Arri Alexa SUP 11.0 Pocket Guide

Pocket Guide

SUP

11.0

ALEXA Pocket Guide

Table of Contents

2

Overview 4

Table of Contents

New features in SUP 11.0 6
The Home Screen 8

Home Screen Soft Buttons 9
Icons on Home Screen 12
MON OUT Icons 14

Recording Media 16

ALEXA XT Output Overview 20
ALEXA Output Overview 21
ARRIRAW uncompressed 22
ARRIRAW Converter 3.0 24
ARRIRAW capable software solutions 25
ProRes 26
DNxHD 28

New recording features in SUP 11.0 30

Working with ALEXA 32
Exposure Index 32
ND filters 34
False Color Exposure Check 37
Color Spaces 38

Video - Rec 709 38
Log C 40

Linear 41

ARRI LUT Generator 41
In-Camera ARRI Look Files 42
Legal and Extended Range 48
p and psf 49
Metadata Overview 50
Licenses 52

ALEXA Pre-shoot Checklist 54
Recording with the XR or SxS Module 55

Camera Setup 55
Shooting High Speed 57

Recording ARRIRAW via T-Link 57
Shooting Stereo 3D 59
ALEXA M/ALEXA XT M fiber maintenance 59

Creating Lens Tables 60
ALEXA XT/XR Workflows 68

Compressed Recording Formats 68

Uncompressed ARRIRAW 68

Generating Deliverables 71
Scaling your Workflow 73
Specifications and Reference 74
Technical Specifications 74
Menu Settings & Button Functions 90

ARRI Lenses 104
ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic Lenses 104
ARRI Anamorphic UWZ 19-36 106
ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime Lenses 108
ARRI/ZEISS Ultra Prime Lenses 110
ARRI/ZEISS LDS Ultra Prime Lenses 112
ARRI/FUJINON Alura Zoom Lenses 114
ARRI/FUJINON Alura LDS Extender 116
ARRI Ultra Wide Zoom UWZ 9.5-18 118
ARRI/ZEISS Master Macro Lens 120
Resources and Contacts 124
ARRI Sales Contacts 124
ARRI Service Contacts 126
ARRI Digital Workflow Solutions 128
Online Resources 129

Table of Contents

3

Overview

Overview

Introduction

Welcome to the Pocket Guide for the ALEXA Classic
and ALEXA XT family of cameras, which contains
important preproduction and production information
for an ALEXA shoot. The ALEXA platform has been
designed with ease of use and user-friendliness in
mind; the menu and controls are simple and intuitive,
so the best way to learn ALEXA is to get your hands

4

on the real thing. However, carrying this guide with
you and combining it with other resources such as
the ALEXA manual at www.arri.com/alexa/downloads
or the interactive ALEXA/ALEXA XT Camera
Simulator at www.arri.com/alexa/tools will ensure
your readiness to take full advantage of the camera’s
unique and versatile features.

ALEXA

ALEXA XT

The ALEXA and the ALEXA XT family

Overview

ALEXA XT PlusALEXA XT M ALEXA XT Studio

5

SUP 10 & 11 - New Features

6

ALEXA is the first and only camera to support

Overview

Apple’s new ProRes 4444 XQ codec. With its target
data rate of 500 Mb/s (at 1920 x 1080, 30p) and low
compression ratio of 1.45:1, ProRes 4444 XQ is the
ideal choice for productions that are shooting for
premium image quality, are looking for extreme color
grading options or want to preserve the superior
tonal range of ALEXA's Log C signal.

ProRes 3.2K recording format is suitable for
productions requiring 4K UHD deliverables. The
rescale to 4K UHD only demands a small upscale
factor of 1.2x. Available to ALEXA XT and ALEXA
Classic cameras with the XR Module upgrade,
ProRes 3.2K is a new recording resolution that uses
3164x1778 photo sites from the sensor to record
a 16:9 3.2K ProRes file. The 3.2K sensor area was
chosen because it is the largest area that can still be
covered by almost all Super 35 PL mount lenses.

In addition the new ADA-5 enhanced debayering
algorithm further improves ALEXA's image quality in
all already available ALEXA recording resolutions as
well as 3.2K recording.

