Arri goes 6K 65mm with the Alexa 65 at CINEC in Munich

[Andrew Reid]

 

With three standard Alexa sensors stitched seamlessly together, 65mm film moves into the digital era and with it Arri into the 4K & 6K market.

Read the full article here

[sunyata]

I'm not really into 4k, or 6k? But I'm glad Arri is making the right moves in the digital space.. would hate to see them go extinct. I guess this is good news for IMAX? i see a little spike after hours, probably coincidence.

[someguy]

There is no chance of them going extinct and with this they will take even more business away from RED.

[AaronChicago]

IMAX cat videos please.

[Quirky]

I’ve not yet decided whether to make the trip to Munich for CINEC

 

In München steth ein Hochbräuhaus, eins, zwei, zuffa! 

Da läuft so manches Fäßchen aus, eins, zwei zuffa! 

usw...

Prost!

 

Hint hint, nudge nudge, eh, eh, say no more, say no more!  :P

 

Other than that, I've only seen the 65mm film projected on a large screen, and that is indeed a thing of beauty. Likely to 'spoil' the viewer for any 'ordinary' footage. I'd love to see this 65mm digital footage displayed on a huge plasma or whatever screen, too.

[Nikkor]

Oh digital 65mm by arri, film is dead.
I wonder what this will do to professional anamorphics, you dont get the same look but the shallow dof shure is better with this.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

We will get some ridiculously shallow dof at this image size with their 2.2/2.8 primes.

What would be the equivalent crop factor to measure the dof/focal length compared to 35mm stills?

[Nikkor]

vertically its the same as fullframe stills, horizontally it will be 54/36 which is 1.5
But compared to super 35 its something like 2x.

[Andrew Reid]

We will get some ridiculously shallow dof at this image size with their 2.2/2.8 primes.

 

It's not about shallow DOF, it's the whole rendering which changes especially with wide angle shots.

[sunyata]

so is this using a dichroic beam splitting prism and 3 monochrome sensors? 

[odie]

they're  stitching together the same 35mm sensors they're using now…same image quality…doubt they'll take any work away from present imax cameras...

[Andrew Reid]

they're  stitching together the same 35mm sensors they're using now…same image quality…doubt they'll take any work away from present imax cameras...

 

Beg to differ on that one :) Have you seen the price of iMax film?

[Andrew Reid]

From the FD Times piece:

 

These greatest of all films, in their epic 65mm format, demanded epic logistical effort, 70+ pound temperamental cameras whose movements sometimes required oiling after every take, and set- ups that were not, shall we say, swift. Film, processing and dailies could average around $2500 for a 10-minute roll. 

[Chris Gibbs]

It's not about shallow DOF, it's the whole rendering which changes especially with wide angle shots.

Agreed, that's not far from the X-Pan format, shooting a normal lens on an X-Pan gave you a lovely immersive aesthetic, without that surreal wide angle detachment you get with smaller formats!

[Nikkor]

And remember that if someone comes out with a speedbooster for the A7s you will be able to get close to that look for just a few Thousands.

[RobertoSF]

Interesting development, thanks for the notice, Andrew, glad you're doing some recon out there on the front lines for us.

 

On a recent trip to France I heard Panavision may soon (in a few months) come through on cameras they started developing a couple of years ago. We'll see...

[richg101]

And remember that if someone comes out with a speedbooster for the A7s you will be able to get close to that look for just a few Thousands.

 

focal reducers don't give the same rendering as a bigger sensor.  the reasons?

 

medium format + 80mm f2.8 has the dof of an 80mm f2.8.  It's still an 80mm lens.

 

full frame + speed booster + 80mm f2.8 lens = 50mm f2 lens.  no longer an 80mm and no longer renders the gradation between in and out of focus subjects.  The field of view and dof will be the same.  but the rendering will be distinctly different.    

 

The only benefit to a focal reducer on full frame using MF glass is for resolving power.  and to make it worthwhile the cost of a high enough quality focal reducer will be thousands due to the fact that there is not enough fast medium format lenses to go round and thus the market is small.   As full frame sensors reach 50 and 80mpx the need for such a thing will be more important since a hassy 80mm f2.8 will outresolve all f-50mm 135mm format lenses when compressed down to a 0.7x image circle.

 

 

= This is my forbes 70 test which shows the power of a big format - the width of view from a 50mm f2.8 is madness when matched to the dof.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Of course it'a not just about shallow depth of field, but it's one of the benefits, a very big one too. I am wondering how the Alexa 65 would look with say their 100mm 2.2 prime wide open. What would that equate to in terms of 35mm stills?

I bet the image aesthetic will be quite special when shooting at this size format with a wide iris, plus the immersive 6K resolution and Alexa colours.

[richg101]

Regarding availability of the alexa65 I really hope its cost renders inaccessible to guys shooting commercials and other lower end stuff.  I see too many low profile things shot on Alexa and it devalues the look when you go to the movies.  I don;t want a Asda / Walmart advert to look like a movie.

 

It would be really good if arri keep this away from low profile stuff in the same way the alexa studio is positioned out of reach of small time stuff.  And the same as Panavision's prestige

 

I miss going to the cinema and being wowed every time.  It seems only the case with movies by P T Anderson and Nolan that movies feel like movies nowadays.  

[richg101]

Of course it'a not just about shallow depth of field, but it's one of the benefits, a very big one too. I am wondering how the Alexa 65 would look with say their 100mm 2.2 prime wide open. What would that equate to in terms of 35mm stills?

I bet the image aesthetic will be quite special when shooting at this size format with a wide iris, plus the immersive 6K resolution and Alexa colours.

 

the effortlessness of a 100mm t2.2 on such a big frame will be astounding.  not much different to a 85mm f1.4 on full frame in terms of shallowness and field of view, but it'll be 10 times more pleasing since as we all know a f1.5 85mm always has rather a lot of fringing on contrasty grads like branches or telegraph poles.