Jump to content

4:3 Alexa Plus for a Lone Owner/Op


Recommended Posts

I have an EVA1 now but am thinking of picking up a 4:3 Alexa when prices bottom out.

How possible is it to use one of these with no crew (literally no other crew in some cases, or with a crew of 2-3) for personal projects? 

How long does a 98wh battery last?

Can you fit it in a case you can take on an airplane?

Is it too heavy (with a small prime) to pick up and put down frequently for lens changes? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Depends slightly on what it's doing but a 98Wh battery on an Alexa Plus 4:3 should give you a bit less than an hour; rely on 30-40 minutes with good batteries. The power consumption is over 80 watts, which is one of the biggest issues with it.

It's entirely possible to use them with a small crew but they are very big and heavy, very power hungry, take a long time to start up, require very expensive media, and have no microphone inputs. The viewfinder has been considered "not that great" by modern standards. You will likely need a bigger tripod than you have. The main purpose of the 4:3 is to take anamorphic lenses which are mindbendingly expensive.

It is not an EVA-1 with "Arri" on the side. I would be a bit cautious about replacing one with the other as I'm not sure you'll notice that your work suddenly becomes massively better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, M Joel W said:

How long does a 98wh battery last?

The camera will chew through the 98wh quickly. Usually the 4:3 plus is powered via a block battery or shark-finned AB/V-mount.

13 hours ago, M Joel W said:

Can you fit it in a case you can take on an airplane?

It won't fit in carry-on, you'll have to check it. It will most likely be over-weight

13 hours ago, M Joel W said:

Is it too heavy (with a small prime) to pick up and put down frequently for lens changes?

It's heavy. If you want to go down this route, make sure to get a VCT Plate for easy attach/detach from the tripod.

13 hours ago, M Joel W said:

How possible is it to use one of these with no crew (literally no other crew in some cases, or with a crew of 2-3) for personal projects? 

Totally possible. Once it's built up, the camera is easy to use. Same menu system as all the other Alexa cameras: simple and straightforward.

It's a heavy camera, so it'll need an equally strong tripod and head to hold it up. Your camera rig rises in complexity with the 4:3 plus which may be too complicated to use as a one-person band and ultimately depends on your bandwidth.

Personally, I'd recommend against it if you'll be doing one-person band work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, everyone. I guess that explains the mini's popularity. Maybe I will get a mini in 5 years.

I love the smooth look of 2.8k/3.2k Alexa, so much so that I can't imagine I will prefer the 4K+ Alexa and could see a 4:3 Alexa being the last digital camera I buy. 

Edited by M Joel W
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, M Joel W said:

Thanks, everyone. I guess that explains the mini's popularity. Maybe I will get a mini in 5 years.

If the new 4K S35 Alexa is really good, maybe the OG mini prices will tank sooner than 5 years.  People like the latest and greatest so prices should move when it comes out.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
21 hours ago, M Joel W said:

Out of curiosity, can the 4:3 Plus shoot 3.2K without the XR module installed?

Nope, it's the XR module that opens up the surround view of the sensor for recording extra resolution.

With an XR to SxS adapter, you can still use SxS cards to record Prores though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

I think one issue that we're overlooking here is how much difference it's going to make.

The EVA is a very solid camera (if cruelly overlooked in the wider world of cameras) and while I'm not blind to the improvements, I'm not sure Alexa would be exactly transformative.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, all. 

I don't think the Mini is compatible with the OCT18 lenses I'd want to adapt to it. Maybe I will keep the EVA1 and get a 4:3 Plus with an XR module after all rather than trying to have it all with a Mini.

But then I'm building out the camera I want piecemeal, which is bizarre.

Well, it all depends on what how work picks up and where prices go I guess. Thanks again.

If I'm using small primes mostly, can I get by with a Miller Compass 20 with a 4:3 Plus? Thanks again.

Edited by M Joel W
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Phil Rhodes said:

The EVA is a very solid camera (if cruelly overlooked in the wider world of cameras) and while I'm not blind to the improvements, I'm not sure Alexa would be exactly transformative.

I wholeheartedly agree. At some point, it's the chef not the knife that determines the quality.

17 minutes ago, M Joel W said:

I don't think the Mini is compatible with the OCT18 lenses

I don't understand. The 4:3 plus is a PL camera, so if the OCT18 won't fit on the PL of a Mini, how will it fit on the 4:3?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

oct18 mount itself protrudes pretty far inside the PL mount and can cause problems just by itself. additionally there is a fork or some other type of additional system which keeps the center optical block from rotating when the mount is rotated on focusing the lens. This additional piece of metal on the back of the adapter takes even more space inside the PL mount. I have understood that all this is way too much for the Alexa or Amira cameras to handle. Have not tested it personally but every rental house and adapter maker has said that so it is probably pretty accurate.

The oct18 Lomos are great lenses but they don't fit every camera and cannot be adapted to any system there is (just like any other lens is not compatible with all the cameras in the world). Of course it can be tested if you can just barely get it work with that particular Alexa, you never know until testing by yourself :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Aapo, yes some lenses are more pokey than others, but the adapters all have that little notch that protrudes deep into the mount.

I believe the pre-XT Alexas lack the internal ND module (which I would love to have otherwise). I was thinking when the 4:3 Plus prices bottom out I could buy one.

I might even just go with screw-on nd filters and some sort of adapter. Most of my post work is Alexa and I love the image, but most of what I shoot is very straightforward but needs a clean image for post.

Les Bosher also converts OCT-18 to PL, but I understand this is an expensive process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...