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Alexa 4:3 manual - Krypton Film AS

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3. 1122 167 16 8 Lens Data System nai e eR nl 167 17 RCU 4 168 18 Index 169 Appendix 173 A 1 de hee eade ira 174 A 2 Connector Pin 179 False Color 44244222 22 2 184 A 4 Infos and 185 A 5 Dimensions Weights and Menu Structure Trees 193 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 or other system components due to sensor contamination occurrence of dead or defective pixels de
4. 02221 1 Onboard 24 2 222 V Lock Batteries iscsi iiu Sese a e aden Gold Mount Batteries Power eee Ee ch dede e iere egredi 12 ACcessOrles ce rH Pe Mi beri depen 24 V Accessories nennen ener nn nnne 8 Installation of the Camera 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 3 1 8 3 2 Minimum Equipment Recommended For Operation Tripod and Remote Electronic Viewfinder 1 Viewfinder Viewfinder Mounting 10 13 13 16 16 16 17 19 19 19 20 21 21 22 22 22 23 23 25 26 26 26 IV Contents 8 4 Center Camera Handle 1 32 8 5 Side Camera Handle 1 33 8 6 Bridge Plates 12 13 34 8 7 Bridge Plate adapter 1 35 8 8 Wedge Adapter WA 1 Quick Release Plate 35 8 9 Leveling 1 35 8 10 Shoulder Pad 5 3 36 9 Connectors 38 9 1 BAT Aa ta et edm 40 9 2 REG OUT 1 SO RIRs 40 9 3 RET SYNG IN nie de e dr needs
5. Attaching the battery to the adapter e 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 e Make sure it is connected correctly and sits tight Releasing the battery e When facing the battery press the button located on the mount on the left side Some batteries have an additional top release mechanism e Move the battery upwards and remove it Figure 8 ALEXA with BAB V and V Mount battery Note Not all V Lock 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 combination should be tested prior to use especially when accessories are powered through the camera Gold Mount Batteries 25 7 7 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 e Place the battery with the three pins into the adapter so that the pins sit in the corresponding holes of the mount e
6. d s ss L 1 27 5max 315 max 4 52 20 015 Figure 101 Allowed lens dimensions with mirror shutter 15 3 8 Optical Viewfinder The ALEXA Studio has an optical reflex viewfinder system with interchangeable ground glasses It offers an exceptional viewing quality favoured by a large optical design Special care has been taken to avoid the unpleasant vignette effect that could occur by moving the eye 144 ALEXA Studio Note To use the optical viewfinder the mirror shutter must be set to On The viewfinder is adjustable in two axes laterally extendable for left eye operation and shows illuminated frame lines ARRIGLOW The viewfinder image stays upright and correct left to right when the viewfinder is swivelled within the main axis II Figure 102 OVF top view with mounting points marked Extending the viewfinder arm e Loosen the straight structured ring next to the FIX engraving counter clockwise contrary to the arrow e Adjust the horizontal position e Tighten the ring clockwise with the arrow direction Adjust Barrel Friction e Move the dot structured ring according to the engravings LOOSE and FRICTION to loosen or tighten the friction of the OVF barrel Contrast Filter To achieve a temporary subjective reduction of viewfinder contrast range a contrast filter density 0 6 can be pivoted into the optical beam path Optics 145 e Use t
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8. Recording 105 ALEXA can internally record on Sony SXS PRO cards These cards have an ExpressCard34 form factor and are currently available with 8 16 or 32 GB storage space Card file format SxS PRO 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 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 Copy 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 af
9. Note This setting does not influence audio embedding in HD SDI or recording in QuickTime clips It only affects the AUDIO OUT connector e 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 SHUTTER Pressing the SHUTTER screen button in the HOMESCREEN opens the SHUTTER list screen The list contains default shutter angles 11 2 22 5 45 0 90 0 172 8 180 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 Main Controls 61 11 1 3 5 DELETE SHUTTER ANGLE Exposure time 24 000 fps 1 50s Figure 39 Shutter list The shutter angle can be set in a range from 5 0 to 358 0 The Exposure Index is the applied sensitivity of the camera Note The Exposure Index list has a fixed content meaning that it cannot be changed by the user EXPOSURE INDEX Figure 40 Exposure Index screen ALEXA has a basi
10. 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 Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras 119 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 gt SYSTEM gt EXT SYNC gt Sensor 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 10 us 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 3 60 fps frame rate and 5 0 shutter angle With a regular exposure time 24 fps 172 8 the maximum difference is 0 05 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
11. ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER EVF 1 CAM FPS set sensor speed 0 75 fps 60fps 120fps 24fps SHUTTER set shutter angle 5 0 358 0 172 8 in High Speed Mode 5 0 356 0 5 set exposure index 160ASA 3200ASA 800ASA WB set white balance 2000K 11000K Auto WB 5600K and CC SHIFT EVF menu Brightness 0 5 Rotate Image On Off Smooth Mode On Off Surround View On Off Surround Mask Black line Color Line Mask 25 50 75 Status Info On Off Frame Lines On Off Select Frame Lines 1 choose from list Select Frame Lines 2 choose from list Center Mark Off Dot Cross User Rectangles Off Rect 1 Rect 2 Rect 1 amp 2 Edit User Rectangles only when User Rectangles active Frame Lines Color Red Green Blue Yellow Black White Frame Lines Intensity 1 4 MIRROR CONTROL us E ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only
12. ETHERNET 13 o O0 1 MX 1P 2 MX 1N 3 MX 2P 4 MX 2N 5 MX 3P 6 MX 3N 7 MX 4P 8 MX AN 9 GND 10 24V ETH AUDIO IN o 9 o 9 1 AGND 2 L IN Connector Pin Outs Appendix 183 L IN 4 R IN 5 R IN AUDIO OUT 184 Appendix False Color Display A 3 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 show the important luminance ranges What Signal Level Color White clipping 100 99 red Just below white clipping 99 97 Yellow One stop over medium gray Caucasian skin 56 52 pink 18 medium gray 42 38 green Just above black clipping 4 0 2 5 blue Black clipping 2 5 0 0 purple Figure 121 False Color Encoding The following example illustrates the behavior of the false color display Figure 122 Night scene captured with ALEXA Figure 123 ALEXA night shot with false color active Infos and Warnings Appendix 185 A 4 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 Warn
13. Example A typical file name could look like this 004 010 20100610 R 1JL mov for ProRes Quicktime or 004 010 20100610 R1JL mxf for DNXHD MXF 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 Avww 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 e 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 110 Operation of The Camera e Limit card recording time Codecs with lower data rates like ProRes 422 Proxy can be recorded for quite a duration onto SxS PRO 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
14. Figure 50 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 Sensor Shows active sensor mode either 16 9 or 4 3 mode Note 4 3 only possible with ALEXA M ALEXA Plus 4 3 or ALEXA Studio Sensor Current temperature of image sensor Target is 35 C temperature standard mode 40 C in tropical mode IP address IP address of the camera s Ethernet port Operating Shows the total operating time of the camera in time hours since first installation of SUP 4 0 or higher LIVE INFO VERSION SxS CARDS Date 2012 04 20 Time 13 02 07 Fan speed 222 rpm Sensor mode 16 9 Sensor temperature 35 026 IP address 169 254 1 24 Operating time 2h SYSTEM FPS INFO Figure 51 SYSTEM info screen FPS Info Gives an overview of all frame rates in the camera Sensor fps Frames per second generated by the sensor Main Controls 73 11 1 4 3 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 OUT frame rate 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 in 1 max fps card slot 1 can record with currently set SxS codec SxS CARD Maximum fr
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16. M head Clean fibre connection M head Power warning M head High temperature M head Low fan speed Camera button signals are failing Reboot camera If reappearing after reboot contact service for button replacement Mostly hardware problem Data rate of last recorded clip is very low Check for artifacts in replay Can also occure when forgetting to remove lens cap during recording While High Speed Mode is loading the camera functionality is limited Wait until High Speed mode loading has finished The lens data system has failed Restart the camera if LDS is used The fibre signal quality of the ALEXA M camera is insufficient and requires cleaning of the connections The power level on the ALEXA M camera head is insufficient Use a power source with a power supply of at least 40 W The temperature of the camera head is too high Apply additional cooling to prevent automatic shutdown The fan of the ALEXA M camera head cannot reach a sufficient cooling speed Fan might have to be cleaned or replaced ALEXA error messages and meanings Main Bat Low power Onboard Bat Low power All Bats Low power Card 1 End of lifetime Card 2 End of lifetime The battery attached to the BAT connector has reached its low level 10 below warning level Battery must be replaced The onboard battery has reached its low level 10 below warning level Battery must be replaced Batteries on both BAT con
17. Safety Instructions THE USE OF METHANOL TO CLEAN OPTICAL SURFACES IS NOT RECOMMENDED NEVER USE ACETONE TO CLEAN OPTICAL SURFACES 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 Storage and Transport 6 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 mount receptacle while no lens is attached 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 Interference 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
18. 11 1 3 6 COLOR By pressing the COLOR button all settings related to color management can be accessed The first screen gives an overview of the color settings of all image paths of the camera It shows the currently active gamma on EVF MON OUT REC OUT and 5 5 In addition it shows whether a look is active on any of these image paths and which look is selected in the camera Note When High Speed mode is activated no look can be applied to the REC OUT because the REC OUT shows the same image as the MON OUT SET LOOK MON OUT REC OUT Figure 43 Color screen Look files are a way for the user to influence the color appearance of the camera A look file alters the way the sensor image is converted to video color space Image paths that are set to LOG C cannot have a look applied and are always recorded clean The currently selected look file can be applied to any of the image path by pressing the correspnding screen button If no look is selected or if a path is set to LOG C it cannot have a look applied To select a look file press the SET LOOK screen button and select a look from the list Confirm the selection by pressing the wheel DELETE LOOK FILES Figure 44 List of look files on camera 64 Camera Controls The looks are stored in the camera Additional looks can be loaded from the SD card Press the ADD button to see look files stored on the SD card These look files must be stored on the SD car
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20. ARRIRAW 36 DL Scan format psf p Output range Legal Extended Raw REC OUT fps sets sensor fps On Off SDI remote On Off Vari flag On Off ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 MENU MONITORING menu Electronic viewfinder gt gt Brightness 1 5 Rotate image On Off Smooth mode On Off Surround view On Off Frame lines status info gt gt Frame lines On Off Surround mask Black line Color line Mask 25 50 75 Center mark Off Dot Cross Status info On Off Electronic level On Off LDS info On Off Peaking Off On gt gt Peaking On Off Peaking level Low Off Anamorphic desqueeze o Off 1 3x 2 0x 2 0xmag Zoom position Centered Eye level Framerate 23 976 24 25 29 97 30 48 50 59 94 60fps Scanformat psf p Surround view On Off Frame lines status info gt gt Frame lines On Off Surround mask Black line Color line Mask 25 50 75 Center mark Off Dot Cross Status info On Off Electronic level On Off LDS info On Off Show reel clip number On Off Camera index letter On Off Peaking Off On gt gt Peaking On Off Peaking level Low Off False Color On Off Anamorphic desqueeze Off 1 3x 2 0x 2 0xmag Frame lines gt gt Frame line 1 choose add delete
21. 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 Set the voltage switch on the mains unit to 26 V Plug the battery cable KC 20S 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 Style 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 KC 20S or a KC 29S Available from ARRI is the battery CINE VCLX 2 battery 280 Wh with charger Onboard Batteries 23 7 9 7 6 To connect the battery to the camera e Ensure that the main switch on the camera is off e Plug the battery cable KC 20S 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 BAT1 level in the camera display will start flashing A white i will appear signali
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23. Electronic Viewfinder EVF 1 5 0 358 0 5 0 356 0 in High Speed mode 1 78 1 16 9 1 33 3 in 4 3 mode 3112 x 1782 3112 x 2160 in 4 3 mode 2880 x 1620 2880 x 2160 in 4 3 mode 23 76 x 13 365 mm 23 76 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode 25 674 x 14 701 mm 25 674 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode 332 x 175 x 158 mm 12 95 x 6 89 x 6 22 8 0 kg 17 6 Ib 8 4 kg 18 5 Ib Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 2 installed 178 Appendix Appendix Aspect ratio Total active pixels incl surround view Pixels of recorded image Aperture of recorded image Image aperture incl surround view 1 78 1 16 9 1 33 3 in 4 3 mode 3112 x 1782 3112 x 2160 in 4 3 mode 2880 x 1620 2880 x 2160 in 4 3 mode 23 76 x 13 365 mm 23 76 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode 25 674 x 14 701 mm 25 674 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode Connector Pin Outs Appendix 179 A 2 Connector Pin Outs Note The drawings of the connectors are not to scale GND 2 24V 3 BAT COM 1 2 24V AUX GND 3 R S 180 Appendix Connector Pin Outs 12V GND 2 12V AUX 1 GND 2 LTC IN 3 ASCII 4 TUNE OUT 5 LTC OUT Connector Pin Outs Appendix 181 EXT 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 2 15 24V AUX 16 GND 182 Appendix Connector Pin Outs
24. 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 list is static and cannot be changed by the user It contains ASA values from 160 3200 ASA in steps of 1 3 stop 54 Camera Controls 11 1 3 2 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 DELETE HIGHSPEED ADD 4444 Max 60 fps REC 24 SxS CODEC SxS INFO SDI FPS Figure 33 Sensor fps list 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 The following table shows the maximum available frame rate for all codec card combos Regular Speed High Speed mode mode Codec SxS SxS SxS SxS PRO 8 PRO PRO 8 PRO 64 32 GB 64GB 32GB GB ProRes 422 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps 120 fps Proxy ProRes 422 LT 60 fps 60 fps 120fps 120 fps ProRes 422 60 fp
25. VMB 1 16 85 7 65 CCH 1 1505 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 the 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 size 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 10 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 The 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
26. problem e Immediately copy the data after a card change The data should be in a single instance for the shortest time possible e Switch on write protection when a card has been recorded and is sent to the copy instance e 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 AO04R1JL 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 the 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
27. they output 24 V If the camera s power source is supplying more than 24 V 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 VMB 1 Viewfinder Mounting Bracket e KC 150 S Viewfinder Cable short 0 35m 1 2ft e CCH 1 Center Camera Handle e BP 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 e 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
28. this Optics 149 Attaching the optical viewfinder Upon delivery the OVF is not connected to the camera and must be installed by the user Remove the protective cover from the OVF by loosening its 2x 3mm allen screws Remove the blinding plate from the camera by loosening its 2x 3mm allen screws Place the OVF on the camera Take special care that the electronic connectors of camera and viewfinder are connected before pushing the OVF in place Tighten the 3x 3mm allen screws of the OVF See OVF top view image for locations of screws Note The torx screws on the camera that are painted red may not be tightened or loosened as this would corrupt the alignment of the OVF Figure 109 OVF with cover plate Figure 110 Alexa Studio with cover plate 150 ALEXA Studio Swapping the optical viewfinder for an electronic viewfinder EVF 1 e Make sure the camera is powered down e Loosen the 3x 3mm hex screws of the OVF completely See OVF top view image for locations of screws e Remove the optical viewfinder e Place the EVA 1 electronic viewfinder adapter plate where the optical viewfinder was e Tighten the 2x 3mm hex screws e Attach the EVF mounting bracket with the EVF 1 to the camera housing with its 2x 3mm allen screws e Connect the EVF cable to the camera e Power the camera Figure 112 ALEXA Studio with mounted EVF 1 Optics 151 15 3 4 ND Filt
29. 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 Main Controls 83 Progessive Images are transmitted line by line from left to right starting at the top left pixel e psf Progressive segmented Images are 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 e Extended uses values 5 1019 which results in about 10 more 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 the sensor fps 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 intern
