ARRI develops Alexa 35 Base, a new entry-level model with flexible licensing

Making its Alexa 35 camera system more accessible for a wider range of users and production types, ARRI introduces a new Alexa 35 Base, a entry model with flexible licenses.

The existing camera, with all its software-based features, will now be known as the Alexa 35 Premium model, and is joined by the new and lower-priced Alexa 35 Base model, with a core feature set that can be upgraded via temporary or permanent licenses. Costs are further reduced with the new Codex Compact Drive Express for ProRes recording.

In terms of hardware, the Alexa 35 Base model is identical to the Alexa 35 Premium model, other than a blue jog wheel that will help identify Base cameras at rental houses. Both models boast the same Super 35 sensor, industry-leading 17 stops of dynamic range, Und REVEAL Color Science. The core features of the Alexa 35 Base model include ProRes recording up to 60 fps in 4K 16:9 and other formats, ARRI Look File (CDL and 3D LUT) support, Enhanced Sensitivity modes up to EI 6400, and three independent 10-bit monitoring outputs in SDR and HDR color spaces.

New feature licensing concept

While the Alexa 35 Base model feature set meets the current shooting requirements of many customers, ARRI’s new feature licensing concept makes the camera future-proof because users can unlock specialist and high-end features whenever they need them. Each of the licenses can be installed for seven days, 30 days, one year, or permanently, so owner-operators can activate them for a short-form job, a longer-term project, or a new career direction. The Alexa 35 Base model will adapt and grow with the customer, giving them a more accessible route to ARRI image quality and also helping them to progress.

The five individual licenses are: 120 fps for higher frame rates; ARRIRAW for uncompressed image quality; Open Gate/Anamorphic for the full 4.6K sensor area and anamorphic modes; Pre-record for up to 20 seconds of buffered pre-recording before the record button is pressed; and Look for in-camera ARRI Textures, the ARRI Look Library, and Custom Color Management.

With these five licenses installed, a Base model becomes as fully featured as the Premium model. There is also a temporary or permanent Premium License that combines all five individual licenses in a cost-effective bundle. If it is purchased permanently, without any other license having previously been installed, then the customer will have spent no more than the price of a Premium model.

ARRI has offered feature licenses since the Alexa Mini and Amira cameras, but the online ARRI Shop is now much easier to use. A new third-party backend provider has enabled more payment options, including many local currencies as well as PayPal, Google Pay, Alipay, and Amazon Pay. License purchases are no longer restricted to the camera owner, so productions can pay for them as well.

The Alexa 35 Base model is available in a choice of eight sets that all bring accessory savings, grouped within three categories: Base Entry Sets, Base Operator Sets, Und Base Production Sets. The Entry Sets offer the most affordable way to acquire a lightweight, ready-to-shoot camera package and put the Alexa 35 at a price point comparable to the original Alexa Mini. Owner-operators and sports productions will be drawn to the Operator Sets, while the Production Sets are suited to high-end narrative productions and include accessories that would come as standard from a rental house.