180° image rotation allows Steadicam operators to
flip their rig upside down for low mode shooting
and it rotates the image for the ARRI Ultra Wide
Zoom UWZ 9.5-18/T2.9. The rotation applies to EVF,
MON-OUT and REC-OUT. Internal recording is not
affected.

For high end workflows that utilize color on the set,
SUP 10 extends the number of recording modes that
support two independent HD-SDI outputs.
Previously only available in 16:9/HD/regular speed,
other recording modes now also benefit from a clean
Log C signal on REC OUT while a Rec 709 signal
with overlays and an optional ARRI Look File can be
output on MON OUT.

SUP 11 Feature Overview

• New ARRI Debayer Algorithm ADA-5

• ProRes 3.2K recording up to 30fps

• ARRIRAW Checksum in the file header

• Framelines saved in ARRIRAW Metadata

• Support for Lens Data Encoder LDE-1

• Support for Rev C SxS PRO+ Memory Cards

(SBP-64C and SBP-128C)

• Support for SanDisk CFast 2.0 128 GB

Memory Cards

• Advanced WCU-4 support

• Updated Web Remote GUI (V2.0)

• User Button „Check last clip end“ and

„Check last clip start“

SUP 10 Feature Overview

• ProRes 4444 XQ recording up to 75 fps

(ALEXA XT and XR)

• Support for SxS PRO+ 64GB and 128GB cards

(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• 180° Image Rotation
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• Open Gate Support for ALEXA M (ALEXA XT M)

• REC OUT = Clean MON OUT
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• ARRIRAW 4:3 Cropped recording for 96 fps
with anamorphic lenses (ALEXA XT and XR)

• Fast regular/high speed switching
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• Dimmable status information
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• Monochrome status icons
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• Colored camera index letter
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• “Lens Squeeze Factor” metadata filed
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

• Independent Peaking setting for playback
(ALEXA Classic, XT and XR)

Overview

7

8

The Home Screen

Overview

Home Screen Soft Buttons

The soft buttons lead to screens where the respective
settings can be changed. In the home screen, the
following info is displayed:

FPS: Set sensor frame rate
AUDIO: Set audio preferences

When on = audio levels are shown
OFF = turned off
DISABLED = sensor is not running at
sync-sound speed
SHUTTER: Set shutter angle (and turn mirror

shutter on/off for ALEXA Studio)

EI: Set exposure index (and insert internal

ND filter for ALEXA Studio).
COLOR: Set gamma for REC OUT output (REC)
and internal recording of ProRes or
DNxHD (INT).
{ blue_int_icon } = The selected
ARRI Look File is applied to internally
recorded footage.

{ blue_REC_icon } = The selected
ARRI Look File is applied to REC OUT.
{ red_int_icon } = (blinking) The CDL
server connection has been enabled,
but the CDL server cannot be reached.
WB: Set white balance, consisting of a Kelvin
value for red-blue correction and a CC
shift value for green-magenta correction
(shown as exponent).

ALEXA Studio Icons

Name Icon Description

Mirror
Shutter

View
Position

Gate
Position

ND filter ND filter active

M

S

V

G

ND

Flashing Icon when the

Mirror Shutter is spinning.

Mirror Shutter in View position

Mirror Shutter in Gate position

Overview

9

Home Screen Center Bar

10

TC Displays current timecode source

Overview

INT = internal TC source
EXT = external TC source
hh:mm:ss = timecode value without
frames
@24 = time base, 24 fps in this case

MASTER Only visible when camera is in external

synchronization mode (MASTER = this
camera is the master, SLAVE = this
camera is the slave)

Settings sync is active so multiple

cameras in external synchronization
mode share the same settings

BAT 1 Voltage level of power source present

at BAT connector, or percentage of
remaining capacity of attached battery
if it transmits this information.

BAT 2 Voltage level of battery attached to top
and/or back onboard battery adapter,
or percentage of remaining capacity if
attached battery transmits this
information.

REEL Identifies current reel. Consists of
camera index letter and reel counter.

