Arri Amira revealed.

[Freya Black]

Hey everyone, check out my latest article on this.

 

I was reacting like everyone else at first till the video came out and I saw they were offering a Canon EF mount!

I was like Canon EF? Compact Flash cards? Where are they pitching this camera?

 

Big shock for me as I was expecting it to be more like Alexa HD price.

 

http://www.redsharknews.com/production/item/1072-could-the-amira-be-the-ultimate-indie-digital-cinema-camera

 

For those who want an even cheaper Alexa, what do you think the second hand price of an Amira will be?

This is also sure to mean cheaper rental prices on the Amira too.

 

...and you can use Canon dslr lenses!

 

Freya

[Freya Black]

 

^{- Good grief, it's heavy. The one on the booth has a Fuji Cabrio 19-90 zoom on it, the better for the "ENG camera" sort of aesthetic, and it is horribly front heavy; I would assume it'll be more manageable with a less, er, upscale lenses.}

 

 

 

Canon EF mount maybe?

 

Freya

[Brian Drysdale]

^{- Good grief, it's heavy. The one on the booth has a Fuji Cabrio 19-90 zoom on it, the better for the "ENG camera" sort of aesthetic, and it is horribly front heavy; I would assume it'll be more manageable with a less, er, upscale lenses.}

 

^P

 

It's a problem for all these 35mm sensor cameras, for a handheld f2.8, I suspect the limit is a 3 to 1 zoom. The alternative is a video lens with the adapter and the resulting f4 or less widest stop.

[Freya Black]

 

It's a problem for all these 35mm sensor cameras, for a handheld f2.8, I suspect the limit is a 3 to 1 zoom. The alternative is a video lens with the adapter and the resulting f4 or less widest stop.

 

I'm wondering if the Amira will window down to 1080p for 2/3" lenses.

Apparently the F55 will.

No details on this for the Amira tho.

 

Freya

[Phil Rhodes]

 

 

I'm sure a new sensor would need a new processor and a host of other things

 

Given the information that Alexa is built on FPGAs, it's not unimaginable that they might be able to support a new sensor without major hardware modifications. Depends how much spare capacity is built into the thing - and I suspect that since most of the cost of such a device is not in the hardware, there may be some.

 

Not impossible. Not likely, though, I agree, from a business standpoint.

[Freya Black]

 

Given the information that Alexa is built on FPGAs, it's not unimaginable that they might be able to support a new sensor without major hardware modifications. Depends how much spare capacity is built into the thing - and I suspect that since most of the cost of such a device is not in the hardware, there may be some.

 

Not impossible. Not likely, though, I agree, from a business standpoint.

 

 

The newer Alexa XR's are supposed to be a bit faster, hence them making available this new open gate mode thing, so I guess there is processing power to spare but I actually suspect they are prepared to make available the Amira now because there is a new Alexa on its way. They have been talking a lot about how the Amira is NOT the new Alexa, which implies strongly that there is a new Alexa on its way.

 

I doubt very much there will be sensor upgrades, although they are doing the codex upgrade thing I suppose?

 

I suspect the Amira is all about maximising their return on their investment in the original Alexa sensor and making the most of its good name before they move on to the next level.

 

Freya

[Brian Drysdale]

 

I'm wondering if the Amira will window down to 1080p for 2/3" lenses.

Apparently the F55 will.

No details on this for the Amira tho.

 

Freya

 

People have been using 2/3" lenses on 35mm sensor cameras like the F3 using an optical adapter - Abelcine have one.

 

I don't know if anyone has experimented with Super 16 zoom lenses and x 2 range extender (I don't know if a 1.4 extender would give the image coverage on Super 35) on these large sensor cameras.

[Freya Black]

 

People have been using 2/3" lenses on 35mm sensor cameras like the F3 using an optical adapter - Abelcine have one.

 

I don't know if anyone has experimented with Super 16 zoom lenses and x 2 range extender (I don't know if a 1.4 extender would give the image coverage on Super 35) on these large sensor cameras.

