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Arri Alexa, New Sony 35mm Chip


John Sprung

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So, I'm just back from a week at the HPA Tech Retreat.

 

We got our hands on the very first Arri Alexa (in an EV body). 800 ASA looks quite conservative, 12+ stops of dynamic range. They had it in a hotel ballroom among other companies' exhibits. We could turn the stop ring from f/1.9 to f/22, and look at the picture on a plasma monitor. Good detail, no noise, this is a big step forward. Of course we'll need to see it on a big screen in good front projection to know how big.... They had some test that they screened in front projection, but the ambient lighting in the conference room rendered that irrelevant.

 

Sony is making a new CCD sensor for the F35 form factor, basically they've turned the Bayer pattern on a 45 degree angle ("Quincunx" is the fancy word for that), and reduced the size of the photosites so they'll get 17.7 million of them instead of 8.5 million. This should be a good thing for reducing aliasing, except on chain link fences. ;-)

 

So, all the targets are moving, and in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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Very cool. Thanks for the first-hand account, John.

 

Related/unrelated chip talk - do you have any idea what a 3MOS chip is? Panasonic's started to put it in its lower-end cameras and I for the life of me can't figure out what it is.

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- do you have any idea what a 3MOS chip is?

 

I looked at the press release. There aren't any tech specs yet. It isn't clear at all, but it probably means that they're using CMOS. It kinda sounds like a three chip beam splitter CMOS setup, but that's a guess. 3MOS is clearly a marketing term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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  • 1 month later...

Stargate Studios tested the new ARRI Alexa camera with a short film called "World Cup." You can see the short as well as the Behind the Scenes and Testimonials at their Channel :

 

www.stargatestudios.net/channel.

 

Its truly a remarkable camera.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am so jaded about the marketing slogans: "Alexa, the camera that will Revolutionize film making," or whatever. YAWN. First it was RED, then the DSLRs, (to name but a very few REVOLUTIONS in the last few years) and now this. These marketing people need to come up with new catchwords and slogans.

 

I know it is not fair to judge by watching clips online, but what I saw on the Cup match was fairly similar to RED MX or Canon 5D footage I have seen. Little noise, very sharp, lots of bokeh and despite all its glory, remarkably bland with very little true character. It spells video all over. IT IS VIDEO. I want me some grain softness on my footage, dammit!

 

Would love to see a MX RED / Alexa / (and even) 5D / F35 side by side comparison test with the same lens on. It would be unfair because the latter two cameras don't have RAW recording and so on. Could all these technologies co-exist, or are we looking at a Blue Ray vs HD DVD type confrontation?

 

End of rant

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I am so jaded about the marketing slogans: "Alexa, the camera that will Revolutionize film making,"

 

End of rant

 

Saul,

 

According to the Stargate Studios promo "...it sees beyond what you can see with your eyes."

This is not only going to revolutionize film making but vision as well.

 

Peace out!

 

M

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