Linus Tests the ALEXA 35 Against the Sony FX6 (Not Really…)
Linus Tests the ALEXA 35 Against the Sony FX6 (Not Really…)

Linus Tests the ALEXA 35 Against the Sony FX6 (Not Really…)

2023-12-13
2 mins read

How does the ARRI ALEXA 35 perform against the Sony FX6? Well, it’s not a real match, just a fun comparison made by Linus from ShortCircuit. That’s a cool piece for those who are not familiar with the ARRI Camera System. Read on.

The ShortCircuit team with ARRI camera system
The ShortCircuit team with the ARRI camera system

Taking the ARRI 35 for a spin

As stated by Linus from ShortCircuit: “We’ve used quite a few different camera systems for our production here at LMG and we ended up settling on Sony FX6 cameras to power the videos you watch, but when ARRI offered to send us their new ALEXA 35 camera to check out, David tried his best to convince Linus that we should switch to what the big boys use”. So these guys have tried the ARRI 35 against their Sony FX6 just for the fun… Guess which won? BTW, We were hoping they would disassemble the CODEX media just like they did with the RED Mini-Mags.

This video reminds us of the RED DSMC2 video they did a few years ago, which was a lot funnier. Check it out below:

ARRI 35: Super 35 flagship

The ARRI ALEXA 35 was announced 1.5 years ago. We were the first to report about it. The camera has a huge dynamic range of 17 stops, and when ARRI says 17 stops, they mean it. The camera was developed to grant professionals the best Super 35 image quality overall. It owns a redesigned ALEV 4, 4.6K CMOS sensor developed by On-Semi, and a dedicated color science. Although the ARRI 35 is a newcomer in the line of high-end cinema cameras, it was used in two movies that are contenders to be nominated for Oscar 2024. The movies are May December shot by Christopher Blauvelt., and Priscilla shot by Philippe Le Sourd. We define the ARRI 35 as a Super 35 flagship since the most used ARRI is the Mini LF (which is a large format camera). The Mini LF sensor is composed of two ALEV III S35 sensors stitched together (also developed by On-Semi). The Mini LF is still extremely popular among top-tier productions and is preferred even on the ALEXA LF which offers higher FPS.

ARRI 35 first time at the Oscars camera list. Credit: Y.M.CINEMA Magazine
ARRI 35 first time at the Oscars camera list. Credit: Y.M.CINEMA Magazine

Sony VENICE: A serious competitor

Even mentioned by Linus in the video, that the Sony VENICE breathes down the Mini LF’s neck, thus constituting a valid and tough contender for the Mini LF. Many high-end productions might prefer the VENICE over the Mini LF. Nevertheless, for the best image quality overall— the ARRI 35 wins. And if we may, our opinion is that the ARRI 35 produces the most beautiful imagery compared to all other cinema cameras. Hence, when you need a S35 sensor, have a vast knowledge of cinematography, and your project has deep pockets, get yourself an ARRI 35 for the best results.

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Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.
Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

8 Comments

  1. With the way the industry is leaning with shorter form content, I’m not sure how long these camera companies can survive. 70-80k for a camera seems ridiculous. It almost seems scammy in my opinion.

    • With inflation considered, the Alexa 35 is a $50k camera 7 years ago. The problem is much bigger than ARRI and RED. If you’re looking to point the finger, look at the companies that have both camera and studio divisions (Apple & Sony).

  2. Those guys obviously don’t need a camera like this. If you don’t understand why these cameras exist you are just in a different world. If your budget is 10s of millions the budget for the camera is a tiny fraction. So whyynot using the best one for the job?
    These cameras only make sense when you have a budget for a big crew.
    These guys are just clowns, sorry.

  3. I read the Article of regarding decoding Red’s Codec
    And found it fascinating. I hope we will see a similar article regarding ARRI codecs.

  4. “The camera has a huge dynamic range of 17 stops, and when ARRI says 17 stops, they mean it.”

    The camera’s got 15 stops of dynamic range. The 17th stop is already buried in the noise floor. A decade ago, Art Adams, lens specialist at ARRI, coined the terms gravy stops and paycheck stops:

    “Paycheck stops are values that you can bet your paycheck on. They’ll appear in the image with enough contrast and detail that objects exposed at that value will be easily discernible.

    Gravy stops are the values that lie beyond paycheck stops: they are the tonalities at either end of the dynamic range scale where some presence will be seen, along with some discernible detail, but they shouldn’t be trusted. If there’s some information held in those tones then that’s great, but don’t count on it.”

  5. The content creators of this channel are like a group of young children, and this website should not repost their content.

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Get the best of filmmaking!

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