 

Yes but if the Amira can crop down to 1080 then you would avoid the light loss and other optical problems of an adapter and you would have deeper depth of field too.

 

Of course I don't know if the Amira will do that but it is a bit mysterious that they are offering a B4 option. They must have something in mind!

 

It's a bit weird the way details are slowly trickling out.

 

Freya

Edited September 16, 2013 by Freya Black

[Brian Drysdale]

There are a lot less pixels on an Amira sensor than on a F55, so cropping may give something closer to a M4/3 format than 2/3"

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Good camera. I think it is a smart move to prolong the life of the sensor by placing it in a documentary style camera.

 

This camera will not only be used for documentaries but for features as well. At present producers/directors are happy with my C300 as b camera for features shot on alexa. I guess, they will settle for the Amira as the A camera as well.

 

For me the ability to do 200 fps is huge advantage.

 

I am sure they will price it competitively.

[Brian Drysdale]

Not cheap, but Arri may be doing their version of this: http://www.abelcine.com/store/HDx35-B4/PL-Optical-Adapter/

 

Another lens mount manufacturer I believe makes use of the video lens' internal x 2 range extender in their PL adapter.

[Alan Rencher]

If you notice in the "features" video, they show a silhouette of the B4 adapter; judging by the size, it looks similar to the Abel optical adapter. I don't see how windowing would be a viable option seeing as how their super-sampled 1080 image is the basis of the sensor.

[Freya Black]

All good points but I'm sure they could work from a suitable sized window and scale down, given that is how the camera already works.

 

Sounds like it will be an optical adapter as suggested tho.

 

Guess we will find out soon enough! :)

 

Freya

[Freya Black]

For me the ability to do 200 fps is huge advantage.

 

 

200fps without a license as I understand too!!

 

Freya

[Stuart Brereton]

create a camera for the enduser or the semipro who wants to step up from shooting with DSLR's but still can't afford a F55 or an Alexa or whatever 30k + camera it is.

I believe RED have exploited that market quite well.

[Alan Rencher]

But this camera is designed to be all-inclusive and ergonomic; that's something that Red has yet to do.

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

Since Red abandoned "all-in-one" concept when Epic replaced Red One as the main camera, I don't see them going back anytime soon. Now it's all modular and people who don't like that sort of thing go to Arri or Sony, which pretty much got that market covered.

[Brian Drysdale]

I don't think the RED One is an "all in one" camera, the ergonomics aren't that good, it took the third party manufacturers to solve the cameras initial issues in that regard.

[David Mullen ASC]

There is no right or wrong approach here -- the most ergonomic cameras tend to sit on the shoulder, balanced front to back, with some sort of grip to steady it and the eyepiece naturally coming up to your eye, the basic design of an Aaton, Arri-416 or 235, or any ENG camcorder. Trouble is that you can't make such a camera too short or it won't balance on your shoulder. But the trouble with that is you end up with a camera of certain length that cannot be made to get smaller when space requires it. And for small video cameras, you can end up with odd-looking long but small bodies like some of the JVC HDV camcorders.

 

So if you make something shoulder mounted and ergonomic, you can quickly go into handheld mode, but you can have some limitations in the shape you want for other applications, like when you'd rather the camera be taller instead of longer.

 

And when you make the camera much smaller, it can be used in tighter spaces and smaller rigs, but it takes more time to rig into a handheld configuration because it is not inherently ergonomic.

 

Cameras like the Epic and Canon C300 fall into that second category, cameras like the Alexa and Amira fall into the first, though I think Arri could shave 10 pounds from the Alexa and a few inches off of the length and still make it ergonomic. Not sure about the Sony F55 in terms of how well it sits on the shoulder.

[Jake Kerber]

Has any pricing or availability info been released since the initial announcement?

[Danny Haritan]

Has any pricing or availability info been released since the initial announcement?

I signed up for the updates through Abel Cine about the Amira. I received a call from Abel today and they will know the price next week and will take preorders next week as well. They said to expect the camera to ship in May.