30. 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 EXT 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 41 9 6 9 7 9 8 9 9 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 ETHERNET 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 or to connect and RCU 4 to the camera The ethernet connector can output 24 V with 1 2 A power It is located on the camera back lower right EVF The EVF connector connects the camera to an EVF 1 electronic viewfinder The signals on this connector are proprietary
31. 177 x 163 mm 14 29 x 6 97 x 6 41 7 0 kg 15 4 Ib 10 2 kg 22 5 Ib Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 2 installed 0 750 60 000 fps 60 000 120 000 fps in High Speed mode 0 75 48 000 fps in 4 3 mode Optical viewfinder Electronic mirror shutter 5 0 358 0 5 0 356 0 in High Speed mode 11 2 180 0 Mirror shutter on 1 78 1 16 9 1 33 3 in 4 3 mode 3112 x 1782 3112 x 2160 in 4 3 mode Appendix Appendix 177 Pixels of recorded image Aperture of recorded image Image aperture incl surround view ALEXA Length x Width x Height M head M head weight Length x Width x Height M backend M backend weight Lens mount Sensor frame rates Viewfinder Shutter angle Aspect ratio Total active pixels incl surround view Pixels of recorded image Aperture of recorded image Image aperture incl surround view ALEXA Plus 4 3 Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl EVF 1 VMB 1 CCH 1 Lens mount 2880 x 1620 2880 x 2160 in 4 3 mode 23 76 x 13 365 mm 23 76 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode 25 674 x 14 701 mm 25 674 x 17 82 mm in 4 3 mode 212 x 129 x 149 mm 8 35 x 5 08 x 5 87 2 9 kg 6 39 Ib 323 x 153 x 158 mm 12 72 x 6 02 x 6 22 5 5 kg 12 Ib Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 2 installed 0 750 60 000 fps 60 000 120 000 fps in High Speed mode 0 75 48 000 fps in 4 3 mode
32. 4 3 mode The image is not rescaled for surround view but horizontally extended The non active area of the EVF and MON OUT is filled with black pillarboxed Anamorphic desqueeze Both 1 3x and 2x anamorphic desqueeze is available in 4 3 mode 1 3x anamorphic desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 720 for the EVF and 1920 x 1080 for the MON OUT while 2x desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 480 for the EVF and 1920 x 720 for the MON OUT For the optical viewfinder anamorphic desqueeze can be achieved by flipping an anamorphic element into the optical path By default the OVF has an optical element for 2x desqueeze Elements for 1 3x desqueeze are also available 4 3 and Highspeed Mode It is possible to switch from 4 3 to High Speed mode and vice versa In High Speed mode only the 16 9 center area of the image sensor is read out Licensed Features Licensed features DNxHD High Speed mode and Anamorphic Desqueeze are automatically enabled in the ALEXA Studio General Description 157 16 ALEXA M 16 1 General Description The ALEXA M is a specialty camera where the camera body is split into two parts The camera head contains the image sensor while the backend contains the image processing modules Both parts are connected via a fibre interface The advantages of this system are e Better access to small spaces where a regular ALEXA would not fit into e Lighter handheld operation e Lighter and smaller s
33. 40 9 4 MON QUT ERE Ae 40 9 5 EX Den ee 40 9 6 ETHERNET eiue ER US 41 9 7 EVE Bi DN roe adu o Ape 41 9 8 AUDIO MN teste tton 41 9 9 Ut xis RESI ote 41 9 10 IUe DEED tS E 42 9 11 Mo 42 9 12 AUDIO QUT eiae Ee CERE 42 9 13 SD Card ua Re bee DER tete Eee 42 9 14 SX9 9l01S12 55 eiue eee de 43 10 Optics 45 10 1 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 no LDS 45 10 2 Leris SUppOort ses s 46 11 Camera Controls 48 11 1 Main Controls eerte 48 11 71 pte ee Ud 49 1 2 Screens BUttOris eost root i MA aterert dora 49 11 1 3 HOMESCREEN ener 49 11 1 3 1 Lists and User 52 11 1 3 2 annan ae a 54 MASS AUDIO tenet men er Er 58 11 1 3 4 SAU FEER ge cene P ceu Tue xe ete tea habe ads 60 11 1 3 5 Eli UE ie Dons e UR RE LU DUX 61 11 13 69 COE OR c rb sene 63 odit teet oM 65 11 1 4 Function B ttoris iie nee n 67 Contents 11 1 4 1 TG Time Code nennen 68 131 1 4 2 INE Q3 2 a tour de oe 70 T1343 USER P
34. 750 60 000 fps 60 000 120 000 fps in High Speed mode 5 0 358 0 5 0 356 0 in High Speed mode 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 Appendix Appendix 175 Recording media Recording compression codec Frame rates Image Outputs Recording output Monitoring outputs Timecode Type TC input TC outputs Dimensions and weight Sony SxS PRO cards Apple ProRes 422 4444 codec family Avid DNxHD requires license key 0 75 60 fps 60 120 fps in High Speed mode no ProRes 4444 2x REC OUT configurable as 2x 422 1 5G SL YCbCr 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 444 1 5G DL RGB frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 2x 444 3G DL RGB frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 1x 444 3G DL YCbCr frame rate
35. Auto White Balance 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 MON OUT peaking MON anam desqueeze Return in active Frame lines color Toggle SxS Format Card 1 Format Card 2 Format Card 2 False color index 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 peaking on MON OUT on off toggles anamorphic desqueeze options of MON OUT Note Only with valid Anamorphic De squeeze license key installed on camera toggles RET IN signal active ond EVF and MON OUT according to user settings toggles color of frame lines image on off toggles the currently active SxS PRO card quick link to the menu screen where SxS card 1 can be formatted quick link to the menu screen where SxS card 2 can be formatted quick link to the menu screen where SxS card 2 can be formatted quick link to the menu screen MENU gt Monitoring gt False color index 76 Camera Controls 11 1 4 4 View position moves the mirror shutter to the View position ALEXA Studio only Gate position moves the mirror shutter to the Gate pos
36. 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 Center mark A center mark either a cross or a dot can be added to the image to help the framing Status info 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 Electronic level Overlay showing the horizontal levelling of the camera Only available on ALEXA Plus LDS info Overlay showing LDS lens info Only available on ALEXA Plus Main Controls 89 Show reel clip info Camera index letter Frame Lines Frame line 2 gt User rectangles Off gt Color Red Intensity 2 Shows reel amp clip number in the OUT image Adds the camera index letter to the top left corner of the MON OUT overlays Figure 64 MENU gt MONITORING gt FRAMELINES 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 2 39 1 2 39 1 3x anamorphic and 2 39 2 0x anamorphic aspect ratios Additional frame lines can be loaded from the SD card To load more fr
37. Move the battery to the right until you hear a snap e Make sure it is connected correctly and sits tight Releasing the battery e When facing the battery move the lever located on the left side of the mount down e 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 26 Power Supply 7 8 7 8 1 7 8 2 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 Power Outputs The camera has three power outputs for accessories 2x 24 V and 1x 12 V AUDIO IN gt Figure 10 24 outputs RS and 12 V output 12 Accessories The 12 V output is located the right side of the camera and has 2 pin LEMO connector It is limited to 12 V 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 24 V
38. 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 e Decide which frame rate you want to set Goto MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT e Set the REC OUT frame rate to the desired value The HD SDI format should match the recorder s setting e lf 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 avoiding dropped or duplicate frames e When the REC OUT settings are done press HOME e Goto 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 e When the MON OUT settings are done press HOME lf sensor is not set by REC OUT press FPS and choose the desired sensor fps value from the list Then press the jogwheel e lf 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 e All frame rate settings should be correct now High Speed Mode If a valid High Speed license key is installed on the camera the upper middle screen button will provide a link to switch the camera into High Speed mode Loading the High Speed mode takes approximately 40 seconds Main Controls 57 Load SxS Hi
39. The currently active TC settings are displayed below the TC values TIMECODE Format Int TC Regen 24 fps OPTIONS USER BITS PROJECT Figure 47 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 e Source Choose the TC source Int TC Internal TC counter 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 e Mode Defines how the TC is counted Rec Run TC will only increment during record The TC value is increasing with every frame generated by the sensor during record while counting with the set time base project fps Free Run 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 e Generator Main Controls 69 Regen Rec Run TC is regenerated from the last valid TC value With Ext LTC it means that the camera is continuously reading 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 W
40. USERBITS set Userbits PROJECT Menu gt Project BUTTON LOCK locks HOMESCREEN MENU PLAY INFO GRAB and TC also locks the buttons on and WRS US amp stv010 ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 WR 5 amp STUDIO RADIO Channel Units Ready Off WRS gt RADIO gt gt WRS radio power On Off WRS radio channel 0 7 CAM LEVEL STATUS READOUT FROM SENSORS Tilt 0 09 Roll 0 09 CAM LEVEL gt CALIBRATE use to reset your null balance LENS DATA Status displays FOCAL LENGTH IRIS FOCUS and DoF close far Lens distance unit Metric Imperial Default Unit Circle of confusion 0 013 0 025 0 035 0 050mm Inverse iris scale On Off Inverse zoom scale On Off Inverse focus scale On Off available when non LDS lens in use manage lens data for non LDS lenses IRIS ZOOM FOCUS CLM CLM STATUS displays TYPE DIRECTION and TORQUE 1 4 only CLM 3 set DIRECTION set TORQUE only CLM 3 CALIBRATE CALIBRATE ALL motors ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER EVF 1 Z00M EX P false color exposure check toggle mode ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M
41. 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 KC 151 S 0 65 2 1 KC 152 S 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 the Camera 8 3 2 Figure 12 EVF cables KC 150S center KC 151S middle KC 152S outer Viewfinder Mounting Bracket The viewfinder mounting bracket VMB 1 VMB 2 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 Figur
42. a power source with a voltage level of 18 35 V to ensure the mirror shutter is powered sufficiently MIRROR PARK buttons VIEW and GATE The camera left side Operator Controls have two additional function buttons labelled VIEW and GATE These buttons control the parking position of the mirror shutter A spinning mirror shutter can be stopped by pressing either of the two buttons Pressing the VIEW button will park the mirror in the optical path enabling a live preview in the optical viewfinder Pressing the GATE button will stop the mirror shutter out of the optical path enabling a live preview on the EVF if mounted the MON OUT and the REC OUT Each button is accompanied by a blue LED that lights when the mirror is parked in the respective position When the mirror shutter is running both of the LEDs will be active Pressing the GATE button while the mirror is parked in the VIEW position will move the mirror shutter by 180 0 degrees into the GATE position Pressing the VIEW button while the mirror is parked in the GATE position will move the mirror shutter by 180 0 degrees into the VIEW position To restart the mirror shutter press the button of the position the mirror is parked in Note After booting the camera the mirror shutter is parked in the GATE position for safety reasons When stopping the mirror shutter always open up the electronic sector gate to 180 0 and closes down when it is restarted A live image
43. allows to connect a camera to a WLAN network 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 file If an SD card containing update files is inserted in 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 version Release code of currently installed firmware Licensed features Opens a screen where licenses for licensed features can be managed 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 Note On rare occasions the update process can fail If the update procedure fails try it again until you succeed Note If SxS recording is switched off switch it back on again before performing a firmware update Licensed features gt Figure 76 MENU gt SYSTEM gt FIRMWARE Camera Controls 11 1 5 4 1 1 Licensed Features Licensed features are camera functionalities that require a license key to be enabled Licenses can be purchased through the ARRI ALEXA License webshop which can be found at http alshop arri de A detailed instruction on how to purchase a license key can be found on the website License keys
44. an interlaced image from the live image and the loaded image Toggle only displays the laoded image Active on EVF Sets the compare function on the EVF on or off Active on MON Sets the compare function on the MON OUT on or off Note The image quality on the MON OUT in interleave mode depends strongly on the connected display device Displays with a resolution different from full HD 1920x1080 may show flickering images or other artifacts This is not caused by the camera but the display s electronics 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 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 really 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 gt Factory reset gt Figure 79 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
45. and can be moved in and out of the optical path with the push of a button It is located between the mirror shutter and the image sensor so the optical viewfinder image is not affected by the filter and stays bright 4 3 Super35 sensor size only active in SUP 5 2 BETA Allows output of 2880 x 2160 23 76 x 17 82mm sensor size sensor pixels in ARRIRAW for recording on external recorders and monitoring of the full sensor aspect in HD pillarboxed Note Internal recording of 4 3 images will be enabled in a future software update Note The ALEXA Studio does not support SUP 6 0 This means that DNXHD recording Color bars and extended user button features are currently not supported by the ALEXA Studio ALEXA Studio Images 139 15 2 ALEXA Studio Images Figure 94 ALEXA Studio right Figure 95 ALEXA Studio left 140 ALEXA Studio Figure 97 ALEXA Studio bottom Optics 141 Figure 98 ALEXA Studio front Figure 99 ALEXA Studio back 15 3 Optics 142 ALEXA Studio 15 3 1 15 3 2 Electronic Mirror Shutter The electronic mirror shutter is located between the PL mount and the image sensor at an angle of about 45 It is part of the optical reflex viewfinder system in that it reflects the lens image into the optical viewfinder It is synchronized with the electronic shutter of the camera sensor so that the sen
46. 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 42 Connectors 9 10 9 11 9 12 9 13 12V The 12 V connector supplies an external accessory with 12 V power and up to 2 2 A current It is located on the camera right lower front The TC connector is a 5pin 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 The AUDIO OUT is a 3 5mm TRS connector headphone jack which outputs the audio fed to the 5 pin XLR connector with a maximum power of 2 5 dBm It is located on the camera right lower front
47. are linked to the camera serial number and cannot be transferred from one camera to another To order a license key you must have the hardware info file of the camera for which you want to order the license key The INSTALLED LICENSES screen shows currently installed license keys for licensed features New license keys located on the SD card can be installed by pressing the INSTALL button DELETE INSTALL INSTALLED LICENSES HW INFO Figure 77 List of installed licenses The license key file suffix ic to be installed must be located the SD card in the correct folder folder ARRI subfolder ALEXA subfolder Licenses Note Only license keys that have been created for the camera in use will appear in the SD card license list The list shows the file names in the SD card directory Below the list the feature contained in the license key is displayed for the currently selected license key file Press the jogwheel to install the currently selected license on the camera License keys can be deleted from the camera to prevent the use of the feature The license can be reinstalled at any later point in time Press the DELETE button and select the license to be removed Confirm the removal by pressing the jogwheel Note Make sure to keep an offline copy of the license file In case you lost a license file you can reload it from your account in the license webshop Main Controls 99 11 1 5 5 To save th
48. at least 6 A maximum output current Note when powering accessories through the camera the power draw of the camera is increased by the amount of power drawn by the accessories 7 1 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 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 22 Power Supply 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 KC 20S and KC 29S 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
49. be of identical size e Foranew reel both cards must be formatted e 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 Recording 111 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 422 1 5G Television applications that only require color correction high speed capture above 30 fps e 444 1 5G High quality television applications that require color correction and pulling mattes cinema applications e ARRIRAW High quality cinema applications for multi format distribution 422 1 56 YCbCr 422 is 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 signals 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 B carry the identical signal independe
