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ARRI ALEXA

1. eid 7 3 Mains Unit NG 12 26 0 4 44424442 11 7 4 Cine Style 7 5 Onboard 4 4 4 44440 0 00 7 6 VsLock Batteri6s 12 nee nre 7 7 Gold Mount 7 8 Power OUTPUTS ce i a Er 7 8 1 12 V Accessories incedat 7 8 2 24 V ACCOSSOLTIGS iiec iie genet pendente 8 Installation of The Camera 8 1 Minimum Equipment Recommended For Operation 8 2 Tripod and Remote 8 3 Electronic Viewfinder 1 8 3 1 Viewfinder Cables sse 8 3 2 Viewfinder Mounting 4 IV Contents 8 4 Center Camera Handle CCH 1 32 8 5 Side Camera Handle SCH 1 see 33 8 6 Bridge Plate BP 12 sess 34 8 7 Bridge Plate adapter 1 35 8 8 Wedge Adapter WA 1 Quick Release Plate 36 8 9 Leveling 1 36 8 10 titres 37 9 Connectors 38 9 1 ssecula EDI Lea e EL I 40 9 2 REC QUT 182 i e d eui 40 9 3 RETJSYNC IN n Ai Bs
2. 115 VI Contents 13 5 Lens Data 2 480 116 13 6 Plus Camera Gontrols 117 14 RCU 4 121 123 Append ite eaten erdt A e 124 A 2 Camera Dimensions esee nnne nnne 127 Connector Pin 86 E 131 A 4 False Color Display rime ees 136 A 5 Infos and 137 15 Index 143 About This Manual Disclaimer Before using the products described in this manual be sure to read and understand all respective instruction The ARRI ALEXA is only available to commercial customers The customer grants by utilization that the ARRI ALEXA or other components of the system are deployed for commercial use Otherwise the customer has the obligation to contact ARRI preceding the utilization While ARRI endeavors to enhance the quality reliability and safety of their products customers agree and acknowledge that the possibility of defects thereof cannot be eliminated entirely To minimize risk of damage to property or injury including death to persons arising from defects in the products customers must incorporate sufficient safety measures in their work with the system and have to heed the stated canonic use ARRI or its subsidiaries do not assume any responsibility for incurred losses due to improper handling or configuration of the camera
3. 19 Gold Mount 28 H ete a ee 119 53 INEQ idee edet 71 Infos and 141 Installation of The 31 Internal 0122 98 Introduction to 16 L Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 LDS 49 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 115 Lens Data Display 120 Lens Motors ei RRRHHRERRER 117 LENS Support Eia 50 Leveling 1 2 2 1 40 Lists and User 2 56 M Mains Unit NG 12 26 25 Mee CER 78 Minimum Equipment Recommended For Operation ETA 31 MON DUREE 44 84 82 106 Onboard 26 Operation of The 98 Operator 94 ODIIGS 49 114 P Parallel 105 PLAY eru mete e 76 Pl
4. MAKE SURE THE SILICA BOTTLE IS SECURELY FASTENED UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SPILL SILICA INTO THE LENS COMPARTMENT 20 Power Supply 7 1 Power Supply 2 e Only use recommended power supply solutions Manipulation of power supplies can result in severe damage to the equipment and humans including death ALEXA accepts an input voltage range from 10 5 to 34 V DC The camera can be powered through the BAT connector or can be quipped with battery adapters accepting V Lock or Gold Mount batteries The power supply should deliver an output of more than 90 W to power the camera sufficiently The power draw of the camera in basic configuration is about 85 W Note when powering accessories through the camera the power draw of the camera is increased by the amount of power drawn by the accessories Power Management When using the BAT connector and one or more onboard battery adapters simultaneously the camera power management ensures that the power source with the highest voltage level is used When the voltage level of one power source drops below the level of the other or a power source is disconnected from the camera the power management automatically switches to the other power source avoiding shutdown of the system So as an example one could use a 12 V onboard battery as backup for the main 24 V battery or power the camera from the 24 V battery while on a tripod and use the 12 V battery for fast switching to
5. Figure 62 MENU gt PROJECT Production Info The production info screen contains fields to enter info metadata regarding the production The user can enter the names of the director cinematographer location and production Furthermore two fields allow entering undefined data the user would like to add Director Enter the name of the director Cinematographer Enter the name of the cinematographer Location Enter the name of the location Production Enter the name of the production User Info 1 Enter other info User Info 2 Enter other info 84 Camera Controls Cinematographer JOHN DOE Location THE SHACK Production DOE MOVIES User Info 1 NONE User Info 2 NONE Figure 63 Production info screen CLEAR ALL ERASE SET DIRECTOR BeBcDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890 lt gt DONE Figure 64 Production info edit screen 11 1 5 4 System Contains groups of system settings Power Display System clock date External sync Run beeper V M V Figure 65 MENU gt SYSTEM Sensor Sensor When shooting in tropical conditions with high temperature temperature and humidity the sensor temperature can be changed to Tropical This will avoid condensation on the sensor coverglass Main Controls 85 Power Plug warning BAT2 Onboard warning The level at which a power warning is exhibited for the power source connected to the BAT
6. ARRI User Manual ARRI ALEXA For ALEXA Software Update Packet 3 1 Printed on 6 April 2011 rights reserved This document is provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and is also protected by copyright law Due to continued product development this information may change without notice The information and intellectual property contained herein is confidential between ARRI and the client and remains the exclusive property of ARRI If you find any problems in the documentation please report them to us in writing ARRI does not warrant that this document is error free Arnold amp Richter Cine Technik Tuerkenstr 89 D 80799 Munich Germany mailto service arri com http www arri com Contents 1 Disclaimer 2 Scope 3 ALEXA Images 4 Introduction to ALEXA 4 1 About This 5 Safety Instructions 5 1 Explanation of Warning Signs Indications 5 2 General Safety Instructions s eese 5 3 Specific Safety 6 General Precautions 6 1 Storage and 6 2 Electromagnetic 6 3 CornidensatiloD ne cerea 7 Power Supply 7 1 Power 7 2
7. Camera Controls 11 Camera Controls The camera can be controlled through three different interfaces 1 Main controls Operator controls EVF controls Located on the camera right side Consist of a 3 LCD screen with screen buttons changing their behavior depending on the screen content a jogwheel to navigate through menus and adjust parameters and a range of function buttons with dedicated behavior Located on the camera left side Consist of three assignable function buttons plus three function buttons for quick and easy operator interaction Located on the electronic viewfinder Allow adjustment of viewfinder parameters and the most important image related parameters 11 1 Main Controls The main controls can be used to set all camera parameters REC ON OFF AA pm Figure 30 Main user interface Main Controls 49 11 1 1 11 1 2 11 1 3 Display The LCD display on the right side has a size of 3 and a resolution of 400x240 pixels The display is back illuminated and transflective which results in exceptional contrast even in bright sunlight The brightness of the display can quickly be adjusted by simply turning the jogwheel when the Homescreen is displayed A removable plastic shield protects the display from scratches and can simply be removed by pulling it off the four pins on its corners that hold it in place Screen Buttons Six screen buttons are locate
8. In this appendix Appendix Camera Dimensions Connector Pin Outs False Color Display Infos and Warnings 124 127 131 136 137 A 1 Appendix Image Sensor Type Sensor frame rates Shutter angle Total active pixels incl surround view Pixels of recorded image Aperture of recorded image Image aperture incl surround view Pixel pitch Aspect ratio Filters Color filters Lens Lens mount Flange focal depth Image processing White balance CC Shift EI rating Recorded image resolution Viewfinder Type Technology Resolution Power Power supply Power management Power consumption Power outputs Recording ALEV III CMOS sensor 0 750 60 000 fps 5 0 358 0 3112 x 1782 2880 x 1620 23 76 x 13 365 mm 25 674 x 14 701 mm 8 25 um 1 78 1 16 9 optical low pass UV IR RGB primary colors Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 1 installed 52 00 mm nominal 2000 11000 Kelvin 8 to 8 translates to full magenta full green gel correction 160 3200 ASA 1920 x 1080 pixels downscaled from 2880 x 1620 ARRI EVF 1 LCOS imaging device 1280 x 784 pixels DC 11 34V Active ORing between BAT connector and onboard battery adapters ca 85W w o accessories 2 x RS 24V 1x 12V Recording media Recording compression codec Frame rates Image Outputs Recording output Monitoring outputs Timecode Type TC input TC outputs Dimensions and we
9. Press both buttons RESET RESET Figure 80 Motion sensor reset screen LENS DATA Shows the type of LDS lens connected and the LDS status The LENS DATA screen button leads to the LDS screen where lens info like lens type current focal length iris focus distance and close and far point of depth of field are shown The OPTIONS screen button opens the LDS options screen where the LDS unit can be switched between imperial and metric and the circle of confusion for correct calculation of depth of field can be set Note After connecting a new LDS lens turn all lens rings slowly until all lens axes have transmitted their current positions 85mm T 16 Zeiss 65 1 3 OPTIONS Figure 81 LDS info screen Plus Camera Controls 119 CLM screens The screens for IRIS FOCUS and ZOOM controlled lens motors all have the same layout They show the motor type motor direction and motor torque Note For CLM 2 motors the torque value is greyed out as torque is only active for CLM 3 motors It can nonetheless be changed in case a CLM 3 motor might be used but is currently not at hand In addition a lens motor calibration can be triggered either for all lens motors or only for the one featured in the particular screen Note When starting a motor calibration make sure each motor s cog wheel is connected properly to the lens Pay extra attention that no one is close to the motors or holding them Catching a
10. The frame rate should if possible match the sensor frame rate to avoid frame drops or duplicate frames on the output which would result in jittering images when image content is moving Defines how images are transmitted e p Progessive Images are transmitted line by line from left to right starting at the top left pixel psf Progressive segmented Images are first split into fields which are then transmitted line by line from left to right At the upper and lower edge of the MON OUT image additional status info can be overlayed to the image The upper area contains camera image parameters the lower area contains camera status infos The ALEV III sensor has 10 additional pixels outside the recorded image for a better monitoring experience The user can decide whether he wants to see these 1096 in the MON OUT or not By switching surround view on objects that are not wanted in the image such as microphone booms can be seen by the operator before they enter the image If surround view is set to On it must be separated from the recorded image area to allow proper framing Users can choose from different mask levels or a black or colored line for Main Controls 81 Frame lines Center mark False color separation Frame lines are a reference for framing that typically consist of an image frame a center cross and an aspect ratio reference See the appendix for more information on the ALEXA frame
11. Timecode is also transmitted from the master to the slave via the EXT cable When a camera has been set to slave it automatically uses the TC values transmitted via the EXT cable The TC screen will show EXT TC from master camera as TC source and all options are disabled Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras It is possible to operate two ALEXAs with synchronized settings Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras 107 Camera connection Connect two ALEXAs with the ALEXA Ethernet Ethernet Cable KC 156 S or with the ALEXA Ethernet RJ 45 Cable KC 153 S over an Ethernet hub Camera setup Go to MENU gt SYSTEM gt EXT SYNC and set Settings sync to ETH master on one camera Set the other camera to ETH slave The cameras will automatically negotiate IP addresses After about 5 seconds connections are established The master camera will initially distribute its settings to the slave camera Once this is done settings can also be changed on the slave camera and the change will take effect on both cameras This is useful if the master camera s controls are not accessible If a camera is set to ETH master or ETH slave but is not connected to another camera a warning is emitted on the STATUS Info screen Synced settings This is a list of all settings that are affected by the sync WB gt White Balance CC Tint El Exposure Index FPS Sensor FPS SHUTTER gt Shutter Angle COLOR gt Gamma gt SxS COLOR gt Gamma gt REC OUT
12. or it might take some time to reach the correct level This can be the case right after booting or with very hot or cold ambient temperatures A red temperatrue icon indicates that the sensor temperature is too far off to guarantee a high image quality while a white temperature icon indicates that image quality is still in the very high set quality limits required by ARRI The related messages in the INFO screen are shown in the following tables ALEXA status message System state Good Camera works properly ALEXA warning messages and meanings Warning message Meaning Main Bat Power The battery attached to the BAT connector warning has reached its warning level Battery power is about to end and a replacement battery should be prepared Onboard Bat Power battery attached to the onboard battery warning adapter has reached its warning level Battery power is about to end and a replacement battery should be prepared Card 1 Low capacity SxS PRO card in slot 1 has less than 3 minutes recording time left Prepare a new card for recording Card 2 Low capacity Card 1 Rec protected Card 2 Rec protected Card 1 Full Card 2 Full Card 1 Wrong file system Card 2 Wrong file system Card 1 Card is too slow Card 2 Card is too slow Camera overheating Low sensor temperature High sensor temperature External TC Different frame rate The SxS PRO card in slot 2 has less than
13. remain active until the EXP button is pressed again 92 Camera Controls 11 3 1 The EVF buttons are locked whith the camera UI by pressing the LOCK button on the camera left or right side until the lock timer has elapsed On the right side the timer is shown as a countdown on the display The locked controls are visualized by a lock icon On the left side the locked controls are visualized by a blue LED next to the LOCK button Viewfinder EVF menu Pushing the EVF button opens a menu in the viewfinder display to set the viewfinder parameters Select the setting to be changed with the jogwheel press the wheel and set it to the desired value Press again to confirm To quit the menu press the EVF button Brightness Select the brightness of the EVF A level of 5 is recommended for normal circumstances Rotate image When mounting the EVF on the camera right side the image can be flipped so it appears upright in the viewfinder Affects only the EVF image MON OUT and REC OUT are not affected Smooth mode With smooth mode set the EVF image shutters less when panning Note that smooth mode is only possible with shutter angles of 180 0 or less Surround view The ALEV III sensor has 10 additional pixels outside the recorded image for a better monitoring experience The user can decide whether he wants to see these 1096 in the viewfinder or not By switching surround view on objects that are not wanted in
14. the previous screen When editing this button reverts your adjustment and quits edit mode HOME Returns to the Homescreen from any other screen 11 1 4 1 TC Time Code The TC screen shows the currently set TC The currently active TC settings are displayed below the TC values TIMECODE Format Int TC Regen 24 fps OPTIONS USER BITS B PROJECT Figure 44 Timecode screen Note Individual frame values are not shown in the screen even though they are counted By pressing the OPTIONS screen button the Time Code options list opens where TC settings can be changed Source Choose the TC source Int TC internal TC counter Main Controls 65 Ext LTC TC is read from the LTC input Only possible with Mode set to Free Run and the project fps must match the sensor fps setting Mode Defines how the TC is counted Rec Run Free Run Generator Regen Jam sync TC will only increment during record TC value is increasing with every frame generated by the sensor during record while counting with the set time base project fps TC is running free If the source is set to Int TC and the sensor frame rate does not match the time base of the TC the value is incrementing with every new frame generated by the sensor while counting with the set time base project fps Rec Run TC is regenerated from the last valid TC value With Ext LTC it means that the camera is continuously re
15. ARRI cameras Bridge Plate adapter BPA 1 35 8 7 Bridge Plate adapter BPA 1 The bridge plate adapter BPA 1 can be used to attach a BP 3 BP 5 BP 8 BP 9 to ALEXA First attach the BPA 1 to the camera with the two screws Then attach the bridge plate to the adaptor with its two screws Make sure the screws are tightened firmly with a screwdriver 36 Installation of Camera 8 8 8 9 Wedge Adapter WA 1 Quick Release Plate The WA 1 can be mounted at the same position as a bridge plate It has a dove tail that slides into the counter part of a quick release plate like the ARRI OR HD 1 The quick release plate has a pin at its back which fits into the pin receptacle at the back of the camera base Figure 19 ARRI QR HD 1 Leveling Block LB 1 The leveling block LB 1 attaches to the bottom of the ALEXA back foot It prevents the camera from resting on a back mounted battery when a bridge plate is attached and the camera is placed on a flat surface It is mounted by inserting its top lid into the pin receptacle on the end of the shoulder arc in the camera base Twist the knob clockwise to tighten Figure 20 Leveling Block LB 1 Shoulder Pad SP 3 37 8 10 Shoulder Pad SP 3 The camera base has an integrated arch to fit to the operator s shoulder For extended handheld shoots the newly designed shoulder pad SP 3 can be attached to the base of
16. COLOR gt Gamma gt MON OUT COLOR gt Gamma gt REC OUT COLOR gt GammasEVF COLOR Gamma LOG C film matrix MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt SxS Codec MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt Dual recording gt gt OUT gt Frame rate MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt HD SDI format MENUsRecording gt REC OUT gt Scan format MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Output range gt gt OUT gt REC OUT fps sets sensor fps 108 Operation of The Camera gt gt OUT gt SDI remote gt gt OUT gt Vari flag MENU gt Monitoring gt EVF gt Status info MENU gt Monitoring gt EVF gt Surround view MENU gt Monitoring gt EVF gt Surround mask MENU gt Monitoring gt EVF gt Framelines MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Frame rate MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Scan format MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUTsStatus info MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Surround view MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Surround mask MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Framelines MENU gt Project gt Project fps In addition the slave camera takes over the Camera ID of the master camera so file names are identical except for the Camera ID prefix It is important to give the master and the slave camera different Camera ID prefixes to prevent duplicate file names General Description 109 13 ALEXA Plus The ALEXA Plus has an additional set of features compared to the regular A