CLIP Identifies current clip. Consists of clip

index letter and clip counter.

DUR Duration of current clip during

recording or length of last recorded
clip during standby. Shown as
h:mm:ss.

16:9

Active sensor mode (16:9, 4:3 or
OG (Open Gate))

ProRes 2K

Displays active recording format

(ARRIRAW, ProRes (HD or 2K) or DNxHD).

SxS Pro

Drive SxS PRO adapter or XR Capture Drive

inserted into slot.

00:19:28 Remaining capacity of loaded magazine.

FULL Loaded Magazine is full.

SxS 1 FULL

1

Card 1 is full.

< Marks the active card.

• STBY The camera is in standby and

ready to record.

• PRE The camera is recording frames into

its ring buffer.

Overview

No Media No Magazine in slot.

Type Magazine does not support the

currently selected Recording format.

SxS 1 24:26

1

Remaining capacity of card in SxS slot

1 in minutes. Calculated for the set

frame rate and codec.

Note: these are only approximate values.

SxS 1 INHIB

1

not available on ALEXA XT

1

Card 1 is write protected.

• REC The camera is recording.

• ERROR An error occured. Recording is not

possible. Press the INFO button for
more details. If nothing is shown
(neither the red/green bar), the
camera works properly, but no SxS
PRO card is present for recording.

INT/SxS

Look

CDL Server active/connected

CDL Server active/not connected

11

Icons on Home Screen

12

Name Icon Description

Overview

General Important information
Warning waiting on the info
screen. Press the INFO
button for more details.

General An error occurred.
Error Press the INFO
button for more details.

Temperature Slight sensor temperature
Warning offset. Image quality might
be affected.

Temperature Great sensor temperature
Error offset. Image quality might
be affected seriously.

Lock Camera is locked.

Name Icon Description

SD Card SD Card present.
Turns orange during
card access.

Grab Still frame is being captured
to the SD card. A new still
frame can only be captured
when this is completed.

High Sensor is in high humidity
Humidity mode
Mode (e.g. indoor swimming pool).

WRS Radio WRS radio is active.
Only on ALEXA Plus
and Studio.

in very humid conditions

ALEXA Studio left side. Additional buttons VIEW & GATE for mirror control.

Overview

13

14

MON OUT Icons

Overview

Name Icon Description

General Important information
Warning waiting on the info
screen. Press the INFO
button for more details.

General An error occurred.
Error Press the INFO
button for more details.

Temperature Slight sensor temperature
Warning offset. Image quality might
be affected.

Temperature Great sensor temperature
Error offset. Image quality might
be affected seriously.

Lock Home screen is locked.

Grab Stil frame is being captured
to the SD card. A new still
frame can only be captured
when this is completed.

Audio Audio recording
enabled/disable

Name Icon Description

Peaking Peaking enabled for EVF
and/or MON OUT.

Smooth mode
on EVF

Recording Displays current SxS
resolution resolution (HD or 2K).

Gamma Displays Gamma
setting for EVF
or MON OUT.

Look active A look is active/burned-in
on EVF, MON OUT and/or
Internal recording.

CDL server

Return IN Return is active, image from
RET/SYNC IN input is shown.

Smooth mode active/in-active

connected/disconnected.

Overview

15

Recording Media

16

For internal recording, ALEXA Classic cameras have

Overview

an SxS Module. They can record QuickTime/ProRes or
MXF/DNxHD files to Sony SxS PRO/SxS PRO+ cards.

ALEXA Classic cameras with an XR Module upgrade or
ALEXA XT cameras have the XR Module instead, which
allows them to record to XR Capture Drives, Sony SxS
PRO/SxS PRO+ cards and CFast 2.0 cards.
Uncompressed ARRIRAW can only be recorded to
XR Capture Drives, but ProRes and DNxHD can be
recorded to all three media. SxS PRO/SxS PRO+ or
CFast 2.0 cards require a mechanical adapter from
ARRI. XR Capture Drives share the same mechanical
interface as other Codex Capture and Transfer Drives,
but only XR drives can be used for recording on
ALEXA cameras.

