Is it true that Arri has a camera in the works with an Alexa 65 sensor in an Alexa 35 body?

[Edith blazek]

I want to ask about this rumor as it sounds plausible given the 24v exclusivity of both of those cameras and if so, can anyone attest to it taking the same accessories like the audio back from the 35 and whether it's capable of recording prores(which is why I'm hesitant on the upcoming ursa cine 17k besides form factor which i believe arris camera could force them to deliver a mini version sooner)?

[David Mullen ASC]

It's certainly possible that ARRI is working on a "mini" Alexa 65 but I'm skeptical that it will just involve using the Alexa 35 body considering that's built for a 26mm-wide sensor and the Alexa 65 uses a 54mm-wide sensor.  But I don't know, this is the first I'm hearing about it.

[Uli Meyer]

33 minutes ago, David Mullen ASC said:

But I don't know, this is the first I'm hearing about it.

An ARRI technician in London mentioned the release of a new Alexa 65 camera in 2025 to me recently. Didn't go into detail though.

[Edith blazek]

Bump (if the camera is real, I hope it has prores lol)

[Tyler Purcell]

Yea of course Arri is going to do LF version of their new 35. 

I also was told they want to get into the mid-tier market with a camera, but who knows what that means. They for sure will not undercut what they currently make, so it doesn't make any sense to make a lower end product. 

If you do the math, an LF version of the 35 could be 8k, but I think they'll shoot for 6k ish. 

[Edith blazek]

2 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Yea of course Arri is going to do LF version of their new 35. 

I also was told they want to get into the mid-tier market with a camera, but who knows what that means. They for sure will not undercut what they currently make, so it doesn't make any sense to make a lower end product. 

If you do the math, an LF version of the 35 could be 8k, but I think they'll shoot for 6k ish. 

Of course? I remember them saying it would be impossible to do an lf version of the 35 sensor so I guess they figured that out at this point. But I really hope the Alexa 65 in Alexa 35 body is real, if for no other reason than to force blackmagic to make a mini version of their Ursa cine line.

Edited November 13 by Edith blazek

[David Mullen ASC]

I heard that the smaller ARRI 65 will still use the old sensor -- the problem with the new Alexa 35 sensor is that the outputs run along the top & bottom, so it can't be turned 90 degrees and two stitched to create an LF or three to create a 65 version.

[Edith blazek]

17 minutes ago, David Mullen ASC said:

I heard that the smaller ARRI 65 will still use the old sensor -- the problem with the new Alexa 35 sensor is that the outputs run along the top & bottom, so it can't be turned 90 degrees and two stitched to create an LF or three to create a 65 version.

Yeah that was my thought, not like it's a slouch. The alev 3 sensor still has a leg up on everything on the market behind the 35, the Ursa cine seems to have catched up when down sampling in total measures dynamic range but is still a stop behind in exposure latitude compared to the arri Alexa mini lf

[Tyler Purcell]

2 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

I heard that the smaller ARRI 65 will still use the old sensor -- the problem with the new Alexa 35 sensor is that the outputs run along the top & bottom, so it can't be turned 90 degrees and two stitched to create an LF or three to create a 65 version.

Ah got ya, so the idea is to just use that imager in a smaller body. 

I heard they were doing a new LF camera, but it wasn't clear if it was going to be 5 perf 65mm LF or standard FF LF. It makes sense to use the older imager in the 5 perf 65mm aspect for sure. 

I wonder if they'll simply make a new imager for a FF LF version. I think what's missing in their lineup is a high-res camera, something to compete with the Venice 2, which is probably the first camera that's given the Alexa a run for it's money. 

[Tyler Purcell]

4 hours ago, Edith blazek said:

Alexa 35 body is real, if for no other reason than to force blackmagic to make a mini version of their Ursa cine line.

Oh BMD are for sure sticking that imager into the Pyxis in the near future. No way did they think using the old 6k imager with horrible refresh, would work long-term. They need that RGBW imager to control the BRAW workflow properly, it's just, it needs to be 12k because the actual theoretical res is only 4k or so. 

[Edith blazek]

On 11/13/2024 at 7:36 PM, Tyler Purcell said:

Ah got ya, so the idea is to just use that imager in a smaller body. 

I heard they were doing a new LF camera, but it wasn't clear if it was going to be 5 perf 65mm LF or standard FF LF. It makes sense to use the older imager in the 5 perf 65mm aspect for sure. 

I wonder if they'll simply make a new imager for a FF LF version. I think what's missing in their lineup is a high-res camera, something to compete with the Venice 2, which is probably the first camera that's given the Alexa a run for it's money. 

Doesn't Arri put the lf cameras and 65 under the same umbrella of large format sometimes?

[David Mullen ASC]

Sure... though it's a misuse of the term -- the LF camera is really FF35 and the 65mm camera is large for a cinema camera but technically medium format in still camera terms. "Large Format" really means 4x5 and 8x10 still formats and larger. 

[Edith blazek]

1 hour ago, David Mullen ASC said:

Sure... though it's a misuse of the term -- the LF camera is really FF35 and the 65mm camera is large for a cinema camera but technically medium format in still camera terms. "Large Format" really means 4x5 and 8x10 still formats and larger. 

I know that and hell, I've seen some people debate whether anything smaller that 645 format like 44x33 or 5 perf 65 are even medium format.

[Michael Lindsay]

Wondering about the possibility of a slightly fatter Arri 35 body with a version of the older 65mm chip benefiting from some electronic advances (bandwidth, processing etc).... This would probably have sold very well if the market wasn't on its knees. But now will anyone that hasn't lost a big job to Arri rental due to the 65 actually buy enough of them? The other question I don't know is the other companies 'secret 65(ish)mm' camera. Is it going to be brought out or not, and what does that mean either way?

Also for those wanting an uncompressed Raw 13bit file format camera with the new Arri chip scaled to 65mm... producing 6tb+ per hour filmed... do you guys think about that data cost side of things? Shoot 2 hours across 2 cameras then create 3 copies.. then film for X number of days straight.. for the type of films I oftern love this is too much. 

There are lot of minor reason to perhaps not love Red or Sony raw cameras but from a production POV compressed Raw is very useful. 

 

Edited November 20 by Michael Lindsay

[Geffen Avraham]

I can confirm that an Arri tech also told me that the Alexa 35 sensor can't be tiled sideways, so the Alexa 65 follow-up will have something different.

Will be an interesting time for medium format cine cameras now with the GFX Eterna, although rolling shutter will still be a problem with that sensor. Hopefully that camera is priced competitively.

[M Joel W]

What are the rumors of a mid-tier Alexa? 

[Edith blazek]

Also, could anyone tell me how cinematographers use signature primes on the 65 like on tàr and nightmare alley?

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't about "Tár" but maybe they used an expander to fill the larger sensor on the shorter focal lengths. "Nightmare Alley" was 1.85 : 1 so it's possible that the Signature Primes filled that width without going all the way out to the ends of the 65mm 2.12 : 1 sensor (though that would still require the lens reach out to 47mm of the 54mm width, for a lens designed for a 36mm width...)