EDC Gear Guides: ARRI ALEXA 35

Overview

Table of Contents

Component Guide

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Physical & Power Guide

Camera Right Side

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  1. This is 1 of 2 ports for the right angle viewfinder cable. You can connect the viewfinder through the VF cable into this port. It provides power & data.
  2. These are your 2 SDI ports for outputting your image to a monitor or wireless transmitter. 
  3. This is the power port if you wish to power the camera via wall power
  4. These are the (2) 2-pin LEMO power ports. You can power accessories that have a 2-pin LEMO power cable using this port. Ex. SXU Wireless Follow Focus Kit. 

Camera Left Side

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  1. This is the Recording Button. Press to Record.
  2. This is the CODEX Drive slot for you Codex Drives.
    1. It has indicator lights that tell you different actions:
      1. Green - Safe to Remove 
      2. Red - Recording - Do Not Remove
      3. Yellow- Saving - Do not Remove
  3. This is the on-camera menu screen. It can be used if you cannot use/see the viewfinder.
  4. This is the selection wheel for the on-camera menu.
  5. These are custom user buttons. You can assign different functions to these buttons in the menu.

Camera Front

Screenshot 2024-07-02 at 10.39.25 AM.png

  1. This is second port for the right angle viewfinder cable. This port has the shortest distance from the viewfinder.
  2. This is the LPL lens port. You will need to add the PL to LPL lens adapter to use any EDC PL lenses. 

Power

  • The ARRI ALEXA 35 can be powered via wall power or one of the kit's Gold Mount batteries. 
  • Gold Mount Battery
    • Line up the 3 gold pins on the back of the battery to the 3 holes on the back of the camera. 
    • Insert the pins and slide to the right until it clicks.
  • Wall Power
    1. Connect the Camera Power Cable to the Camera.
    2. Connect the power cable to the power supply
    3. Connect the AC Cable to the power supply
    4. Plug into the wall.

EDC Component Guides (3).png

 

Charging Batteries

  • The battery charger needs 16amps to charge the battery. Ensure you are plugging it into a 20amp circuit.
  • There is a switch on the back of the charger labeled Power Supply  & Charger. Ensure the switch is set to CHARGER to charge the battery. 

Cage

 

Media

  • This kit comes with (2) 2TB Codex Drives.
  • It supports High Density Encoding (HDE) to save storage space.
  • It can support up 2.5GB/sec read speeds for fast offload.
    • Offload Speed is dependent on the power from your USB port that the reader is plugged into.
    • There is an indicator light on the reader that tells you the rough speed.
      • Blue - It is receiving 3A of power. Speed ~1.3 GBPS or more
      • Green - It is receiving 2A of power. Speed ~800 GBPS
      • Yellow/Red - It is not receiving enough power and may be only reading 120/150 MBPS or not at all. 
    • Most MacPros past 2018 provide 3A of power.

Menu & Recording Settings

  • Connect the Viewfinder
    • Insert the straight end of the the yellow and black Viewfinder Cable to the Camera's front VF 1 port (1), until it clicks.
                                                  Screenshot 2024-07-02 at 10.39.25 AM.png
    • Insert the right angle side into VF port on the bottom of the Viewfinder until it clicks.
      • To release the cables, pull out on the silver collars. 
  • Using the Viewfinder
    • The viewfinder is touch screen but you can use the buttons on the sides & back to control it as well. 
    • The button on the side button on the top left brings you to HOME/LIVE
      • HOME is the screen below. It has a majority of your settings displayed.
        Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 8.40.01 AM.png
        • You can adjust ISO, Shutter Angle, & WB
          • DO NOT SET YOUR FRAME RATE HERE. Set it up in RECORDING SETTINGS (see RECORDING MENU section below).
      • LIVE is the live image from the camera. 
    • The side button on the bottom left brings you to MENU and also acts as a BACK button in settings.
    • You can use the touch screen on any page OR use the scroll wheel on the back of the monitor to scroll & press in to select.
                                                     Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 8.40.19 AM.png
    • The other set of buttons on the viewfinder includes a recording button, Play button for playback, a zoom in function and VF selection.
                                                          Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 8.40.28 AM.png