For detailed information on data- and frame-rates
within the ALEXA Classic and ALEXA XT cameras have
a look at our “ALEXA SUP 11 Data Rates” and
ALEXA SUP 11 Max Frame Rates” documents within
the “Technical Information” section at http://www.arri.
com/camera/alexa/downloads.

SxS Adapter

CFast 2.0 Adapter

Overview

CFast 2.0 Card

XR Capture DriveSxS PRO Card SxS PRO+ Card

17

ALEXA XT Recording Matrix

18

Overview

Recording
Media

16:9

4:3

Full

4:3

Cropped

Open

Gate

ARRIRAW

uncom­pressed

2880x1620

(0.75-120fps)

2880x2160

(0.75-90fps)

2578x2160

(0.75-96fps)

3414x2198

(0.75-75fps)

Recording
Format

Sensor Mode

1

DNxHD 444 is not available in High Speed Mode

2

ProRes 2K is limited to 30fps on 32GB SxS PRO cards

3

ProRes 3.2K is available for ALEXA XT and ALEXA Classic cameras with the XR Module upgrade only.

Internal recording

onto XR Capture Drives

HD

HD

ProRes

& DNxHD

1920x1080

(0.75-60fps)

High

Speed

1

ProRes

& DNxHD

1920x1080

(60-120fps)

– –

– – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – –

2K

ProRes

2048x1152

(0.75-60fps)

2048x1536

(0.75-48fps)

3164x1778

(0.75-30fps)

(onto SxS PRO/SxS PRO+/CFast 2.0 card)

3

HD

ProRes

& DNxHD

1920x1080

(0.75-60fps)

3.2K

ProRes

– – –

Internal Recording

with SxS or CFast 2.0 Adapter

HD

High

Speed

ProRes

& DNxHD

1920x1080

(60-120fps)

1

2K

ProRes

2048x1152

(0.75-60fps)

2048x1536

(0.75-48fps)

2

3.2K

ProRes

3164x1778

(0.75-30fps)

– –

3

External

recording

HD

uncom­pressed

1920x1080

(0.75-60fps)

ALEXA XT Output Overview

1 or 2x MON OUT HD-SDI 16:9

HD-SDI 16:9

ARRIRAW
(16:9, 4:3, 4:3 cropped

1x XR Capture Drive

1x XR Capture Drive
or SxS PRO/PRO+ card
or CFast 2.0 card

or Open Gate)

QuickTime 16:9 HD,
16:9/4:3 2K or 16:9 3.2K

MXF 16:9 HD

HD-SDI with
information overlay

Clean image

uncompressed 2x REC OUT

ProRes 422

ProRes 422 HQ

ProRes 4444

ProRes 4444 XQ

DNxHD 145

DNxHD 220x

DNxHD 444

Overview

19

ALEXA Classic Recording Matrix

20

Overview

Recording Media

Recording
Format

16:9

Sensor
Mode

4:3 – –

1

DNxHD 444 is not available in High Speed Mode.

2

ProRes 2K is limited to 30fps on 32GB SxS PRO cards.

ProRes &

DNxHD

1920x1080

(0.75-60fps)

Internal Recording

onto SxS PRO/SxS PRO+ cards

HD

HD

High Speed

ProRes &

DNxHD

1920x1080

(60-120fps)

External recording

via T-Link

2K

2

1

ProRes

2048x1152

(0.75-60fps)

2048x1536

(0.75-48fps)

ARRIRAW

uncompressed

2880x1620

(0.75-60fps)

2880x2160

(0.75-48fps)

External recording

via HD-SDI

HD

uncompressed

1920x1080

(0.75-60fps)

–

ALEXA Output Overview

2x REC OUT

1 or 2x MON OUT

2x SxS
PRO/PRO+ cards

T-Link

HD-SDI

HD-SDI 16:9 HD-SDI with

Quicktime HD,
2K 16:9 or 4:3

MXF 16:9 HD

ARRIRAW uncompressed
(16:9 or 4:3)