50. codecs or two types of Avid DNxHD codecs requires license key Note Disabled during High Speed mode HS Codec Set the codec to be used for internal recording to SxS cards during High Speed mode Choose from the full range of Apple ProRes 422 codecs or two types of Avid DNxHD codecs requires license key Note Only visible if High Speed license key is installed on camera Disabled during Regular Speed mode 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 can CARD 1 2 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 Main Controls 81 Note 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 direc
51. control commands from the Master camera via the EXT cable 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 128 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 CLM 2 or CLM 3 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 high motor torque of the CLM 3 could damage the lens when driving with 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 3D lens sync When two ALEXA Plus cameras are set Sensor sync EXT master an
52. emitted This means that the power source is treated as insufficient to power the camera and recording is prohibited BAT2 Onboard warning 11 0 Figure 70 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 remaining capacity Currently batteries by ID X Bebop Anton Bauer and any battery using the Tl protocol support this feature External Sync Eye index Sensor sync HD out phase The first letter of the Camera ID can be changed between L and R for stereoscopic productions to identify left and right eye camera Influences naming of clips on SxS cards The sensors of 2 ALEXA cameras can be synced See Sensor sync on page 118 for more info e 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 94 Camera Controls Send HD sync trigger Settings sync 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 ona slave camera or frontwards on
53. exposure time MIRROR On Off 60ASA 3200ASA 800ASA ND FILTER S On Off BACK amp JOGWHEEL press BACK while turning the jogwheel to change the display brightness ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 SET LOOK choose delete load look from SD set COLORPATH EVF LOOK ON OFF FOR REC708 DCI P3 MON OUT LOOK ON OFF FOR REC708 DCI SxS Hi ON OFF FOR REC709 DCI P Ss urf LOOK ON OFF FOR REC709 DCI P3 EH MA COLOR gt GAMMA gt gt SxS REC709 DCI P3 LOGC REC OUT 709 DCI P3 LOGC ARRIRAW MON OUT REC709 DCI P3 LOGC EVF REC709 LOGC LOG C film matrix On Off 2000K 11000K Auto WB 5600K and CC SHIFT add rename delete value RECORDING menu SxS Recording Off ProRes DNxHD Codec ProRes 422 Proxy 422 17 422 422 H0 4444 DNxHD 115 120 145 or DNxHD 175 185 220 HS Codec ProRes 422 Proxy 422 LT 422 422 HQ DNxHD 115 120 145 or DNxHD 175x 185x 220x Dual Recording On Off Quick format SxS CARD 1 Quick format SxS CARD 2 Erase SxS CARD 1 Erase SxS CARD 2 Framerate 23 976 24 25 29 97 30 48 50 59 94 60fps HD SDI format 422 1 5G SL 422 1 5G DL 422 3G SL 444 1 5 DL 444 3G SL 444 3G DL ARRIRAW 1 5G DL ARRIRAW 3G SL
54. 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 18 169 2 24 V Accessories 0442222 26 About This ALEXA Images ALEXA M cette aciem ALEXA M Camera Backend ALEXA M Camera Head ALEXA M Images ALEXA PIUS efti eee ALEXA Plus 4 ALEXA Studio eee need ALEXA Studio Images AUDIO AUDIOUIN ETE AUDIO OUT ieiet iet B BAT Connector Bridge Plate adapter BPA 1 Bridge Plates BP 12 BP 13 COLOR Connector Pin Outs Connectors Dimensions Weight
55. 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 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 1 cards are not supported Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 no 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 Attac
56. 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 e 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 The HD SDI wrapping signal is according to SMPTE 372M 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 ARRIRAW 3G SL The ARRIRAW 3G SL signal format uses a HD SDI wrapping signal format according to SMPTE 425M It is basically the same signal as ARRIRAW 1 5G DL but utilizes only one cable ARRIRAW 3G DL This output format is fully proprietary and does not follow SMPTE standards It is used to transmit ARRIRAW with frame rates from 30 to 60 fps Note Only use double shielded HD SDI cables on all HD SDI outputs to ensure error free data transmission Recording 113 12 1 3 12 1 4 Triggering record on a
57. pgz unu roy 406 eue g doj eonou 1 oi 129145 ezeq jedUYydaL ap dd 0 ZLOZ SNOISN3INIG VH3IAVO oipnis VX3TIV 0 22 s vac doj esaweg deep p gw 3 556 40 6 111197 do 0 ZLOZ 0154 SNOISN3INIG VH3IAVO 1 oi 129145 ezeq jedUYydaL oipnis VXAIV SUP 6 1 0 75 fps 60fps 120fps 24fps add delete value HIGHSPEED EXIT boot ALEXA to HS mode 60 120fps SxS CODEC MENU gt RECORDING gt SxS CARDS SxS INFO INFO gt SxS CARDS SDI FPS gt gt REC OUT 23 976 24 25 29 97 30 MON OUT 23 976 24 25 29 97 30 adjust CH1 level 20 10 unity adjust CH2 level 20 10 unity AUDIO OUT set AUDIO OUT Phones Level AUDIO OUT gt OPTIONS gt gt Left out CH1 CH2 CH1 2 None Right out CH1 CH2 CH1 2 None Audio OUT level Manual Unity max AUDIO IN gt OPTIONS gt gt Record On Off Channel 1 2 level Manual Unity Channel 1 2 source L R in Soundroll Tape edit name SHUTTER CEMAAT 5 0 358 0 172 9 in highspeed mode 5 0 356 0 add delete value see calculated
58. 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 Links to a screen where frame lines surround mask center mark and status info overlays can be switched on or off in the MON OUT Opens a screen where peaking in the MON OUT can be switched on or off and the strength of peaking can be set 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 88 Camera Controls Anamorphic Only shown if a license for anamorphic desqueeze is desqueeze active in the camera The desqueeze can correct the image for 1 3x and 2 0x lenses With 2 0x lenses the user can choose from seeing the full sensor image 2 0x or only the relevant image area 2 0xmag while left and right image parts outside the 2 39 aspect area are cropped Scan format psf Surround view On Frame lines status info gt Peaking Off gt False color Off Figure 63 MENU gt MONITORING gt MON OUT Note Only use double shielded HD SDI cables for monitoring to ensure error free data transmission Frame lines status info screen Frame lines 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 Surround mask
59. the camera via cable 130 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 Exceptions to the rule are devices on the zoom axis Here the cabled devices have the highest priority with LCS port 1 having priority over LCS port 2 Lens Data Display LDD FP The Lens Data Display for Focus Pullers LDD FP can be used to display lens information Connect it to the LDD po
60. the opposite direction Fibre Connection 165 Connect the camera head to the backend via the optical link before powering the camera Disconnecting the head from the backend during operation requires both parts to be powered down and reconnected before powering up the system again 2 OPTICAL LINK 8 Figure 119 Correctly aligned fibre connectors Cleaning of fibre connectors Cleaning of the fibre connectors is an important task Only use cleaning devices certified for SMPTE 311 connectors like the IBC M20 which is delivered with the camera package Never use compressed air or any other uncertified cleaning method as this could permanently damage or destroy the fibre connectors Both dry and wet cleaning tools are available with the dry cleaners having proved to be more efficient for regular cleaning while the wet cleaners are better with strong and sticky contaminations Regular cleaning of at least one time per day is recommended as well as any time the signal quality deteriorates Fibre connection status Next to the fibre connectors of the ALEXA M is a fibre status LED that reflects the signal strength A green LED reflects a good signal strength If the LED is alternately flashing between green and amber the signal is weak which can be caused by dirty connectors faulty cables or a bad connection Power down the camera clean the connectors reconnect the cable to the camera and repower the camera
61. them through the screen buttons To return to the HOMESCREEN from anywhere in the camera controls press the HOME button While the Homescreen is active the display brightness can be changed with the jog wheel when the BACK button is pressed simultaneously 50 Camera Controls Screen content Screen Buttons FPS AUDIO SHUTTER COLOR Center Info Bar Currently set frame rate of sensor adjustable from 0 750 60 000 fps in Regular Speed Mode and from 60 000 120 000 fps in High Speed Mode Note High Speed Mode can only be activated with valid High Speed license key installed in camera 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 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 Opens color screen where gamma and look settings for SxS REC OUT MON OUT
62. while a higher sensor fps will decrease it Only with High Speed license key installed on camera and active High Speed mode Outside of High Speed mode the camera is limited to 60 fps 82 Camera Controls The following Avid DNxHD codecs are available on ALEXA when the required license key is installed Name Color Data rate Recording time on max coding 29 97 32 GB SxS PRO frame fps 29 97 fps rate DNxHD YCbCr 145 Mb s 29min 60 fps 115 120 145 DNxHD YCbCr 220Mb s 19min 60 fps 175x 185x 220x DNxHD 115 120 145 has a bit depth of 8 bit DnxHD 175x 185x 220x has a bit depth of 10 bit DNxHD is a FBR fixed bitrate codec the codec naming differs with the project frame rate The lowest number is for 23 976 24 fps the middle number for 25 fps and the highest number for 29 97 fps 30 fps project frame rate is not available with DNxHD The given recording time does not depend on the image content 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 REC OUT HD SDI format 422 1 56 SL Scan format psf Output range Legal REC OUT fps sets sensor fps On SDI remote Off Figure 60 MENU gt REC OUT 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
63. 35 aspect gt 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 Center cross horizontal lines user color gt lt line 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 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 where this will Using Time Code 117 12 3 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 Using Time Code The purpose of Time code is to ensure that each image stored on one medium has a unique value thro
64. 4 13 2 1 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 125 13 3 Radio 22 400 126 13 4 Wireless Remote System 127 1924571 ensiMOlors Sere cre mnt Rene 127 134 2 Hand Units mime Seu 129 VI Contents 13 5 Lens Data Display 02 130 13 6 Plus Camera Controls 131 14 ALEXA Plus 4 3 136 15 ALEXA Studio 138 15 1 General 442 2 138 15 2 ALEXA Studio 139 15 3 OPCS 141 15 3 1 Electronic Mirror Shutter 0 142 15 3 2 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 142 15 3 3 Optical 143 15 34 NDFFilter nee lesley 151 15 4 Studio Camera 152 15 5 4 9 Mode en Re nee eie e Pe eps 155 15 6 Licensed Features eee eene tis 156 16 ALEXA M 157 16 1 General 157 16 2 ALEXA M 158 16 3 ALEXA Camera 163 16 33 71 efe Rege 163 16 4 ALEXA M Camera 163 16 5 Fibre 4 40 164 16 6 4 9 odez sistat e e 166 16 7 Licensed
65. 444 deliver visually lossless compressed images with a color depth of 10 bit for ProRes 422 and 12 bit for ProRes 4444 DNxHD can be natively edited in AVID MediaComposer without transcoding Quicktime movie clips and and MXF files can 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 Licensed features By adding license keys new camera features can be enabled that go beyond the initial camera specification Introduction to ALEXA High speed image capture In Regular Speed mode ALEXA has a frame rate range from 0 75 to 60 fps By adding a license key for High Speed mode the frame rate range of the camera can be extended up to 120 fps About This Manual 13 3 1 4 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 e Safety instructions general precautions very important do not skip this part e Power supply overview how the camera is supplied with power e Installation of the camera information on camera mechanics e Connectors what goes into the camera and wh
66. 9 97 fps 30 fps project frame rate is not available with DNxHD The given recording time does not depend on the image content 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 Choosing a codec 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 master 422 Proxy is captured with an external device ProRes Same as above when higher image quality is desired 422 LT ProRes Basic television application if images do not require 422 adjustments in post production ProRes High quality TV applications requiring color 422 HQ correction ProRes Cinema applications requiring color correction and 4444 pulling mattes DNxHD Basic television application if images do not require 115 120 145 adjustments in post production DNxHD High quality TV applications requiring color 175x 185x 220x Correction If possible the full workflow pipeline with the preferred codec should be tested before a shoot 108 Operation of The Camera Card file format SxS PRO 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 r
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68. 97 Yellow One stop over medium gray Caucasian skin 56 52 pink 18 medium gray 42 38 green Just above black clipping 4 0 2 5 blue Black clipping 2 5 0 0 purple Figure 65 False Color Encoding 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 PRO cards Production info Redirects to a screen where the user can enter info metadata regarding the production Main Controls 91 Note The user should set the value of reel counter to 001 before a shoot begins Camera index A Next reel count 001 Production info gt Figure 66 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 Inf
69. A Studio with optical viewfinder or ARRI EVF 1 electronic viewfinder e Camera software update packet SUP 6 1 e EVF 1 software packet 1 27 Document revision history SUP ID drawing release date revision 2 1 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 FG5445 29th Nov 2010 3 0 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 K7741 11th Feb 2011 3 1 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 7776 04th Apr 2011 3 1 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 7781 O7th Apr 2011 4 0 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 D 7817 O5th Jul 2011 4 0 4 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 E 7845 24th Aug 2011 5 0 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 F 7874 16th Nov 2011 5 0 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 G 7890 19th Dec 2011 5 1 5 0 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 H 8005 26th Jan 2011 5 1 5 1 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 8021 12th Feb 2012 6 0 6 1 K5 72550 0 2031 00 00 00 99 8071 14th May 2012 Introduction to ALEXA 3 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 experience a camera like they never did before providing more powerful features than in any other camera available today Ha
70. ALEXA Software Update Packet 6 1 USER MANUAL Date 9 May 2012 All 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 Introduction to ALEXA 3 1 About This 4 ALEXA Images 5 Safety Instructions 5 1 5 2 5 3 Explanation of Warning Signs and Indications General Safety 442 222 1 Specific Safety Instructions 6 General Precautions 6 1 6 2 6 3 Storage and Electromagnetic Interference Condensationa eee 7 Power Supply 7 1 7 2 7 3 7 4 7 5 7 6 7 7 7 8 7 8 1 7 8 2 Power BAT Conrnector E EE Mains Unit NG 12 26 R Cine Style Batteries
71. Controls 87 Center mark Status info Electronic level LDS info MON OUT A center mark either a cross or a dot can be added to the image to help the framing 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 Overlay showing the horizontal levelling of the camera Only available on ALEXA Plus Overlay showing LDS lens info Only available on ALEXA Plus 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 Surround view Frame lines status info Peaking False color The MON OUT frame rate can be set to 23 976 24 25 29 97 or 30 fps 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 Progessive Images are transmitted line by line from left to right starting at the top left pixel e psf Progressive segmented Images are first split into fields which are then transmitted line by line from left to right 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 10 in the MON OUT or not By
72. ERRA HERREN 73 11 1 4 4 PLEAY 5 eat eed E 76 143 1 5 et E See ad 79 12 1 5 1 etes 79 11 1 5 2 aie ete elt 85 14 1 5 3 Project oed eL tee E Ra 90 11 1 5 4 System ee One Sec 92 11 1 5 5 Erame grabS erae Pe teed 99 11 1 5 6 User Setups decuit dece he eet dene tie 100 11 2 Operator controls 2 101 11 3 Controls de ERE en 102 11 3 1 Viewfinder 102 11 3 2 Viewfinder CAM 103 12 Operation of The Camera 104 12 1 inler ioa 104 12 1 1 Internal recording 104 12 1 2 111 12 1 3 Parallel 113 12 1 4 High Speed 113 12 2 Monitoring 114 1221 Erame Eines nen IER RUIN SIR 114 12 3 Using Time Code ciet 117 12 4 Syncing the Sensors of Two 118 12 5 Syncing the Settings of Two 119 12 6 Sensor modes 16 9 and 4 3 121 13 ALEXA Plus 123 13 1 General Description eese 123 13 2 Optics PR A 12
73. EXA Studio These are used to control the mirror shutter and the ND filter The Homescreen has icons for the active ND filter and the mirror shutter position and state SHUTTER 24000 nmm 81725 tcint00 00 00 24 551 10 REEL A 001 BAT 1 14 8V CLIP C003 SxS1 gt D 2 50 DUR 0 01 235 52 71600 3200 Meaning ND filter is active Mirror is on amp parked in gate position Grey icon if mirror shutter is switched off Mirror is on amp parked in view position Grey icon if mirror shutter is switched off Mirror shutter is running o 9g ND filter activation the Homescreen press El Studio Camera Controls 153 Inthe El screen press the lower right screen button labeled ND FILTER to move the ND filter in and out of the optical path EXPOSURE INDEX Figure 114 El screen Mirror shutter activation e n the Homescreen press SHUTTER e Inthe Shutter screen press the lower right screen button labeled MIRROR to activate or deactivate the mirror shutter DELETE SHUTTER ANGLE Exposure time 24 000 fps 1 50s MIRROR Note When mirror shutter is active the shutter angle is limited to 180 0 degrees Frame rates higher than 37 fps for 4 3 and higher than 46 fps for 16 9 reduce the shutter angle range further 154 ALEXA Studio Note For frame rates higher than 30 fps it is recommended to use
