ARRI announced a new range of 35mm-format digital cameras at IBC 2009 – codenamed Alexa – that will advance digital production to the next level. Designed around a newly developed CMOS sensor with unsurpassed sensitivity and dynamic range, the cameras will couple superb image quality with simplified, flexible, integrated workflow concepts for efficient postproduction. The Alexa product lineup, starting at a price tag of approximately €50k, will be available for sale commencing the second quarter of 2010.

Compact and lightweight, the new range of cameras will provide an affordable toolset to address every level of TV, Commercial and Feature Film production. The planned entry level model utilizes a 16:9 sensor and the most advanced electronic viewfinder on the market. A more fully-featured version continues ARRI’s tradition of offering a 4:3 sensor and a rotating mirror shutter linked to an optical viewfinder as the optimum choice for cinematographers. A number of recording options, including several innovative on-board solutions, have been designed to simplify workflows and to provide greatest versatility both on set and in post-production. This new generation of ARRI digital cameras incorporates significant technological innovations and was developed in close communication with prominent industry insiders applying the invaluable experience gained with ARRI’s current digital camera, the D-21.

In this dynamic marketplace, ARRI is mindful of its customers and their concerns for investments in rapidly changing and obsolescing technologies. Applying 90 years of mechanical and optical expertise with state-of-the-art digital technology, ARRI Digital Cameras will offer features, performance and longevity other products are unlikely to match. Current owners of the D-21 will have first options on the new cameras, with upgrade packages and migration pathways designed to keep them competitive at the forefront of digital acquisition for years to come.

To learn more, go to www.arridigital.com.