For those that have shot with the Alexa 35, what do you think about the image?
Posted: Mon May 06, 2024 9:14 am
I finished my first commercial shoot on the Alexa 35 last week and have finally had a chance to peep some footage. I really love the colors, stills look incredible. The camera itself was a joy to use in a crew environment. So many little ways to control the image right in camera which originally I thought was a gimmick but I'm appreciating the ability to do so at the "sensor" level.
I am interested in hearing from other DPs that have had the chance to examine the footage up close. I am a long time Alexa SXT owner and have shot many little music videos, shorts and a few features on that body. I'm very, very attuned to the characteristics of the Alev III and Log C.
The one thing I sort of picked out having had the chance to use the camera is the look of the motion rendering. In 24P, it is interestingly... somewhat easy to see how the A35 and other Alexa / ALEVIII images look different in this regard. It's not a big deal but one thing I did always appreciate from ARRI was a sort of "film like" motion rendering that felt slightly more film like than other digital cameras. The A35 I think is perhaps one of the more "digital" looking cinema cameras out there at the moment. Colors are wonderful, Dynamic Range is certainly not lacking but it does have something quite "digital" to the aesthetic which can be seen only in motion.
I wish I was able to post footage right now but I'll have to wait a little while before it's cleared. The one thing I can point to is the show 1923. If you've not had a chance to see it, I would watch an episode or 2. I feel that if you freeze any part of that show, it does look quite nice. But in motion it's a little surprising how digital it feels vs say previous gen Alexa / RED or... dare I say... Blackmagic?
I realize I'm commenting on something that is VERY subjective and almost silly to talk about as a point of speculation since there's no particular way to compare one camera to another in this regard. Yet... I think it's easy to see it and so I thought about making this post.
I am interested in hearing from other DPs that have had the chance to examine the footage up close. I am a long time Alexa SXT owner and have shot many little music videos, shorts and a few features on that body. I'm very, very attuned to the characteristics of the Alev III and Log C.
The one thing I sort of picked out having had the chance to use the camera is the look of the motion rendering. In 24P, it is interestingly... somewhat easy to see how the A35 and other Alexa / ALEVIII images look different in this regard. It's not a big deal but one thing I did always appreciate from ARRI was a sort of "film like" motion rendering that felt slightly more film like than other digital cameras. The A35 I think is perhaps one of the more "digital" looking cinema cameras out there at the moment. Colors are wonderful, Dynamic Range is certainly not lacking but it does have something quite "digital" to the aesthetic which can be seen only in motion.
I wish I was able to post footage right now but I'll have to wait a little while before it's cleared. The one thing I can point to is the show 1923. If you've not had a chance to see it, I would watch an episode or 2. I feel that if you freeze any part of that show, it does look quite nice. But in motion it's a little surprising how digital it feels vs say previous gen Alexa / RED or... dare I say... Blackmagic?
I realize I'm commenting on something that is VERY subjective and almost silly to talk about as a point of speculation since there's no particular way to compare one camera to another in this regard. Yet... I think it's easy to see it and so I thought about making this post.