74. 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 should 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 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 Y DEVICES Date Modified Kind Ei ibisk May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder v 2 2011 1 33 Folder 02 Firmware May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder Framelines May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder gt SHARED Grabs May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder Applications LookFiles May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder Documents Setups May 2 2011 1 33 PM Folder Desktop E Macintosh HD Y PLACES Y SEARCH FOR Today Yesterday 5 Past Week BAI Images All Movies All Documents Figure 27 Folder structure required for SD card An unformatted SD card can be formatted with the camera Go t
75. O 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 KC 20S and 295 It is located on the camera back lower right REC OUT 1 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 Level B In addition it outputs ARRIRAW in a proprietary format that is supported by a range of 3rd party recorders RGB 444 at frame rates of 48 50 59 94 and 60 fps is output in a proprietary format utilizing two 3G connections The signal format can be changed in the camera menu The connectors are located on the camera back mid right RET SYNC IN Via the RET connector a return signal from another image source can be fed into the camera for displaying on EVF and or MON OUT The signal must be a 1920x1080 422 1 5G single link according to SMPTE 274M and 292M The output routing of the RET in signal can be set in the camera menu 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
76. 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 peaking on MON OUT on off toggles anamorphic desqueeze options of MON OUT Note Only with valid Anamorphic De squeeze license key installed on camera 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 toggles false color display on EVF on off toggles peaking on EVF on off Main Controls 75 desqueeze Grab still frame Return in active Toggle SxS Check last clip Circle clip Auto WB toggles anamorphic desqueeze options of MON OUT Note Only with valid Anamorphic De squeeze license key installed on camera grabs a still frame to the SD card Note Disabled in High Speed mode toggles RET IN signal active ond EVF and MON OUT according to user settings toggles the currently active SxS PRO card play last 5 seconds of last clip then return to live image set a clip to Circle clip during recording 1st press loads Auto WB frame 2nd press within 1 second performs
77. Off a Frame line 2 choose add delete Off User rectangles gt gt User rectangles Off Rect 1 Rect 2 Rect 1 2 Top Bottom Left Right 0 1000 Reset Color Red Green Blue Yellow Black White Intensity 1 4 RET IN path MON OUT EVF IMON Electronic level sensitivity 1x 2x 4x 8x 16x False color index gt gt ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 PROJECT menu Project frame rate 23 976 24 25 29 97 30fps Camera index A Z Next reel count 001 999 Director Cinematographer Location Production User info 1 User info 2 SYSTEM menu Sensor mode 16 9 4 3 129 Sensor temperature Standard Tropical Mirror image horizontal On Off Power gt gt BAT1 Plug warning 10 0 30 0V 21 0V BAT2 Onboard warning 10 0 30 0V 12 0V Eye index R L Sensor sync Off EXT master EXT slave HD out phase 30 clocks 0 clocks Send HD sync trigger gt Settings sync Off ETH master slave Test signal gt gt Color bar On Off Enable test tone On Off Test tone level 0 dB fs 9 dB fs 18 dBifs Display beeper gt gt Display button brightness 1 8 Button brightness Off Low Medium High Run beeper mode Off Start Stop Start Stop System time date gt gt set date time timezone and da
78. Pressing the LDA button opens the User LDA Select a lens table and press the wheel After calibrating the lens motors the LDS functionality can be used To add a lens table from the main archive access the User LDA screen and press the ADD button This opens the Main LDA list From the main archive first select a lens type the a lens model and then a lens class The lens class can be found on the lens barrell below the infinity symbol of the focus scale Then select to add the lens table to the user list Press ADD use it without adding USE or both ADD USE DELETE MAIN LDA Figure 90 Main LDA screen To delete a lens table from the user archive access the user list and press the DELETE button Select the lens table to delete and press the two buttons labeled DELETE simultaneously Repeat this procedure to delete further lens tables 134 ALEXA Plus Custom lens tables can be added to the main archive via the SD card Place the lens table on the SD card in a folder named LDA Insert the SD card into the camera Go to the main archive list and press ADD Select the desired lens table and press the wheel The lens table will be located in the main archive as lens type Custom To delete a custom lens table from the camera go the main archive list and press DELETE Select the lens table and press the two buttons labeled DELETE simultaneously Repeat this procedure to delete further custom lens tables Lenses c
79. RO cards SRM 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 H B If nothing is shown the camera works properly but no SxS PRO card is present for recording Note When SxS recording is set to ProRes the value that is shown is the minimum available recording time for the currently set sensor fps and codec combination Apple ProRes is a variable bit rate codec so the actual remaining recording time depends on the image content When using DNxHD the remaining recording time is accurate Icons Name Icon Description General Important information waiting on the Warning INFO screen General Error An error occured Check the INFO screen for more info 52 Camera Controls 11 1 3 1 Temperature Small sensor temperature offset Warning Image quality might be affected slightly Temperature Large sensor temperature offset Error Image quality might be affected seriously Lock Camera is locked SD Card SD card present Turns orange when card is accessed Grab Still frame is currently grabbed to t
80. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms with or without modification are permitted provided that the following conditions are met Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice this list of conditions and the following disclaimer Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and or other materials provided with the distribution THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR S AS IS AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR S BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT INDIRECT INCIDENTAL SPECIAL EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES LOSS OF USE DATA OR PROFITS OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY WHETHER IN CONTRACT STRICT LIABILITY OR TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE This product meets CE regulations About This Manual 2 Scope This instruction manual applies to the following hardware software and firmware versions ARRI ALEXA ARRI ALEXA PLUS ARRI ALEXA PLUS 4 3 ALEXA M camera with ARRI EVF 1 electronic viewfinder ARRI ALEX
81. XA over HD SDI Unlike the ARRIFLEX D 21 which used a proprietary mode for recording frame rates between 30 60 fps ALEXA complies with SMPTE standard 372M in terms of image transmission for 422 1 5G DL and 3G SL formats 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 Two proprietary formats allow transmission of 444 RGB or ARRIRAW images at frame rates between 30 60 fps These are 444 3G DL for RGB and ARRIRAW 3G DL for raw images These formats do not comply to a SMPTE standard and are only supported by a few recorders Please refer to the manual of your recorder to see if it supports these formats Main Controls 85 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 MON OUT gt Frame lines gt RET IN path EVF Electronic level sensitivity 1x False color index gt Figure 61 MENU gt MONITORING Electronic viewfinder MON OUT Frame lines RET IN path Electronic level sensitivity False co
82. 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 119 for more info Sensor sync Off HD out phase 0 clocks Send HD sync trigger gt Settings sync ETH master Figure 71 MENU gt SYSTEM gt EXT SYNC Test Signal Color bar Enable test tone Test tone level Activates a SMPTE color bar on MON OUT and REC OUT Note Color bar is switched off when recording is started Note When REC OUT is set to ARRIRAW REC OUT is set to black while color bar is active Enables a 1 kHz test tone on all channels when color bar is active Note Test tone is only active when audio recording is on and possible Sets the level of the test tone Available are 9 dB FS 18 dB FS and 20 dB FS Main Controls 95 Enable test tone Off Test tone level 0 dBifs Figure 72 Test signal screen Display Beeper 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 while pressing the BACK button Button Set the brightness of the button illumination brightne
83. a valid High Speed license key installed the camera can be switched into High Speed mode In High Speed mode the camera can be operated at frame rates of 60 120 fps Recording is only possible on Sony SxS PRO cards with ProRes codecs up to ProRes 422 HQ ProRes 4444 is not available in High Speed mode It is highly recommended to use Sony SxS PRO 64 GB cards as only this card type achieves the required write speeds The following table shows the achievable frame rates with the different SxS PRO card types Regular Speed High Speed mode mode 114 Operation of The Camera 12 2 12 2 1 Codec SxS SxS SxS SxS PRO 8 PRO64 PRO PRO 32 GB GB 8 32 64 GB GB ProRes 422 60 fps 60 fps 120 120 fps Proxy fps ProRes 422 LT 60 fps 60 fps 120 120 fps fps ProRes 422 60 fps 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps ProRes 422 HQ 60 fps 60 fps 60fps 120 fps ProRes 4444 40 fps 60 fps eee E DNxHD 60 fps 60 fps 60fps 120 fps 115 120 145 DNxHD 60 fps 60 fps 60fps 120 fps 175x 185x 220x requires DNxHD license key to be installed on camera The REC OUT carries the same signal as the MON OUT during High Speed mode Note Camera boot time is increased by app 40 seconds when High Speed mode is activated 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 imag
84. a 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 70 Camera Controls 11 1 4 2 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 48 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 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 For info on these messages see the Appendix Errors and warnings When an SD card is present a system log can be stored to the SD card by pressing the 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 c
85. ally When SxS recording is switched off the REC button will only trigger the sending of this flag 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 HD SDI formats and corresponding frame rates Format Links Image Sampling Color Possible Used Raster Structure Mode Frame Rates fps 422 1 1920x1080 4 22 YCbCr 23 976 24 25 15G SL 29 97 30 422 2 1920x1080 4 22 YCbCr 48 50 59 94 1 5G DL 60 84 Camera Controls 422 1 1920x1080 4 22 YCbCr 48 50 59 94 3G SL 60 444 2 1920x1080 4 4 4 RGB 23 976 24 25 1 5G DL 29 97 30 444 2 1920x1080 4 44 RGB 23 976 24 25 3G SL 29 97 30 444 2 1920x1080 4 44 RGB 48 50 59 94 3G DL 60 ARRIRAW 2 2880x1620 Bayer Bayer 23 976 24 25 1 5G DL 29 97 30 ARRIRAW 2 2880x1620 Bayer Bayer 23 976 24 25 3G SL 29 97 30 ARRIRAW 2 2880x1620 Bayer Bayer 48 50 59 94 3G DL 60 Note Proprietary signal format as no SMPTE standard supports RGB 444 with frame rates higher than 30 fps Only supported by few recorders Note The RAW sensor image is transmitted wrapped as 1920x1080 RGBA This signal can only be recorded with Arriraw T Link certified recorders Some recorders only support certain types of ARRIRAW T Link 30 60 fps recording with ALE
86. ame lines press the ADD screen button in the Frame lines data base screen This opens a list of all frame line files located on the SD card which can then be copied to the camera The camera supports up to 16 frame line templates Frame line 1 Frame line 2 User rectangles Color Intensity Select the main frame line template Choose a second frame line if desired Opens a screen where two user rectangle overlays can be adjusted 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 Sets the intensity of the frame lines The higher the number the brighter the frame lines appear 90 Camera Controls 11 1 5 3 User rectangles screen User rectangles Display up to two additional rectangles that can be adjusted manually 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 False Color Index The false color index screens contains a visual reference for the false color mode available for EVF and MON OUT It shows which signal levels the colors are related to What Signal Level Color White clipping 100 99 red Just below white clipping 99
87. amera 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 Main Controls 71 SYSTEM VERSION Info Cam serial no Cam ID Firmware EVF serial number EVF firmware LIVE INFO VERSION 5 5 CARDS System state Good LIVE INFO VERSION Cam serial 2010 Cam ID WE Firmware 6 1 19000 EVF serial no 16 EVF firmware TAT SYSTEM FPS INFO SAVE TO SD FPS INFO The serial number of the camera Translation of the camera serial number to Base36 with an additional prefix for 3D applications Version number of the currently installed camera SUP Software Update Packet The serial number of the viewfinder that is attached to the camera Version number of the viewfinder s firmware Figure 49 VERSION info screen SxS CARDS Info Codec Status Free capacity Max fps current Card size Currently set codec for internal recording Current status of SxS PRO cards in slot 1 and 2 Free storage space of SxS PRO cards in percent Maximum frame rate of the SxS PRO cards with currently set codec Total available storage space on SxS PRO card 72 Camera Controls LIVE INFO SxS CARDS Codec ProRes 4444 ko SxS 2 Status Stby Stby Free capacity 80 100 Max fps current 60 fps 60 fps Card size 60 0GB 60 0GB SYSTEM FPS INFO
88. amera 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 gt Exposure Index FPS gt Sensor FPS FPS gt HIGH SPEED gt High Speed mode SHUTTER gt Shutter Angle COLOR gt Gamma gt SxS COLOR gt Gamma gt REC OUT COLOR gt Gamma gt MON OUT COLOR gt Gamma gt REC OUT COLOR gt Gamma gt EVF COLOR gt Gamma gt LOG C film matrix MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt SxS Recording MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt SxS Codec MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt High Speed codec MENU gt Recording gt SxS gt Dual recording MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Frame rate MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt HD SDI format Sensor modes 16 9 and 4 3 121 12 6 MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Scan format MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Output range MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt REC OUT fps sets sensor fps MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt SDI remote MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT gt Vari flag MENU gt Monitori
89. ames per second the SxS PRO card in 2 max fps 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 60 fps FPS INFO Figure 52 FPS Info screen 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 53 User screen 74 Camera Controls Assign functions to the buttons by using the jogwheel Figure 54 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 None MON OUT surround MON OUT gamma MON OUT frame lines MON OUT status info MON OUT false color MON OUT peaking MON anam desqueeze Frame lines color EVF surround EVF gamma EVF frame lines EVF status info EVF zoom EVF false color EVF peaking Description button has no function toggles surround view of the MON
90. an also be equipped with the lens data mount LDM The mount contains a chip with the lens table stored inside so the lens transmits its data to the camera as soon as it is connected For information on current ring positions these lenses must be used in combination with controlled lens motors 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 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 91 Iris CLM screen Plus Camera Controls 135 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 change
91. and EVF can be changed 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 and negative values with a The camera can also perfom an automatic white balance upon a button press Displays current time code including source INT internal or EXT external source Frames 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 Main Controls 51 attached battery if it transmits this information BAT 2 Voltage level of battery attached to onboard battery adapter or percentage of remaining capacity of attached battery if it transmits this information REEL Identifies current reel Consists of camera index and reel counter CLIP Identifies current clip Consists of Clip index and clip counter DUR Duration of current clip during recording or length of last recorded clip during standby Shown as h mm ss CARD section Displays capacity information of SxS P
92. 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 127 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 Note When a camera is set to Sensor sync EXT slave its radio module automatically switches itself off and the camera receives CLM
93. at comes out e Optics how to get a good image into the camera e Camera controls how to set up the camera e Operation of the camera gives examples and recommendations on camera operation ALEXA Images Figure 1 ALEXA right ALEXA Images Figure 2 ALEXA left EP B Figure 3 ALEXA top Figure 4 ALEXA bottom About This Manual Figure 5 ALEXA front Figure 6 ALEXA back Safety Instructions 5 1 5 2 Safety Instructions Any violation of these safety instructions or non observance of personal care 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 NZ e 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 e Read and understand all safety and operating instructions before you operate or install
