ARRI Amira $40k US

Will Barber · February 4, 2014

There is one caveat pointed out to me by a fellow student who DITs and color corrects on a lot of shoots in Rochester, and that is that all the controls that'd be normally adjusted by the 1st AC are on the smart side of the camera, rather than the dumb side, which means a handheld operator would either have to hand it off or do it himself. Not personally something that bothers me, but something that may get in the way of professional acceptance. He also mentioned that Arri would probably come out with an "Amira Studio" sometime soon, which would essentially be a stripped down Alexa designed to be more competitive in the indie feature market. Maybe they'll think about making a 16mm digital cinema camera, similar to how they once were a strong presence the 35mm and 16mm film worlds, designed to work with the old lenses made for the SR3 and their other old cameras. I'd definitely be interested in that.

Adrian Sierkowski · February 4, 2014

I don't think this camera is at all targeted towards shoots who would normally have a 1AC. It's much more a broadcast (ENG) type camera for one man bands. I also don't think Arri will make an Amira Studio nor a 16mm version of anything digital-- primarily because of the R&D to make up a new sensor family for what is a niche of a niche market (which is also served by two very low cost cameras).

If anything what'll happen soon is a new Alexa version which will drop the price for the current Alexas-- but don't thing that arri is really targeting the "indie" market. They make the highest level of professional equipment, they make it very well, and that makes it very expensive.

David Fernandes · February 4, 2014

Hey, I just ordered one from Arri Canada. The base price is $51,500 CAD for the premium top model. The mounts are $1800 ea and the battery mount of your choice is $600 and your choice of bottom/ shoulder mount is $977. So, adding that up it's $54,877 for a fully featured camera.

I'm holding off on buying CFAST 2.0 cards until April to see prices. Right now Arri is quoting $1400 for a 120gb. Which, by my calculations, gives you 51min of ProRes 4444.

Hi,

just want to jump in and tell my wonderful experience buying the Amira. Because I was VERY serious about getting it. Even first, when I saw the price they choose to sell them. Witch I think is way too high after you do the math. Example, here in Montreal, Canada, after the cut of AbelCine and the rate exchange, the premium package end up at 70000$ + txs. And that is no joke and very real!! Even more disturbing is the fact that there in NO Amira supplier in Canada. Sorry but what the F@&k! By the way, my supplier who help them make a name here for them self back in the days just learn today that they could not sell Amira for Arri. They order them 4 months ago and Arri just nicely told them today that they could not sell the camera... Not a very respectful way to do business. Don't you think?

I'm a company owner and operator. I would a love to own this camera and I was prepare to spend a lot. But honestly, looking at that crazy final price and seeing how Arri is dealing with "the little people". I will sadly pass and wait a for the next great camera.

Cheers

Phil Rhodes · February 4, 2014

I'd really like to know why they're something like eight or ten times the cost of SSDs.

Profiteering on custom flash formats is absolutely insane at the moment.

David Fernandes · February 4, 2014

Well, they're not out yet, so there's that. They are brand new and new tech is always super expensive at first. SSDs were too.

CFAST2.0 is the fastest flash memory ever made. Fast enough to record 200fps at ProRes 4444 in 12bit.

The price will drop drastically in six months or so once the other manufacturers get on board.

Alexis Marcoux · February 5, 2014

Hey, I just ordered one from Arri Canada. The base price is $51,500 CAD for the premium top model. The mounts are $1800 ea and the battery mount of your choice is $600 and your choice of bottom/ shoulder mount is $977. So, adding that up it's $54,877 for a fully featured camera.

I'm holding off on buying CFAST 2.0 cards until April to see prices. Right now Arri is quoting $1400 for a 120gb. Which, by my calculations, gives you 51min of ProRes 4444.

Hi David, I got a guy from Arri that sent me an email after my post. Well see how it goes... I just want to be sure. 54,877$ canadian money was your quote for a complete premium model. Just missing the CFast cards? You have the battery mount too etc. You are absolutely sure about being a canadian money quote?

Thank you

David Fernandes · February 5, 2014

I'm not getting any special deal. But you're right, I did mean to say that all prices are in USD. Apologies. But you only need to put a $4500 CAD deposit on it right now and when it arrives in May (shipping in April) you pay the balance and hopefully the exchange rate is a little better than this week.