ALEXA Extends Anamorphic Cinematography
NAB ARRI ALEXA Plus 4:3 is a new ALEXA model similar to the ALEXA 
Plus but with a 4:3 Super 35 sensor, the ability to switch from 16:9
sensor mode to 4:3 sensor mode and built-in licenses for high speed
shooting, anamorphic de-squeeze and DNxHD.
| The ALEXA Plus 4:3 joins the ALEXA Studio and ALEXA M, which already have 4:3 sensors. The Studio could typically function as an A-camera, the Plus 4:3 as a B-camera and the M as a compact, versatile C-camera. | |
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Anamorphic lenses squeeze the image by a factor of two, thus projecting a 1.195:1 aspect ratio image onto the sensor. When using sensors that are natively 16:9 or even wider, it is necessary to crop the sides, resulting in a smaller available sensor area and a different angle of view for the lens. With the ALEXA 4:3 cameras, the full area of the sensor is used which means more light per photosite, translating into greater sensitivity, less noise, more exposure latitude and sharper images, consequently keeping ahigher image quality. Alternatively, the larger sensor area can be used for more freedom in vertical repositioning when using spherical lenses. ARRI notes that it is not possible to upgrade from any version of the ALEXA to the ALEXA Plus 4:3 since the yield for ALEXA 4:3 sensors is lower than that for 16:9 sensors. The ALEXA Plus 4:3 model includes license keys for anamorphic de-squeeze, high speed and DNxHD and will be available in May 2012. www.arri.com |
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