From IBC: ARRI Amira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During IBC 2013 ARRI has surprised us with the presentation of Amira, a new camera designed for the documentary style that includes a lot of facilities for “shoulder camera” recording.

Amira is built on the same sensor as Alexa, includes its same 14-stop dynamic range and is capable of capturing 1080p and 2K HD images at up to 200fps. Most of its functions have been created to facilitate the speed and usability of a single operator.

Recording and new CFast 2.0 cards

It records in Rec.709 or Log C, using any codec of the ProRes family (422, LT, HQ or 4444), on the new CFast 2.0 Flash memory cards. It does not record in ARRIRAW as it is not intended to stop too much in post production.

ARRI has collaborated with SanDisk for the development of the new CFast 2.0, which will also be supported by the Alexa XT and XR cameras via a recording adapter.

These cards have a pinless design that reduces the possibility of damage during insertion or removal. They will be released in 60GB and 120GB capacities, and will support writing up to 350MB/sec (enough to record ProRes 4444 at up to 120fps). As with SxS card recording, the files are being continuously locked to prevent corruption in the event of camera shutdown or accidental removal of the card.

In-camera color correction

ARRI’s new camera includes preloaded looks that rely on 3D LUTs to create a final image from within the camera. In addition, cinematographers can load custom LUTs before shooting and even modify these 3D LUTs during shooting.

Also included are motorized ND filters, zebra, false-color and peaking functions to aid focusing.

Other features

This camera has a rugged construction for outdoor conditions and will start up quickly, with no setup tasks or other delays to start recording.

Like her sister Alexa, Amira has low noise levels, natural color rendering and great skin tones.

It combines the high resolution of an OLED eyepiece with a flip-down LCD monitor, which displays the image when the eyepiece is not in use, and provides full access to camera functions without the need for the operator to lower the camera from his or her shoulder.

You also have easy access to the configurable user buttons and multi-channel audio options, the latter from the right side of the camera.

What ARRI has not said is when Amira will be launched or at what price, but it will be priced well below Alexa.

Alexa software update

ARRI has also announced the new features included in Alexa software version 9.0.

With this update, higher speed recording in ProRes is now possible, reaching up to 120fps in 16:9 HD mode, in ProRes 4444. A “Pre-Recording” option has been included that keeps the camera recording in a continuous mode. The ring buffer can be set to short, medium or long term, depending on the set ProRes codec, aspect ratio, resolution and frame rate. As an example, the times for ProRes 4444, 16:9 HD, at 24fps, are 4, 13 and 21 seconds (short, medium and long modes respectively).

Also new is DNxHD 444 support for DNxHD-licensed cameras; a feature that repairs metadata in a file that was closed prematurely, so that the media can be reused; and support for Cooke/i lens data, present in the XT and XR cameras, has been extended to the classic Alexa with PL-LDS (Lens Data System) mount.