94. be switched off Operator controls 101 11 2 Note User setups cannot be used across SUPs Always create new setup files after a SUP update and discard the old ones The camera will block the usage of a user setup that has been created with a different SUP Operator controls The operator controls are located on the camera left side and consist of three function buttons plus three assignable buttons 1 REC PLAY LOCK User button 1 Can be assigned with functions through the USER button on the main UI User button 2 Can be assigned with functions through the USER button on the main UI User button 3 Can be assigned with functions through the USER button on the main UI 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 Figure 80 Operator UI 102 Camera Controls 11 3 11 3 1 EVF Controls The EVF controls are located on the electronic viewfinder They consist of a number of function buttons and a jogwheel CAM Opens the viewfinder CAM menu EVF Opens the viewfinder EVF menu ZOOM Zooms into the image with a 2 25x magnification for focus checking This results in matching one sensor pixel to o
95. c 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 clipping 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 62 Camera Controls 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 El 2005 EI 4005 EI 8007 El 16005 EI 3200 74 Figure 41 Exposure Indexes and latitude aboive and below neutral grey 160 EI 200 400 EI 800 1600 3200 9 4 Stops 8 4 Stops 7 4 Stops 5 0 Stops 4 6 Stops 6 6 Stops 7 7 Stops 9 0 Stops 8 7 Stops Figure 42 Graphical comparison of latitude at different exposure indexes Main Controls 63
96. ck Time code Note Do not eject a card during playback 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 56 Play options screen Clip end action Determines what happens when the end of a clip is reached Options are Pause and Loop Show frame lines Sets frame lines to On or Off during playback Center mark is always switched off during playback Status info on MON Sets status info overlays on MON OUT on or OUT off during playback 78 Camera Controls 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 Clip1 of 3 Dur 0 01 23 Codec ProRes 4444 Circle Figure 57 Cliplist screen Playback and Look Files Look settings of the camera outputs also apply to any clip during playback if this clip was recorded in LOG C A clip recorded in REC 709 or ITU P3 with or without look will be played back as is even if the output is set to LOG C Please note that the currently active look is applied to the clip not the one that was active at the time of recording It is the courtesy of the user to make sure the rig
97. ck 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 36 Installation of the Camera 8 10 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 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 the camera with velcro Shoulder Pad SP 3 37 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 a 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 9 Connectors Camera back Figure 23 Connectors at back From top to bottom MON OUT RET SYNC IN EXT REC OUT 182 BAT ETHERNET Camera right Figure 24 Connectors on right side From left to right top to bottom 2x RS 24 V out AUDI
98. d The ALEXA M camera backend contains the main controls image processing output and recording It behaves like any regular ALEXA only that it lacks the operator controls and is slightly longer ALEXA 16 5 Fibre Connection Figure 118 SMPTE 31 1optical fibre connectors The ALEXA M utilizes SMPTE 311 fibre connectors and cables The camera head can be powered with hybrid fibre power cables with a length of up to 30m if the backend power supply can deliver 120 W in total If this is not the case the head should be powered separately through its BAT connector For regular fibre cable a signal loss of up to 10 dB is acceptable 1 km of fibre cable has a signal loss of 0 5 dB while a fibre connector pair introduces a signal loss of 0 5 2 dB depending on the amount of dirt on the optical contacts Typically a cable length of up to 1 km with 4 connection joints is still acceptable To connect the cable to the camera make sure the cable direction is correct Line up the red guides and push the cable connector onto the camera connector piece A clicking sound indicates the connector has locked Plug the rubber caps of the connectors into each other to protect their inside from dirt To disconnect the cable from the camera head pull on the rubber end of the connector in the direction of the cable To disconnect the cable from the backend push the metal ring of the camera connector piece and pull on the cable connector in
99. d EXT slave the slave camera will switch off its radio module and receive motor control commands from the master camera via the EXT connection Note The matching of the master and slave cameras lens ring positions depends on the mechanical accuracy and matching of the lenses make sure the lenses in use are matched as good as possible Wireless Remote System 129 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 Wireless Main Unit WMU 3 The WMU 3 is a radio system for wireless connection to the camera Both WFU 3 and WZU 3 can 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 Unit 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
100. d by the screen buttons below and above the value The upper left screen button calibrates only the iris motor Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors ZOOM CLM CALIBRATE CAL ALL Figure 92 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 The upper left screen button calibrates only the zoom motor Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors FOCUS CLM CALIBRATE CAL ALL Figure 93 Focus CLM screen 136 ALEXA Plus 4 3 14 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 connected to the FOCUS socket its direction and torque Direction and torque can be changed by the screen buttons below and above the value The upper left screen button calibrates only the focus motor Pressing the lower left screen button starts calibration of all connected lens motors 3D Lens Sync When two cameras are connected and their sensors are synced with via the EXT connectors the slave camera will receive its motor comma
101. d in a folder named LookFiles The required folder structure on the SD card can be created under MENU gt System gt SD card gt Prepare SD card Look files on the camera that are not needed any more can be deleted by pressing the DELETE button Select the look and press the two lower screen buttons labeled DELETE simultaneously to remove the look file from the camera In the COLOR screen pressing the GAMMA button opens a screen where the Gamma of all 4 image paths SxS REC OUT MON OUT EVF can be adjusted centrally REC OUT REC 709 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 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 REC 709 Gamma according to ITU R BT709 standard Images are prepared for playback on standard broadcast monitors DCI P3 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 LOG C film When set to On a matrix is applied to the image matrix 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 i
102. e 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 Frame Lines 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 Monitoring 115 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 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 Distances for start end and position are relative to the width or the height of the image and have a precision of 5 To create 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 line
103. e 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 VMB 2 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 151S 32 Installation of the 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 f
104. e a visible effect on the output images To reduce the risk of condensation e Find a warmer storage location e Attach the ARRI air drying cartridge silica bottle to the PL Mount of the camera during storage NOT during transport f camera 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 e MAKE SURE THE SILICA BOTTLE IS SECURELY FASTENED UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SPILL SILICA INTO THE LENS COMPARTMENT Power Management 21 7 Power Supply 4 e Only use recommended power supply solutions e 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 equipped 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 A 12 15 V battery should have
105. e and will show an error message 1 Place grey card in image center 2 Press button to calculate Auto WB The AUTO WB value is always stored as the first entry of the WB list This entry is overwritten every time an automatic white balance is performed To save an AUTO WB value press ADD after the successfull calulation and press the wheel twice The AUTO WB result will be saved as a user value in the WB list 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 NOW m lt 7 ogc x x lt r c PN RE lt gt DONE Figure 46 WB rename screen Note Default values cannot be renamed Main Controls 67 11 1 4 Function Buttons The main controls feature the following function buttons ON OFF Press shortly to switch the camera 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 The recessed bu
106. e hardware info file of the camera press the HW INFO button The file will be saved to the SD card root directory named sn AlexaHardware ipkg 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 REC OUT color settings Gamma Look If REC OUT is set to ARRIRAW frame grabs are in ari file format 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 the chosen file format During this time no further images can be grabbed Compare grab 2 live image gt Grabbed images inherit REC OUT settings Compare Grab 2 Live image An image grabbed with the camera to the SD card can be reloaded to the camera and displayed on the EVF and MON OUT Note Currently only JPEG images can be used for the compare function Load a grab by pressing the LOAD GRAB screen button A list of all grabs on the SD card will appear Select a grab and load it When loading the image has finished press the COMPARE screen button to activate the image on the selected image paths LOAD GRAB COMPARE FILE Active OPTIONS COMPARE Figure 78 Compare screen 100 Camera Controls 11 1 5 6 The OPTIONS button gives access to additional settings Compare mode Interleave creates
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108. ead 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 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 C C Lj A004R1U Info AO04R1LJ Modified Today 5 03 004 002 R1LJ I A004C00 XT 3E 004 004 RILJ 004 005 B 004 006 R1LJ I BIB 004 007 4 16 17 GB on disk 16 165 822 464 bytes ek x C Shared folder gt More Info gt Sharing amp Permissions Figure 81 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 minimi
109. er The ALEXA Studio has a ND filter in front of the sensor which can be moved in and out of the optical path The motorized filter slider contains a ND filter with a density of 1 3 and a cover glass without additional density The filter slider is sealed so that no dirt or dust can enter the area between the slider and the sensor Note Perform regular dust checks on the outside of the ND filter slider as dust that might collect on top of it As the slider is very close to the sensor dust or dirt collecting on it might be visible as artifacts in images When performing a dust check make sure the camera is switched off and disconnected from any power source to prevent the mirror shutter from activation during the cleaning process The ND filter can be activated in the El screen by pushing the lower right screen button EXPOSURE INDEX Figure 113 El screen If activated the ASA rating in the Homescreen will have an ND index next to it SHUTTER 24 000 mm 21728 tcint00 00 00 24 5 51 10min REEL 001 1 14 8V CLIP C003 Sx BAT2 50 DUR 0 01 23 5 5 791600 3200 152 ALEXA Studio 15 4 Note The use of the internal ND filter has no influence on the El rating of the camera When measuring exposure with a light meter take into account the light loss of 4 1 3 stops generated by the ND filter Studio Camera Controls Only a few additional controls are available on the AL
110. era with Ground Glass Puller attached 146 ALEXA Studio Figure 104 Ground glass with attached Ground Glass Puller To remove the field lens which is located above the ground glass e Remove the ground glass first e Screw the ARRI Ground Glass Puller into the field lens e Carefully pull out the field lens Figure 105 Field lens in camera with attached Ground Glass Puller Figure 106 Field lens with attached Ground Glass Puller lt 147 Note Due to the risk of displacement caused by shock force we recommend to remove both ground glass and field lens before transportation and shipping of the camera Whenever removing the camera from its case check that both ground glass and field lens are properly seated before switching on the camera to prevent any damage to the mirror shutter ARRIGLOW The ARRIGLOW module is integrated in the optical viewfinder system of the ALEXA Studio It allows illuminated format markings to be superimposed onto the viewfinder image with adjustable brightness e Press the buttons on the left side of the OVF below the DIMMER engravement to adjust the brightness of the ARRIGLOW At its lowest brightness setting the ARRIGLOW is switched off e The ARRIGLOW color is set in the camera menu under MENU gt Monitoring gt Frame lines Frame lines color Figure 107 ARRIGLOW buttons Changing the ARRIGLOW mask The ground glass used for the optical viewf
111. etups on 3D rigs e Easy camera operability when the camera head cannot be accessed e g a camera crane or a helicopter rig 158 16 2 ALEXA M Images ALEXA Images 159 160 ALEXA Figure 115 ALEXA Backend left side Figure 116 ALEXA M Backend right side ALEXA Images 161 162 ALEXA ALEXA M Camera Head 163 16 3 16 3 1 16 4 ALEXA M Camera Head The ALEXA M camera head contains the image sensor and parts of the image processing Images are transmitted to the Backend via fibre cable The fibre connection is bi directional and returns the EVF image to the camera head from the Backend Due to the fibre connection the ALEXA M has an increased power draw of approximately 120W The head draws 40W of power It can be powered from the backend with hybrid fibre cables of up to 30m length It can also be powered directly through its BAT connector CCH 2 The Camera Center Handle 2 CCH 2 is the handle for the ALEXA M camera head It is mounted with 4x 3mm allen screws and can be attached either to the top or the bottom of the camera head Figure 117 CCH 2 mounted on ALEXA M camera head Note The CCH 2 only fits the ALEXA M camera head and not the ALEXA M backend or any other ALEXA camera ALEXA M Camera Backen
112. fective 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 indirect incidental or consequential damages including but not limited to lost profits lost savi
113. g lens data from LDS lenses Depth of field calculation for LDS lenses and LDA lenses in combination with calibrated lens motors LDD Lens Data Display interface Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS support Control of LDS radio and lens motors through the camera user interface A third RS socket second MON OUT connector An additional function button labeled WRS It gives access to the WRS screen from where all camera settings related to the Plus camera features can be handled Any ALEXA can be upgraded to an ALEXA Plus by installing the Plus module Note The Plus module must be installed by an authorized ARRI service center Figure 82 CLM sockets 124 ALEXA Plus Figure 83 ALEXA Plus connectors 13 2 Optics Optics 125 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 LA PL 1 apply Figure 84 Lens adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 126 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
114. gh Speed mode This takes app 40 seconds Press both buttons LOAD LOAD Loading SxS High Speed mode Loading This takes app 40 seconds When loading has finished a success screen will appear that shows the currently set codec The codec can be changed by pressing the lower mid screen button which quick links into the SxS recording menu screen SxS High Speed mode loaded successfully SxS codec ProRes 422 HQ In High Speed mode the camera can only run frame rates of 60 000 120 000 fps Default frame rates in the FPS list are 60 000 72 000 75 000 90 000 96 000 100 000 and 120 000 fps Recording is only possible with SxS cards the REC OUT outputs carry the MON OUT signal with a maximum frame rate of 30 fps It is highly recommended to only use Sony SxS PRO 64 GB cards in High Speed mode as only these allow recording at sensor frame rates from 60 120 fps with all High Speed codecs When using Sony SxS PRO 32 GB cards with codecs ProRes 422 ProRes 422 HQ DNxHD 115 120 145 and DNxHD 175x 185x 220x the sensor frame rate is limited to 60 fps maximum The High Speed mode is exited the same way it is loaded by pressing the upper middle screen button of the FPS list screen Exiting High Speed mode takes approximately 40 seconds 58 Camera Controls 11 1 3 3 AUDIO Pressing the AUDIO screen button in the Home screen opens the Audio screen This screen sh
115. he SD card Tropical Sensor is in tropical mode 40 C mode sensor temperature Radio WRS radio is active ALEXA Plus only 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 El all lists are user lists where the user can store a selection of his preferred settings for quick access Main Controls 53 Select a list value DELETE HIGHSPEED ADD 4444 Max 60 fps REC 24 SxS CODEC SxS INFO SDIFPS Figure 32 Sensor fps list To select a list value turn the jogwheel until the selection bar is on the desired value and press the jogwheel Add a 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 reaching 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
116. he external TC signal s time base is not accepted by the camera Appears on slave cam with Ext sync activated but not using settings sync Send trigger from Ext sync master camera to ensure the REC OUTs of both cameras are 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 188 Appendix Infos and Warnings Framegrab Storing image failed Playback failed EVF smooth mode not possible Ext LTC Forced to JAM sync Playback failed Card removed Playback failed Calibrate lens motors Temperature at limit Fan RPM raised Master slave Focus unit mismatch Slave No lens table active REC OUT Switch on Vari flag Tropical mode active REC OUT Switch on Vari flag ND filter stuck Mirror sector problem Mirror cannot reach sync speed Voltage too low for mirror Mirror out of phase A problem occured with the SD card The frame grab failed The camera could not play back the internally recorded clips Smooth m