17. Gamma according to ITU R BT709 standard Images are prepared for playback on standard broadcast monitors The new option is suited for DCI P3 also known as SMPTE 431 2 compliant displays This color space is used for digital cinema purposes When set to On a matrix is applied to the image paths set to LOG C which makes the image appear like an image coming from a film negative that has been scanned with an ARRISCAN This is meant for a DI workflow that utilizes preview LUTs that were generated for film scans Note Due to technical limitations it is not possible to set REC OUT to REC 709 and SxS to DCI P3 and vice versa When one of them is changed the value of the other image path is matched automatically by the camera LOG C is an intermediate color format and not designed as a display standard Thus color grading becomes an obligatory post production step and for proper previewing creation of dailies or editing proxies it is necessary to use Look Up Tables Matching preview LUTs be generated with the ARRI ALEXA LUT generator on www arridigital com Camera Controls 11 1 3 7 WB Pressing the WB screen button in the HOMESCREEN opens the WBlist screen The list presets are 3200K for Tungsten 4300K for Fluorescent 5600K for Daylight and 7000K for Daylight cool White Balance adjusts the color balance of the camera according to the lighting in use It can be adjusted in steps of 100K from 2000 to 11000K In addit
18. SxS INFO and REC OUT Setting sensor fps through REC OUT fps If the sensor fps is linked to the REC OUT frame rate a message appears instead of the list While this setting is active sensor fps can only be changed by changing the REC OUT frame rate To change this setting press the REC OUT screen button to access the REC OUT menu screen and set REC OUT fps sets sensor fps to Off SENSOR FPS 422 HQ Max 60 fps 24 fps SxS CODEC SxS INFO REC OUT Figure 33 Fps screen with linked sensor fps Setting correct frame rates for recording with external devices It is very important to pay good attention to setting frame rates when recording with external devices Mistakes can result in dropped frames and ruin the shot The sensor fps setting determines the amount of frames per second generated by the sensor This can be anywhere in the range between 0 750 and 60 000 frames per second The images are then processed by the camera electronics for the different output paths The REC OUT is the recording output path whcih transmits images to an external recorder that stores the images Its frame rate can only be set to standard speeds Ideally the REC OUT frame rate matches the sensor frame rate If the REC OUT frame rate is lower than the sensor frame rate the images cannot be output as fast as they are created by the sensor resulting in dropped frames which are irretrievably lost Main Controls 55 If the REC OUT
19. and image time code should match and allow an easy alignment in post e Setup The sound department acts as the Time code master and generates a Timecode which uses the Time of day as a value and the time base is the project frame rate 24 hours of time will translate into 24 hours of Time code This Time code is fed to the camera via the LTC in The camera must be set to Ext LTC Free Run and the project fps setting must match both the sensor frame rate and the time base of the external TC signal Then the camera can either use Jam sync mode in which it samples the TC value once and then continues counting based on its own high precision crystal clock and the TC signal can be disconnected from the camera after jamming This mode ensures stable time code with an offset of less than 1 frame for 8 hours after which the camera has to be re jammed Or the camera can be set to Regenerate mode where the camera uses the TC value of the external TC signal This ensures correct CT for an infinite duration but the TC signal must remain connected to the camera Syncing the Sensors of Two Cameras 105 e Variations If the shooting starts close to midnight the TC might be started with an offset to prevent a rollover at midnight e Restrictions Only possible if the camera is running at sync sound speed If the camera is over or under cranking the TC frame rate will no longer match the sensor frame rate so that TC values would either be
20. e camera describes the camera that the frame lines file is made for As the ALEXA camera system will consist of several cameras in the future this is necessary to differentiate between the camera types e line all frame lines and the center cross in the active image area consist of single lines The line orientation is defined by three attributes left and right and bottom or top for horizontal lines top and bottom and left or right for vertical lines where two attributes define the start and end point and the third defines the distance from the parallel image edge e Distances for start end and position are relative to the width or the height of the image and have a precision of 5 e Tocreate a centered frame line with a center cross as in the example a total of 6 lines is necessary To calculate the position of a line for a given aspect ratio use the following formulas horizontal lines for aspect ratios gt 1 78 e g 1 85 1 1 78 Aspect 22distance from bottom or top vertical lines for aspect ratios 1 78 e g 1 33 1 Aspect 1 78 2 distance from left or right Monitoring 103 XML example The best way to understand the frame lines system is by looking at an example The following example describes a frame lines file for a 2 35 centered aspect ratio inside the cameras 1 78 recorded image lt xml version 1 0 encoding UTF 8 SIE NOTES All widths are in pixels All colors be o
21. finger cloth or anything else on the motor s cog wheel can cause sever body harm as well as damage to the system IRIS CLM CALIBRATE CAL ALL Figure 82 Iris CLM screen Shows status direction and torque of the CLM connected to the IRIS socket Press the IRIS CLM screen button to access the iris CLM screen This screen shows the type of motor connected to the IRIS socket its direction and torque Direction and torque can be changed by the screen buttons below and above the value Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors It is not possible to calibrate selected lens motors only 120 ALEXA Plus ZOOM CLM CALIBRATE CAL ALL Figure 83 Zoom CLM screen Shows status direction and torque of the CLM connected to the ZOOM socket Press the ZOOM CLM screen button to access the zoom CLM screen This screen shows the type of motor connected to the ZOOM socket its direction and torque Direction and torque can be changed by the screen buttons below and above the value Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors It is not possible to calibrate selected lens motors only FOCUS CLM CALIBRATE CAL ALL Figure 84 Focus CLM screen Shows status direction and torque of the CLM connected to the FOCUS socket Press the FOCUS CLM screen button to access the focus CLM screen This screen shows the type of motor conne
22. in seconds by the following equation Angle 360 Fps Currently set exposure index rated in ASA ALEXA has a base sensitivity of 800 ASA the camera rating can be adjusted from 160 3200 ASA Note ASA rating is identical to ISO rating Note Exposure Index is not applied to ARRIRAW signals Shows gamma of SxS and REC OUT Camera white balance This is the color temperature of the light source the camera is currently adjusted for Can be adjusted from 2000 11000 Kelvin in steps of 100K In addition to the red blue correction of the white balance ALEXA can also compensate for a green magenta tint This value called CC after color compensation is shown as an exponent of the WB value Positive values are marked with a and negative values with a Displays current time code including source INT internal or EXT external source Frames are not displayed instead the timebase of the time code is shown in small digits camera is set to Ext sync MASTER camera is set to Ext sync SLAVE Settings sync is active Voltage level power source present at BAT connector or percentage of remaining capacity of attached battery if it transmits this information Voltage level of battery attached to onboard battery adapter or percentage of remaining capacity of attached battery if it transmits this information Identifies current reel Consists of camera index and reel counter Identifies current clip Consists of Clip inde
23. line format A center mark either a cross or a dot can be added to the image to help the framing status info can be displayed The upper area contains camera image parameters the lower area contains camera status infos Activates the false color display on the MON OUT The false color display is a visual exposure help that uses color coding to emphasize significant luminance values Scan format psf Status info On Surround view On Surround mask Black line Frame lines On Figure 60 MENU gt MONITORING gt MON OUT Note Only use double shielded HD SDI cables for monitoring to ensure error free data transmission Frame Lines Frame line 2 Off User rectangles Off Color Red Intensity 2 Set rect 1 gt Figure 61 MENU MONITORING FRAMELINES 82 Camera Controls Frame lines are an image overlay that can be applied to either the EVF image the MON OUT image or both ALEXA frame lines are stored as XML files containing definitions what the frame lines look like The camera contains default frame lines for 1 33 1 1 66 1 1 78 1 1 85 1 and 2 39 1 aspect ratios Additional frame lines can be loaded from the SD card To load more frame lines press the ADD screen button in the Frame lines data base screen This opens list of all frame line files located the SD card which can then be copied to the camera The camera supports up to 16 frame line templates Frame line 1 Select the main fr
24. or other system components due to sensor contamination occurence of dead or defective pixels defective signal connections or incompatibilities with third party recording devices ARRI assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document The information is subject to change without notice For product specification changes since this manual was published refer to the latest publications of ARRI data sheets or data books etc for the most up to date specifications Not all products and or types are available in every country Please check with an ARRI sales representative for availability and additional information Neither ARRI nor its subsidiaries assume any liability for infringement of patents copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties by or arising from the use of ARRI products or any other liability arising from the use of such products No license express implied or otherwise is granted under any patents copyrights or other intellectual property right of ARRI or others ARRI or its subsidiaries expressly exclude any liability warranty demand or other obligation for any claim representation or cause or action or whatsoever express or implied whether in contract or tort including negligence or incorporated in terms and conditions whether by statue law or otherwise In no event shall ARRI or its subsidiaries be liable for or have a remedy for recovery of any special direct i
25. power on HOME Back to Homescreen BACK Go to previous screen Cancel REC Starts stops internal recording Default list values FUNCTION BUTTON cannot be deleted When Sensor fps is set by REC OUT fps list is not displayed SCREEN BUTTON Behavior description ALEXA Plus only WRS WRS screen Radio settings CAM LEVEL Camera tilt and roll degree LENS DATA Lens Data Info IRIS CLM Iris CLM settings ZOOM Zoom CLM settings FOCUS CLM Focus CLM settings ARRI ALEXA MENU Version SUP 3 1 MENU ProRes 422 Proxy ProRes 422 LT ProRes 422 ProRes 422 HQ Recording SxS CARDS Codec ProRes 4444 Dual recording T Erase SxS CARD 1 Erase SxS CARD 2 REC OUT Frame rate 422 1 5G SL 422 1 5G DL 422 3G SL 444 1 56 DL ARRIRAW 1 5G DL HD SDI format Scan format Output range REC OUT fps sets sensor fps On SDI remote Vari flag Electronic Monitoring viewfinder Brightness 0 5 Rotate image Smooth mode Status info Surround view Black line Color line 25 mask 50 mask 75 mask Surround mask Frame lines Center mark Dot MON OUT Frame rate Scan format On Status Info Off On Surround view Off Black line Color line Surround mask 2596 mask 50 mask 75 mask On Frame lines Off Off Center mark Dot Cross On False color Off Choose from list of frame lines import new frame li
26. the camera with velcro Note The SP 3 can only be used with a BP 12 and 19 mm rods or with 15 mm rods and a WA 1 quick release base plate When using the BPA 1 with BP 5 BP 8 the bridge plate has to be removed prior to attaching the SP 3 Figure 21 SP 3 shoulder pad Figure 22 SP 3 below camera 38 Connectors Connectors Camera back Figure 23 Connectors at back From top to bottom MON OUT RET SYNC IN EXT REC OUT 1 amp 2 BAT ETHERNET Camera right AUDIO IN C Figure 24 Connectors on right side From left to right top to bottom 2x RS 24 V out AUDIO OUT TC 12V out AUDIO IN SD CARD camera bottom Shoulder Pad SP 3 39 Camera left Figure 25 Camera left SxS slots Top to bottom SxS slot 1 SxS slot 2 Camera front Figure 26 Camera front connector EVF connector 40 Connectors 9 1 9 2 9 3 9 4 9 5 BAT The BAT connector can be used to power the camera from an external power source with cables 205 and 295 It is located on the camera back lower right REC OUT 1 amp 2 The REC OUT consists of two BNC plugs capable of carrying 1920x1080 1 5G or 3G HD SDI signals with frame rates from 23 976 to 60 fps according to SMPTE standards 274M 292M 372M and 425M The signal format can be changed in the camera menu The connectors are located on the camera back mid right RET SYNC IN This
27. the card to another device but the data cannot be manipulated on the card itself CARD file structure SxS cards are named ARRI UDF after they are formatted in the camera until the first clip is record Clips are stored in a folder named exactly like the card In addition to the clips an XML file named like the card and the folder extended by _FCP example A001R1JL FCP xml is created by the camera The XML file is according to the FinalCutPro XML specification If the XML file is opened in FinalCutPro directly from the card all clips are imported as one bin into FCP If the clips are copied from the card to another destination the file paths in the XML file have to be adjusted to match the new file location AON L AO004RIU Info AO04R1LJ 1 Modified Today 5 03 PM Y Spotlight Comments KB available Y Preview 28 004 002 R1LJ mov A0o4coo3 RIL mov B A004C004 R1LJ mov E eated Today 5 A004C005 _R1LJ moy Modified Today 5 03 PM A004CO006 R1LJ mov lt Format Universal Disk Format UDF 004 007 R1LJ mov Capacity 16 17 GB 7 AOO4R1LJ FCP xml Name 004 003 201008 ie boe _ 16 165 822 464 bytes Kind QuickTime movie an Size 160 5 MB on disk Created Today 5 04 PM Modified Today 5 04 Last opened Today 5 04 PM gt More info Devens gt Name amp Extension Duration Y Preview O Shared folde
28. 1S 32 Installation of Camera 8 4 Center Camera Handle CCH 1 The Center Camera Handle CCH 1 is attached to the camera top with 3 screws two at the front and one at the back Make sure the screws are well tightened with a 3mm Allen key Figure 16 Camera with CCH 1 side view Side Camera Handle SCH 1 33 8 5 The handle extension block HEB 2 mounts to the front end of the CCH 1 and adds one more focus hook to the camera in a high position so the tape measure clears the matte box Side Camera Handle SCH 1 The SCH 1 is used in conjunction with a BAT V or BAT G battery top mounting adapter or with third party onboard recorders It is attached to the camera with 3 screws two at the front and one at the back Make sure the screws are tightened firmly with a 3 mm Allen key If a tall battery or a tall third party onboard recorder is used the adjustable center grip of the SCH 1 can be replaced by the taller Adjustable Center Grip Tall ACG 2 34 Installation of Camera 8 6 Figure 17 SCH 1 Figure 18 Camera with SCH 1 side view Bridge Plate BP 12 The bridge plate BP 12 has been newly developed for ALEXA It mounts directly to the camera housing with two screws and ensures that iris rods matte boxes and follow focus units are positioned properly in regards to the optical center of the camera just like all other
29. 3 13 4 13 4 1 White radio White radio is the standard radio system for the ALEXA Plus It has 8 available channels White radio can be identified by a white ring at the antenna mount point Channel Frequency 0 2 410 GHZ 1 2 415 GHZ 2 2 430 GHZ 3 2 435 GHZ 4 2 450 GHZ 5 2 455 GHZ 6 2 470 GHZ 7 2 475 GHZ Within one radio network of camera and hand units white radio and yellow radio cannot be mixed In general it is possible to use both systems in different radio networks in parallel Up to three hand units can be connected to one camera in parallel to form a radio network Wireless Remote System Lens Motors CLM 2 and CLM 3 motors can be used with the ALEXA PLUS CLM 1 motors are not supported CLM 2 and CLM 3 motors can be used in a mixed setup Note Use only one lens motor per lens axis Lens motors should be connected according to their position on the lens to the IRIS FOCUS and ZOOM sockets on the camera s right side 114 ALEXA Plus Motor calibration After connecting a lens motor to the camera and the lens axis it must be calibrated Every time a lens motor has been deattached from the lens it must be recalibrated after reattachment When motors are used the camera will ask the user to calibrate the lens motors after booting the camera As a lens change or a change of the motor position during power down would invalidate the calibration the motor torque could damage the lens when driving w
30. 3 minutes recording time left Prepare a new card for recording The SxS PRO card in slot 1 is Rec protected Remove the card from the camera slide the switch located on the camera back end to the Rec enable position and re insert the card The SxS PRO card in slot 2 is Rec protected Remove the card from the camera slide the switch located on the camera back end to the Rec enable position and re insert the card SxS PRO card in slot 1 is selected but the SxS PRO card is full Use a new card Card in other slot can still record SxS PRO card in slot 2 is selected but the SxS PRO card is full Use a new card Card in other slot can still record The SxS PRO card in slot 1 is not formatted in the file system required by the camera Format the card The SxS PRO card in slot 2 is not formatted in the file system required by the camera Format the card The write speed of SxS PRO card in slot 1 is insufficient for the sensor fps set on the camera Use a card with a higher write speed The write speed of SxS PRO card in slot 2 is insufficient for the sensor fps set on the camera Use a card with a higher write speed The camera system s temperature is reaching a critical level this can either be due to a blocked camera fan or ambient temperature exceeding the system s limits Apply additional cooling or switch of the camera to prevent hardware damage The sensor temperature is lower than it should be High image quali
31. BNC connector is currently not in use It is located on the camera back mid right MON OUT The MON OUT is a single BNC connector capable of carrying a 1920x1080 422 YCbCr 1 5G HD SDI signal with frame rates of 23 976 24 25 29 97 or 30 fps according to SMPTE standards 274M and 292M The signal format can be changed in the camera menu It is located on the camera back upper right The EXT connector is a multi pin accessory connector It carries signals for communication with various accessories and 24V power The maximum power output is 2 2A shared with the RS outputs Cables are currently available for e Connecting a UMC 3 remote motor controller model UMC Connection Cable 0 80m 2 6ft K UMC3 ALEXA e Connecting two ALEXA cameras for synchronized operation model EXT to EXT Cable 2 00m 6 6ft KC 155 S The connector is located on the camera back mid right 41 9 6 9 7 9 8 9 9 9 10 Regular ethernet connectors neither deliver power nor the durability and reliability required by ARRI so ALEXA uses a 10 pin LEMO connector A special cable available from ARRI model KC 153 S is required to connect the Ethernet socket to a standard RJ 45 Ethernet socket The ethernet port can be used to operate two ALEXA cameras with synced settings by connecting the cameras with cable KC 156 S In addition it is used for service and future accessories The ethernet connector can ou
