Mark Kenfield

Congrats Miguel, very cool! Good luck!

Yep… it’s the Deakins camera. I’m gutted to have to do this, but the doctors have ordered a downsize (for my mangled spine) and I have to move back to a smaller/mini-er camera package. So I’m putting my beloved Arri Alexa Studio up for sale. It’s got all of Arri’s usual teutonic deliciousness, but unlike other Alexas, this one comes with the added benefits of a true global shutter, internal ND, and the real camera operators delight - a proper optical viewfinder. For me it was largely the global shutter that drew me to the Studio. The motion cadence is perfect, pans are perfect (no matter the speed), handheld operating doesn’t skew the image in any way as you bump along. Strobing lights and muzzle flashes can’t cause those horrible CMOS striping artefacts that you’ll see on rolling shutter cameras (and the retakes that go with them). It really does step things up a notch in the overall image. And the optical viewfinder? You realise pretty instantly the difference it makes. It allows you to operate the camera in real-time. Modern EVFs are getting better and better, but they still have milliseconds of delay - and you’ve fought against them every time you’ve tried to follow an actor jumping or standing up quickly, or detailed insert shots with precise movements within the frame - being able to respond in real-time means you can follow specific actions precisely, and it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing as a camera operator. It really does translate into fewer takes being needed. So the standout features of the camera are: - HD/2k Prores4444 and DNxHD - 2.8k Arriraw - Up to 120fps - Global Shutter - Internal ND - 4:3 Anamorphic Sensor - Alexa Plus Module (for full integration with the WCU-4 or SXU-1) The camera is in excellent used condition, and has never skipped a beat for me. It has a moderate 2700 hours on the clock (so thousands of hours of life left in it). It has everything you need to get shooting, including a full seven 64GB SxS cards (so you won’t be out another couple of thousand dollars just to get enough recording media to shoot for a full day). The included accessories with the camera are: - Alexa Studio Optical Viewfinder OVF-1 - Viewfinder Extension Medium FE-5 - ARRI Heated Eyecup HE-4 (so you never have to deal with a fogged-up viewfinder) - Ground Glass 4:3, Spherical - Ground Glass 16:9, Spherical - Frameglow Mask 4:3 and 16:9 Spherical - Ground Glass 4:3, Anamorphic 2x - Frameglow Mask 4:3, Anamorphic 2x - Ground Glass Tool - Alexa Studio VF Port Cover - Alexa Studio Electronic Viewfinder Adapter, EVA-1 (for attaching Arri’s EVF-1 if you need to) - ARRI Bridge Plate BP-8 - Alexa Center Camera Handle, CCH-1 - Alexa Handle Extension Block, HEB-2 - Alexa Leveling Block, LB-1 - V-Lock Battery Adapter, BAB-V - Alexa Shoulder Pad – SP-3 - AC Power Supply - 5pin XLR Audio Splitter Cable - 7x 64GB SxS Pro Cards - Sony SBAC-US30 USB3 SxS Card Reader - Rods 19 x 340mm - Compact and Rugged Custom Flight Case I’ve loved this camera more than any other (and I’ve known a few). It just works, and delivers beautiful images every time. It’s easy to see why it’s Roger’s pick of the bunch. If you have any questions about the camera, feel free to get in touch. $16,500 USD / €15,250 EUR / $23,900 AUD (+GST if sold in Australia) Located in Melbourne, Australia, but happy to ship worldwide. Cheers, Mark

It looks like a terrific one-man-band camera to me. I think 10-bit 4:2:2 XAVC is a much more appropriate codec for those kinds of shoots than Canon Raw Lite or the 8-bit video codec on the C200.

I don't think you can set custom framelines on the F55. You'll need to get an external monitor or EVF that has that functionality. The Odyssey 7Q is great, it will let you create whatever aspect ratio you want.

I just shot a little short over past couple of days and (for the first time) did the whole thing with nets. We had originally planned to shoot anamorphically to lend a more chaotic feeling to the backgrounds, but at the last minute, my budget for camera got slashed, so the anas were out, and I decided to bring in nets instead to add some texture to the bokeh and soften the image a little. With the tighter budget I had to shoot on my little Fuji X-T3s instead of the Alexa Studio (my first time shooting a narrative piece entirely on a little mirrorless/DSLR camera). The little Fujis generate a VERY detailed 4k image, so I wanted to soften it up a bit. I ran some tests on various materials, and different densities of Black Promist, and compared rear-mounted nets to my Tiffen Softnet Black 1 filter as well. Ultimately I settled on using something quite unusual - it's a fibreglass mesh from the hardware store (primarily intended for use as a flyscreen). I was interested to see what the flyscreen would do, as being a solid black material, I wondered if it would create cleaner flares with less chromatic artifacting. It turned out I'd guessed right, and it yields really clean cross-hatched flares around sharp highlights, whilst providing a gentle softening of detail. I'm really quite taken with the look. I paired it with an 1/8 Black Promist to add a little extra glow to the highlights as well:

What you want is a monopod.

Well it worked a treat 👍 plays beautifully without destroying the contrast. I’ll have to try and track some down.

Gorgeous frame Sat 👍 what lenses gave you that lovely flare?

Hearing nothing but praise for it Greg. Looking forward to checking it out on the big screen when it makes its way down under. 👍

Skintones, highlight rolloff, rolling shutter performance, and battery life are the things I’d love to see in detail. Some 10-bit 4:2:2 vs 10-bit 4:2:0 comparisons would be great as well. And a look at the highest quality (10-bit? 4k?) 60fps the camera can do 👍 It sounds remarkably powerful on the basis of specs.

Looks stunning! I’ve given up on the movie franchise, but given that Greig shot (in my opinion) the one Star Wars sequel that’s lived up to the greatness of the original three. I’ll give this a shot. Pedro Pascal is always excellent too.

Looks really nice AJ 👍 those Kowas have the magic. Good choice.

Looks like Mallick may have finally returned to something approaching structured narrative! 😮 (if the trailer is anything to go by, at least). Colour me interested.

If you've shot at a shorter shutter angle, there's really not much you can do. The reduced motion blur is going to add a certain amount of shuddering to the image. There are a couple of bit of software that can attempt to add motion blur back into the image. But they're far from perfect.

Sorry Jeff, just seen your post. I've always used external recorders with the F3. The internal 8-bit recording isn't up to snuff for a mastering codec. But the 10-bit Prores 4:4:4 most certainly is. I've also just listed the camera for auction on eBay (if anyone's interested): https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/143356574635