HD uncompressed 16:9
(4:4:4 or 4:2:2)

information overlay
ProRes 422

ProRes 422 HQ

ProRes 4444

DNxHD 145

DNxHD 220x

DNxHD 444

Overview

21

ARRIRAW

22

ARRIRAW is the highest image quality output

Overview

possible with ALEXA, delivering uncompressed,
unencrypted raw image data for the highest
achievable resolution, the camera's natural color
response and greatest exposure latitude. Nothing is
"baked" into an ARRIRAW image; processing steps
like debayering, white balance, sensitivity or scaling
can be optimized in post based on image content.
ARRIRAW can be easily up-sampled to 4K (as has
been done with Skyfall, X-Men, Avengers and many
others) and is a truly future-proof archiving format
that has been made public in SMPTE Recommended
Disclosure Document RDD 30:2014 and RDD
31:2014. With the introduction of the ALEXA XT
cameras, ARRIRAW can be recorded directly in
the camera at up to 120 fps, making it easy and
economical to shoot in the premium ALEXA
capture format.

ARRIRAW 4:3 Cropped

Introduced in SUP 10, ARRIRAW 4:3 cropped records
only the image area necessary for anamorphic
lenses, thus achieving 96 fps. This not only reduces
processing-time but also slims down the ARRIRAW
4:3 “full” from 9.3 MB to 8.4 MB “cropped”.

Recording

with anamorphic lens

squeezed by 2:1

Postproduction

desqueezing & cropping

Final image

„2.39 anamorphic“

ARRIRAW 4:3 Full

ARRIRAW 4:3 Cropped

Open Gate

With the release of SUP 9.0, ARRIRAW Open Gate
sensor mode has become available. Using the full
ALEXA sensor area, Open Gate mode is great for
VFX shows, up-sampling to 4K, image repositioning,
resizing, rotating or stabilizing.
The active frame size of this format is 28.25 x 18.17
mm (image circle: 33.5 mm), or 3414 by 2198 pixels

with an aspect ratio of 1.55:1. Since the Open Gate
aperture is wider than a Super 35 frame, make sure
that the lenses you are using actually cover the whole
area. Wide angle lenses are more critical in this
respect than long focal lengths. A guide is given by
the ARRI online Lens Illumination Guide www.arri.
com/alexa/tools.

Overview

Format Resolution Color Coding File size

16:9 ARRIRAW 2.8K

4:3 ARRIRAW
Cropped/2.6K

4:3 ARRIRAW
Full/2.8K

Open Gate
ARRIRAW2 3.4K

1

All speeds adjustable with 1/1000 fps precision.

2

Open Gate and 4:3 Cropped mode is only available on ALEXA XT cameras.

2

2880 x 1620 12 bit Bayer 7 MB 1.34 Gbit/s 605 GB/h 0.75 - 120

2578 x 2160 12 bit Bayer 8.4 MB 1.61 Gbit/s 726 GB/h 0.75 - 96

2880 x 2160 12 bit Bayer 9.3 MB 1.79 Gbit/s 806 GB/h 0.75 - 96

3414 x 2198 12 bit Bayer 11.3 MB 2.17 Gbit/s 976 GB/h 0.75 - 75

Data Rate

@ 24 fps

Data Volume

@ 24 fps

fps Range

1

23

24

ARRIRAW Converter 3.2

The ARRIRAW Converter (ARC) is a free software

Overview

solution that reads, displays and renders ARRIRAW
files. Since in 2005 the first ARRIRAW files from
the D20 camera have been shot, the ARC has been
greatly improved. In 2012 we decided to develop a
completely new version of the ARRIRAW Converter
which has been released at IBC 2013.

Since Version 3.0 the ARRIRAW Converter features a
new user interface in combination with a feature rich
tool palette. Working with ARRIRAW has become
more intuitive and straight forward from browsing
through the images to reviewing and finally render­ing to other file formats.

To allow a quick start with ARC 3.2 we’ve created
a series of tutorial videos on all available features.
Also including the new User Pixel Mask, a feature
introduced to ALEXA cameras in SUP 9.0:
www.arri.com/goto/arriraw-tutorials

For ARC 3.2 we implemented the ADA-5 Debayer
and made the ARRIRAW Converter “future proof” for
ALEXA65. All additional ARRIRAW formats captured
with ALEXA65 cameras can be processed by ARC.