32. Bee ee RI 40 9 4 MON OUT eis T 40 9 5 ee RD EI Saas 40 9 6 ETHERNET 41 9 7 EVE aiit peg er n Ere Renown pete cg 41 9 8 AUDIO IN eife eee te 41 9 9 Rorate oci de 41 9 10 AT IE 41 9 11 tain aa es Bigs etam utes 42 9 12 AUDIO JOU T notti eet e Ee 42 9 13 SD Card vs uiii e andan 42 9 14 SxS Slots ug Deu iei editus 43 10 Optics 45 10 1 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 no LDS 45 10 2 Lens Support nrc t ere es 46 11 Camera Controls 48 11 1 Main Controls sciet eap amets 48 TEETE i BiSpl yziiiei EHI DIRE uem 49 11 1 2 Screen Buttons si en eene eet He certe 49 111 3 HOMESCGRBEEN 2 1 eerie eerte Eg ne ee 49 11 1 3 1 Lists and User 52 T121 3 2 EPS 1L fea aint nin AU p e Het Bui 53 11 1 3 3 AUDIO ep eR RE RE RE RULES TER EROR 56 11 73 4 uu O EE 58 b AE nectit Us e eoe eei tetas 58 11 13 6 COLOR zinc or LO 61 ROPA 62 11 1 4 Funetion 63 11 1 4 1 TG Time Gode tette 64 LEA Ilse 67 TIT AES USER aia Anaad ete rere entr rera ere 70 JM EE PLAN Oc 72 TT 5 uie ute ee 74 TT 1 5 1 Recording nope ec Yet HUC p
33. LEXA e Level sensor The level sensor determines the camera s tilt and roll e CLM ports Three ports for connecting controlled lens motors Currently supported motor types are CLM 2 and CLM 3 e Radio module Connects wirelessly to hand units for controlling CLMs e LDS ARRI s Lens Data System is supported for reading lens data and calculating depth of field e Additional connectors An additional MON OUT supplies a second monitor with a monitoring signal Two LCS ports for connecting a WCU 3 a WHA 3 or a ZMU 3 Any ALEXA can be upgraded to an ALEXA Plus by installing the Plusmodule Note The Plus module must be installed by an authorized ARRI service center 13 1 General Description The ALEXA Plus has an extended electronic side cover that offers the following additional functions over the standard ALEXA e Built in radio modem for wireless remote control of lens and camera e Motor drivers for up to three CLM 2 or CLM 3 motors e Two LCS bus interfaces for connecting WCU 3 WHA 3 and ZMU 3 hand units e LDD Lens Data Display interface currently not supported Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS support e Control of LDS radio and lens motors through the camera user interface e Athird RS socket e A second MON OUT connector 110 ALEXA Plus e An additional function button labeled WRS It gives access to the WRS screen from where all camera setting related to the Plus camera features can be handl
34. P 12 Bridge Plate with base plate or BPA 1 with BP 5 BP 8 Bridge Plate and base plate or WA 1 Wedge Adapter and Quick Release HD Baseplate SDcard e Compatible power supply e Sony SxS PRO card for recording Tripod and Remote Heads Tripod and remote heads used with ALEXA have to provide enough load capacity to support the camera and attached accessories The table to the right shows the camera weight for different components Note Check for the payload of remote heads and cranes In applications where the camera mount is subject to high forces e g car or helicopter mounts the camera must be additionally secured with retaining cords All fastening screws must be tightened firmly with an appropriate screwdriver not with the commonly used coin Camera weight Ibs kg ARRI ALEXA incl SxS module EVF 1 VMB 1 16 85 7 65 CCH 1 KC 150S ALEXA camera body including SxS module 13 79 6 26 Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 1 65 0 75 Viewfinder Mounting Bracket VMB 1 0 55 0 25 Installation of Camera Viewfinder Cable short KC 150S 0 26 0 12 Center Camera Handle CCH 1 0 60 0 27 8 3 Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 The EVF 1 employs an LCOS imaging device together with a temperature stabilized LED light source to provide an accurate and bright view of the sensor image under all operating conditions The viewfinder is calibrated to match the image of the camera s HD outputs The image area of the EVF 1 has a si
35. ading the TC signal at the LTC socket as long as it is present Only upon disconnection or loss of signal the camera continues counting on its own When the external signal reappears the camera uses the values of the external signal again With Int TC the value is increased with each new image generated by the sensor Only Ext LTC can be jam synced This means that the external TC source is connected to the camera then the camera reads the external TC count and continues counting on its own Due to a highly precise crystal oscillator in ALEXA the internal counter will count accurately for 8 hours After that period the camera has to be resynced to avoid any TC offset The camera can be synced to TC signals whose time base differs from the camera s project fps as long as both are integer 24 25 and 30 fps or non integer 23 976 and 29 97 fps signals It is not possible to mix signals of these two groups Note It is recommended to sync after every shooting break to avoid the risk of having to resync during the shoot Note The camera will keep its TC for about 10 minutes after disconnection from the power source If a power source is connected the camera will remember its TC for as long as the power source is connected even if it is switched off 66 Camera Controls e Userbit source shows the source of the user bits Internal User bits are set manually in the User Bit screen LTC in UB When using Ext LTC as TC sou
36. als These are sampled with only half the horizontal resolution as the human eye is less sensitive to color resolution than to luminance resolution As a result bandwidth is saved in transmission while receiving good visual results For frame rates up to 30 fps 422 1 5G is transmitted over 1 HD SDI cable REC OUT A and carry the identical signal independently Frame rates higher than 30 fps require 2 cables and the image signal is carried by REC OUT A and B combined 422 3G YCbCr 3G is an improved HD SDI format that can transmit signals over 1 cable which previously required two cables It transports the same signal as 422 1 5G YCbCr dual link but over one cable with a higher clock rate REC OUT A and B carry the identical signal independently 444 1 5G RGB 444 is still in the RGB color space and each color has its full reolution This is important when pulling chroma keys as these rely on color resolution 444 1 5G is transmitted over 2 HD SDI cables where each of both links carries a part of the image data It is important to connect REC OUT A of the camera with REC IN A and REC OUT B of the camera with REC IN B of the recorder e use cables of equivalent lengths for link A and B Recording 101 12 1 3 ARRIRAW 1 5G DL ARRIRAW is the name of raw data from ARRI cameras Raw data is the sensor image data before it is converted to RGB images As ALEXA has a single sensor with a Bayer patter
37. ame line template Frame line 2 Choose a second frame line if desired User Display up to two additional rectangles that can rectangles be adjusted manually Color In the frame lines definition file lines can either be given a fixed color or they can have the color specified as User If User is chosen for a line the setting chosen in this menu section is applied to the line Intensity Sets the intensity of the frame lines The higher the number the brighter the frame lines appear Set rect 1 Set the shape of rectangle 1 Activate it through User rectangles Set rect 2 Set the shape of rectangle 2 Activate it through User rectangles Note Default frame lines have User specified as color for all content 11 1 5 3 Project Project fps Sets the timebase of the time code which determines how many frames the time code counts per second Also sets the frame rate of Quicktime clips recorded to SxS PRO cards during playback Camera index Identifies camera unit in clips Influences clip names on SxS PRO cards Next reel count Counter assigned to the next new card used for recording Automatically increased by the camera Influences clip names on SxS cards Main Controls 83 Production info Redirects to a screen where the user can enter info metadata regarding the production Note The user should set the value to 001 before a shoot begins Camera index A Next reel count 001 Production info gt
38. apter V Lock batteries Note Adapters must be installed by a trained technician Anton Bauer Gold Mount batteries and ID X V Lock batteries transmit their remaining capacity to the camera which is displayed in percent on the Homescreen of the camera display For these batteries the user does not need to set the battery warning level due to the communication between the camera and the battery V Lock Batteries 23 7 6 V Lock Batteries V Lock batteries are available from a number of manufacturers V Lock batteries from ID X transmit information on their remaining capacity to the camera ALEXA displays the remaining capacity in percent on the Homescreen of the camera display For ID X batteries the user does not need to set the battery warning level due to the communication of camera and battery Attaching the battery to the adapter Place the battery with the V shaped wedge into the adapter so that the wedge sits right above its counterpart of the mount e Move the battery downwards until you hear a snap Make sure it is connected correctly and sits tight Releasing the battery When facing the battery press the button located on the mount on the left side Some batteries have an additional top release mechanism Move the battery upwards and remove it VR 00013 Figure 8 ALEXA with BAB V and V Mount battery 24 Power Supply 7 7 Note Not all V Lock batteries deliver enough power
39. arce UI rd ge 74 11 1 5 2 MORIItOTIIlg ice tip 78 11 75 39 PrOJeCts ie eau eee eres 82 MULT Syste pm 84 11 1 5 5 Brame Grabs ites ento oe cete un Res 89 11 1 5 6 User Setups darte den ha E de enhn 89 11 2 Operator controls dente eek de 90 11 3 EVE Controls ne teo etatis 91 11 31 Viewfinder EVF 92 11 3 2 Viewfinder CAM 93 12 Operation of The Camera 94 12 1 94 12 1 1 Internal 94 12 1 2 External 080 100 12 1 3 Parallel 101 12 2 MOriltOFIDg eicere exte edet ea Pee iod 102 12 2 1 Framelifies cie ei eee 102 12 3 Using Time Code edente 104 12 4 Syncing the Sensors of Two 105 12 5 Syncing the Settings of Two 106 13 ALEXA Plus 109 13 1 General 109 13 2 rele E 110 13 2 1 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 111 13 3 112 13 4 Wireless Remote 113 W451 bens MOtOrS iiie eee eee 113 13 4 2 Hand
40. ass After changing lenses always perform a dust check to make sure no dust has settled on the sensor cover glass Clean optical lens surfaces only with a lens brush or a clean lens cloth in cases of solid dirt or grease moisten a lens cloth with pure alcohol Discard contaminated lens cloth after use Never attempt to clean a lens brush with your fingers NEVER USE CANS WITH COMPRESSED AIR OR GAS TO BLOW OFF THE DUST This can severely damage optical elements Specific Safety Instructions 17 e fthe sensor cover glass has been contaminated by solid dirt or grease special optical cleaning kits should be used for dirt removal under very high care If the contamination cannot be removed the camera should be taken to an ARRI service center for cleaning e NEVER USE METHANOL OR ACETONE TO CLEAN OPTICAL SURFACES e NEVER TRY TO REMOVE THE SENSOR COVER GLASS DO NOT POINT THE CAMERA INTO DIRECT SUNLIGHT VERY BRIGHT LIGHT SOURCES OR HIGH ENERGY LIGHT SOURCES e g laser beams This may cause permanent damage to the camera image sensor DO NOT POINT THE VIEWFINDER INTO DIRECT SUNLIGHT VERY BRIGHT LIGHT SOURCES OR HIGH ENERGY LIGHT SOURCES e g laser beams This may cause permanent damage to the viewfinder display and optical elements General Precautions 6 1 6 2 General Precautions Storage and Transport To prevent damage to the optical filters and the sensor a protective cap must be on the lens
41. atic use Remote controlling the external recorder By activating the SDI remote in the REC OUT menu screen it is possible to control external recorders if they support this feature This is only possible while recording to an SxS PRO card Note There is no feedback channel providing information to the camera if the external recording is active make sure to check the external recorder directly 102 Operation of The Camera 12 2 12 2 1 Timecode on external recorders To guarantee the same Timecode for images that are parallely record internally and exterally set the external recorder so that it uses the TC embedded in the HD SDI stream coming from the camera Monitoring The electronic viewfinder and the MON OUT can be used for monitoring purposes They can both display the surround view area an extra 1096 of image outside the recorded area to track any unwanted objects before they enter the image To help the framing both EVF 1 and MON OUT can overlay frame lines to the image These frame lines are an electronic version of the ground glass of analog cameras Framelines Frame lines are stored as XML files A standard set of frame lines is stored in each camera In addition the user can create personal frame lines matching his preferences Once the idea behind the frame lines system is understood personal frame lines can be created with little effort Description The different sections in the file are
42. copy being the Backup These two copy processes can be done in parallel as long as the result are two independent devices containing the verified data Only when the data has been copied and verified to two independent devices the card should be formatted to remove all data from it It is also recommended that the card is formatted by the person that has verified the copy and backup so that the camera crew only receives empty cards This fuctions as a security check so that the crew is alerted if they receive a card with valid data on it which might not have been copied and backed up The card can be formatted with any file system as it has to be reformatted by the camera anyway The Apple ProRes codec family consists of 5 different codecs Name ProRes 422 Proxy ProRes 422 LT ProRes 422 ProRes 422 HO ProRes 4444 Color Data Recording time max codin rate on 32 GB SxS frame 30 fps Pro 30 fps YCbCr 45 Mb s 1h 23 min 60 fps YCbCr 102Mb s 37min 60 fps YCbCr 147 Mb s 25min 60 fps YCbCr 220 Mb s 17 min 60 fps RGB 330 11 min 40 fps Mb s Without alpha channel 444 only 96 Operation of The Camera The maximum frame rate is also limited my the write speed of the SxS PRO card in use which might reduce the maximum frame rate below the values given in the table Apple ProResTM is a VBR variable bit rate codec This means that the actually available recording time dep
43. cted to the FOCUS socket its direction and torque Direction and torque can be changed by the screen buttons below and above the value Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors It is not possible to calibrate selected lens motors only Plus Camera Controls 121 14 RCU 4 FPS AUDIO SHUTTER 2400 1728 TcINTO06 13 44 24 55 51 2 REEL 003 T1 26 3 5 1 lt 0 0 D 2 00 SxS 2 800 5600 El COLOR WB Figure 85 RCU 4 remote control unit The camera can be remote controlled with an RCU 4 This device mirrors the controls on the camera s right side It is connected to the camera s ethernet port Power is supplied via the Ethernet cable To power the RCU 4 press the power button after connecting the device to a camera During boot up the RCU 4 compares its firmware version with the camera firmware version If it detects a difference it will update itself to match the camera s firmware version When the update is completed the RCU 4 will shut down automatically The power button of the RCU 4 only affects the RCU 4 It is not possible to power or to shut down the camera with the RCU 4 When the camera is powered down the RCU 4 shuts down automatically as it loses its power supply The LOCK button of the RCU 4 locks only the RCU 4 It does not affect the camera lock For more info please refer to the RCU 4 user manual Appendix
44. d EVF gamma EVF frame lines EVF status info EVF zoom Grab still frame Toggle SxS Check last clip Circle clip toggles frame lines of the MON OUT image on off toggles status info of the MON OUT image on off toggles false color display on MON OUT on off toggles color of frame lines image on off toggles surround view of the EVF image on off toggles gamma of the EVF image between REC 709 and log C only with recording gamma set to log C toggles frame lines of the EVF image on off toggles status info of the EVF image on off toggles the zoom function of the EVF grabs a still frame to the SD card toggles the currently active SxS card play last 5 seconds of last clip then return to live image set a clip to Circle clip during recording User buttons 4 and 5 have partially different functions Name None Mon out surround Mon out gamma Mon out frame lines Mon out status info Mon out false color Frame lines color Toggle SxS Format Card 1 Format Card 2 description button has no function toggles surround view of the MON OUT image on off toggles gamma of the MON OUT between REC 709 and log C only with recording gamma set to log C toggles frame lines of the MON OUT image on off toggles status info of the MON OUT image on off toggles false color display on MON OUT on off toggles color of frame lines image on off toggles the currently active SxS card quick link to the menu scree
45. d above and below the display They change their behavior depending on the screen content The function related to each button in a screen is shown by a black label in the screen located below or above the button Buttons without a black label have no function in that screen Operations that cannot be reversed and can result in the loss of data require the simultaneous pressing of two buttons to prevent accidental use HOMESCREEN SHUTTER 24 000 172 tcint02 46 40 24 3 sxsi 10 MASTER REEL A001 1 14 8V CLIP C003 SxS 1 lt 5 D BAT2 50 DUR 0 01 23 5 5 2 800 5600 Figure 31 Homescreen The HOMESCREEN is the default screen of the camera It shows the most important camera parameters and gives quick access to changing them through the screen buttons Screen content Screen Buttons FPS Currently set frame rate of sensor adjustable from 0 750 60 000 fps 50 Camera Controls AUDIO SHUTTER COLOR Center Info Bar Shows current level of audio If Audio is set to Off the audio input is switched off no audio is embedded to HD SDI outputs and no audio tracks are recorded on the SxS PRO cards The same applies if audio is disabled which is the case if the sensor frame rate is not equal to the project fps setting over or undercranking Currently set shutter angle of sensor adjustable from 5 0 358 0 Shutter Angle and sensor fps determine exposure time of the sensor
46. ddle 1525 outer Viewfinder Mounting Bracket The viewfinder mounting bracket VMB 1 is attached to the camera with two 3mm Allen screws at the very front of the camera top The viewfinder is attached to the mounting bracket by sliding the dove tail into the receptacle of the mounting bracket and then closing the lever on the viewfinder The position of the viewfinder can be adjusted by loosening the levers of the mounting bracket adjusting the position as desired and closing the levers It can be flipped over by first unscrewing the cap at the end of the side adjusting rod then removing the rod itself and inserting it into its mount from the other side Then reattach the cap Note Camera right operation is not possible with the standard EVF cable KC 150 S Instead the longer cable KC 151 S is needed Figure 13 VMB 1 on camera Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 31 The viewfinder extension bracket VEB 1 extends the mounting point of the EVF further back It can be attached to a tripod head for use with geared heads or greater comfort when using fluid heads The VEB 1 has a standard attachment point for the ARRI eyepiece leveler EL 3 When using the VEB 1 with an eyepiece leveler loosening the friction where the VEB 1 and the VMB 1 are joined is critical as tiliting can the damage the friction setting Figure 14 EVF extension bracket Figure 15 Camera with EVF 1 on extension and cable KC 15