RECORDING MENU

  • Recording Settings
    • CODEC
      • The Codec encodes and compresses, then decodes and decompresses the data that makes up your footage
      • Options in Alexa 35.
        • Apple ProRes 422 HQ
          • This option is a higher quality version of Apple ProRes. It can be edited on many computers.
        • Apple ProRes 4444
          • This option is a extremely high-quality version of Apple ProRes. This is can be edited on many different computers. *Recommended for optimal image and ease of editing*
        • Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
          • This option is the highest quality for Apple ProRes but also takes up a lot of space and if you are using a Mac to edit, it is only supported by OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 or later. If you choose this, you need to be wary about the hard drive & device you are editing on. Some softwares/hardwares cannot support this codec due to its data size.
        • ARRIRAW
          • This option may have the highest of quality takes up a lot of storage on your drive and is difficult to edit with due to its size. If you choose this, you need to be wary about the hard drive & device you are editing on. Some softwares/hardwares cannot support this codec due to its data size. It is recommended to use an Emerson Editing Suite for this option.
    • Sensor Mode
      • This determines how much of the Camera's sensor is used for recording.
      • Each Mode has different  resolutions, aspect ratios, frame rate restrictions, and anamorphic restrictions.
      • You may be tempted to use Open Gate for highest image quality. However, if you choose this, you need to be wary about the hard drive & device you are editing on. Some softwares/hardwares cannot support this sensor mode due to its data size.
        • 4.6K 16:9 or 4k 16:9 are perfectly acceptable and more manageable for editing. 
      • See options below.

Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 8.58.16 AM.png

PROJECT SETTINGS MENU

Set your Frame Rate HERE. Do NOT set on the HOME Screen.

    •  Audio Recording (Scratch Audio is OFF by default)
      • This will turn on SCRATCH AUDIO.
        • Select Audio Recording
        • Scroll to the First option and press the box to select.

MEDIA MENU

Here you can format/ERASE your Codex Cards.

Always do then when you set up for the first time.

 

MONITORING MENU

Here you choose where & what image you are outputting to accessories.

You can also enable Peaking & Frame lines on the Viewfinder itself in this menu.

    • SDI - There are 2 SDI ports you can output to. Each will have the following menus:
      • Processing
        • This menu allows you to add frame lines, peaking & false color.
      • Format 
        • This is the bandwidth of the signal being output from the camera. It is recommended to keep it at 422 1.5GB HD or 422 3GB HD. 
      • Frame Rate
        • Match this to your project frame rate.

IMAGE MENU

Looks (LUTs)

  • Looks/LUTs are overlays that change how the RAW image looks through adjusting saturation, contrast, etc.
  • LUTs are not recorded on to your file.
    • It is a temporary way of creating an image that will most likely match what you see once the footage is closed. 
  • ARRI loads several looks/LUTs into its look library on the removable USB (located in the media bay). 
    • You can look through the looks/LUTs in the Looks Menu
    • You can also choose where the looks/LUTs output to (VF & SDIs).

Textures

  • Textures are a new feature from ARRI. They are subtle changes in grain texture.
  • Textures ARE recorded on to your file.
    • You cannot undo this in post.
  • You can select a texture in the Texture Menu.

Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 10.37.42 AM.png

 

REVEAL Color Science, LogC4, & ISO

ARRI's new REVEAL Color Space provide 17 stops of Dynamic Range, which gives you up to 1.5 additional stops in the highlights and 1 additional stop in the shadows. 

Screenshot 2024-07-03 at 10.25.16 AM.png

The ARRI ALEXA 35 shoots in LogC4 - a brand new log from ARRI. It is EI-independent and uses  32% middle gray to work with the increased highlight headroom available in the new sensor.

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When exposing for 32% middle gray, it will look a lot darker - this is normal. It has a lower middle grey point compared to other LOG Profiles. 

ISO/ EI (Exposure Index)

  • The ARRI ALEXA 35 has a higher sensitivity for increased exposure quality. 
  •  Range: EI 600 -6400
    • Optional Enhanced Sensitivity Modes (ES)
      • EI 2560 - 6400
        • This can limit frame rate options
        • Your shutter angle must be 180 degrees
  • You can Change this on the HOME screen.

EDC Kit Build

EDC Accessory Builds

Troubleshooting

Compatible EDC Accessories 

Access is dependent on class equipment allocations & availability 

  • Sachtler 1205 Tripods
  • O'Connor 1030 Tripods
  • Zeiss CP.2 Prime Lens Kit
  • Zeiss 21mm-100mm Zoom Lens
  • Xenon Schneider Prime Lens Kit
  • Tokina PL Zoom Lens Kit
  • 16mm Prime Lenses (Must be shot in 16mm sensor mode)
  • Sony PL Prime Lens Kit
  • Lensbaby Kits (Full & Single)
  • ARRI SXU Wireless Follow Focus
  • 5" & 7" Shinobi Monitors
  • Flanders Monitors
  • Teradek Bolt 6
  • Teradek Serv4K

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