ARRIRAW Converter 3.2 is available for Mac OSX. A
build for Windows operating systems is available as
beta version.

Download ARC 3.2 at:
http://www.arri.de/alexa/arriraw

ARRIRAW capable software solutions

A product which has been awarded
the ALEXA ARRIRAW Processing
Certificate is capable of rendering
ALEXA ARRIRAW images in
a quality that meets ARRI’s
requirements. Please note that for

CERTIFIED FOR

PROCESSING

ALEXA

all image processing parameters
(such as sharpness, color etc.) the
ARRI SDK, which is also part of
the ARRIRAW Converter, is the
reference.

You can find more information about working with
ARRIRAW at www.arri.com/alexa/workflow. Further
documents, covering ARRIRAW and other topics,
such as the "ALEXA VFX FAQ", are available for
download at www.arri.com/alexa/downloads.

COMPANY PRODUCT CERTIFIED

Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Speedgrade

Assimilate

Autodesk Flame/Lustre
Autodesk Smoke
Blackmagic Design Resolve
Codex Digital Transfer Station
Colorfront On-Set Dailies
DigitalFilmTechnology Flexxity
DVS Clipster
Éclair ColorUsDailies
eyeon Fusion
FilmLight Baselight

Glue Tools

Image Systems/
Digital Vision

MTI Film

Pretend Stereoid
Quantel Pablo
SGO Mistika
The Foundry Hiero
The Foundry Nuke
Tweak RV

Scratch
Scratch Lab

ARRIRAW Toolkit
for Mac OS X

Nucoda FilmMaster

Control Dailies Enterprise
Cortex: Control Dailies
Cortex: Convey

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔
✔

✔

✔

Overview

25

26

ProRes Recording

ALEXA is the first camera offering internal,

Overview

ready-to-edit recording to QuickTime/ProRes files.
With Software Update Packet (SUP) 7.0, all cameras
received a free upgrade enabling ProRes 2K
recording. Now SUP 11.0 adds 3.2K ProRes to the
lineup of ALEXA XT cameras. Recording in ProRes
2K or 3.2K3 is a cost-efficient alternative to
shooting ARRIRAW, as it requires less storage space
and no processing, but at the same time delivers an
astonishing image quality – 3.2K is an ideal base for
up-scaling to UHD delivery by only a factor of 1.2.

With the option to capture ProRes 2K in the 4:3
aspect ratio1, the format offers true anamorphic
capture with regular 2.0 anamorphic lenses and
offers extra room for repositioning when using
standard spherical lenses. SUP 9.0 enabled ProRes
4444 recording in High Speed Mode and SUP 10
added ProRes 4444 XQ.

ProRes 2K Image Aperture

When the ProRes recording resolution is switched
from HD to 2K, the captured aperture changes from
2880 pixels / 23.76 mm / 0.935" width to 2868 pixels
/ 23.66 mm / 0.932" width. This allows the use of
an optimized in-camera downscaler and provides
the best possible 2K image output. When capturing
ARRIRAW, it is common to use the full 2880 image
width for processing a 2K deliverable. The ARRIRAW
SDK, however, allows to process 2K images from
both 2880 and 2868 pixels width to deliver an exact
match to ProRes 2K footage when ARRIRAW was
recorded in parallel with ProRes 2K2.

1

4:3 ProRes 2K is available on ALEXA Plus 4:3, ALEXA Studio, ALEXA M,

ALEXA XT, ALEXA XT Plus, ALEXA XT Studio and ALEXA XT M.

2

This only applies to ALEXA cameras with the SxS Module. ARRIRAW T-Link

output is not available in conjunction with the XR Module or on ALEXA XT
cameras.

3

ProRes 3.2K available on ALEXA XT only

For more information on using ProRes 2K in different
applications, please take a look at the “ProRes 2K in
Editorial“ white paper, available at www.arri.com/
alexa/downloads.