47. delivers outstanding images with a cinematic look and feel but also makes the imager sensitive to contamination Dust particles that have settled on the sensor cover glass during a lens change may become visible as dark spots in the output image similar to lint leaving marks on exposed film The degree of this effect depends on the aperture of the lens 46 Optics 10 2 Figure 28 PL mount LA PL 1 with index pin Lens Support Heavy lenses may require additional lens support This guarantees that the flange focal depth is not influenced by the lens weight and reduces stress on the lens mount To support a lens 15mm studio or 19mm studio rods and a fitting lens bridge 15mm studio rods require a bridge plate with 15mm studio rod support BP 3 BP 9 BPA 1 while 19mm studio rods require a bridge plate with 19mm studio rod support BP 12 or BP 5 BP 8 BPA 1 The lens bridge LS 10 for 15 mm studio rods is mounted to the rods by pushing it on the rods from the front while the lens bridge LS 9 for 19 mm studio rods is mounted to the rods by pushing it on them from the top Lens Support 47 When the bridge is in the right position on the rods it is fixed with the screw or lever on its side It is attached to the lens support ring with its center screw The lever on the back of the lens bridge fixes the height of the center screw Figure 29 Camera with BP 12 19mm studio rods and lens bridge 48
48. duplicate or dropped Due to this reason the camera will automatically switch to Int TC Regen when the sensor frame rate is changed Internal TC Rec Run Use Single camera productions either MOS or where a classical slate is used for alignment of image and sound Guarantees continuous time code for each storage medium Works alos with over and under cranking Setup The camera is set to Int TC Rec Run Regen TC is only increased during record by 1 frame for each image generated by the sensor The TC counts with the project fps set on the camera as time base Normally the TC hour value is increased by 1 hour for each new reel usiong only hours 01 20 for reel 1 20 and then restarting at hour 01 for reel 21 Variations Might be used on a production normally using external TC for high speed scenes then returning to Ext TC for regular scenes later e Restrictions None 12 4 Syncing the Sensors of Two Cameras For 3D applications or shoots where it is necessary to synchronize the sensors of two cameras so that images are exposed at the exact same time it its possible to sync two ALEXAs through their EXT connectors via cable Note Syncing two sensors is possible in an fps range from 1 000 to 60 000 fps 106 Operation of The Camera 12 5 First the cameras have to be connected with an EXT cable type KC 155 S After this the sensor sync mode has to be activated This is done in MENU SYSTEMPEXT SYNC Sens
49. e chosen file format During this time no further images can be grabbed Grabbed images inherit REC OUT settings 11 1 5 6 User Setups In this section the user can store the current setup to the SD card or load previously stored setups from the SD card An SD card must be present in the camera to perform these operations Only complete camera setups can be stored or loaded Save current A setup containing the current camera settings is setup stored to the SD card File is named with time and date stamp 90 Camera Controls 11 2 Load setup Loads a list with all setups located on the SD card Select a setup and load it Check that the project settings of this setup realy match those of your current project Factory reset Resets the camera to factory defaults Confirm factory reset by pushing the two lower outer screen buttons simultaneously when the request appears Load setup Factory reset Figure 72 MENU gt SETUPS Note Before loading or saving a setup make sure an SD card is present When saving a setup the write protection of the SD card must be switched off Note User setups cannot be used across firmware updates Always create new setup files after a firmware update and discard the old ones Operator controls The operator controls are located on the camera left side and consist of three function buttons plus three assignable buttons 1 User button 1 Can be assigned with funct
50. e AUDIO OUT is a 3 5mm TRS connector headphone jack which outputs the audio fed to the 5 XLR connector with a maximum power of 2 5 dBm It is located on the camera right lower front Note Do not connect a headphone to the camera during recording Connecting a headphone to the camera can cause a short audio signal interruption due to static electricity SD Card The SD card slot is located at the bottom on the camera right side middle Most SD or SDHC card with a capacity of up to 4 GB can be used The card must be pre formatted with a FAT or FAT32 file system The slot is protected from dirt and rain by a slider door Insert the SD card according to the drawing on the camera housing Note Always keep the slider door closed during operation to prevent dirt and moisture from entering the camera SxS Slots 43 9 14 On the SD card the folder structure presented in the following example should be created by the user prior to first use of the card 26 ARRI Ss 88 f im DEVICES a Name 1 Macintosh HD Y ARRI iDisk 7 B3 ALEXA a gt Firmware stv Untitled gt 0 Framelines gt Grabs gt E Setups SHARED 6 items 2 83 GB available Figure 27 Folder structure required for SD card Firmware update files are recognized by the camera anywhere within the structure but are still recommended to be placed in the Firmware folder SxS Slots On the camera s lef
51. e Quicktime file Dual recording Dual recording allows to record in parallel to two SxS Pro cards to create an instant backup at the time of recording To enable dual recording go to MENU gt Recording gt SxS CARDS and set Dual recording to On Take care of the following points to ensure successfull dual recording SxS Pro cards must be of identical size e Fora new reel both cards must be formatted Cards must have an identical file structure The best way to ensure this is to follow the rules for regular recording but with sets of two cards After recording one card can be used for the backup process and the other card for the copy process 100 Operation of The Camera 12 1 2 External recording Uncompressed HD and unprocessed ARRIRAW data is available via the REC OUT for recording with external devices The preferred output format also depends on the application As a rule of thumb the following guideline can be used e 422 1 5G Television applications that only require color correction high speed capture above 30 fps 444 1 5G High quality television applications that require color correction and pulling mattes cinema applications ARRIRAW High quality cinema applications for multi format distribution 422 1 5G YCbCr 422 is a color sub sampled format meaning that the camera native RGB image is transformed to YCbCr color space Y represenst luminance while Cb and Cr are color difference sign
52. e playback Time code Note Do not eject a card during playback Main Controls 73 To stop playback and return to the live image press HOME or BACK If you press REC playback is stopped recording is started and the Home screen is loaded OPTIONS The OPTIONS screen button opens a list of general playback options Show frame lines Off Status info on MON OUT Off Figure 53 Play options screen e Clip end action Determines what happens when the end of a clip is reached Options are Pause Loop and Stop e Show frame lines Sets frame lines to On or Off during playback e Status info on MON OUT Sets status info overlays on MON OUT on or off during playback CLIPLIST The CLIPLIST screen button loads a list of all clips on the SxS card where a different clip can be selected for playback Additional clip info is shown at the bottom of the screen SxS CLIPLIST Clip2 of 3 Dur 0 01 23 Codec ProRes 422 Proxy Circle Clip Figure 54 Cliplist screen 74 Camera Controls 11 1 5 Menu The menu contains parameters for the basic camera setup It has a tree structure and the current path in the menu is displayed in the top section of every screen To access a new menu level select the group with the jogwheel and press the jogwheel This will open the next level To go one level back up press BACK A parameter has its value displayed at the right part of the screen Select it with the jogwhee
53. e that the available recording time is given for a 32 GB SxS PRO card at 30 fps A lower sensor fps will increase the available recording time while a higher sensor fps will decrease it REC OUT HD SDI format 444 1 56 DL Scan format psf Output range Legal REC OUT fps sets sensor fps Off SDI remote Off Figure 57 MENU gt REC OUT Main Controls 77 The camera has two HD SDI outputs that carry the camera image to be recorded with external recording devices Note Only use double shielded HD SDI cables for recording to ensure error free data transmission Frame rate Select the rate at which images are transmitted per second HD SDI format Select the format that is used to transmit images See following table for format details Scan format Defines how images are transmitted Progessive Images are transmitted line by line from left to right starting at the top left pixel e psf Progressive segmented Images first split into fields which are then transmitted line by line from left to right Note Frame rates over 30 fps are only available in progressive scan This complies with SMPTE standards Output range Defines which bit range of the full 10 bit 0 1023 is used to transmit image data e Legal Uses values 64 940 for RGB and Y signals and values 64 960 for CbCr signals This complies with the SMPTE 274M 8 7 Extended uses values 5 1019 which results in about 1096 m
54. e the risk of sudden power loss About This Manual 13 ALEV Ill sensor The ALEV III sensor has a horizontal pixel count of 3 5K resulting in true 2K resolution It covers the full Super 35 format and it provides a latitude of 14 stops and a base sensitivity of 800 ASA The sensor temperature is kept stable by a Peltier element to ensure optimum image quality under all operating conditions AIT ARRI Imaging Technology ARRI imaging technology ensures the most organic film like image quality of any digital camera with natural color rendition and pleasing skin tones Thermal concept The camera electronics are fully sealed to protect them from dirt and moisture Camera heat is transported via heat pipes to a radiator which is cooled by a fan The fan itself is very silent so the camera noise level is below 20 dB A this is the same as with ARRI sync sound film cameras If the fan noise level starts to increase due to fan aging the fan can be swapped in a matter of minutes by a trained technician at 24 fps and ambient temperature lt 25 C EVF 1 electronic viewfinder ARRI is redefining electronic viewfinders with LED lighting high resolution and a viewing experience that comes as close to an optical viewfinder as possible Internal recording ALEXA can internally record Quicktime movie clips with Apple ProRes codecs to Sony SxS PRO cards The cards deliver high data rates and are very robust ProRes can be native
55. ed Figure 76 ALEXA Plus connectors 13 2 Optics Optics 111 13 2 1 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS The lens mount of the ALEXA Plus supports the ARRI Lens Data System The LDS lens must be mounted in the 12 o clock or 3 o clock position to enable the LDS functions Take great care not to harm any elements of the LDS contacts on either lens or camera when attaching or deattaching a lens or lens port cover Besides the LDS feature the same rules as with the LA PL 1 apply Figure 77 Lens adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 112 ALEXA Plus 13 3 Radio System A radio unit is incorporated into the ALEXA Plus module This enables wireless communication of lens control and lens data information as well as remote control of basic camera functions Yellow radio The ALEXA Plus can be equipped with yellow radio This radio system has also been in use with ARRI film cameras so it is an interesting option for rentals that already own equipment with yellow radio Yellow radio can be identified by a yellow ring at the antenna mount pont Note Only a limited supply of yellow radio units is still available Yellow radio is no longer produced and approaches will no longer be available once all existing units are sold Channel Frequency 1 3 5 6 2 406 2 435 GHz Low band 0 2 4 6 8 2 444 2 472 GHz High band Note only odd numbered channels are legally permitted in France Wireless Remote System 11
56. eft and right eye camera Influences naming of clips on SxS cards Sensor sync The sensors of 2 ALEXA cameras can be synced See Sensor sync on page 105 for more info Main Controls 87 HD out phase Send HD sync trigger Settings sync Sensor sync Off HD out phase 0 clocks Send HD sync trigger gt Settings sync Off Off The camera is in non synced mode for regular use e EXT master The camera sends signals to an EXT SLAVE camera via the EXT connector containing sync clock and TC signals e EXT slave The camera listens on the EXT connector to signals from an EXT MASTER camera containing sync clock and TC signals The phase of the HD out can be adjusted in the range of 30 to 30 HD clocks 1 HD clock 13 4 ns This can be necessary for 3D applications with external recorders that require the slave signal to arrive after the master signal Shift the phase backwards on a slave camera or frontwards on a master camera to achieve this behavior When using two cameras in sensor sync mode without settings sync the EXT MASTER camera must send a trigger to the EXT SLAVE camera to ensure the HD outputs of the cameras are synced Press the jogwheel to send the trigger ALEXA cameras can be operated in synced settings mode where two cameras sync their settings via Ethernet See Settings sync on page 106 for more info Figure 69 MENU gt SYSTEM gt EXT SYNC 88 Camera Controls Run beepe
57. ence a camera like they never did before providing more powerful features than in any other camera available today Handling The camera is a true ARRI It has a high precision integrated housing with an ergonomic design It is rugged reliable flexible and sealed to make it splash proof It also has mounting points for accessories as ALEXA integrates well with existing ARRI accessories In addition a new range of accessories specifically designed for ALEXA is available Operation ALEXA features a unique user interface designed to make camera operation easier than ever while giving easy access to a large number of controls There are three different control interfaces e The main user interface on the right side gives access to every camera parameter through a graphical display and a button panel e The operator user interface on the left side for basic control adjustable to the operator s individual needs by supplying assignable buttons in addition to function buttons e The viewfinder user interface for adjusting the most important image parameters with buttons on the viewfinder and the interface graphics overlayed to the viewfinder image Power management The camera accepts any input voltage from 10 5 34 V DC Different power sources can be connected to the camera simultaneously The camera s power management ensures that the power source with the highest voltage level is used Power sources are hot swappable to minimiz
58. ends on the image content The number given in the table is the MINUMUM available recording time for a 32 GB SxS PRO card When image content is easily compressable without loss of image quality the available recording time can exceed the number given in the table Also note that the available recording time is given for a 32 GB SxS PRO card at 30 fps A lower sensor fps will increase the available recording time while a higher sensor fps will decrease it Selecting the codec that fits best for the shoot is a crucial task Choosing a codec with a high data rate such as ProRes 4444 delivers the highest image quality but at the same time lowers the available recording time on an SxS card ProRes On set monitoring and proxy editing while the 422 Proxy master is captured with an external device ProRes Same as above when higher image quality is 422 LT desired ProRes Basic television application if images do not 422 require adjustments in post production ProRes High quality TV applications requiring color 422 HO correction ProRes Cinema applications requiring color correction 4444 and pulling mattes If possible the full workflow pipeline with the preferred codec should be tested before a shoot Recording 97 Card file format SxS cards have to be formatted in the camera before they can be used for recording ALEXA uses an UDF file system This file system is read only for computers which means data can be copied from
59. er turning the jogwheel to set both channels or with the associated screen buttons CH 1 2 individually The amount of gain applied by the camera is visible next to the levels in light gray Pressing the OPTIONS screen button opens the audio options screen It contains a list of audio parameters to set Channel 1 level Manual Channel 2 level Manual Channel 1 source Lin Channel 2 source Lin Soundroll Tape Figure 35 Audio options screen e Record Sets audio recording On or Off If audio recording is switched off no audio is recorded in the QuickTime clips the HD SDI contains no audio and the Audio out is muted too Main Controls 57 Channel 1 level Manual allows the user to manually apply gain to the input signal on channel 1 to reach a correct level Unity matches a 4 dBu input signal to 20 dB FS This setting leaves enough headroom for recording and avoids audio clipping With unity audio levels can not be adjusted by the user Channel 2 level Manual allows the user to manually apply gain to the input signal on channel 2 to reach a correct level Unity matches a 4 dBu input signal to 20 dB FS This setting leaves enough headroom for recording and avoids audio clipping With unity audio levels can not be adjusted by the user Channel 1 source Choose whether left or right input signal shall be routed to channel 1 Channel 2 source Choose whether left or right input signal shall be routed to c
60. ertified recorders High speed recording with ALEXA over HD SDI Unlike the ARRIFLEX D 21 which used a proprietary mode for high speed recording ALEXA complies with SMPTE standard 372M in terms of image transmission This means that images are split into fields and every field is transmitted over one link The second field of every image is transmitted over the other link so that every link carries an interlaced signal in field integration mode The recorder realigns the images correctly into a progressive sequence 11 1 5 2 Monitoring The Monitoring section defines setup of EVF 1 electronic viewfinder and MON OUT These outputs are meant for monitoring not for recording of images The frame lines setup applies to both MON OUT and EVF 1 Frame lines can of course be switched on or off individually for MON OUT and EVF 1 Main Controls 79 MON OUT Frame lines Figure 58 MENU MONITORING Electronic Viewfinder Brightness Rotate image Smooth mode Status info Surround view Surround mask Frame lines Select the brightness of the EVF When mounting the EVF to the right side of the camera the image can be flipped so it appears correctly in the viewfinder Affects only the EVF image MON OUT and recording images are not rotated With smooth mode set the EVF image shutters less when panning Note that smooth mode is only possible with shutter angles of 180 0 or less At the upper and lo
61. f black white or user If you select user the color can be changed through the user interface You can add as many lines as you like Lines are defined by giving 3 distances from the border So if you specify top left and right it will be a horizontal line with the given distance from left right from the top The values are in the range 0 1 where 0 is at the edge 1 is on the opposite edge So specifing 0 4 from left is the same as 0 6 from right gt lt framelines gt lt The description of the camera this will only be used for selecting the correct files So the user can only select glasses for his camera current setup gt lt camera gt lt type gt Alexa EV lt type gt lt sensor gt 3K lt sensor gt lt aspect gt 1 78 lt aspect gt lt hres gt 2880 lt hres gt lt vres gt 1620 lt vres gt lt camera gt lt user Color lane cop and bottom of 2 35 aspect lt line gt lt left gt 0 lt left gt lt top gt 0 12174 lt top gt lt right gt 0 lt right gt lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt line gt lt left gt 0 lt left gt lt bottom gt 0 12174 lt bottom gt lt right gt 0 lt right gt lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt i Center Dines gt lt 1 gt lt left gt 0 46355 lt left gt lt top gt 0 5 lt top gt lt right gt 0 50868 lt right gt
