kassimnorris
Active member
Thanks Macgregor! awesome comparison no doubt. BTW, just curious..can you tell us which lenses you used for the comparison?
Last edited:
Arri Amira vs Sony F35
- Thread starter macgregor
- Start date
Nate Weaver
Veteran
Really, a good handle on F35 vs Amira/Alexa can be seen by watching season 1 & 2 of Sherlock back to back on Netflix.
They essential look the same, except you can sense what the Alexa brings to the table in some of the shots of S2E1, especially when Sherlock and Watson are sitting in Buckingham Palace waiting for Mycroft.
They essential look the same, except you can sense what the Alexa brings to the table in some of the shots of S2E1, especially when Sherlock and Watson are sitting in Buckingham Palace waiting for Mycroft.
I wouldn't say Sherlock is a good handle on F35 vs Amira/Alexa. It's one example. But Sherlock had a lot of night externals and as a TV show it certainly had a limited budget compared to a mid level and up feature. With the F35 and night externals you have to light like old Hollywood. You can't get away with the student film look of counting on light posts.
But in Hawaii Five-0, which is mainly day externals under the harsh Hawaiian sun, I felt a definite drop when they switched to the Alexa in season 2. When it comes to shiny skin under hard sunlight the F35 just handles it better than any camera. I also much prefer the way the F35 handles skin tones. Specially in low light, while the Alexa will be cleaner, the lower the light levels the more artificial Alexa skins look. It starts having that look of "degrained" DVD/Blu-rays of old movies. Probably because of the aggressive noise reduction going on in camera. The F35 will be grainier but retain the natural look of skin. So it depends what you like best. You definitely need to properly light with the F35 though.
But in harsh sunlight I choose the F35 every time.
Although if you take marketing out, push unfounded prejudice aside and look at it objectively, it's pretty much a toss up between the F35 and Alexa. Both have advantages and disadvantages over each other and neither is truly superior to the other. It's down to what you prefer. I feel the Alexa looks more digital, because it is cleaner and can shoot at ISO800, something film could never do. Nothing wrong with looking digital, as long as the image quality and aesthetics are pleasing and the Alexa excels here. But as I am and always will be in love with film, I think the F35 is the closest thing you have in the digital realm. Ironically, it's almost as if it was designed to give you the look of ARRILASER scanned 35mm film frames out of the box.
Yes, but to each his own.
But in Hawaii Five-0, which is mainly day externals under the harsh Hawaiian sun, I felt a definite drop when they switched to the Alexa in season 2. When it comes to shiny skin under hard sunlight the F35 just handles it better than any camera. I also much prefer the way the F35 handles skin tones. Specially in low light, while the Alexa will be cleaner, the lower the light levels the more artificial Alexa skins look. It starts having that look of "degrained" DVD/Blu-rays of old movies. Probably because of the aggressive noise reduction going on in camera. The F35 will be grainier but retain the natural look of skin. So it depends what you like best. You definitely need to properly light with the F35 though.
But in harsh sunlight I choose the F35 every time.
Although if you take marketing out, push unfounded prejudice aside and look at it objectively, it's pretty much a toss up between the F35 and Alexa. Both have advantages and disadvantages over each other and neither is truly superior to the other. It's down to what you prefer. I feel the Alexa looks more digital, because it is cleaner and can shoot at ISO800, something film could never do. Nothing wrong with looking digital, as long as the image quality and aesthetics are pleasing and the Alexa excels here. But as I am and always will be in love with film, I think the F35 is the closest thing you have in the digital realm. Ironically, it's almost as if it was designed to give you the look of ARRILASER scanned 35mm film frames out of the box.
Yes, but to each his own.
Yes, I even went through the trouble of saving several day externals frames from S1 and S2 which were shot on the same locations to compare. I have the whole show on Blu-ray.
Comparing the frames I kept asking myself why they changed cameras and why the Alexa has the reputation it has over the F35.
I can answer that question myself, but can also say that objectively, the image quality of the Alexa is just not better.
Comparing the frames I kept asking myself why they changed cameras and why the Alexa has the reputation it has over the F35.
I can answer that question myself, but can also say that objectively, the image quality of the Alexa is just not better.
JMtheDP
Veteran
If my experience to go by, the actual technical abilities of the camera would have had nearly nothing to do with it.
They probably shot ProRes on the ARRI, so a studio exec probably heard about this "new" camera, heard they could save money and time on tape stock and ingest, and demanded they have it based on that alone.
I have seen so many films now with sequences of flashing lights and rolling shutter artifacts everywhere, do people have no standards anymore?
They probably shot ProRes on the ARRI, so a studio exec probably heard about this "new" camera, heard they could save money and time on tape stock and ingest, and demanded they have it based on that alone.
I have seen so many films now with sequences of flashing lights and rolling shutter artifacts everywhere, do people have no standards anymore?
My favorite thing is when people say the Alexa has no rolling shutter or that it is very, very mild. Not at all. It's there and pretty present. The thing is many don't realize just how often the Alexa Studio is used. Just look at behind the scenes shots from Skyfall for example and the Alexa Studio is everywhere. So the best place to see Alexa rolling shutter is in Steadicam shots, since they will normally use the rolling shutter Alexas because they are lighter than the Alexa Studio. Although the nature of a steadicam shot will indulce much less rolling shutter than some other shots. But it is definitely there. Not even talking flashes and the like.
Is it mild? Compared to a DSLR definitely. Compared to the F35 it's a "skew-fest" just the same.
Is it mild? Compared to a DSLR definitely. Compared to the F35 it's a "skew-fest" just the same.