simpler workflow for ARRIRAW post production and leads to higher quality images with accurate life-like colour. They also claim that the Alexa 35 footage will be able to be cut with their existing line of Alexa cameras. While I assume the colour will therefore be fairly similar to the existing Arri look, this is going to be something that will need to be seen once footage starts getting released.
TEXTURES
So I mentioned a new feature of the Alexa 35 that I’m excited about, and that is what they are calling Arri Textures. When digital cameras were originally introduced the common way of working with them was to record as flat a log image as possible, which would then have more room be manipulated in post production by doing things like creating a look, adding artificial film grain, adjusting saturation, these kinds of things.
I think as cinematographers have gotten more used to the digital workflow there has been a bit of a push to go back to the ways of old where the decisions that cinematographers made on set determined the look of the negative.
Some do this by creating a custom LUT before production, which is then added to the transcoded files that are edited with, so that a ‘look’ for the footage is established early on, rather than found later when its handed over to a colourist at the end of the job.
With that said, Arri Textures is a sort of setting plugin that is made in camera that defines the amount and character of the grain in the image, as well as the contrast in the detail or sharpness.
So, cinematographers now have the ability to change the way the camera records an image, much like they would back in the day by selecting different film stocks. I think this is a great idea as a tool as it puts control back into the hands of cinematographers and allows them to make these decisions on set, rather than having to fight for their look in the grade.
ERGONOMICS
With all of these new features and high resolution comes a need for more power in order to get all this done. With that in mind, the Alexa 35 will be a completely 24V powered camera - rather than prior cameras that could run off 12V batteries like V-locks as well as 24V power.
This will be done with their new system of B Mount batteries. I haven’t personally worked with these batteries yet, but one plus I foresee, apart from them providing a higher level of consistent power is that they can be used by camera operators who operate with their hand on the back of the battery.
This has become a popular way to operate, particularly with a rig like an Easyrig. I always found older gold mount or V-mount batteries had a tendency to lose power and shut down the camera from time to time as the contacts shifted when operated. This should no longer be a problem with the B-mount.
In terms of its form factor, I think this new Alexa is a great size, around the same size as the Mini LF - a little larger than the original Mini but small enough to be used for handheld and gimbal work.
The pictures show the addition of a little menu on the operator’s side of the camera, with quick access to basic settings like frames per second, shutter, EI, ND and white balance. It kind of reminds me of old Arri film cameras that came with a little setting display screen on the operator side.
The main reason I think this will be useful is for when the camera needs to be stripped down, for Steadicam, gimbal or drone, and loses its viewfinder which has the main menu access. On the old cameras if you needed to change settings, you’d have to awkwardly plug in the eyepiece, and wait for it to power up before you could do so, or do it through the Arri app on a phone which can be buggy. This new menu should save time in those scenarios.
Other than that they’ve added some extra user buttons which reminds me of the Amira a bit and perhaps is intended for quicker use in documentary situations. The new camera comes with a bunch of re-designed components, with the intention of making it a small but versatile camera that can be built into light or studio setups.
Finally, one criticism I have is that like the Mini LF, the Alexa 35 only has 3 different stops of internal ND, a 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8. I’m surprised they didn’t try to add more stops to compete with Sony’s Venice that has 8 different stops of internal ND filters from 0.3 to 2.4. I know cinematographers who like shooting on the Venice almost entirely for the ease and speed that having all the internal NDs you could need provides.