First time working with an ARRI Alexa Plus / Any Tips?

[Angelos Gkrantounis]

Hello Everyone!

I'm a cinematography student from Thessaloniki, Greece and I wanted to try out for the first time the ARRI Alexa Plus as i feel like it suits the short film I'm working on very well. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to work with a digital ARRI camera before. I'm absorbing every information I can find about the camera. I wanted to ask you people of this forum if you have any tips on working with this camera. Literally anything could be helpful.

Something I have to mention is that unfortunately the rental house that I will rent the camera from is not from my city so it's almost certain I won't be able to have a look at the camera before the shoot. Also because of the very tight budget of the film we won't have the advantage of testing the camera anytime.

Thank you in advance for any answer!

[Mark Dunn]

There are manuals online, and I'm not a cameraman, but I have been a student and but I'd say you must schedule some time for familiarisation for yourself and your crew. You just can't pick up a sophisticated piece of equipment like that and press the button. Even if you knew which button to press.

Edited July 31, 2025 by Mark Dunn

[Angelos Gkrantounis]

8 hours ago, Mark Dunn said:

There are manuals online, and I'm not a cameraman, but I have been a student and but I'd say you must schedule some time for familiarisation for yourself and your crew. You just can't pick up a sophisticated piece of equipment like that and press the button. Even if you knew which button to press.

Yeah that makes sense! I will definetely fit an equipement check before the shoot, even though it's a very big hassle. Maybe I was being unreasonable on the post above about not seeing the camera beforehand :). Thank you for the reality check.

[Brian Drysdale]

You should check out the camera. It's not like your standard broadcast ENG camera, which tend to be pretty standard regarding operating, although menus differ.

Arri have simulators online, which are worth playing with:  https://www.arri.com/en/learn-help/learn-help-camera-system/camera-simulators

You need to ensure that you've got a full working kit and nothing is missing.