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Two years ago, ARRI introduced the very popular MMB-1 mattebox. It became an immediate hit with our clients and the company quickly responded with various requested accessory options. Soon these options became what everyone wanted on their MMB-1, so after some discussion, ARRI decided to offer a version with these options substituted for the originals. This way, clients weren’t left with unwanted items at additional expense. Most requested were a top-loading rotating filter stage and a larger, 143mm rear clamp. This version of the mattebox is available now as the MMB-1 Top Load Mattebox. Check out the video for details.

ARRI’s ALEXA camera offers several recording options, including recording directly to SxS cards in Apple ProRes format. This is called the Direct-To-Edit (DTE) option, and it makes for a very simple workflow. ProRes has proven to be a high quality and robust video format that is widely used in the industry today. The ALEXA has an uncompressed video output, but I believe many productions will choose to record in ProRes directly in the camera. Here is a 3 step guide for how to import ALEXA footage into Final Cut Pro.

…continue reading Simple ALEXA Workflow with Final Cut Pro

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A camera can only be as good as the recording made from it. In the past year or so we’ve seen some interesting new portable recording devices such as the AJA Ki Pro and the Convergent Design nanoFlash. Now comes the Cinedeck Extreme, which is not only an excellent recorder but also doubles as a full-featured on-camera monitor. The Cinedeck Extreme can input HD-SDI in 4:2:2 or 4:4:4, as well as HDMI, and record it to the wavelet-based Cineform codec. Coming soon (with a firmware upgrade) will be Avid DNxHD, as well as Uncompressed HD. That’s right — an Uncompressed 12-bit RGB HD recorder for under $12K that sits right on top of your camera. Recording media are consumer 2.5″ SSD drives designed for laptops.

The Cinedeck’s monitor offers functions such as waveform, vectorscope, false-color exposure meter, audio meters, pixel-to-pixel zoom for focus, grid and frameline overlays, etc. All this in a package about the same size of a standard on-board LCD.

Watch the video for more on the Cinedeck Extreme and to see it mounted to the new ARRI ALEXA Digital Cinema camera.

Arri has announced a new line of digital cameras at IBC 2009. The A-EV, A-EV Plus, and A-OV Plus (EV stands for electronic viewfinder and OV stands for optical viewfinder). These cameras all share the same 3.5K ALEV III CMOS Sensor which is designed to provide 12.1 f-stops of dynamic range (tested with the new Arri Dynamic Range Test Chart), and support 1-60fps image capture. Unlike the Arri D-21, all of these cameras will have on-board HD recording, and the ‘plus’ models support uncompressed recording as well. The EV models will utilize Arri’s first electronic viewfinder, which has F-LCOS 1280×720 screen. Jon Fauer at Film & Digital Times has posted a great article on the new cameras – view it here: Arri Blue. Read more about the new cameras at Arridigital.com/Teaser

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We just received our first batch of Canon 5D Mark II cameras in, and of course we had to kit them out with the Arri MMB-1 Mattebox. We love the mattebox and have put together a custom kit that makes the 5D Mark II and Canon L Series Primes fit just right. Check out the video showing this awesome combination, and see how we made everything work together.

Update: In the video I use a Tiffen 72-77mm filter step up ring on the Canon lens. This ring is normally used to put a 77mm screw on filter on a 72mm lens, but in this kit we are using it as a step-up ring. The outer diameter of the Tiffen ring is 80mm, so it fits perfectly with the Arri step-down rings.

Arri has officially released their new 6×6 compact mattebox, the MB28. It is similar to the MB20-II in design, and is far more compact, lightweight, and less expensive than the supermax MB14.

The MB28 features three 6.6×6.6 trays.  The front two rotate together, and the rear rotates independently. Top and side flags are included, as well as a swingaway arm for 19mm or 15mm studio rods and full clearance on even the Optimo 24-290.

ARRI decided to really go for broke with their new WLCS; it has performance options beyond that of their competition, yet they’ve dropped the price point below them. This is ARRI showing that they really want to play in this arena, and they really deliver.

…continue reading ARRI’s New Wireless Lens Control System