62. frame rate is higher than the sensor frame rate duplicate frames are output on the REC OUT For example if the sensor is running at 10 fps and the REC OUT is set to 30 fps every image is output 3 times resulting in two duplicate frames following every active frame A standard recorder would record these duplicate frames which have to be removed in post To prevent this the camera can mark the duplicate frames with a Variflag If the recorder supports Variflag recording it will discard the duplicate frames and only record the active frames This saves valuable storage space and worktime To activate the Variflag in the camera go to Menu gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Variflag The MON OUT should match the sensor and the REC OUT frame rate If the sensor frame rate exceeds the available MON OUT frame rates set the MON OUT to half the sensor frame rate if possible This minimizes to risk of jittering image movements How to correctly set frame rates for recording with external devices Decide which frame rate you want to set In the Homescreen of the camera display press the FPS screen button In the Fps screen press the REC OUT screen button This opens the REC OUT menu screen Set the REC OUT frame rate to the desired value The HD SDI format should match the recorder s setting If the desired sensor frame rate is a standard speed set REC OUT fps sets sensor fps to On This way the sensor always follows the REC OUT frame rate a
63. g If a previously recorded card is used again comparable to a short end of a film roll this card will keep its reel count and the camera will remember how far it has counted If the reel counter has to be changed by the user it can be done via Menu gt Project gt Next reel count Note that this is only recommended for special occasions Example A typical file name could look like this 004 010 20100610 R1JL mov What it tells the user is that this clip was the tenth clip recorded on the fourth card used It was recorded on the 10th of June 2010 and the camera had the Base 36 serial number 1JL which translates into the decimal serial number 2001 Plenty of Base 36 to decimal converters can be found on the Internet for example here http www translatorscafe com cafe units converter numbers calculator decimal to base 36 http www translatorscafe com cafe units converter numbers calculator decimal to base 36 Additional recommendations To ensure correct card handling and reduce the risk of data loss ARRI recommends the following procedure for card and data handling Pre format cards Format all available cards in the camera before the shoot starts This reduces downtime during production caused by the need to format Cards do not receive a reel counter before the first clip is recorded to them so there is no need to record the cards in a certain order Formatting a 32 GB card usually takes less than 10 seconds Recordi
64. g this number of entries it is no longer possible to add entries without deleting others first Delete a list value List values no longer required can be deleted by pressing the DELETE screen button This opens a screen where the values desired for deletion can be selected with the jogwheel To delete the selected value press the two lower outer screen buttons simultaneously Note Every list contains standard values that cannot be deleted These values are grayed out in the DELETE screen Note The El list is static and cannot be changed by the user It contains ASA values from 160 3200 ASA in steps of 1 3 stop FPS Pressing the FPS screen button opens the FPS list screen It contains the default frame rates 23 976 24 000 25 000 29 970 30 000 48 000 50 000 59 940 and 60 000 fps Note Access to this screen is disabled during record The maximum fps value that can be set is determined by the maximum frame rate recordable by the SxS PRO card in use This value is influenced by the codec set for recording as well as the write speed of the card While the write speed is a constant factor the codec and its data rate can change the maximum frame rate the card can record at If the desired frame rate cannot be set because it is greyed out changing the SxS codec to one with a lower data rate can re enable the high frame rates 54 Camera Controls The lower screen buttons are shortcuts to the menu screens of SxS CARDS
65. handheld mode by just unplugging the power cable When using two onboard battery adapters with batteries in parallel one on top and one on the back they are treated as one source by the camera This allows combining small batteries with less load per item into one strong power source BAT Connector 21 7 2 7 3 7 4 BAT Connector The BAT connector of ALEXA is a Fischer 2 pin socket located on the bottom back of the camera right side The socket accepts power cables 205 and 295 The cables can either be connected to the mains unit NG 12 26R or to 24V Cine style batteries with three pin XLR outputs Figure 7 BAT connector Mains Unit NG 12 26 R Use of the mains unit is recommended for shooting in the studio and when using electronic accessories with high power consumption e First check that the correct mains voltage is set on the mains unit fuse on back of unit e Connect the mains unit to AC mains power e Ensure that the camera power is turned off e Setthe voltage switch on the mains unit to 26 V Plug the battery cable 205 or KC 298 spiral cable into the power supply socket on the camera and into the 26 V socket on the mains unit Note The NG 12 24 R was the original design that provided 12 amp 24 volts output it was superseded by the NG 12 26 R which outputs 12 amp 26 volts The NG 12 24 R can easily be upgraded to NG 12 26 R specification at an ARRI service center Cine St
66. hannel 2 Soundroll Enter the name of the soundroll also known as Tape in the menus of some recorders of an external audio recorder for easier sound alignment in post The name is written to the FCP XML file on the SxS PRO cards MAX n a VN i ee OPTIONS L R Channel 2 monitor L out Audio out level Manual Figure 36 Audio out screen The AUDIO OUT opens a screen where the volume of the two channel Audio out can be adjusted The OPTIONS button in this screen loads a list of Audio out options Figure 37 Audio out options Channel 1 monitor Choose where the signal of channel 1 is monitored Camera Controls Channel 2 monitor Choose where the signal of channel 2 is monitored Note This setting does not influence audio embedding in HD SDI or recording in QuickTime clips It only affects the AUDIO OUT connector Audio out level Choose to determine the level of the audio out channels manually or set it fix to the maximum output Note ALEXA automatically determines the internal signal run time and matches audio and images so they are always in sync When changing sensor fps or project fps it may take up to 2 seconds for the camera to resync image and audio signals 11 1 3 4 SHUTTER Pressing the SHUTTER screen button in the HOMESCREEN opens the SHUTTER list screen The list contains default shutter ang
67. ight Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl EVF 1 VMB 1 CCH 1 Others SD card Sound level Sony SxS PRO cards Apple ProRes 422 4444 codec family 0 75 60 fps 2x REC OUT configurable as 2x 422 1 5G SL YCbCr frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 1x 444 1 5G DL RGB frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 1x 422 1 5G DL YCbCr frame rates 48 50 59 94 and 60 fps or 2x 422 3G SL YCbCr frame rates 48 50 59 94 and 60 fps or 1x ARRIRAW 1 5G DL frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps EVF out proprietary signal for EVF 1 with delay lt 1 frame 1x MON OUT 1x 422 1 5G frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps TC clock generator with crystal oscillator LTC in LTC out HD SDI LTC VITC out 332 x 153 x 158 mm 12 95 x 6 02 x 6 22 6 26 kg 13 79 Ib 7 65 kg 16 85 Ib most SD cards with FAT FAT32 up to 4 GB under 20 dB A 24 fps and ambient temperature lt 25 C 77 F Environmental ALEXA Plus Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl EVF 1 VMB 1 CCH 1 Lens mount 20 C to 445 C 95 relative humidity max non condensing 332 x 175 x 158 mm 12 95 x 6 89 x 6 22 7 0 kg 15 4 Ib 8 4 kg 18 5 Ib Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 2 installed A 2 Camera Dimensions measurements are given in mm ALEXA inage
68. ion to the white balance which influences only the red blue balance of the image the CC color compensating shift can also adjust the green magenta balance Any light source that does not have a continuous spectrum like fluorescent tubes will have peaks in its spectrum that can not be corrected with the traditional white balance The CC shift can correct these peaks up to the same amount of a full green or a full magenta gel 1 step of CC SHIFT translates to 035 Kodak CC values or 1 8 Rosco values DELETE RENAME ADD WHITE BALANCE Figure 42 White balance list Main Controls 63 11 1 4 White balance and color compensation should be adjusted only with the help of appropriate equipment This can either be a color meter or a vectorscope together with a calibrated grey card User entries of the WB list can be assigned a new name to match either the type of lighting used or to match to a certain type of setup e g INDOOR DAY In the WB screen press RENAME then adjust the string as desired and confirm the changes by pressing DONE The action can be aborted by pressing BACK CLEAR ALL ERASE SET NAME 2p UJ ow m oc r lt ost gt lt lt cu P V Figure 43 WB rename screen Note Default values cannot be renamed Function Buttons The main controls feature the following function buttons ON OFF Press shortly to switch the ca
69. ions through the USER button on the main UI 2 User button 2 Can be assigned with functions through the USER button on the main UI 3 User button 3 Can be assigned with functions through the USER button on the main UI EVF Controls 91 11 3 REC PLAY LOCK Starts and stops internal recording LED tally goes red during record Short press loads last clip Short press again to toggle between play and pause Press for 2 seconds to stop playback Long pressing of the button locks the main and the operator controls LED indicates if lock is active Long pressing again deactivates the locking Homescreen must be loaded to activate lock Figure 73 Operator UI EVF Controls The EVF controls are located on the electronic viewfinder They consist of a number of function buttons and a jogwheel CAM EVF ZOOM EXP Opens the viewfinder CAM menu Opens the viewfinder EVF menu Zooms into the image with 2 25 magnification for focus checking This results in matching one sensor pixel to one viewfinder pixel Zoom remains active as long as button is pressed To keep it activated press the EXP button while the ZOOM button is pressed The ZOOM function will remain activated until the ZOOM button is pressed again Loads the false color display as long as the button is pressed To keep it activated after the button press press the ZOOM button while the EXP button is pressed The false color display will
70. ith high force against the limit of a lens axis If the user is sure that no changes where made to the lens and motor setup he can skip this step Motor direction The direction of the CLM 2 and CLM 3 motors can be changed in the camera settings Motor torque For CLM 3 motors the motor torque can be adjusted in the camera settings Note Make sure the motor torque level matches the current lens to avoid lens damage Wireless Remote System 115 13 4 2 Hand Units For detailed unformation of the hand units please refer to the device s own manuals Wireless Compact Unit WCU 3 The WCU 3 is a compact hand unit featuring a radio system to connect to the camera wirelessly It has two LCS ports for connecting the device to the camera via cable and to attach a ZMU 3 A wheel and a slider can be used to control focus and iris axes Zoom axis can be controlled by attaching a ZMU 3 at an LCS port The WCU 3 also has a display where it shows current fps shutter angle exposure index and white balance of the camera as well as remaining recording time of the active card and remaining battery capacity Wireless Main Unit WMU 3 The WMU 3 is a radio system for wireless connection to the camera Both WFU 3 WZU 3 be attached to the WMU 3 Wireless Focus Unit WFU 3 The WFU 3 has a knob and a slider that can be used to control focus and iris axes It connects to the camera through a WMU 3 or a WHA 3 Wireless Zoom Uni
71. l and press the jogwheel to edit it Cancel an edit action by pressing BACK confirm the setting by clicking the jogwheel Monitoring Project System Frame grabs User setups V V 55 11 1 5 1 Recording Provides access to SxS CARDS and REC OUT parameters REC OUT gt Figure 56 MENU gt RECORDING Main Controls 75 SxS CARDS ALEXA can internally record to Sony SxS PRO cards The card slots are located on the camera s left side Dual recording Off Quick format SxS CARD 1 gt Quick format SxS CARD 2 gt Erase SxS CARD 1 gt Erase SxS CARD 2 gt Codec Set the codec to be used for internal recording to SxS cards Choose from the full range of Apple codecs Dual recording Record parallely to two SxS Pro cards Both cards must be of the same size and must not differ in structure or content Quick format SxS Opens a screen where the SxS PRO card CARD 1 2 can be formatted This action is fast as it only erases the file allocation table Erase SxS CARD 1 2 Opens a screen where the SxS PRO card can be erased This action takes longer than the quick format but ensures that all data of the card is erased and can also result in higher card write speeds Note Formatting and erasing is only enabled if the write protection of the card is switched off The write protection cannot be switched off while the card is mounted in the camera No
72. late adapter 1 39 Bridge Plate 12 38 C Camera 52 Camera Dimensions 131 Center Camera Handle CCH 1 36 Cine Style Batteries 25 COLOR cu 65 Condensation sssss 22 Connector Pin 135 a 42 D Disclalm r icit creed 11 DISDlay ettet tete oer 53 89 E dm 62 Electromagnetic Interference 22 Electronic Viewfinder 83 Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 32 ETHERNET External recording 2 104 External Sys 90 False Color 140 Firmwares Mp 92 M 57 Frame Grabs o doe Deme bre Debo hee 93 Frame Lines iui HR Rie 85 EramelineS ie HE eit 106 Function 67 G General 113 General 22 General Safety Instructions
73. les 11 29 22 59 45 09 90 09 172 82 180 0 270 0 and 358 0 Note Access to this screen is disabled during record Below the list the actual exposure time at the currently set frame rate is shown Note Be aware that combination of long exposure times small sensor frame rate with large shutter angle and high exposure indexes can lead to image artifacts DELETE Exposure time 24 000 fps 20 ms Figure 38 Shutter list The shutter angle can be set in a range from 5 0 to 358 09 11 1 3 5 El The Exposure Index is the applied sensitivity of the camera Main Controls 59 Note The Exposure Index list has a fixed content meaning that it cannot be changed by the user EXPOSURE INDEX Figure 39 Exposure Index screen ALEXA has a basic sensitivity of 800 ASA This means that the dynamic range is almost evenly distributed above and below neutral grey with very low noise in the dark parts of the image and a very clean and smooth clipping behavior in the bright parts Due to its high dynamic range the sensitivity can be set in a range from 160 3200 ASA in steps of 1 3 stops while keeping a high image quality Applying the extreme ASA ratings will nonetheless have an influence on the images At low ASA ratings like 160 ASA the dynamic range below neutral grey increases which will reduce noise even further At the same time the dynamic range above neutral grey is slightly reduced The clippi
74. level Battery must be replaced The onboard battery has reached its low level 1096 below warning level Battery must be replaced Batteries on both BAT connector and onboard battery s have to be replaced The SxS PRO card in slot 1 has reached the end of its life cycle and has become read only Use a new card The SxS PRO card in slot 2 has reached the end of its life cycle and has become read only Use a new card The current write speed could not be handled by the SxS PRO card in slot 1 The current write speed could not be handled by the SxS PRO card in slot 2 Both SxS PRO cards are full Use fresh cards Both SxS PRO cards have reached the end of their life cycle and has become read only Use fresh cards Both SxS PRO cards are not formatted in the file system required by the camera Format the cards Both SxS PRO cards are rec protected Eject the cards switch off the protection and re insert the cards The camera is getting too warm Apply additional cooling or shut down to prevent hardware damage Sensor temperature is out of range Wait until error message disappears before continuing to shoot Sensor temperature is out of range Wait until error message disappears before continuing to shoot Reboot the camera Codec error Reboot Sensor error Reboot Sensor boot error Fan error Contact service Fatal system error Reboot camera now Sync clock out of range Syncing se
75. lower mid screen button labeled SAVE TO SD Patience is required as it can take about a minute until the log is written to the SD card Note Saving a system log is only necessary if the camera is showing unnormal behavior It can then be sent to the ARRI camera service for analysis The log is not human readable and can only be analyzed by the ARRI camera service LIVE INFO VERSION 5 5 CARDS System state Good SYSTEM SAVE TO SD FPS INFO VERSION Info Cam serial The serial number of the camera no Cam ID Translation of the camera serial number to Base36 with an additional prefix for 3D applications Firmware Version number of the currently installed camera SUP Software Update Packet EVF serial The serial number of the viewfinder that is number attached to the camera EVF Version number of the viewfinder s firmware firmware 68 Camera Controls LIVE INFO VERSION Cam serial no 2010 Cam ID TS Firmware 3 0 EVF serial no 16 EVF firmware 1 26 SYSTEM FPS INFO Figure 46 VERSION info screen SxS CARDS Info Codec Currently set codec for internal recording Status Current status of SxS PRO cards in slot 1 and 2 Free Free storage space of SxS PRO cards in percent capacity Write speed Maximum write speed of the SxS PRO cards Determined by camera during format Max fps Maximum frame rate of the SxS PRO cards with current currently set codec Card size Total a
76. lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt line gt lt left gt 0 50868 lt left gt lt top gt 0 5 lt top gt lt right gt 0 46335 lt right gt lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt Center cross vertical lines user color gt lt line gt lt left gt 0 5 lt left gt 104 Operation of The Camera lt top gt 0 43519 lt top gt lt bottom gt 0 51543 lt bottom gt lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt line gt lt left gt 0 5 lt left gt lt top gt 0 51543 lt top gt lt bottom gt 0 43519 lt bottom gt lt width gt 4 lt width gt lt color gt user lt color gt lt line gt lt framelines gt 12 3 Using Time Code The purpose of Time code is to ensure that each image stored on one medium has a unique value through which it can be identified By doing this in combination with correct reel naming which is toi ensure that each storage medium used in a production has a unique name each image acquired in a production can be identified uniquely There are many different ways how Timecode can be used a production The 2 most common ways are presented as examples External TC Time of day e Use This format is often used on multi camera productions with sync sound The cameras are running on a sync sound speed which is also the project frame rate if done correctly sound
