ARRI ALEXA Mini Team Beverly Boy Review

 The ARRI ALEXA Mini camcorder might be the miniature, compact camera that the undercover DP is looking for. It seems to be the perfect device for some run-and-gun shoots, utilizing the speedy reading and writing capability of CFast cards. It is a lightning fast way to set up, take down, and format footage as quickly as possible.

Features

The most notable thing about this camera is definitely the compact size. This camera is small, and I must stress, really small. Although, the device definitely is not lacking in the features department given its relatively miniature form factor. The camcorder ships standard with a really nice EVF setup. It has ost of the capabilities you’d find on more expensive setups too, like the ability to punch in on images and check them out before formatting. The provided eyepiece for the viewfinder is excellent, comfortable, and performs well. The image is clear and the zoom functionality is powerful, and that can be a big part of any buyer’s requirements. Many camcorders that are released, even in higher price ranges, don’t have the quality of eyepiece required to actually see what you are shooting, or at least see it well.

Another great feature is the presence of internal ND. No matter how much light is coming your way, the camera provides the ability to take some great shots. There is little to no color difference from the ND as well. Heat vents are located on the right side and rear of the camera. With such a small camera, you can expect a bit of heat coming your way as you are near the camera and recording. Function buttons are also provided and can be found on both sides of the camera as well as the back. They are easy to access for quick adjustment during shooting. The handle on top is able to sport mounts, for anyone looking to provide a bit more hardware themselves. The menu system is intricate, sporting things such as white balance editing, however it simply isn’t as robust as a higher quality production camera. Despite the ND, you will want to make sure your lighting is optimal for the best picture quality possible.

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Specs

According to ARRI the camera type is a 35mm format film-style digital camera with lightweight and compact carbon body, switchable active sensor area, support for ARRI MVF-1 viewfinder, built-in remote control capabilities via ARRI Electronic Control System and Wi-Fi, support for cforce motors, built-in motorized ND filters, and interchangeable lens mounts and ARRI Lens Data System as well as Lens Data Archive. The provided sensor is a 35 mm format ARRI ALEV III CMOS with Bayer pattern color filter array. The DR capability is 14+ stops over the entire sensitivity range from EI 160 to EI 3200 as measured with the ARRI Dynamic Range Test Chart (DRTC-1). The internal ND is worth mentioning again, as the camera sports built-in motorized ND filters 0.6, 1.2, or 2.1.

Your provided recording media is the CFast 2.0 memory cards,and ports or present on the device of course. Your color output is optional at Rec 709, custom look or Log C. The provided focus and exposure control is in the form of peaking, zebra, false color, or waveform, and your adjustable imageparamaters are knee, gamma, saturation, black gamma, and saturation by hue. The recording formats and framerates are vastly expansive, but a large portion of the formats require a different license key to access. The framerates are listed as (16:9) ProRes HD 0.75 – 200 fps, ProRes S16 HD 0.75 – 200 fps, ProRes 2K 0.75 – 200 fps, ProRes 3.2K 0.75 – 60 fps, ProRes UHD 0.75 – 60 fps, and MFX/ARRIRAW 16:9 2.8K 0.75 – 48 fps. (4:3) ProRes 4:3 2.8K 0.75 – 50 fps, (6:5) ProRes 2:39:1 2K Ana. 0.75 – 120 fps, and (8:9)

ProRes HD Ana. 0.75 – 120 fps. That sweet provided EVF system is a MVF-1 (OLED and LCD) with flip-out LCD screen and military-grade connector to camera Camera Control Panel (CCP-1) LCD control panel with option to daisy-chain MVF-1.

Filmed on the ARRI ALEXA Mini

Performance

As we had said before because of the ND range we were able to shoot with a ton of light coming our way. The pictures produced, with a bit of tweaking, were crisp. There was very little color difference due to the ND in the final product.The heat factor of the camera became kind of an issue in the shoot however. There really isn’t anywhere for the heat to escape to on the device. It all just kind of comes out right into your face while you are recording. It is quite annoying, especially when you are trying to make sure you are getting the best picture possible through that awesome EVF system. Other than that the camera was lightweight, adaptable, and easily movable for when you want to do some handheld panning like I wanted to. If you need something reliable that is easy to move around, customize, and pack up to go, this may be the choice for you. Just don’t have any qualms about getting a little sweaty during an extended shoot.