117. he lever next to the level bubble to pivot the contrast filter into the optical path e Releasing the lever pivots the contrast filter back out of the optical path Ground glasses The ground glass is the equivalent to the image sensor for the optical viewfinder The image created by the lens is projected to the ground glass from where it is picked up by the optical viewfinder Ground glasses contain frame and format markings to show the recorded image area and the area of interest The sensor aperture of the ALEXA Studio is different from the camera aperture of ANSI and DIN Super35 formats Therefore Super35 ground glasses of the ARRICAM system do not provide exact frame markings in the ALEXA Studio viewfinder image For exact framing use only ground glasses made specifically for the ALEXA Studio To exchange a ground glass e Press the VIEW button so that the sensor is protected by the mirror shutter e Turn off the camera and disconnect it from power supply e Remove the lens or protective cap e Screw the ARRI Ground Glass Puller into the ground glass e Carefully pull out the ground glass e Check that the new ground glass and the ground glass holder are clean e Screw the ARRI Ground Glass Puller into the new ground glass and push it into the holder e Make sure the ground glass is inserted completely and correctly locked in place e Attach a lens or a protective cap to the lens mount Figure 103 Ground glass in cam
118. hing a lens to the camera e Twist the bayonet ring anti clockwise as far as it will go e 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 a 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 e 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 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 use 15mm studio or 19mm studio rods and a fitting lens bridge 15mm studio rods require a bridge p
119. ht look is applied during playback Main Controls 79 11 1 5 11 1 5 1 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 jogwheel 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 Figure 58 MENU Recording Provides access to SxS CARDS and REC OUT parameters REC OUT gt Figure 59 MENU gt RECORDING Camera Controls SxS CARDS ALEXA can internally record to Sony SxS PRO cards The card slots are located on the camera s left side Codec ProRes 4444 Dual recording Off Quick format SxS CARD 1 gt Quick format SxS CARD 2 gt SxS recording Switches SxS recording between Off and ProRes or DNxHD requires license key With SxS recording off power consumption is reduced by 15 W Switching SxS recording on takes approximately 15 seconds to reboot the hardware Codec Set the codec to be used for internal recording to SxS cards Choose from the full range of Apple ProRes
120. imecode soon Re jam Timecode now TC source forced to internal TC mode forced to Rec Run Interface bit error Internal processing problem Internal battery error System problem System problem I2C bus error 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 The external TC signal s time base differs from the project fps of the camera Syncing is still possible 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 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 Problem on camera data bus Reboot the camera If error continues to occur contact ARRI service T
121. in controls can be used to set all camera parameters 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 When the Homescreen is displayed the brightness of the display can quickly be adjusted by turning the jogwheel while pressing the BACK button 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 located 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 2400 1728 E 5 00 00 00 amp 024 551 10min REEL A 001 1 14 8V CLIP C003 SxS1 4 2 50 DUR 0 01 23 5 5 2 800 ss 3200 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
122. in this particular order If the problem does not go away swap the cable An amber LED indicates a link error The camera must be rebooted If the link error reoccurs follow the steps described for the green amber flashing LED 166 ALEXA 16 6 4 3 mode The ALEXA Studio ALEXA M and ALEXA Plus 4 3 cameras can be operated in 4 3 mode In 4 3 mode the camera captures images from a vertically extended sensor area The used area is 23 76 x 17 82mm in size which translates to 2880 x 2160 sensor pixels Note The sensors of regular ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras are not capable of creating a 4 3 image Loading 4 3 mode Go to MENU gt System gt Sensor mode The currently loaded mode is shown in the first line Press the wheel To load the new mode press the two lower screen buttons Note Loading 4 3 or 16 9 mode results in all settings being set to factory reset values Frame rate The maximum sensor frame rate in 4 3 is 48 fps Recording SxS recording is switched off as this is currently not possible External recording is only possible in ARRIRAW withexternal ARRIRAW recorders that support ARRIRAW 4 3 Monitoring For monitoring the 4 3 image is downscaled to 958 x 720 pixels for the EVF and 1440 x 1080 for the MON OUT Only horizontal surround view is available in 4 3 mode The image is not rescaled for surround view but horizontally extended The non active area of the EVF and MON OUT is filled with b
123. inder should be combined with a matching glow mask To change the glow mask e Loosen the 3mm allen screw next to the level bubble e Remove the level bubble element Grab the glow mask with Hirschmann clamp at the forceps hole and pull it out of the glow mask frame e Check that both the new glow mask and the glow mask frame are clean e Carefully push the new glow mask into the glow mask frame e Make sure the glow mask is inserted completely 148 ALEXA Studio e Place the bubble element on top of the ARRIGLOW module and tighten the 3mm allen screw Turn on the ARRIGLOW and check that ground glass and glow mask are correctly aligned Figure 108 Glow mask slot Anamorphic Desqueeze e Turn the wheel on top of the OVF ball element to swing the anamorphic desqueeze element into the optical path e Note By default the anamorphic element is for 2x anamorphic lenses It can be changed to an element for 1 3x anamorphic lenses Image Flip e Press the button next to the image flip symbol e Turn the knob next to the image flip symbol until the image is fully flipped e Toundo the flip rotate the knob until the button jumps out and the knob is locked again Diopter Adjustment e Note Depends on the eyepiece in use Description for default eye piece of ALEXA Studio e Turn the eyepiece barrel until the ground glass is in focus Aneutral unstructured bright out of focus image content helps with
124. ine and press the jogwheel In the next screen confirm the switch by doublepressing the two lower outer screen buttons Load 4 3 sensor mode Takes 30 seconds Requires reboot Includes factory reset Press both buttons LOAD LOAD This will trigger the loading process which is monitored by a progress screen similar to the SUP update screen The loading process takes about 30 seconds When it has finished a reboot must be triggered by the user Note Switching from 16 9 to 4 3 and vice versa always triggers a factory reset In 4 3 mode a few restrictions apply to the camera system SxS module is shut down Recording is currently only possible with external ARRIRAW recorder e The REC OUT can only be set to ARRIRAW formats e NoHigh Speed mode is available with 4 3 sensor mode When switching to High Speed mode the sensor is always operated in 16 9 The currently active sensor mode can also be checked at INFO gt SYSTEM General Description 123 13 ALEXA Plus 13 1 General Description The ALEXA Plus has an extended electronic side cover that offers the following additional functions over the standard ALEXA Built in radio modem for wireless remote control of lens and camera A level sensor to determine the camera s tilt and roll degrees Three CLM ports for driving CLM 2 or CLM 3 motors Two LCS bus interfaces for connecting WCU 3 WHA 3 and ZMU 3 hand units LDS Lens Data System for readin
125. ings 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 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 has warning reached its warning level Battery power is about to end and a replacement battery should be prepared O
126. irmly 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 Figure 17 SCH 1 34 Installation of the Camera 8 6 Figure 18 Camera with SCH 1 side view Bridge Plates BP 12 BP 13 The bridge plate BP 12 for 19 mm studio rods has been newly developed for ALEXA It mounts directly to the camera housing with two screws and ensures that support rods matte boxes and follow focus units are positioned properly in regards to the optical center of the camera just like all other ARRI cameras The bridge plate BP 13 is equivalent to the BP 12 but for 15 mm studio rods Note Make sure bridge plates are tightened firmly with a screwdriver not the commonly used coin Bridge Plate adapter BPA 1 35 8 7 8 8 8 9 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 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 QR HD 1 The qui
127. 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 a la norme NMB 003 du Canada This device complies with RSS 210 of Industry 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 20 General Precautions 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 e Operating the camera in these conditions may result in personal injury or damage to the equipment Condensation on the optical components may hav
128. ith Int TC the value is increased with each new image generated by the sensor Jam sync 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 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 source 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 camer
129. ition ALEXA Studio only PLAY Clips that have been recorded to the SxS cards can be played back by the camera on EVF MON OUT and REC OUT Note The REC OUT signal cannot be used for playback when it is set to ARRIRAW Pressing the PLAY button opens the play screen and loads the last clip in pause Pressing the wheel plays the clip back pressing the wheel again brings the clip back into pause 1 3 Wheelpress Play 1 second 7 Figure 55 Play screen OPTIONS In the play screen the playback actions can be controlled STEPSIZE Toggles the scrub stepsize between 1 frame and 1 second CIRCLE Mark the clip as circle clip This will set the lt GOOD gt CLIP tag in the FCP XML to YES Press again to unmark it LIVE Switches to the live sensor image as long as the button is pressed Note When surround view is active the image angle changes slightly when switching between live and playback image because the playback image does not contain the surround view Main Controls 77 jogwheel be used to scrub through the paused clip The scrub stepsize is shown in the lower mid of the screen 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 the playba
130. k if power warning levels are set correctly The temperature of the ALEXA M head is too high Apply additional cooling to prevent automatic shutdown The fan of the ALEXA M camera head is defect If replacing the fan does not solve the problem contact the camera service Dimensions Weights and Menu Structure Trees Appendix 193 A 5 Dimensions Weights and Menu Structure Trees Dimensional drawings including weights information are attached to the end of this document A version with higher resolution can be downloaded from the ARRI website http www arri com camera digital_ cameras downloads A Menu Structure Tree can also be found at the end of this document L 8INA JapUulyMalA pepue1xe JA3 91004199 3 sql 69791 BJ 97 E E 9471 6LE 4 86 GL 90 L H232 1e1ue2 Apog 5 c Sentus 8IALA L JA3 sql 69791 6797 i 5 886 GC GI WW Be L H232 1e1ue2 Apog sqi vl 67 679 4 C8 8 pcc 4009 EGL V9 c WW LZE 1
131. lack pillarboxed Anamorphic desqueeze Both 1 3x and 2x anamorphic desqueeze is available in 4 3 mode 1 3x anamorphic desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 720 for the EVF and 1920 x 1080 for the MON OUT while 2x desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 480 for the EVF and 1920 x 720 for the MON OUT Licensed Features 167 16 7 16 8 4 3 and Highspeed Mode It is possible to switch from 4 3 to High Speed mode and vice versa In High Speed mode only the 16 9 center area of the image sensor is read out Licensed Features Licensed features SxS High Speed Recording and Anamorphic desqueeze are automatically enabled in the ALEXA M Lens Data System The ALEXA M is equipped with a LA PL 2 lens mount with LDS contacts When using a LDS lens such as Master Primes or LDS UltraPrimes the camera reads displays and records lens metadata The LDS screen can be accessed through the menu which contains an additional item LDS This menu item is only available on the ALEXA M Note Lens motors and the lens data archive LDA are not supported by the ALEXA M 168 RCU 4 17 RCU 4 FPS AUDIO SHUTTER 24 00 1724 06 13 44 24 2 26 3 m 800 iiu 5600 COLOR WB Figure 120 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
132. late 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 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 ma
133. lipped so it appears upright in the viewfinder Affects only the EVF image MON OUT and REC OUT are not affected 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 The ALEV Ill sensor has 10 additional pixels outside the recorded image for a better monitoring experience The user can decide whether he wants to see these 10 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 oir colored line for separation 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 u
134. llows 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 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 Choose whether left or right input signal shall be routed to channel 1 Choose whether left or right input signal shall be routed to channel 2 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 and the Avid log exchange ALE file on the SxS PRO cards Button is locked Figure 37 Audio out screen 60 Camera Controls 11 1 3 4 The AUDIO OUT opens a screen where the global volume for both Audio out channels can be adjusted The OPTIONS button in this screen loads a list of Audio out options Right out Channel 1 Audio out level Unity max Figure 38 Audio out options e Left out Sets which channel is routed to the left output e Right out Sets which channel is routed to the right output
135. lor index Opens the screen where EVF settings can be changed Opens the screen where MON OUT settings can be changed Opens a screen where frame lines can be set up Defines on which of the monitoring image paths the signal present at the RET IN connector is visible when return in is activated via user button Increases the sensitivity of the electronic level overlay on MON OUT and EVF Note Available on ALEXA Plus only Opens a screen where the color coding of the false color display option of EVF and MON OUT is explained Electronic Viewfinder Brightness Rotate image 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 86 Camera Controls Smooth mode Surround view Frame lines status info Peaking Anamorphic desqueeze Zoom position Rotate image Off Smooth mode Off Surround view On Frame lines status info gt Peaking Off gt With smooth mode set the EVF image shutters less when panning Note Smooth mode is only possible with frame rates up to 30 fps and shutter angles of 180 0 or less 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 10 in the viewfinder or not By switching surround view o
136. mera Internal RCUA 168 Introduction to REG OUT iuit terit tee indere 82 REG OUT 4 32 uen ein RR OR den 40 Recording 79 104 RET SYNC IN teen 40 READER LORI EE 41 L Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 1 no LDS 45 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 142 Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS 125 S Lens Data Display LDD FP Lens Data System Safety Instructions Lens Motors Scope Lens Support Screen Buttons Leveling Block LB 1 SD card Licensed Features SD Card Lists and User Lists d etes Sensor Sensor modes 16 9 and 4 3 121 M Main Controls sees 48 Mains Unit NG 12 26 22 EIU 79 MON OUT Monitoring N asin 151 Power Management Power Qutputs 5 carn inca tie paie Power 2 Production Info iie Index 171 Side Camera Handle SCH 1 Specific Safety Storage and Studio Camera Controls SxS 5 SXS Slots ARBRE A EUER Syncing the Sensors of Two Ca
137. meras 93 118 Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras 94 119 NL MR System Time Date TC Time Code Test Tripod and Remote 27 User Setups Using Time Code V Viewfinder Viewfinder CAM menu Viewfinder EVF menu Viewfinder Mounting Bracket V Lock 2 222200011 Wedge Adapter WA 1 Quick Release Plate 35 Wireless Remote 127 WNA ge y ee coe ders 97 1 53 Appendix In this appendix Appendix Connector Pin Outs False Color Display Infos and Warnings Dimensions Weights and Menu Structure Trees 174 179 184 185 193 174 Appendix Appendix 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 CMOS sensor 0
138. min 60 fps 422 HQ ProRes RGB 330 Mb s 11 min 40 fps 4444 Without alpha channel 444 only 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 ProRes 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 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 The following Avid DNxHD codecs are available on ALEXA when required license key is installed Name Color Data rate Recording time max coding 29 97 32GB SxS PRO frame fps 29 97 fps rate DNxHD YCbCr 145 Mb s 29min 60 fps 115 120 145 Recording 107 DNxHD YCbCr 220Mb s 19 60 fps 175x 185x 220x DNxHD 115 120 145 has a bit depth of 8 bit DnxHD 175x 185x 220x has a bit depth of 10 bit DNxHD is FBR fixed bitrate codec the codec naming differs with the project frame rate Lowest number is for 23 976 24 fps middle number for 25 fps and highest number for 2