77. ly edited in FinalCutPro eliminating the need to transcode ProRes 422 HO and ProRes 4444 deliver visually lossless compressed images with a color depth of 10 bit for ProRes 422 and 12 bit for ProRes 4444 Quicktime movie clips be played back in the camera with output on REC OUT MON OUT and the electronic viewfinder Audio recording Analog 2 channel audio can be recorded as 24 bit 48 kHz PCM in the Quicktimes as well as embedded to the HD SDI signals 14 Introduction to ALEXA 4 1 About This Manual It is recommended that all users of the ALEXA camera read the manual front to back prior to the first usage The manual s structure also provides quick access for reference to experienced users All directions are given from an operator s point of view e Images give a quick overview of the camera Safety instructions general precautions very important do not skip this part Power supply overview how the camera is supplied with power e Installation of the camera information on camera mechanics Connectors what goes into the camera and what comes out e Optics how to get a good image into the camera Camera controls how to set up the camera Operation of the camera gives examples and recommendations on camera operation Explanation of Warning Signs and Indications 15 5 5 1 5 2 Safety Instructions Any violation of these safety instructions or non observance of personal ca
78. mera on To switch off the camera the button must be pressed for several seconds In the Homescreen a countdown is displayed If the button is released before the countdown has elapsed the camera does not shut down REC Starts stops internal recording to SxS PRO cards LOCK Press long to lock unlock the user interface Buttons USER REC HOME INFO and ON OFF are not affected by the lock GRAB Grabs a still frame to an internal cache from where the image is written to the SD card When storing the image is finished a new frame can be grabbed TC Enters the screen for configuring Time code PLAY Activates playback on MON OUT and EVF Opens the play screen and loads the last active clip of the SxS PRO cards in pause Camera Controls INFO Enters the Status Info screen where you get information on the system s state Also available is version info where you get information on camera hard and firmware storage info giving details about SxS PRO cards and system info USER Enters the user screen where you can assign the three user buttons of the operator controls as well as the five screen buttons of the user screen Note the top three screen buttons of the user screen reflect the behavior of the three user buttons that are part of the operator controls MENU Starts the menu where most camera settings can be adjusted Navigate inside the menu with the jogwheel BACK When navigating this button brings you back to
79. mount receptacle while no lens is attached e All cables have to be unplugged from the camera when it is transported or stored inside a camera case Do not store the camera in places where it is subject to extreme temperatures direct sunlight high humidity severe vibration or near strong magnetic fields Electromagnetic Compatibility ALEXA meets EC regulations by fulfilling the specifications of the European Directive 2004 108 EC 15th December 2004 This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radio communications Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Complies with the canadian ICES 003 Class A specifications Cet appareil num rique de la Classe A est conform la norme NMB 003 du Canada This device complies with RSS 210 of Indust
80. n color filter array this means that every pixel only has information of one color channel With normal HD images the missing color channel information is calculated from the adjacent pixels in the camera For raw data this calculation is delayed until after the recording to save bandwidth and creative options as many decisions on how to convert the images can be made in post ALEXA ARRIRAW specs Bayer pattern color coding e 12 bit log luminance coding e No white balance applied e No exposure index applied e Full sensor resolution 2880x1620 ARRIRAW is transmitted to the recorder via the ARRIRAW T Link by using a standard HD SDI dual link connection with a proprietary coding An ARRIRAW T Link certified recorder must be used for recording These are available from a number of manufacturers like Codex Keisuko Giken or S Two For more information go to www arri de arriraw Note Only use double shielded HD SDI cables on all HD SDI outputs to ensure error free data transmission Parallel recording Recording to both SxS PRO cards and external devics at the same time requires additional attention from the user First it has to be determined what function the two sets of data have For example the internal recording could be used for on set review and proxy editing while the external device captures the master data Or the internal recording is used for TV utilization and the external recorder captures ARRIRAW for cinem
81. n where SxS card 1 can be formatted quick link to the menu screen where SxS card 2 can be formatted Camera Controls 11 1 4 4 PLAY Clups that have been recorded to the SxS cards can be played back by the camera on EVF MON OUT and REC OUT Note When the REC OUT signal cannot be used for playbackwhen it is set to ARRIRAW Pressing the PLAY button opens the play screen and loads the last clip in pause CLIPLIST Wheet Shuttle dial OPTIONS Figure 52 Play screen In the play screen the playback actions can be controlled Toggle between play and pause CIRCLE Mark the clip as circle clip This will set the CLIP GOOD tag in the FCP XML to YES Press again to unmark it LIVE Toggle between playback image and live image Note When surround view is active the image angle changes slightly when switching between live and playback image because the playback image dooes not contain the surround view The jogwheel can be used to scrub through the paused clip Pressing the wheel changes between Shuttle dial 1 second and Jog dial 1 frame When turning the wheel during play the clip switches to pause Additionally important clip information is visible The clip name is shown in the top line of the blue center bar Below it is a progress bar showing the current position in the clip The current duration is shown below the progress bar at the left and the total duration at the right The center shows th
82. nation should be tested prior to use especially when accessories are powered through the camera Power Outputs The camera has three power outputs for accessories 2x 24 V and 1x 12 Figure 10 24 V outputs RS and 12 V output 26 Power Supply 7 8 1 7 8 2 12 V Accessories The 12 V output is located on the right side of the camera and has a 2 pin LEMO connector It is limited to 12V and can supply a device with a current of up to 2 2 A depending on the camera power supply 24 V Accessories Two RS outputs are located on the right side of the camera They have a 3 pin Fischer connector They can supply two devices with a combined load of up to 2 2 A shared with the EXT connector power out depending on the camera power supply When the camera is powered from a source with a voltage below 24V they output 24V If the camera s power source is supplying more than 24V this voltage level is also present on the RS outputs Besides powering accessories these sockets can also be used to send a remote start stop signal to the camera Minimum Equipment Recommended For Operation 27 8 8 1 8 2 Installation of The Camera Minimum Equipment Recommended For Operation ARRI ALEXA camera body including SxS module and Lens Adapter PL mount without LDS LA PL 1 e EVF 1 Electronic Viewfinder e VMB 1 Viewfinder Mounting Bracket e KC 150 5 Viewfinder Cable short 0 35m 1 2ft CCH 1 Center Camera Handle e B
83. nce list Choose amp delete DELETE Sum list entries Change name of WB list RENAME entry Set White Balance amp CC value 1000K See separate chart STATUS SAVE TO SD VERSION SxS CARDS SYSTEM VERSION STATUS SxS CARDS SYSTEM SxS CARDS STATUS VERSION SYSTEM Saves log to SD card Opens Version Info screen Opens SxS CARDS Info screen Opens System Info screen Opens FPS Info screen Opens Status Info screen Opens SxS CARDS Info screen Opens System Info screen Opens FPS Info screen Opens Status Info screen Opens Version Info screen Opens System Info screen Opens FPS Info screen SYSTEM STATUS Opens Status Info screen Info screen SxS CARDS Opens SxS Cards Info screen Opens FPS Info screen FPS STATUS Opens Status Info screen VERSION Opens Version Info screen SxS CARDS Opens SxS Cards Info screen SYSTEM Opens System Info screen Set TC OPTIONS Set TC Options screen USER BITS User Bits screen PROJECT Link to Menu gt Project Activates TC set mode User screen User button edit screen Playscreen CLIPLIST List of all clips on SxS card Switch to live image momentarily Set playback options Toggle Play Pause Mark Unmark a clip as circle take OPTIONS Grabs still frame to the SD card Long press to ees lock unlock ON OFF Long press for power off short press for
84. ndirect incidental or consequential damages including but not limited to lost profits lost savings lost revenues or economic loss of any kind or for any claim by third party downtime good will damage to or replacement of equipment or property any cost or recovering of any material or goods associated with the assembly or use of our products or any other damages or injury of the persons and so on or under any other legal theory In the case one or all of the foregoing clauses are not allowed by applicable law the fullest extent permissible clauses by applicable law are validated Disclaimer ARRI is a registered trademark of Arnold amp Richter Cine Technik GmbH amp Co Betriebs KG Note This product and the accessories recommended by the manufacturer fulfill the specifications of the European Directive 2004 108 EC 15th December 2004 The ALEXA viewfinder EVF 1 contains proprietary technology owned by Fourth Dimension Displays Limited and licensed by ARRI This product contains licensed technology from Linotype Quicktime and Ouicktime logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc used under license therefrom Apple ProRes 422 Proxy Apple ProRes 422 Lt Apple ProRes 422 Apple ProRes 422 Hq Apple ProRes 4444 and the ProRes logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc used under license therefrom SxS and SRG are trademarks of SONY corporation This prod
85. nes from SD card Frame lines Frame line 1 Choose from list of frame lines import new frame lines from SD card Frame line 2 Off Rect 1 Rect 2 Rect 1 2 User rectangles White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Color Intensity 1 4 Set Rect 1 Top Bottom Left Right Set Rect 2 Top Bottom Left Right 23 976 fps 24 fps Project Project frame rate 25 fps 29 97 fps 30 fps Camera index 001 999 Next reel count Production info Director Cinematographer Location Production User info 1 User info 2 Standard Tropical Sensor Sensor temperature BAT1 Plug warning 12 30V BAT2 Onboard warning 12530 Display Display brightness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Button brightness System clock date Set clock amp date External sync Eye index Off EXT master Sensor sync EXT slave HD out phase 30 30 clocks Send HD sync trigger Sends trigger to slave cam Off ETH master ETH slave Settings sync Start Stop Start Stop Off Run beeper Firmware Select update file Update list Current version Jpeg Frame grabs File format Tiff Dpx Save Setup Edit User Setups Save current setup ame User Setup 1 Load setup User Setup 2 User Setup 3 Factory reset Confirm reset
86. ng 99 e Limit card recording time Codecs with lower data rates like ProRes 422 Proxy can be recorded for quite a duration onto SxS cards with high capacities Users should consider limiting the recording time per card to a maximum of 30 minutes of material as it is easier to handle and reduces the impact on the production in case of a problem Immediately copy the data after a card change The data should be in a single instance for the shortest time possible Switch on write protection when a card has been recorded and is sent to the copy instance Switch off write protection when data has been copied and backed up then format the card Metadata Metadata is stored in the index xml file as well as the quicktime file header Most important for the post production workflow is the tape name as it will be one of the main image identifiers in an EDL Even though tape name is not quite a good name for nonlinear media it is used due to post production naming conventions Alternatively reel name is used sometimes The tape name of ALEXA files is limited to 8 letters to match the CMX 3600 EDL standard It consists of the Camera Index reel counter and the Camera ID The tape name of the clip from the previous example would then be A004R1JL Even if the user forgets to assign different camera indices to two cameras on one shoot the Camera ID guarantees unique tape names Currently one time code track is recorded in th
87. ng itself is not influenced by this but the shoulder of the gamma curve will get slightly steeper which will reduce the smoothness of the clipping At high ASA ratings like 1600 ASA the images behave the opposite way Noise is increased which makes it important to judge the dark parts of the image while the clipping behavior will be even smoother El 16055 EI 2005 EI 40055 EI 8007 EI 16005 EI 32002 Figure 40 Exposure Indexes and latitude aboive and below neutral grey Camera Controls EI 160 EI 200 El 400 EI 800 1600 EI 3200 6 3 Stops 5 0 Stops 5 3 Stops 9 4 Stops 8 4 Stops 7 4 Stops 6 6 Stops 4 6 Stops 7 7 Stops 9 0 Stops 8 7 Stops Figure 41 Graphical comparison of latitude at different exposure indexes Main Controls 61 11 1 3 6 COLOR The COLOR button opens a screen where the Gamma of all 4 image paths SxS REC OUT MON OUT EVF can be adjusted centrally REC OUT REC709 MON OUT REC 709 EVF REC 709 LOG C film matrix Off Gamma defines the contrast curve that is applied to the images Three different gamma settings are possible LOG C REC 709 DCI P3 LOG C film matrix Gamma according to Cineon specification Images are prepared for output to film material or DI like treatment Images will appear flat on a standard broadcast monitors the use of external devices to apply a LUT is a must to get visually pleasing images on a monitor
88. nsor Please wait A slave is not ready Software error reboot camera An error in the compression module has occured and recording was aborted Reboot the camera before you continue to record The image sensor has a problem reboot the camera The sensor has not booted Reboot the camera The fan module is not working properly Either install an SFM 1 or contact the ARRI service Camera has to be rebooted If this error continues to occur a hardware problem might be the reason Contact the ARRI service The sync signal clock does not match the camera setting Make sure the settings match Slave camera syncs to master camera Wait until message disappears before starting to shoot One of the slave cameras is not ready for recording A part of the camera software has stopped functioning properly and requires a camera reboot If any error that requires rebooting continues to occur regularly contact the ARRI service 15 Index 1 q12 M de 45 60 30 2 24 V ACGOeSSOTIGS 5 sontes aem ore tee 30 A About This Manual eese 18 ALEXA 14 ALEXA 113 cene 127 128 AUDIO pm EC TEN 60 AUDIO ctm ete trt cete 45 AUDIO OUT aiem eer het e necs 46 B D RE 44 erences ete eco De EY i 25 Bridge P
89. om the system Do not operate the system in areas with humidity above operating levels or expose it to water or moisture Do not cover the fan openings at the camera back top and bottom Do not subject the system to severe shocks Do not place the system on an unstable trolley hand truck stand tripod bracket table or any other unstable support device The system may fall causing serious personal injury and damage to the system or other objects Operate the system using only the type of power source indicated in the manual Unplug the power cable by gripping the power plug not the cable Never insert objects of any kind into any part of the system if not clearly qualified for the task in the manual as objects may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts This could cause fire or electrical shock Unplug the system from the power outlet before opening any part of the system or before making any changes to the system especially the attaching or removing of cables Do not use solvents to clean Do not remove any stickers or paint marked screws Always place a lens or a protective cap in the lens mount receptacle Changing camera lenses should be done in a dry and dust free environment If this is not possible take extra care that no dust enters the camera while the lens is off When no lens is attached to the camera immediately place the protective on the lens mount to avoid contamination of the sensor cover gl
90. or sync One camera has to be set as EXT master and the other camera as EXT slave The master triggers the slave camera so that images are created at the same moment of time with an accuracy of 10us After connecting both cameras and activating the correct sensor sync modes this takes about five seconds If any error occurs the camera issues a warning Image integration between master and slave camera has a locked offset of less than 10 5 This means that in the worst case exposure differs by 4 396 60fps frame rate and 5 0 shutter angle With a regular exposure time 24fps 172 8 the maximum difference is 0 0596 Synchronizing Image Output The output of images both on the REC OUT and the MON OUT can be synchronized too To achieve this the user must send a trigger from the master camera to the slave camera after sensor sync is established This is done by selecting Send HD sync trigger in the EXT SYNC menu screen When pressing the jogwheel the trigger is sent The slave camera will then no longer display the warning HD outs not synced Trigger now If the two camera s settings are synced over Ethernet the trigger is automatically sent When the outputs are synced jitter between the two camera s HD outputs is less than 500ns The HD output of a camera be pre or delayed by 30 HD clocks 1 HD 13 46ns allowing for a total shift of 60 HD clocks 808ns total between cameras if desired Timecode
91. ording ALEXA uses an UDF file system This file system is read only for computers which means data can be copied from the card to another device but the data cannot be manipulated on the card itself Card preparation The typical usage cycle of a card is Format Record Copy Backup Verification Format Format Before recording cards have to be formatted in the camera The camera always performs a blank format which means that the cards contain no meta data and are not assigned a reel number prior to recording the first clip The camera auto detects cards with a wrong file system and asks the user to format the card ALEXA uses an UDF file system This file system is read only for computer systems which minimizes the risk of data corruption Record When pressing the REC button the camera starts to write a clip to the card With the first clip the card is a assigned a reel number More information on file naming later in this chapter Recording 95 Copy Backup Format Codec After recording to the card is finished either because it is full or for any other reason the data should be copied to another device to minimize the risk of data loss Also the data should be verified after copying through checksums to ensure that no error has occured during the copy process The data should actually be copied to two physically separate destinations with the first copy being the working copy and the second
