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Arri Amira UHD


Alexis Marcoux

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I have seen it, both projected and on a good 4K consumer set.

 

It's hard to put into words what the improvement is. Will it knock your socks off? Doubtful. But is the improvement visible? Yes. Does it look fantastic, judged vs other 4K cameras that goof highlight handling and or lack in dynamic range/color handling? Absolutely.

 

After having a good 4K set at home with 4K Netflix service for the last 5 months, it became apparent to me just how well the Alexa delivered via high bitrate 1080p compares to the Netflix shows delivered in 4K, shot on Red and F55. I can put on Skyfall and A/B it against House of Cards or Marco Polo, and Skyfall lacks nothing in picture detail. Believe me, before I got the set I would have been skeptical of such a statement as well, but there is a lot to be said about exceptional 1080p put up next to 4K.

 

I think going forward, people will begin to notice the difference between 1080p and 4K. Arri ALEVIII UHD adds just some detail sparkle that isn't there otherwise. I think it will be accepted as a viable alternative for 4K capture as it's clearly higher res than 1080p.

 

What it won't be doing is taking the place of Red or F55 4K for FX work. There's just not enough spare res to do resizes, etc.

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Thank for your input Nate. I know that ProRes 4444 XQ is coming later this year on a firmware update for the Amira. Curious to see how it will hold for FX work in UHD. I been told it pretty amazing for colour space and HDR on the Alexa. Should be pretty impressive for commercials and FX stuffs since it double the infos of ProRes 4444. I just LOVE everything about that camera! My humble opinion is that 4k is sadly showing too much on those show without budget. And even on some with budget… I always felt for example that the Canon c300 add too much details in skin tone in HD. And now it going 4k this year… More is not always a good thing. Especially for some actors. And what about all those people without make up that end up on tv! But that another subject I guess. Contrary to many, I love the idea that the UHD is an up sample. It give you the name 4K that all producers will want but will keep the image pleasing. Anyway, that what I hope for… By the way, when your in 4k mode on the Amira, your frame get bigger. You can see that your taking all the sensor space. So you get more res.

 

I'm finally testing the UHD tomorrow. I will check out the new detail/sharpening +- function. Pretty curious to see the effect on skin tone and to see the different look this new fonction can create.

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I've got my friends upgraded/calibrated Amira today and tomorrow, mine won't get in the queue at Arri Burbank for another week or so.

 

I'm doing some of my own stopped down, HD vs UHD tests right now. Hopefully I'll have a better handle on it very soon.

 

My trashcan Mac Pro pipes right into my 4K set in my living room. Not a bad way to test!

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So I went out today to the Venice boardwalk to shoot some Amira UHD vs. 1080p. I've been watching everything in 4K on my Sony Bravia via HDMI.

 

I won't bore you with a long review. Suffice to say it looks really good. It's pretty much what I expected...it's not F65/4K crisp, but it's a good sight better than 1080p and it's very pleasing. A/Bing the 1080p vs 4K clips, it's immediately apparent which is the 4K (that is, if you shot a deep stop and put the entire frame in focus).

 

The Amira lets you know right away it's working harder, when you switch to UHD the fan kicks it up a notch (which you can only hear if your head is right next to it). 60FPS in UHD, it really moves some air.

 

I'd post some of it, but Youtube 4K is really pretty terrible and I feel you just have to see it for yourself in ProRes to get a good handle on it. But I'll go on record now saying I don't think any producer or broadcast outlet is going to come down on the current Arri ALEVIII 3.2K/UHD offerings and say "that's not 4K, we can't have that". I don't particularly dislike Dragon, but given the choice I'd go Arri UHD first if the end result is 4K and post didn't need 6K for FX and repos.

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