139. n objects that are not wanted in the image such as microphone booms can be seen by the operator before they enter the image Links to a screen where frame lines surround mask center mark and status info overlays can be switched on or off in the EVF Opens a screen where peaking in the EVF can be Switched on or off and the strength of peaking can be set Only shown if a license for anamorphic desqueeze is active in the camera The desqueeze can correct the image for 1 3x and 2 0x lenses With 2 0x lenses the user can choose from seeing the full sensor image 2 0x or only the relevant image area 2 0xmag while left and right image parts outside the 2 39 aspect area are cropped The part of the image which is magnified when pressing the ZOOM button on the viewfinder can be set to the center of the sensor image or a vertically upwards shifted area Eye level The Eye level setting allows focus check on a person s eyes Figure 62 MENU gt MONITORING gt E VF Frame lines status info screen Frame lines Surround mask 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 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 Main
140. n external recorder When SxS recording is set to Off the REC button triggers only the SDI rec flag If the recorder understands this flag it will automatically start to record Note With the SDI rec flag sucessfull recording cannot be guaranteed as there is no feedback from the recorder to the camera 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 cinematic 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 When SxS recording is set to On 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 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 High Speed recording With
141. nboard Bat Power The 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 The SxS PRO card in slot 1 has less than 3 minutes recording time left Prepare a new card for recording Card 2 Low capacity The SxS PRO card in slot 2 has less than 3 minutes recording time left Prepare a new card for recording 186 Appendix Infos and Warnings 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 Card 1 files damaged Card 2 files damaged Card 1 invalid cardtype Card 2 invalid cardtype Card 1 write problem Card 2 write problem Camera overheating Low sensor temperature High sensor temperature 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
142. nd MON OUT gamma MON OUT frame lines MON OUT status info MON OUT false color MON OUT peaking MON anam desqu vosm Frame lines color EVF surround EVF gamma EVF frame lines EVF status info EVF zoom EVF false color EVF peaking EVF anam desqu Grab still frame Return in active Toggle SxS Check last clip Circle clip Auto WB ND filter active OUT frame lines MON OUT status info MON OUT false color MON OUT peaking Return in active Frame lines color Toggle SxS Format Card1 Format Card2 False color index View position o Gate position 57 00 ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 SxS PLAYBACK screen start Playback of last clip press wheel or PLAY 2x on operator s side CLIPLIST OPTIONS PLAY Options gt gt Clip end action Stop Pause Loop Show frame lines On Off Status info on MON OUT On Off STEPSIZE 1 frame 1 second CIRCLE CLIP SYSTEM INFORMATION screen LIVE INFO SAVE TO SD VERSION SxS CARDS SYSTEM FPS INFO FRAME GRAB TRIGGER save Framegrab to SD Card TIMECODE screen SET TC SET TO TIME RESET MANUAL OPTIONS Timecode Options gt gt Source Int TC Ext LTC Mode Rec run Free Run Generator Regen Jam Sync User bit source Internal LTC in UB
143. ndling 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 minimize the risk of sudden power loss ALEV Ill sensor The ALEV III sensor has a horizontal pixel count of 3 5K resulting in
144. nds from the master camera Its radio module switches automatically off Calibration of lens motors must happen individually for each camera ALEXA Plus 4 3 The ALEXA Plus 4 3 is identical to ALEXA Plus except for its ALEV III sensor which has a 4 3 active area This makes the camera the ideal companion camera to an ALEXA Studio Licenses The ALEXA Plus 4 3 includes a bundle license which enables DNxHD High Speed recording and anamorphic desqueeze The license is pre installed on the camera and cannot be deleted Note Do not downgrade the camera to a software version before SUP 6 1 4 3 mode The ALEXA Studio ALEXA M and ALEXA Plus 4 3 cameras can be operated in 4 3 mode In 4 3 mode the camera captures images from a vertically extended sensor area The used area is 23 76 x 17 82mm in size which translates to 2880 x 2160 sensor pixels Note The sensors of regular ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras are not capable of creating a 4 3 image Plus Camera Controls 137 Loading 4 3 mode Go to MENU gt System gt Sensor mode The currently loaded mode is shown in the first line Press the wheel To load the new mode press the two lower screen buttons Note Loading 4 3 or 16 9 mode results in all settings being set to factory reset values Frame rate The maximum sensor frame rate in 4 3 mode is 48 fps Recording SxS recording is switched off as this is currently not possible External recording is only
145. ne viewfinder pixel Zoom button toggles zoom on and off Active zoom is indicated by an orange frame around the image Frame lines are deactivated while zoom is active EXP Toggles false color display on and off The EVF buttons CAM and EVF are locked whith the camera UI ZOOM and EXP are not affected by the lock The controls are locked 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 The EVF shows the info text button is locked when a locked button is pressed 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 EVF Controls 103 11 3 2 Rotate image Smooth mode Surround view Surround mask Status info Framelines Select framelines 1 Select framelines 2 Center mark User rectangles Edit user rectangles Framelines color Framelines intensity When mounting the EVF on the camera right side the image can be f
146. nector 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 190 Appendix Infos and Warnings 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 Codec error Reboot Sensor error Reboot Sensor boot error Interface error reboot Fan error Contact service 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
147. nerate 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 e Variations If the shooting starts close to midnight the TC might be started with an offset to prevent a rollover at midnight 118 Operation of The Camera 12 4 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 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 e 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 e 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 e 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
148. 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 One or more files on SxS PRO card in slot 1 Continue with a fresh card One or more files on in slot 2 are defect Continue with a fresh card The card in slot 1 is not an SxS PRO card The card in slot 2 is not an SxS PRO card The camera has problems writing to the SxS PRO card in slot 1 Continue with a fresh card The camera has problems writing to the SxS PRO card in slot 2 Continue with a fresh card 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 quality is still guaranteed The sensor temperature is higher than it should be High image quality is still guaranteed Infos and Warnings Appendix 187 Ext TC Different frame rate Re jam T
149. ng 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 EVF gt Anamorphic desqueeze MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Frame rate MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Scan format MENU gt Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Status 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 Monitoring gt MON OUT gt Anamorphic desqueeze 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 Valid license for anamorphic desqueeze must be installed on both cameras Valid license SxS High Speed recording must be installed on both cameras Sensor modes 16 9 and 4 3 The ALEXA M ALEXA Plus 4 3 and the ALEXA Studio have ALEV III sensors that can be operated in 16 9 and 4 3 mode Note ALEXA and ALEXA Plus can only be operated in 16 9 mode 122 Operation of The Camera To change the sensor mode go to MENU gt System gt Sensor The first line reads Sensor mode and shows the currently active mode Sensor temperature Standard Mirror image horizontal Off To switch the mode select the first l
150. ng more information is available on the INFO screen Note For more information on setting the low battery warning level see Menu gt System gt Power on page 93 Charging the battery e Connect the charger to AC mains power e Plug the charger cable into the charge input socket of the battery e 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 e BAB G Back mount adapter Gold Mount batteries BAB V Back mount adapter V Lock batteries e BAT G Top mount adapter Gold Mount batteries e BAT V Top mount adapter V Lock batteries Note Adapters must be installed by a trained technician V Lock Batteries V Lock batteries are available from a number of manufacturers Some of these batteries are able to transmit information on their remaining capacity to the camera ALEXA displays the remaining capacity 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 of camera and battery Currently batteries by ID X Bebop or any battery using the TI protocol for battery communication will have their capacity displayed as percentage in the camera 24 Power Supply
151. ngs 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 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 Disclaimer 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 Quicktime 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 mkdosfs Portions 1998 Robert Nordier All Rights Reserved 1998 Robert Nordier All rights reserved
152. ntly Frame rates higher than 30 fps require 2 cables and the image signal is carried by REC OUT A and 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 e 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 444 3G RGB Two iterations exist of the 444 3G signal 112 Operation of The Camera e The single link version contains the same signal as the 444 1 5G signal but according to SMPTE 425M over one cable e The dual link version uses a proprietary image mapping for frame rates from 30 to 60 fps and is only supported by certain recorders at this point of time 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 pattern color filter array this
153. o MENU gt System gt SD card gt Format prepare SD card A screen will appear and ask for confirmation of the format operation through a double press of the two lower screen buttons After formatting the card the camera automatically creates the required folder structure Note Formatting the SD card will irreversibly remove all data on the SD card The correct folder structure can be created by the camera Go to MENU gt System gt SD card gt Prepare SD card The camera will create all missing folders without deleting any data on the 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 9 14 SxS Slots On the camera s left side are two SxS PRO card slots They are behind 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 44 Connectors damage to both card and camera To release a card push
154. o 1 Enter other info User Info 2 Enter other info Cinematographer JOHN DOE gt Location THE SHACK gt Production ABCD gt User Info 1 NONE gt User Info 2 NONE gt Figure 67 Production info screen 92 Camera Controls CLEAR ALL ERASE SET DIRECTOR KL X Y OU UO m o c J VW 9 0 lt gt DONE Figure 68 Production info edit screen 11 1 5 4 System Contains groups of system settings Power gt External sync gt Test signal gt Display beeper gt System time date gt Figure 69 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 Mirror image Mirrors the image horizontally on all image paths horizontal Sensor temperature Standard Mirror image horizontal Off Main Controls 93 Power BAT 1 Plug warning BAT2 Onboard warning The level at which a power warning is exhibited for the power source connected to the BAT plug Can be adjusted to match the used battery type Default value is 21 0 V 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 0 V Note At a level 10 below the set warning level a battery error is
155. ode is set to On but either sensor fps is higher then 30 000 or shutter angle is higher than 180 0 Ext LTC had to be switched to Jam sync by camera system A problem with playback occured Camera had to abort playback Camera had to abort playback as SxS card was removed New lens motors are attached to the camera Prior to use they must be calibrated With camera fan is in Rec low mode fan noise might exceed silent level because camera is becoming too hot With ALEXA Plus and 3D lens sync both cameras must have same focus unit activated which is not the case here With ALEXA Plus and 3D lens sync select lens table on slave when using LDA When SxS recording is off and sensor fps does not match REC OUT fps switch on Vari flag to prohibit duplicate frames Reminder for active tropical mode Issued when SxS is switched on and sensor fps is bigger than project fps ALEXA Studio only ND filter slider has mechanical problems ALEXA Studio only Mirror sector has mechanical problems ALEXA Studio only Mirror cannot reach speed due to technical problems ALEXA Studio only Power supply voltage level insufficient to drive mirror shutter ALEXA Studio only Mirror shutter and sensor are out of phase may result in exposure artifacts Infos and Warnings Appendix 189 Some buttons are defect SxS Check last clip Low data rate Loading highspeed mode LDS failure restart camera
156. of range Wait until error message disappears before continuing to shoot Reboot the 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 An internal data interface has a problem If rebooting does not solve the problem contact the ARRI service The fan module is not working properly Either install an SFM 1 or contact the ARRI service Infos and Warnings Appendix 191 Fatal system error Reboot camera now Sync clock out of range Syncing sensor Please wait A slave is not ready Software error reboot camera SxS Audio recording failed REC OUT Frame drops Set frame rate SxS cards differ Recording prohibited REC OUT Frame drops Set FPS REC error please reboot Mirror shutter not calibrated Mirror shutter phase error Mirror shutter Cannot reach sync speed No M head detected reboot camera 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 record One of the slave cameras is not ready for recording A part of the camera software ha
157. og deep 0 91 8 2 ONN deep p p 96 EL ww ee 90 9 eue d do 0 10 0154 SNOISN3INIG VH3IAVO eonou oi j9e qns eje jeoruuoe IN deep p ww gi Jajuag eondo ww g deep 01 91 8 6 ONN deep y eue d doy ww 221 SL uu svp 5004 10 deep 0 91 8 6 ONN gt ee 29 0 4956 ww gL 506 k TFT r U P Re 183 8 ae gt us eso 182 83 83 18 83 aie ee 18 ps 83 s 6 A e y 4 yx 155 C x33 E gt VA 3 h 642 7759 lb uu Gp BEL uu ge 00 eue d 20 2102 0154 SNOISNAWIG VH3IAVO eonou eje jeoiuuoe IN 2
158. ol 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 addition 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 WHITE BALANCE AUTO WB Figure 45 White balance list 66 Camera Controls 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 AUTO WB The camera can also perform an automatic white balance To do this press the AUTO WB screen button once The and MON OUT image show a mask with a center cut out Place a well lit grey card in the are of the mask cut out and press the AUTO WB screen button again The camera will calculate a WB and CC value based on the color values in the image center If these values are out of range or the image center is strongly under or over exposed the camera cannot calculate a WB valu
159. on EVF MON OUT and REC OUT is available when the mirror shutter is spinning or parked in the GATE position A parked mirror shutter will automatically start spinning when recording is started When the mirror shutter is switched off it is still possible to move the mirror shutter between the GATE and VIEW positions but it is not possible to spin the shutter Note For safety reasons it is required to power down the camera before performing a gate check Do not check or clean the sensor cover glass while the camera is powerded up and the mirror is parked in the GATE position Frame rate and shutter angle with mirror shutter on When the mirror shutter is switched on the sensor frame rate is limited to 60 fps in 16 9 and 48 fps in 4 3 Note 4 3 is only supported in SUP 5 2 BETA 4 3 155 15 5 Frame rates higher than 37 fps in 4 3 or 46 fps in 16 9 reduce the maximum possible mirror shutter angle When the frame rate change reduces the allowed mirror shutter angle below the currently active shutter angle the camera automatically sets the shutter angle to 135 0 The technically possible maximum shutter angle depends on the frame rate To achieve the maximum possible shutter angle e Press the SHUTTER button in the Homescreen to get to the Shutter list screen e Press the ADD button in the Shutter list screen to get to the Shutter angle screen e Press the MAX button in the Shutter Angle screen and confirm by
160. ows 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 1 8 0 1 2 1 1 I l OPTIONS Figure 35 Audio screen Gain can be applied to the audio channels by either 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 gt Figure 36 Audio options screen Record Sets audio recording On or Off If audio recording is switched off no audio is recorded on SxS cards the HD SDI contains no audio and the Audio out is muted Main Controls 59 Channel 1 level Channel 2 level Channel 1 source Channel 2 source Soundroll Tape Manual a
161. p 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 viewfinder display The settings displayed in the top bar section of the viewfinder can be adjusted 104 Operation of The Camera 12 12 1 12 1 1 FPS Sensor fps Settings of the FPS list can be loaded SHUTTER Shutter angle Settings of the Shutter list can be loaded El Exposure index Settings from El 160 to El 3200 can be loaded in steps of 1 3 stop WB 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 Ul 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 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