92. ore steps Complies with SMPTE 274M 8 12 called undershoot overshoot Note Check which mode your recorder supports If you set the camera to extended but your recorder only supports legal you will end up with clipped images REC OUT fps sets If set to On the sensor will always follow sensor fps the REC OUT frame rate setting This ensures no frames are dropped on the output SDI remote When set to On the REC OUT and MON OUT will carry a flag in their data stream to signal an external recorder if the camera is currently recording internally Vari flag When set to On the Vari flag marks duplicate images in the HD SDI stream A recorder that supports the Vari flag can detect these frames and discard them This makes sure that no duplicate frames are recorded if the HD SDI is set to a higher frame rate than the sensor 78 Camera Controls HD SDI formats and corresponding frame rates Format Links Image Sampling Color Possible Used Raster Structure Mode Frame Rates fps 422 1 1920x108 4 2 2 YCbCr 23 976 24 1 5G SL 0 25 29 97 30 422 2 1920x108 4 2 2 YCbCr 48 50 59 94 1 5G DL 0 60 422 1 1920x108 4 2 2 YCbCr 48 50 59 94 3G SL 0 60 444 2 1920x108 4 4 4 RGB 23 976 24 1 5G DL 0 25 29 97 30 ARRIRA 2 2880x162 Bayer Bayer 23 976 24 W 0 25 29 97 30 1 5G DL Note The RAW sensor image is transmitted wrapped as 1920x1080 RGBA This signal can only be recorded with Arriraw T Link c
93. ort 1 having priority over LCS port 2 Lens Data Display The Lens Data Display for Focus Pullers LDD FP is currently not supported Plus Camera Controls 117 13 6 Plus Camera Controls The ALEXA PLUS has an additional function button labeled WRS It gives access to the WRS screen from where all camera setting related to the Plus camera features can be handled The WRS screen gives an overview of radio status camera level LDS status and CLM status The screen buttons lead to screens containing more detailed info on these topics and where settings can be changed CAM LEVEL B LENS DATA IRISCLM ZOOMCLM FOCUS CLM Figure 78 WRS screen RADIO Shows the currently set radio channel the number of connected hand units and the status of the radio system Pressing the screen button opens a screen where radio can be set on or off and the channel number can be set WRS radio channel 2 Figure 79 WRS radio screen 118 ALEXA Plus CAM LEVEL Shows the tilt and roll of the camera in degrees as measured by the camera s position sensor This sensor can be resetted if it appears to have an offset Press the CAM LEVEL screen button to access the reset screen By pressing the two lower outer screen buttons simultaneously the sensor is reset Note The sensor can only be reset while both axis are within a threshold of 10 degrees around 0 1 Level camera 2 Reset motion sensor
94. plane Figure 86 ALEXA left Figure 87 ALEXA top 198 image plane 1 el Ul W Figure 88 ALEXA bottom Figure 89 ALEXA front and back ALEXA Plus image plane Figure 90 ALEXA Plus left Figure 91 ALEXA Plus top Figure 92 ALEXA Plus bottom Figure 93 ALEXA Plus front and back Connector Pin Outs Note The drawings of the connectors are not to scale BAT GND 2 24V 3 BAT COM 1 GND 2 24V AUX 3 R S 12V GND 2 12V AUX 1 GND 2 LTC IN 3 ASCII 4 TUNE OUT 5 LTC OUT 1 RS422 TXD 2 RS232 TXD 3 CAN1 L 4 CAN1 H 5 CAN2 L 6 CAN2 H 7 24V AUX 8 RS232 RXD 9 RS422 RXD 10 RS422 RXD 11 RS422 TXD 12 GND 13 TTL IN1 14 TTL IN2 15 24V AUX 16 GND 00 0 o o 6 1 MX 1P 2 MX 1N 3 MX 2P 4 MX 2N 5 6 MX 3N 7 MX 4P 8 MX 4N 9 GND 10 24V ETH AUDIO IN o 9 3 1 AGND 2 L IN 3 L IN 4 R IN 5 R IN AUDIO OUT A 4 False Color Display The false color display is a tool to check correct exposure It can be activated in the EVF and the MON OUT image When active the image is turned into a greyscale image with important luminance ranges shown in signal colors Color Encoding Six different colors are used to sho
95. plug Can be adjusted to match the used battery type Default value is 21 0V The level at which a power warning is exhibited for the onboard battery Can be adjusted to match the used battery type Default value is 12 0V Note At a level 1096 below the set warning level a battery error is emitted This means that the power source is treated as insufficient to power the camera any further BAT2 Onboard warning 11 0V Figure 66 MENU gt SYSTEM gt POWER Smart batteries that transmit their remaining load to the camera emit a warning at 10 remaining capacity and an error at 5 remining capacity Currently batteries by ID X and Anton Bauer support this feature Display 86 Camera Controls Display Set the brightness of the camera right side LCD brightness display The brightness can also be adjusted when the Homescreen is active by turning the jogwheel Button Set the brightness of the button illumination brightness Button brightness Off Figure 67 MENU gt SYSTEM gt DISPLAY System Clock Date Set date and time of the camera to match your current location 07 20 13 00 00 lt gt DONE Figure 68 MENU gt SYSTEM gt CLOCK DATE Use the lower screen buttons to navigate between the elements in the screen and to finish your setting External Sync Eye index The first letter of the Camera ID can be changed between L and R for stereoscopic productions to identify l
96. r Mare info Figure 74 Screenshot of ALEXA SxS card under Mac OS X File naming scheme ALEXA automatically names files as they are created on the SxS card While it is possible to change the file names later on a computer it is not recommended as the ALEXA naming scheme has been developed to minimize the risk of duplicate file names The file name consists of 6 parts Camera Index One character A Z User assignable should match the camera unit 98 Operation of The Camera Reel Counter characters 001 999 Auto assigned to each card increased by one for each new card The user can change the counter to be given to the next card This should only be done on special occasions like after changing the camera body in the middle of a shoot e Clip Index One character fixed to C Main use is to separate the reel counter from the clip counter If more than 999 clips are recorded to one card not likely to happen it changes to D e Date Current date in order YYYYMMDD as set in Menu gt System Time Date e Camera ID Consists of a 1 letter prefix user adustable between R and L and the camera serial number encoded in 3 letters Base36 0 9 A Z The date is separated by underscores at the start and the end The reel counter shall be set to 001 at the start of a shoot The camera will then automatically increase the reel counter whenever a card is recorded for the first time after formattin
97. r Figure 70 Run beeper screen The camera has a beeper to acoustically signal the start and or stop of recording Firmware The camera firmware can be updated to enable new camera features To update the camera firmware store a SUP Software Update Packet file on the SD card and follow the instructions given with the SUP Select update If an SD card containing update files is inserted in file the camera you can select an update file from the list and perform an update Start the update procedure by pressing the two lower outer screen buttons simultaneously Current Release code of currently installed firmware version Note DO NOT INTERRUPT THE UPDATE ONCE IT HAS STARTED MAKE SURE THE CAMERA POWER SUPPLY WILL REMAIN SUFFICIENT FOR THE DURATION OF THE UPDATE APP 15 MINUTES Main Controls 89 Note On rare occasions the update process can fail If the update procedure fails try it again until you succeed Figure 71 MENU gt SYSTEM gt FIRMWARE 11 1 5 5 Frame grabs By pressing the GRAB button or by assigning the function Grab still frame to one of the user buttons 1 3 a still image from the sensor can be stored on the SD card The images inherit the setting of the REC OUT If it is set to ARRIRAW frame grabs are currently not posible For all other formats users can choose from jpg tif or dpx file formats in this screen Grabbing an image can take up to 45 seconds depending on th
98. r display The settings displayed in the top bar section of the viewfinder can be adjusted FPS SHUTTER EI WB Sensor fps Settings of the FPS list can be loaded Shutter angle Settings of the Shutter list can be loaded Exposure index Settings from EI 160 to EI 3200 can be loaded in steps of 1 3 stop White Balance Settings from WB list can be loaded The values that can be chosen mirror the content of the respective lists in the main UI Select the setting to be changed with the jogwheel press the jogwheel to open the list Select a list value and press the jogwheel again To quit the menu press the CAM button 94 Operation of The Camera 12 12 1 12 1 1 Operation of The Camera This chapter describes what has to be done overall to perform a certain task It contains the necessary hardware setup and camera configuration to perform the task Recording Internal recording This chapter contains in formation and recommendations for recording with SxS PRO cards The user is of course free to modify the recommended worksteps to his needs Note ARRI cannot be held responsible for the loss of any data in conjunction with internal recording ALEXA can internally record on Sony SXS PRO cards These cards have an ExpressCard34 form factor and are currently available with 8 16 32 or 64 GB storage space Card file format SxS cards have to be formatted in the camera before they can be used for rec
99. r temperature offset Image quality might be affected seriously 52 Camera Controls 11 1 3 1 Lock a Camera is locked SD Card SD card present Turns orange when card is accessed Grab xls Still frame is currently grabbed to the SD card Tropical Sensor is in tropical mode 240 C mode temperature Note A sensor temperature warning or error after bootup is normal until the sensor has reached its preset temperature Lists and User Lists The HOMESCREEN screen buttons FPS SHUTTER WB White Balance and EI Exposure Index open screens with lists that contain preconfigured values for the respective setting Except for EI all lists are user lists where the user can store a selection of his preferred settings for quick access Select a list value DELETE SENSOR FPS 422 HQ Max 60 fps 24 fps SxS CODEC SxS INFO REC OUT Figure 32 List example User list fps Main Controls 53 11 1 3 2 To select a list value turn the jogwheel until the selection bar is on the desired value and press the jogwheel Add list value If the list lacks the required setting press the ADD screen button This opens a screen where the desired value can be set Either use the jogwheel for changing the value or use the screen buttons for bigger adjustment steps When the desired value is set press the jogwheel to add the value to the list Note A maximum of 16 entries are supported by the list After reachin
100. rce the user bits are sampled from the external signal Press the SET TC screen button to adjust the TC counter only with Int TC as source Reset it or match it to the system clock with the upper screen buttons that appear during edit mode Note The camera will force Time code to Internal Rec Run Regenerate if the sensor fps does no match the project fps The PROJECT button is a quick link into the PROJECT menu screen where project fps can be adjusted Project fps sets the time base of the time code Note Non integer TC time base settings 23 976 and 29 97 are currently always counted as non dropframe time code USER BITS Press the USER BITS screen button to access the USER BITS screen The content of the User binary group in the time code Can contain 8 letters of Hex values 0 9 A F Press the SET UB screen button to adjust the User Bits values USER BITS User bits source Internal Figure 45 User bits screen Note If Vari flag in the REC OUT menu screen is set to On the last two digits cannot be set as they contain the Vari flag Main Controls 67 11 1 4 2 INFO STATUS Info The first INFO screen contains information on the current state of the camera system If the camera behaves normally the message System state Good is displayed Other messages can either contain a warning or an error message When an SD card is present a system log can be stored to the SD card by pressing the
101. rd 2 max fps in card slot 2 can record with currently set SxS codec LIVE INFO VERSION SxS CARDS Sensor fps 24 000 fps Project fps 24 fps REC OUT frame rate 24 fps MON OUT frame rate 24 fps SxS CARD 1 max fps current 60 fps SxS CARD 2 max fps current Ofps SYSTEM FPS INFO Figure 49 FPS Info screen Camera Controls 11 1 4 3 USER By pressing the USER button the USER screen is loaded where the screen buttons can be assigned with user defined functions The upper three screen buttons of the USER screen mirror the behavior of the three assignable buttons on the camera left side labeled 1 2 3 The two outer lower screen buttons function as additional assignable buttons with extended functionality By pressing the lower right EDIT screen button the functions can be assigned to the buttons USER BUTTONS Figure 50 User screen Assign functions to the buttons by using the jogwheel Figure 51 Edit User Button assignment For user buttons 1 3 which are also available on the camera left side the following functions can be assigned Name description None button has no function Mon out surround toggles surround view of the MON OUT image on off Mon out gamma toggles gamma of the MON OUT between REC 709 and log C only with recording gamma set to log C Main Controls 71 Mon out frame lines Mon out status info Mon out false color Frame lines color EVF surroun
102. re could cause serious injuries including death to users and affiliates and damage to the equipment or other objects Explanation of Warning Signs and Indications Indicates a possible risk of injury or damage to the equipment Indicates the risk of electric shock or fire danger that could result in injury or damage to the equipment Note Indicates further information or information from other instruction manuals General Safety Instructions 2 Always follow these instructions to ensure against injury to yourself or others and damage to the system or other objects e This safety information is in addition to the product specific operating instructions in general and must be strictly observed for safety reasons Read and understand all safety and operating instructions before you operate or install the system Retain all safety and operating instructions for future reference Heed all warnings on the system and in the safety and operating instructions before you operate or install the system Follow all installation and operating instructions Do not use accessories or attachments that not recommended by ARRI as they may cause hazards and invalidate the warranty Do not attempt to repair any part of the system Repairs must only be carried out by authorized ARRI Service Centers 16 Safety Instructions 5 3 Specific Safety Instructions 2 Do not remove any safety measures fr
103. ry Canada This Class A device meets all the requirements of the Canadian interference causing equipment regulation Cet appareil num rique de la Class A respecte toutes les exigences du R glement sur le mat rial brouilleur du Canada Condensation 19 6 3 Condensation IN When moving the camera from a cool to a warm location or when the camera is used in a damp environment condensation may form inside the lens compartment on the sensor cover glass between sensor and its cover glass and on internal or external electrical connections Operating the camera in these conditions may result in personal injury or damage to the equipment Condensation on the optical components may have a visible effect on the output images To reduce the risk of condensation e Find a warmer storage location Attach the ARRI air drying cartridge silica bottle to the PL Mount of the camera during storage NOT during transport e fcamera needs to be stored in a place that is considerably cooler than the location where it will be used consider keeping the camera powered from a mains unit in addition to using the air drying cartridge e n ambient temperatures above 30 C 86 F and or humidity above 6096 always attach the air drying cartridge to the PL Mount of the camera when not in use This not only applies to storage but also to shooting breaks and situations when the camera remains without an attached lens for an extended time
104. sync activated but not using settings sync Send trigger from Ext sync master camera to ensure the REC OUTs of both cameras in sync Camera is set to Settings sync Enet master but is not connected with slave camera via Ethernet Camera is set to Settings sync Enet slave but is not connected with master camera via Ethernet Camera jams to external TC signal Do not disconnect TC source from camera until warning disappears Camera is set to Ext LTC regen but external TC signal is missing The external TC signal has a time base that does not match the project fps of the camera A problem occured in the camera The frame grab failed A problem occured with the SD card The frame grab failed The camera could not play back the internally recorded clips EVF smooth mode not possible Smooth mode is set to On but either sensor fps is higher then 30 000 or shutter angle is higher than 180 0 ALEXA error messages and meanings Main Bat Low power Onboard Bat Low power Bats Low power Card 1 End of lifetime Card 2 End of lifetime Card 1 Write speed error Card 2 Write speed error Cards 1 amp 2 Full Cards 1 amp 2 End of lifetime Cards 1 amp 2 Wrong file system Cards 1 amp 2 Rec protected Camera overheating Low sensor temperature High sensor temperature System error The battery attached to the BAT connector has reached its low level 1096 below warning
105. t WZU 3 The WZU 3 controls the zoom axis It connects to the camera through a WMU 3 or a WHA 3 Wired Hand Adapter WHA 3 The WHA 3 allows both WFU 3 and WZU 3 to connect to the camera via cable 116 ALEXA Plus 13 5 Zoom Main Unit ZMU 3 The ZMU 3 controls the the zoom axis It can be connected to the camera via cable to an LCS port or via cable through an LCS port of an WCU 3 or wirelessly by using a WZE 3 Wireless Zoom Extension WZE 3 The WZE 3 is a radio system that enables direct wireless connection of a ZMU 3 and a camera Hand Unit Priorization Different priority levels are assigned to the hand unit devices to ensure only one device has control over a motor at a time A device s knob that is assigned to an axis has a higher priority than a device s slider assigned to the same axis When steering items of the same type are assigned to the same axis the one connected via WRS has highest priority second highest priority has a device cable on the upper LCS port the lower LCS port has the lowest priority Of two radio devices with the same steering items assigned to the same axis the one that connects to the camera first gains control Cabled devices can gain control of an axis at the time of connection Wireless devices must be rebooted if an axis has become idle before they can gain control An exception to the rule are devices on the zoom axis Here the cabled devices have the highest priority with LCS p
106. t side are two SxS PRO card slots They are behind a door that can be opened by pulling the top lid backwards The door opens towards the camera housing for permanent accessability even in tight spaces or on special rigs Make sure the door is always closed to prevent moisture and dirt from entering the camera The cards are inserted with the card contacts first and the SxS labeled side outwards They have to be pushed inwards against a spring until they lock in place Make sure the cards are locked before closing the door or the cards could be damaged Note Do not force the cards into the slots in the wrong direction This could cause damage to both card and camera To release a card push it inwards until it is unlatched The spring will push the card outwards Be careful that the card does not drop out of the slot Cards do not have to be mounted or unmounted They can be ejected whenever the camera is not writing to the cards Even if cards are ejected during record they maintain their functionality with the last take intact except that the last second of the take is lost Note If a writing process is interrupted by power loss or card eject remove the card from the camera copy all data from the card and format the card before using it again A card select button is located between the card slots By pushing it the currently active card can be toggled Each card has an LED that signals the card state to the user 44 Connec