Format

Sensor

Mode

Resolution Bit Depth

Data Rate @

24 fps [Mbit/s]

16:9 1920 x 1080 10 bit 126 57 0.75 – 120

ProRes 422

16:9 2048 x 1152 10 bit 143 64 0.75 – 60

4:3 2048 x 1536 10 bit 190 86 0.75 – 48

5

16:9

3164 x 1778 10 bit 345 155 0.75 – 30

16:9 1920 x 1080 10 bit 188 85 0.75 – 120

ProRes 422 (HQ)

16:9 2048 x 1152 10 bit 214 97 0.75 – 60

4:3 2048 x 1536 10 bit 286 129 0.75 – 48

5

16:9

3164 x 1778 10 bit 518 233 0.75 – 30

16:9 1920 x 1080 12 bit 283 127 0.75 – 120

ProRes 4444

2

16:9 2048 x 1152 12 bit 322 145 0.75 – 60

4:3 2048 x 1536 12 bit 429 193 0.75 – 48

5

16:9

3164 x 1778 12 bit 777 350 0.75 – 30

16:9 1920 x 1080 12 bit 423 191 0.75 – 75

16:9 2048 x 1152 12 bit 482 217 0.75 – 60

ProRes 4444 XQ

1

ProRes is a variable bit rate codec. The actual data rate varies with the image content.

2

ProRes 4444/4444 XQ provides an alpha channel, which is not used by the ALEXA.

3

All speeds adjustable with 1/1000 fps precision.

4

ProRes recording speed is limited on 32GB SxS PRO cards.

5

ProRes 3.2K is available for ALEXA XT cameras and ALEXA Classic cameras with the XR Module upgrade only.
ProRes 444 XQ 3.2K is not available on SxS Pro/Pro+ cards.

2

4:3 2048 x 1536 12 bit 643 290 0.75 – 48

5

16:9

3164 x 1778 12 bit 1165 524 0.75 – 30

Data Volume @

1

24 fps [GB/h]

3 4

fps Range

1

Overview

27

DNxHD Recording

28

ALEXA and ALEXA XT cameras allow in-camera

Overview

recording of 1920 x 1080 (16:9) DNxHD encoded
MXF files onto SxS PRO cards, CFast 2.0 cards2
or XR Capture Drives2. With an installed DNxHD
license, ALEXA users can choose between
MXF/DNxHD or QuickTime/ProRes recording
codecs. ALEXA's MXF/DNxHD material can be
edited in Avid Media Composer Version 5.5 and
later without transcoding.

The Material eXchange Format (MFX) is a core
media container technology for nonlinear workflows.
An MXF container file can "wrap" different types
of video and audio material along with associated
metadata. The internal structure of MXF files is
defined by the so-called Operational Patterns.

ALEXA cameras record DNxHD encoded images
together with sound and embedded metadata in an
MXF container file using the Operational Pattern 1a
(OP1a) file structure. This is ideal for both camera
acquisition and archiving since audio and video is
always kept together and no data is lost if recording
is interrupted for any reason. An Avid Media
Composer does not need to transcode this material,
as it already is available in a native DNxHD codec.

To get more information about working with
ALEXA DNxHD material, please take a look at the
"MXF / DNxHD White Paper" which is available at
www.arri.com/alexa/downloads.

Format Sensor Mode Resolution Bit Depth

Data Rate @

24 fps [Mbit/s]

Data Volume @

24 fps [GB/h]

fps Range

1

Overview

DNxHD 115

DNxHD 220x

DNxHD 444

1

All speeds adjustable with 1/1000 fps precision

2

CFast 2.0 cards and XR Capture Drives can only be used on cameras with XR Module.

16:9 1920 x 1080 8 bit 116 52 0.75 – 120

16:9 1920 x 1080 10 bit 176 79 0.75 – 120

16:9 1920 x 1080 10 bit 352 159 0.75 – 96

29

30

Features added in prior SUP versions

Pre-recording

Overview

This feature allows you to roll the camera before you
press the REC button, so you won't miss the shot.
With pre-recording enabled and active, the camera
will continuously write frames into a ring buffer. As
the actual take is started with a second press of the
REC button, the camera keeps the content of the
ring buffer and appends frames into a single clip,
until the recording is stopped. Pre-recording is only
available for ProRes codecs.