ARRI’s new Alexa 35 is a 4K Super 35 camera that features the company’s first new sensor in 12 years and offers 2.5 stops more dynamic range, better low-light performance and richer colors. The new Reveal Color Science takes full advantage of the sensor’s image quality, while ARRI Textures enhance in-camera creativity.
The Alexa 35 measures at 17 stops of dynamic range (exposure latitude). With 1.5 stops more in the highlights and 1 stop more in the shadows than previous Alexa cameras, it retains the naturalistic film-like highlight roll-off. Stray-light suppression in the camera and lens mounts ensures that the full contrast range and character of each lens are captured by the sensor. Together, the increased dynamic range and stray-light control make it easier for users to handle any lighting conditions on set, increase flexibility in post and provide a good source for HDR projects.
With low noise and sensitivity settings ranging from EI 160 to EI 6400, Alexa 35 is a “high ISO” camera. An optional Enhanced Sensitivity Mode can be applied to settings between EI 2560 and EI 6400, producing an even cleaner image in low light. This sensitivity, combined with the wider dynamic range and stray-light suppression, allows Alexa 35 to capture the delicate nuances of light and shadow.
Reveal Color Science
The new Reveal Color Science is the collective name for a suite of new image processing steps used by Alexa 35 internally and also available through third-party post production tools for ARRIRAW processing. It includes an improved debayering algorithm for cleaner compositing, a new color engine for more accurate color reproduction, a new wide gamut color space for faster grading, new LogC4 encoding to contain the increased dynamic range, and new LogC4 LUTs for improved color fidelity.
While taking full advantage of Alexa 35’s new sensor, Reveal Color Science is also backwards compatible. ARRIRAW footage captured by Alexa LF and Mini LF cameras can be processed with Reveal Color Science, gaining many of its advantages. This means that the Alexa 35 and ARRI’s large-format cameras can be combined on set and can also share LogC4 LUTs in post.
New Sensor, ARRI Textures
With its Super 35 4:3 native 4K sensor, Alexa 35 can be used with a vast inventory of existing lenses — modern and vintage, anamorphic and spherical, Super 35 and large format. Filmmakers wanting to shoot with ARRI cameras while having to fulfill 4K mandates now have a broader lens choice.
ARRI Textures is a new feature that allows cinematographers to alter the way in which the camera records images. Up until now, Alexa cameras have been preprogrammed with a default texture that determines the amount and character of grain in the image, and the amount of contrast at different levels of detail, perceived by the viewer as sharpness. Now Alexa 35 provides the option to choose from a menu of ARRI Textures, much like selecting a film stock.
Accessories
ARRI says the Alexa 35 is the smallest full-featured ARRI production camera ever, offering the features and processing power of a “larger” Alexa into a mini-sized body. Crews will be intuitively familiar with the camera’s simple menu structure; support for 1TB and 2TB Codex Compact Drives; and MVF-2 viewfinder, now with HDR. Fast and easy operation is assured through a new left-side display, Advanced Color Match, prerecording capability and a slew of usability improvements such as additional user buttons.
A total of 19 recording formats, incorporating efficient in-camera downsampling and anamorphic de-squeezing, allow productions to optimize data rate, resolution and other parameters based on their individual needs. Mixed reality and virtual productions will benefit from the camera’s ability to record lens metadata in all common standards and output real-time streaming metadata to ARRI’s Live Link Metadata Plug-in for Unreal Engine.
ARRI has built a new line of bespoke Alexa 35 accessories that expand the camera’s capabilities and ensure maximum speed and versatility on set. Closely integrated electronic accessories offer additional power outputs or extended audio features. A complete new set of mechanical support items provides flexible options for any shooting situation, scaling quickly and easily from a small and lightweight setup to a full-blown production configuration.