162. possible in ARRIRAW with external ARRIRAW recorders that support ARRIRAW 4 3 Monitoring For monitoring the 4 3 image is downscaled to 958 x 720 pixels for the EVF and 1440 x 1080 for the MON OUT Only horizontal surround view is available in 4 3 mode The image is not rescaled for surround view but horizontally extended The non active area of the EVF and MON OUT is filled with black pillarboxed Anamorphic desqueeze Both 1 3x and 2x anamorphic desqueeze is available in 4 3 mode 1 3x anamorphic desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 720 for the EVF and 1920 x 1080 for the MON OUT while 2x desqueeze results in an image size of 1280 x 480 for the EVF and 1920 x 720 for the MON OUT 4 3 and High Speed Mode It is possible to switch from 4 3 to High Speed mode and vice versa In High Speed mode only the 16 9 center area of the image sensor is read out 138 ALEXA Studio 15 ALEXA Studio 15 1 General Description The ALEXA Studio extends the features of an ALEXA Plus by Optical viewfinder Brand new construction from ARRI featuring optical anamorphic desqueeze diopter correction image flip camera left right positioning and horizontal distance adjustment Electronic mirror shutter The electronic mirror shutter can be adjusted in a range of 11 2 to 180 0 degrees When in use it completely removes rolling shutter effects of the sensor Built in motorized ND filter The ND filter has a density of 1 3
163. pressing the jogwheel twice e The maximum possible shutter angle is now a part of the shutter list and can be set by pressing the jogwheel When the mirror shutter is on the camera redirects the user to the Shutter list screen after setting the sensor frame rate where the shutter angle can be adjusted as desired To cancel this action press the HOME button 4 3 Mode The ALEXA Studio ALEXA M and ALEXA Plus 4 3 cameras can be operated in 4 3 mode In 4 3 mode the camera captures images from a vertically extended sensor area The used area is 23 76 x 17 82mm in size which translates to 2880 x 2160 sensor pixels Note The sensors of regular ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras are not capable of creating a 4 3 image Loading 4 3 mode Go to MENU gt System gt Sensor mode The currently loaded mode is shown in the first line Press the wheel To load the new mode press the two lower screen buttons Note Loading 4 3 or 16 9 mode results in all settings being set to factory reset values Frame rate The maximum sensor frame rate in 4 3 is 48 fps 156 ALEXA Studio 15 6 Recording SxS recording is switched off as this is currently not possible External recording is only possible in ARRIRAW withexternal ARRIRAW recorders that support ARRIRAW 4 3 Monitoring For monitoring the 4 3 image is downscaled to 958 x 720 pixels for the EVF and 1440 x 1080 for the MON OUT Only horizontal surround view is available in
164. ress both buttons RESET RESET Figure 87 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 116 5 ARRI Zeiss UP85 T1 8 OPTIONS Figure 88 LDS info screen LDA When a 05 lens is connected the user can achieve LDS functionality by using the Lens Data Archive In the LDS screen a button labelled LDA appears except when a LDS lens is connected Plus Camera Controls 133 The LDA consists of a user list and a main archive list The user list should only contain the lenses currently used to achieve quick access to the desired lens tables The main archive contains a set of lens tables for ARRI Zeiss Highspeed Master Primes and Ultra Primes and can be extended with additional lens tables for any PL Mount lens DELETE USER LDA RESET LDA Figure 89 User LDA Note Custom lens tables may have to be created manually beforehand
165. rt of the Plus module Plus Camera Controls 131 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 settings 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 LENS DATA IRISCLM ZOOMCLM FOCUS CLM Figure 85 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 When radio is switched on a small icon appears in the camera homescreen WRS radio channel 3 Figure 86 WRS radio screen CAM LEVEL Shows the tilt and roll of the camera in degrees as measured by the camera s position sensor This sensor can be reset 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 10 132 ALEXA Plus degrees around 0 1 Level camera Tilt 0 0 Roll 0 0 Reset threshold OK 2 Reset motion sensor P
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167. s 48 50 59 94 and 60 fps or 1x ARRIRAW 1 5G DL frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 2x ARRIRAW 3G SL frame rates 23 976 24 25 29 97 and 30 fps or 1x ARRIRAW 3G DL frame rates 48 50 59 94 and 60 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 176 Appendix Appendix Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl EVF 1 VMB 1 CCH 1 Others SD card Sound level Environmental ALEXA Plus Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl EVF 1 VMB 1 CCH 1 Lens mount ALEXA Studio Length x Width x Height body Camera body weight Camera setup weight incl SxS module OVF CCH 1 Lens mount Sensor frame rates Viewfinder Mirror shutter Shutter angle Aspect ratio Total active pixels incl surround view 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 25 C 77 F 20 C to 45 C 95 relative humidity max non condensing 332 x 175 x 158 mm 12 95 x 6 89 x 6 22 8 0 kg 17 6 Ib 8 4 kg 18 5 Ib Exchangeable lens mount with PL mount LA PL 2 installed 363 x
168. s stopped functioning properly and requires a camera reboot Audio recording on SxS card failed Frame rate of REC OUT is smaller than sensor fps Make sure REC OUT frame rate matches sensor fps With dual recording active the two SxS PRO cards must have identical file structure Use two fresh SxS PRO cards and analyze the not matching ones SxS is switched off and sensor fps is higher than REC OUT fps Increase REC OUT fps to at least the sensor fps value Error in the recording module Reboot camera ALEXA Studio only Mirror shutter must be calibrated by ARRI service ALEXA Studio only Mirror shutter continuosly not in phase with sensor If rebooting does not solve the problem contact ARRI service ALEXA Studio only Mirror shutter continuosly not reaching sync speed If rebooting does not solve the problem contact ARRI service ALEXA M was booted without head connected Connect head and reboot camera 192 Appendix Infos and Warnings Fibre Connection Error M head Low power M head Temperature high M head Fan error Contact service If any error that requires rebooting continues to occur regularly contact the ARRI service Fibre connection between ALEXA M head and backend could not be established or has terminated Check and clean connection then reboot The power level of the ALEXA M head is critical Make sure power supply can deliver at least 40 W of power Chec
169. s 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps ProRes 422 HQ 60 fps 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps ProRes 4444 40 fps 60fps DNxHD 40 fps 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps 115 120 145 DNxHD 60 fps 60 fps 60 fps 120 fps 185x 195x 220x 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 Main Controls 55 The lower screen buttons provide shortcuts to the screens of SxS CARDS MENU gt Recording gt SxS CARDS and SxS INFO INFO gt SxS CARDS and SDI FPS In the SDI FPS screen both MON OUT and REC OUT frame rates can be adjusted within the limits of their current format settings 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 access the REC OUT menu screen MENU gt Recording gt REC OUT and set REC OUT fps sets sensor fps to Off SENSOR FPS 422 HQ Max 60 fps REC 24 SxS CODEC SxS INFO SDI FPS Figure 34 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
170. s and Menu Structure Trees 193 Disclaimer See titer ee hes hak 7 DISDBIay ice finde eri 49 Display 95 61 Electromagnetic Interference 19 Electronic Mirror Shutter 142 Electronic Viewfinder 85 Electronic Viewfinder 1 28 ETHERNET 41 hie en ee 41 EVF Controls ertet 102 Explanation of Warning Signs and Indications 16 RI 40 External recording 111 External Sync 93 F False Color 184 False Color 90 Fai erred mee E ERR 96 Fibre Connection 164 ie Ree 97 e 54 Frame grabs 99 Frame 89 114 Function 67 General Description General Precautions General Safety Instructions Gold Mount H Hand Units Ee High Speed recording Hh 2 2 170 Index INE Qi dee R Infos and Warnings Installation of The Ca
171. s for aspect ratios gt 1 78 e g 1 85 1 1 78 Aspect 2 distance 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 116 Operation of The Camera 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 gt lt 1 NOTES All widths are in pixels All colors can be one of 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 and from the top The values are in the range 0 1 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 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 line at top and bottom of 2
172. s 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 Main Controls 65 11 1 3 7 Note During High Speed mode REC OUT gamma cannot be set because the REC OUT shows the same image as the MON OUT 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 can be generated with the ARRI ALEXA LUT generator www arridigital com Playback and Look Files Look settings of the camera outputs also apply to any clip during playback if this clip was recorded in LOG C A clip recorded in REC 709 or ITU P3 with or without look will be played back as is even if the output is set to LOG C Please note that the currently active look is applied to the clip not the one that was active at the time of recording It is the courtesy of the user to make sure the right look is applied during playback WB Pressing the WB screen button in the HOMESCREEN opens the WB list screen The list presets are 3200K for Tungsten 4300K for Fluorescent 5600K for Daylight and 7000K for Daylight co
173. 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 500 ns The HD output of a camera can be pre or delayed by 30 HD clocks 1 HD clock 13 46 ns allowing for a total shift of 60 HD clocks 808 ns total between cameras if desired Timecode 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 Note When the mirror shutter is switched on an ALEXA Studio can only be synced to another ALEXA Studio Syncing the Settings of Two Cameras It is possible to operate two ALEXAs with synchronized settings It is recommended to do this only with cameras of the same type e g two ALEXA Plus 120 Operation of The Camera 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 c
174. 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 which 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 56 Camera Controls If the REC OUT 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
175. sor is only read out in the dark phase This completely removes rolling shutter effects of the sensor readout Its 180 mirrored surface reflects the lens image into the optical viewfinder The open sector of the mirror shutter can be reduced through an electronically controlled sector gate The mirror shutter rotates 360 for every capured frame controlling the exposure of the sensor through its open sector The readout of the sensor happens while the mirror reflects the light of the optical path into the optical viewfinder The angle of the open sector is electronically controlled via the regular camera controls Lens Adapter PL Mount LA PL 2 with LDS The lens mount of the ALEXA Studio 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 100 ALEXA Studio PL Mount Optics 143 Note Due to the optical mirror shutter the use of Angenieux Optimo Rouge lenses any Super16 lenses or lenses with dimensions not matching the dimensions in the figure Allowed lens dimensions with mirror shutter drawing cannot be used with the ALEXA Studio as they would destroy the rotating mirror shutter X S S ag
176. ss Run beeper Set whether the run beeper shall beep at start or stop mode of recording at both or not at all Button brightness Off Run beeper mode Start Stop Figure 73 MENU gt SYSTEM gt DISPLAY System Time Date Time Date Set time date Time zone Shows the currently set time read only Shows the currently set date read only Opens a screen whre time and date can be set Set time zone to match your current location 96 Camera Controls DST Set time date Set daylight savings time Time Time zone DST 13 02 07 2010 07 20 UTC 12 00 Standard time Figure 74 MENU gt SYSTEM gt CLOCK DATE Use the lower screen buttons to navigate between the elements in the screen and to finish your setting lt 07 20 13 02 07 gt DONE Figure 75 Set time date screen Fan Fan mode SD card Format prepare SD card Prepare SD card Set the fan mode to Regular for locations with ambient temperatures up to 30 C 86 F If the ambient temperature gets higher set it to Rec low Formats the SD card and creates the required folder structure after confirmation Note This removes all data present on the SD card Creates or completes the required folder structure on the SD card without touching any data present on the SD card Main Controls 97 WNA 1 The Wireless Network Adapter WNA 1 is a new accessory from ARRI that will soon be released and
177. ter copying through checksums to ensure that no error has occured during the copy process Backup The data should actually be copied to two physically separate destinations with the first copy being the working copy and the second 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 Format 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 106 Operation of The Camera Codec ALEXA can record both Apple ProRes as Quicktime files and Avid DNxHD as MXF OP1A files Note Recording in Avid DNxHD requires license key The Apple ProRes codec family consists of 5 different codecs Name Color Data rate Recording time on max coding 30fps 32GBSxSPRO frame 30 1 5 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 25min 60 fps 422 ProRes YCbCr 220 Mb s 17
178. the system e Retain all safety and operating instructions for future reference e 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 are not recommended by ARRI as they may cause hazards and invalidate the warranty Do attempt to repair any part of the system Repairs must only be carried out by authorized ARRI Service Centers Specific Safety Instructions 17 5 3 Specific Safety Instructions 4 Do not remove any safety measures from 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 Unpl
179. tly format the card and not to postpone this action Apple ProRes codecs The following table gives an overview of the range of ProRes codecs All these codecs are supported by ALEXA Name Color Datarate Recording time max frame max frame coding 30fps on 32 GB SxS rate with rate with PRO 30 fps SxS PRO 8 SxS PRO 32 GB 64 GB ProRes YCbCr 45 Mb s 1 h 23 min 60 fps 120 fps 422 Proxy ProRes YCbCr 102 Mb s 37 min 60 fps 120 fps 422 LT ProRes YCbCr 147 Mb s 25 min 60 fps 120 fps 422 ProRes YCbCr 220 Mb s 17 min 60 fps 120 fps 422 HQ ProRes RGB 330 11 min 40 fps 60 fps 4444 Mb s Without alpha channel 444 only The maximum frame rate is also limited by the write speed of the SxS PRO card in use which might reduce the maximum frame rate below the values given in the table ProRes 4444 is limited to 40 fps with SxS PRO cards up to 32 GB capacity and only reaches 60 fps with SxS PRO 64 GB cards ProRes 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 MINIMUM 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 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
180. 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 About This Manual 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 or MXF files with AVID DNxHD codecs to Sony SxS PRO cards The cards deliver high data rates and are very robust ProRes can be natively edited in Apple FinalCutPro eliminating the need to transcode ProRes 422 HQ and ProRes 4
181. ttons USER REC 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 WRS Available on ALEXA Plus only it gives access to the Plus camera functions 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 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 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 can be assigned with user defined functions 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 the previous screen When editing this button reverts your adjustment and quits edit mode HOME Returns to the Homescreen from any other screen 68 Camera Controls 11 1 4 1 TC Time Code The TC screen shows the currently set TC
182. ug 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 Never run a camera with a mirror shutter without a lens or a protective cap in the lens mount receptable 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 glass 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 If the 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
183. ugh 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 in 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 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 Rege
184. ylight saving time Fan mode Regular Rec low amp Format prepare SD card Prepare SD card WNA 1 gt gt WNA state shows WNA 1 status WiFi power On Off Mode Ad Hoc Access Point Client SSID set SSID name Password set Password IP Address adjust address Subnet adjust subnet mask address Frequency band 2 4 GHz 5 GHz Channel selection Auto Manual select channel in manual mode Authentication Open Shared Secret PSK LEAP PEAP MSCHAP V2 Encryption None WEP 64 WEP 128 TKIP AES CCMP ANAMORPH requires Anamorphic Desqueeze License DNxHD requires DNxHD License HS requires High Speed License PLUS ALEXA PLUS only PLUS 4 3 ALEXA PLUS 4 3 only STUDIO ALEXA STUDIO only M ALEXA M only SUP 6 1 Encryption None WEP 64 WEP 128 TKIP AES CCMP Firmware gt gt Select update file gt gt 2 Licensed features gt gt install delete licenses save hardware info LDS see Lens Data for PLUS STUDIO on the following pages FRAME GRABS menu File format Jpeg Tiff Dpx Ari load grab 4 Options Compare Options gt gt Compare mode Toggle Interleave Active on EVF On Off Active on MON OUT On Off Grabbed images inherit REC OUT settings Ari only possible when REC OUT ARRI RAW USER SETUPS menu Save current setup Load setup Factory reset USER BUTTON ASSIGNMENT set Button 1 2 3 None MON OUT surround MON OUT gamma set Button 4 5 None MON OUT surrou
185. ze the risk of duplicate file names The file name consists of 6 parts e Camera Index One character A Z User assignable should match the camera unit Recording 109 e Reel Counter 3 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 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 formatting 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

Alexa 4:3 manual - Krypton Film AS

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