Arri

Arri Alexa in Pakistan

Arri introduced the Arri Alexa, also known as ALEXA, as a digital motion picture camera system in April 2010. It represents Arri’s significant shift into digital cinematography, following smaller projects like the Arriflex D-20 and D-21. The camera offers modular design, PL mount lenses, a Super 35 CMOS sensor capable of up to 2880×2160 resolution, and supports uncompressed video or proprietary raw (ARRIRAW) data.

The camera has an onboard SxS card encoder that can record in Rec. 709 or Log-C formats, using ProRes 422 or ProRes 444 codecs, and DNxHD in 1080p. Alexa owners can buy a software “key” for €1,350 to enable recording up to 120 fps in ProRes 422 HQ. Designed for high-budget films, TV shows, and commercials, Alexa is seen as Arri’s response to the Red One camera’s growing popularity and to lower-resolution models like the Sony CineAlta (35mm, 1080p), Panavision Genesis (35mm, 1080p), and Thomson Viper FilmStream (2/3″, 1080p).

The ALEV III sensor on Alexa boasts 3392×2200 effective pixels, with 2880×2160 allocated for recording in 4:3 mode on the Alexa Studio and M, and 2880×1620 for regular Alexa models in 16:9 mode. The remaining pixels are for looking around in the viewfinder. Alternatively, you can use the full sensor in ‘Open Gate’ mode for higher resolution needs.

ArriRaw is a raw codec, similar to CinemaDNG, preserving unprocessed Bayer sensor data. You can record it via T-link using certified recorders like those from Codex Digital or Cineflow.