Amira owners (or those who've used)

I've owned my Amira since Oct '14, use it every week. Also have an Epic Dragon, it works almost as much and paid for itself 2x faster! I've got red specific clients and then everyone else. If they want red, or it's heavy greenscreen with reframes we shoot Red. If I need to jump on public transit or airplane with a small footprint, red. Small spaces, car interior, hard mount in a odd spot, Red. If the the budget can't make either work, or it's controlled long interviews we shoot C300.

Mini vs Amira, short term here in Los Angeles I see the Mini as the better money maker. Long term, as a 20 year camera operator, I'm leaning to buying a second Amira. As I want 2 matching cameras configs. Pickup and shoot vs build to the specific shot. Sticks, dolly, silder, hand held, jib, steadicam covers most of my year, all of which is best with a traditional ENG shape. Drone, I don't want my 50,000 - 100,000 USD investment in the air. Movi type rigs, I'm just not getting many calls for it.

Service, my Reds and Arri have been in for service. If you put 500+ hrs / year on a camera it will need service. Both companies are local to me and A+ on both. I've had no issues getting a real tech on the phone or email right away and bench time has never been more than a few days. The same is true for pro level Sony, Canon, Panasonic service.


Dave - DP with gear, not a rental house.
 
Red one
Repairs to audio board
Repairs to hdmi connector
Lens mount back focus
A few replaced buttons

Scarlet & Epic
Failed lens mount electronics
Replacement headphone jack
Replacement hdmi board and jack
Loose wedge plate on rear assembly
Repairs to lemo mount for EVF.

AMIRA
Headphone jack
Ef mount locking collar
Rec beeper - pending
EVF not sleeping - pending
LCD intermittent flicker - pending


Many items were under warranty, others between $500 and $1000. There are more that is just a quick list from memory.

Same is true for previous Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Ikegami cameras I've maintained or owned over the years.
 
Thanks David, I wanted to get a feel for the repairs. I have had a few varicams go back for small issues but our Alexa has been so far rock solid. I am hoping to get 2 Amiras in a few months so its good to know what to look out for.

Cheers,
 
matg said:
Anyone out there own a Red camera before making the switch to an Amira willing to share what they love or hate about the Amira and if they miss anything about shooting with the Red?

I'm still pondering what to do with my Epic Dragon and my 2015 $'s.

- Upgrade to Weapon ($17k)
- Buy an Amira ($40-55k, and keep the Dragon)
- Buy an Alexa Mini ($60k+ and sell the Dragon)
Click to expand...

I'm just a nobody, but I'd suggest getting the Amirs out of those options. As you get to keep the Dragon for gimbal work and you'll be able to appeal to both the Arri and the RED crowd to sell yourself too. Keeping one foot in both camps. This seems to me like it makes a much better option than the other two options you proposed.
 
Finally worked with the Amira on back to back shoots. One corporate where skin tones were critical (think cosmetics), the other: huge campaign starring Victoria's Secret models where the Amira was thrown in the mix as an additional camera. A-unit shot w/ Dragons. I shot the Amira in UHD cropped for 2.39 at 60fps, ISO1600. Lens used: Fuji Cabrio 19-90.

Yet to be seen how they match, but the Amira footage was quite beautiful.

My only wish: that the Amira was lighter. As it's billed as a doc. camera I would have preferred less weight on my shoulder. I only had my Odyssey 7Q rigged on the UAP-2 (with ARRI LMB-25, FF-5 and AB Dionic) but it was still a little heavy hauling it around with an OConnor 1030Ds. (I came from camera assisting Panavision cameras so I know how much a real rig weighs but I'm an old fart now). Other than that it was highly capable in every way and I really enjoyed the thought process behind the accessories and the simplicity of the menus.

I've noticed an uptick in Amira rentals locally, I'm curious if the Canon C300MKII will effect that at all.
 
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