Arri Alexa Vs. Canon Rebel T2i

Cameras

Arri Alexa With a Cooke S4 32mm T22 160 ASA


Canon Rebel T2i Zeiss ZE 50mm F11 100 ISO.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a27rP11p04s]

By Chris Collins:

Jared Abrams and I borrowed the new Arri Alexa from Birns and Sawyer , Hollywood to shoot a quick test on the same corner that we shot the Canon Rebel T2i test some months ago.  As we were literally sneaking the camera out the door, we passed the owner of the shop. At first we thought we were busted for sure. He was just happy to see the camera working. “Put it to work boys”, was all he said. Because the Alexa didn’t have the firmware update available to allow us to use SxS cards, we recorded to the AJA Ki Pro converting to ProRes 422 via an HD-SDI port.  We sent the signal via the monitor out port on the Alexa so  you can see exactly what we saw through the viewfinder.

The dynamic range is unbelievable.  We hooked up the Alexa to a Panasonic 26″ LCD and it looked great despite the 60i monitor.  It obviously doesn’t look as wonderful after being compressed and displayed on a computer monitor, but it looks great nonetheless.  Look at the billboard and the rough yellow paint at the pawn shop for details.  Also check out the way the Alexa handles the highlights of the sun’s reflection in windshields and the bodies of cars.

Check back soon for more controlled tests!

(We’ll add a higher res version ASAP)

Admin
Jared Abrams is a cinematographer based in Hollywood, California. After many years as a professional camera assistant he switched over to still photography. About two years ago a new Canon camera changed the way the world sees both motion and still photography. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
  • http://www.lumatechinc.com/S35.html Glenn Leibold

    I just finished testing T1.2 ILLUMINA lenses on an ALEXA up at Michel Trudel in Montreal. This next Wed, we;ll be putting them up against a set of Master Primes in a commercial (for profit) nighttime shoot! Should be interesting!

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