107. te Formatting or erasing an SxS PRO card removes all data irreversibly from the card Be careful not to format any SxS PRO cards with data before they have been backed up When cards without a valid file system are inserted into the camera a screen will appear that asks for card formatting It is recommended to directly format the card and not to postpone this action Apple ProRes codecs The following table gives an overview of the range of ProRes codecs these codecs are supported by ALEXA 76 Camera Controls Name Color Data Recording time max coding rate on 32 GB SxS frame 30 fps Pro 30 fps rate ProRes YCbCr 45 Mb s 1 h 23 min 60 fps 422 Proxy ProRes YCbCr 102 Mb s 37 min 60 fps 422 LT ProRes YCbCr 147 Mb s 25 min 60 fps 422 ProRes YCbCr 220 Mb s 17 min 60 fps 422 HQ ProRes RGB 330 11 min 40 fps 4444 Mb s Without alpha channel 444 only The maximum frame rate is also limited my the write speed of the SxS PRO card in use which might reduce the maximum frame rate below the values given in the table Apple ProResTM is a VBR variable bit rate codec This means that the actually available recording time depends on the image content The number given in the table is the MINUMUM available recording time for a 32 GB card When image content is easily compressable without loss of image quality the available recording time can exceed the number given in the table Also not
108. the image such as microphone booms can be seen by the operator before they enter the image Surround mask If surround view is set to On it must be separated from the recorded image area to allow proper framing Users can choose from different mask levels or a black oir colored line for separation Controls 93 11 3 2 Status info Framelines Select framelines 1 Select framelines 2 Center mark User rectangles Edit user rectangles Framelines color Framelines intensity At the upper and lower edge of the EVF right outside the active image area additional status info can be displayed The upper area contains camera image parameters the lower area contains camera status infos Frame lines are a reference for framing that typically consist of an image frame a center cross and an aspect ratio reference See the appendix for more information on the ALEXA frame line format Choose the main frame lines template from those stored in the camera Choose the secondary frame lines template from those stored in the camera A center mark either a cross or a dot can be added to the image to help the framing Display up to two additional recangles that can be set in the EVF Adjust the user rectangles visually Change the color of the frame lines Change the brightness of the frame lines Viewfinder CAM menu Pressing the CAM button on the viewfinder opens the cam menu in the viewfinde
109. to supply the camera We recommend to not use any batteries with a capacity of less than 90 Wh to prevent damage to the battery and unpredictable camera behavior Any camera battery combination should be tested prior to use especially when accessories are powered through the camera Gold Mount Batteries Gold Mount is the battery mounting system of Anton Bauer batteries The batteries transmit information on their remaining capacity to the camera ALEXA displays the remaining capacity in percent on the Homescreen of the camera display For Gold Mount batteries the user does not need to set the battery warning level due to the communication of camera and battery Attaching the battery to the adapter Place the battery with the three pins into the adapter so that the pins sit in the corresponding holes of the mount Move the battery to the right until you hear a snap e Make sure it is connected correctly and sits tight Releasing the battery When facing the battery move the lever located on the left side of the mount down Power Outputs 25 7 8 Move the battery left then pull it towards you and remove it Figure 9 Camera with BAB G and a Gold Mount battery Note Not all Gold Mount batteries deliver enough power to supply the camera We recommend to not use any batteries with a capacity of less than 90 Wh to prevent damage to the battery and unpredictable camera behavior Any camera battery combi
110. tors LED state Card state Off No card present Card is unreadable e g wrong file system Card is inactive Solid green Card is selected and ready Solid red Card is accessed read write IDO NOT REMOVE CARD Only Sony SxS PRO cards can be used with ALEXA Sony SxS One cards are not supported Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 LDS 45 10 10 1 Optics ALEXA is equipped with an exchangeable lens mount Note Lenses must cover an image circle of at least 30 mm diameter to eliminate the risk of vignetting Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 no LDS The lens adapter LA PL 1 is the standard lens mount delivered with ALEXA It can be used to attach any modern PL mount lens to the camera Attaching a lens to the camera e Twist the bayonet ring anti clockwise as far as it will go Remove the protective lens cap e Insert the lens into the lens mount receptacle without catching it at the edges One of the four slots on the lens mount must fit over the index pin in the lens mount receptacle e Choose lens position that gives good readability of lens markings e Press the lens flat onto the lens mount receptacle e Twist the bayonet ring clockwise until the lens is attached Make sure the lens is properly mounted Note When no lens is attached to the camera use the protective cap to avoid dust entering the lens cavity Note The sophisticated design principle of the camera s optical module
111. tput 24V with 1 2A power It is located on the camera back lower right The EVF connector connects the camera to an EVF 1 electronic viewfinder The signals on this connector are proprietary and can only be used to drive an EVF 1 This proprietary signal assures very low latency for the viewfinder image It is located on the camera front lower left AUDIO IN 2 channel analog line level audio can be fed to the camera via the 5 pin XLR connector located on the front right side of the camera The audio signal is A D converted to 24 bit 48 kHz PCM RS The two RS connectors supply external accessories with at least 24 V power and combined load of up to 2 2 A shared with the EXT connector power out The sockets also accept an ARRI remote start stop trigger button They are located on the camera right lower front The 12 V connector supplies an external accessory with 12 V power and up to 2 2 A current 42 Connectors 9 11 9 12 9 13 It is located on the camera right lower front TC The TC connector is a 5 LEMO socket It accepts and distributes LTC Longitudinal Time Code signals It can be used to e Jam sync the camera time code to a Clockit TC Slate or another camera e Transmit the camera s time code to a Clockit TC Slate or another camera e Tune the camera crystal oscillator s frequency with an Ambient ACC Clockit Controller It is located on the camera right lower front AUDIO OUT Th
112. tsi ied Lats ome 46 TC Time 2 440 00 0 68 Tripod and Remote 31 U SERusissesusHuenceu mb smi 74 USER BITS need 70 User Setups ena 93 Using Time Code eese 108 V Viewfinder 33 Viewfinder CAM menu eem 97 Viewfinder EVF menu eee 96 Viewfinder Mounting Bracket 34 V Lock Batteries 27 a al ne etu o eme et 66 Wedge Adapter WA 1 Quick Release Plate 40 Wireless Remote System 117 ARRI ALEXA UI Tree Version SUP 3 1 HomeScreen Fps list Choose amp delete DELETE list entry Set fps 10 FPS 0 1 FPS Shortcut to SxS CODEC Menu gt Recording gt SxS Shortcut to Info gt Storage Shortcut to REC OUT Menu gt Recording gt REC OUT Audio screen Increase gain on channel 1 Decrease gain on channel 1 Increase gain on channel 2 Decrease gain on channel 2 AUDIO OUT Audio out screen 5 Set Audio options OPTIONS Set Audio options SHUTTER Shutter list Choose amp delete list entries DELETE Set shutter 100 0 Exposure Index list fix 160 3200 ASA Set gamma for all image paths White Bala
113. ty is still guaranteed The sensor temperature is higher than it should be High image quality is still guaranteed The external TC signal s time base differs from the project fps of the camera Syncing is still possible Re jam Timecode soon Re jam Timecode now TC source forced to internal Interface bit error Internal processing problem Internal battery error System problem External TC Incompatible frame rate HD outs not synced Trigger now Connect with Ethernet slave Connect with Ethernet master External TC Jamming Please wait External TC Signal missing External TC Incompatible frame rate Framegrab Grabbing image failed Framegrab Storing image failed Playback failed Accuracy of jammed Timecode can soon expire Re jam camera with external Timecode soon Accuracy of jammed Timecode has expired Re jam camera with external Timecode Sensor fps does not match Project fps External Free Run TC cannot be used camera has switched to Int Rec Run TC Reboot camera If error continues to occur contact ARRI service Reboot camera If error continues to occur contact ARRI service The internal battery which powers the real time clock must be replaced Contact an ARRI service center near you Reboot the camera If error continues to occur contact ARRI service The external TC signal s time base is not accepted by the camera Appears on slave cam with Ext
114. uct meets CE regulations About This Manual 2 Scope This instruction manual applies to the following hardware software and firmware versions ARRI ALEXA camera with ARRI EVF 1 electronic viewfinder EVF 1 software packet Document revision history SUP 2 1 3 0 3 1 3 1 ID 5 72550 0 5 72550 0 5 72550 0 5 72550 0 drawing 2031 00 00 00 99 2031 00 00 00 99 2031 00 00 00 99 B 2031 00 00 00 99 C Camera software update packet SUP release revision FG5445 K7741 K7776 K7781 3 1 1 27 date 29th Nov 2010 11th Feb 2011 04th Apr 2011 07th Apr 2011 ALEXA Images ALEXA Images TENERE A Figure 1 Camera right side ARRI Figure 2 Camera left side EP BULL Figure 3 Camera top About This Manual 11 Figure 4 Camera bottom Figure 5 Camera front Figure 6 Camera back Introduction to ALEXA Introduction to ALEXA ALEXA is a 35 format film style digital camera made by ARRI the world leader in professional cinematographic imaging It combines leading edge digital technology with film camera features that have been refined over more than 90 years of ARRIs history The result is a camera that allows cinematographers with a film background to shoot digitally without the need for a extensive training People who are used to shoot digitally will experi
115. us Camera 121 teeters atte 26 89 Power 24 Power Output tice cett 29 Power 24 Production Info ote 87 E A nee petes 86 R Radio 116 D sueta 125 REC OUTE i Sper deae co met E 80 REG OUT A822 tesi nme debet 44 ci repe 78 98 RET SYNG IN ee eet 44 c 45 RUN Deeper ue dee pice etie mte de es 92 S Safety Instructions 24044 19 SCOPC vie aie nint noi i Ee no ees 13 Screen Buttons 53 50 sete ENEE eee 46 NIE 88 Shoulder Pad 3 41 SHUTTERS ndi nen A 62 Side Camera Handle 1 37 Specific Safety 20 Storage and 22 CARDS 79 SxS Slots 47 Syncing the Sensors of Two Cameras 90 109 Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras 91 110 88 System Clock Date 90 T Tut tute e
116. vailable storage space on SxS PRO card LIVE INFO VERSION SxS CARDS Codec ProRes 422 HQ SxS 1 SxS 2 Status Stby Stby Free capacity 80 0 Write speed 480Mb s OMb s Max fps current 60 fps 0 fps Card size 30 0GB 0 0GB SYSTEM FPS INFO Figure 47 SxS CARDS info screen SYSTEM Info Date Currently set date Can be set in MENU gt SYSTEM gt DATE TIME Time Currently set time Can be set in MENU gt SYSTEM gt DATE TIME Fan speed Speed of camera cooling fan in rotations per minute Main Controls 69 Sensor Current temperature of image sensor Target is temperatur 35 C in standard mode 40 C in tropical mode e IP address IP address of the camera s Ethernet port LIVE INFO VERSION 5 5 CARDS Date 2010 07 20 13 00 00 Fan speed 0 rpm Sensor temperature 35076 address 169 254 1 24 5 5 FPS INFO Figure 48 SYSTEM info screen FPS Info Gives an overview of all frame rates in the camera Sensor fps Frames per second generated by the sensor Project fps Frames per second the Timecode is counting and frame rate used for playback of QuickTime clips REC OUT The rate at which frames are output on the REC frame rate OUT HD SDI MON OUT The rate at which frames are output on the MON frame rate OUT HD SDI SxS CARD Maximum frames per second the SxS PRO card 1 max fps in card slot 1 can record with currently set SxS codec SxS CARD Maximum frames per second the SxS PRO ca
117. voiding dropped or duplicate frames When the REC OUT settings are done press BACK to load the Sensor Fps screen Go to MENU gt MON OUT and set the frame rate to the same value as REC OUT If this is not possible because the REC OUT frame rate exceeds the range of MON OUT frame rates use half the frame rate of the REC OUT If sensor is not set by REC OUT choose the desired sensor fps value from the list and press the jogwheel If the desired value is not available press the ADD screen button to set the desired value and add it to the list by pressing the jogwheel All frame rate settings should be correct now Camera Controls 11 1 3 3 AUDIO Pressing the AUDIO screen button in the Home screen opens the Audio screen This screen shows the level on the two audio channels in the camera The audio levels are displayed from 45 dB FS to 0 dB FS Note When audio is switched off or disabled no meters are displayed but a message shows OFF or DISABLED Audio is disabled by the camera when sensor fps does not match project fps Light blue markers show reference levels of 20 18 and 9 dB FS Red markers at levels 1 and 0 dB FS warn of clipping With a properly levelled audio signal the red markers should almost never be visible AUDIO OUT LU MN 5 Figure 34 Audio screen CH2 Gain can be applied to the audio channels by eith
118. w the important luminance ranges What Signal Level White clipping 100 99 Just below white clipping 99 97 One stop over medium gray Caucasian skin 56 52 18 medium gray 4296 3896 Just above black clipping 4 096 2 596 Black clipping 2 596 0 096 Figure 94 False Color Encoding The following example illustrates the behavior of the false color display Figure 95 Night scene captured with ALEXA Figure 96 ALEXA night shot with false color active 5 Infos and Warnings If anything unwanted occurs in the camera it will give a message to the user These states that require attention from the user are indicated by icons in the main display the viewfinder and the MON OUT Warnings are message that inform the user that a state has changed or that an error might occur soon Anyway recording is still possible If the camera goes into error state recording is no longer possible as it cannot be guaranteed that images are acquired as the user intended or recording is simply not possible The messages give a compact info what has happened if more information is required please refer to the following tables Special warnings and errors Sensor temperature ALEXA has a Peltier element that keeps the image sensor at a stable temperature This is important to achieve constant image quality Under some occasions the camera might not be able to keep this temperature
119. wer edge of the EVF right outside the active image area additional status info can be displayed The upper area contains camera image parameters the lower area contains camera status infos The ALEV III sensor has 10 additional pixels outside the recorded image for a better monitoring experience The user can decide whether he wants to see these 1096 in the viewfinder or not By switching surround view on objects that are not wanted in the image such as microphone booms can be seen by the operator before they enter the image If surround view is set to On it must be separated from the recorded image area to allow proper framing Users can choose from different mask levels or a black or colored line for separation Frame lines are a reference for framing that typically consist of an image frame a center mark and an aspect ratio reference See the appendix for more information on the ALEXA frame line format 80 Camera Controls Center mark Rotate image Off Smooth mode Off Status info On Surround view On Surround mask Black line A center mark either a cross or a dot can be added to the image to help the framing Figure 59 MENU MONITORING EVF MON OUT The MON OUT is a 422 1 5G single link HD SDI output The output range is fixed to legal range Frame rate Scan format Status info Surround view Surround mask The MON OUT frame rate can be set to 23 976 24 25 29 97 or 30 fps
120. x and clip counter Main Controls 51 DUR CARD section SxS1 10MIN H E Duration of current clip during recording or length of last recorded clip during standby Shown as h mm ss Displays capacity information of SxS PRO cards Capacity of currently active card in minutes Calculated for currently set framerate and codec Green capacity bar showing remaining capacity in percentage Grey if card slot is empty Red if card cannot be recorded In this case see INFO screen for more details Marks the active card The camera is in standby and ready to record The camera is recording An error occured Recording is not possible Press the INFO button for more info If nothing is shown the camera works properly but no SxS PRO card is present for recording Note The value that is shown is the minimum available recording time for the currently set senor fps Apple ProRes the codec family used for image encoding in ALEXA is a variable bit rate codec so the available recording time depends on the image content It can well be that the available recording time exceeds the value displayed here Icons Name Icon Description General Error Temperature Warning Temperature Error An error occured Check the INFO screen for more info General Important information waiting on Warning the INFO screen Small sensor temperature offset Image quality might be affected slightly Large senso
121. yle Batteries Any Cine style battery with level of 24 V and a three pin XLR out can be used to power the camera through a 205 or a 295 Available from ARRI is the battery CINE VCLX 2 battery 280 Wh with charger 22 Power Supply 7 5 To connect the battery to the camera e Ensure that the main switch on the camera is off Plug the battery cable 205 or 295 spiral cable into the power supply socket on the camera and the battery 28 V output socket Note When the battery voltage drops below the warning level the level in the camera display will start flashing A white i information is available on the INFO screen will appear signaling more Note For more information on setting the low battery warning level see Menu gt System gt Power on page 85 Charging the battery e Connect the charger to AC mains power Plug the charger cable into the charge input socket of the battery Once charged batteries may be kept on the charger until required Note For more information on CINE VCLX 2 battery and charger please check the corresponding manual Onboard Batteries The camera can be equipped with adapters for either V Lock or Gold Mount video style batteries Four different adapters are available BAB G Back mount adapter Gold Mount batteries BAB V Back mount adapter V Lock batteries BAT G Top mount adapter Gold Mount batteries BAT V Top mount ad
122. ze of 1280x720 pixels 32 additional pixels each above and below the image provide two status bars for displaying camera information The EVF 1 can display the 1096 surround view area of the sensor to help the operator track unwanted elements before they enter the recorded image area Focus can be checked by temporarily zooming into the image center with a magnification of 2 25x low latency interface of the EVF 1 has a delay of less than 1 frame Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 29 8 3 1 The viewfinder is connected to the camera with the mounting bracket VMB 1 Figure 11 Camera with EVF 1 Note Do not point the viewfinder eyepiece at direct sunlight or bright light sources as this could damage the LCOS imaging device If possible cover the eyepiece when not in use to prevent any damage Viewfinder Cables The viewfinder cables are unidirectional with a male plug to connect to the camera and a female plug to connect to the viewfinder Cables are available in the following lengths Model Length m ft KC 150 S 0 35 1 2 151 5 0 65 2 1 152 5 2 00 6 6 Purpose For use of EVF 1 on camera left side in handheld mode For use of EVF 1 on camera right side or when using Viewfinder Extension Bracket VEB 1 Longest possible length for use with specialty rigs 30 Installation of Camera 8 3 2 Figure 12 EVF cables 1505 center KC 151S mi

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