In December 2022 FNF did a camera test on the new ARRI Alexa 35 camera. We compared ARRIs latest camera against other popular cameras at the rental houses here in Norway: ARRI Alexa Mini, ARRI Alexa Mini LF, Sony Venice and ARRICAM LT with analog film from Kodak. Christian Wieberg-Nielsen, Supervising Colorist at Storyline Studios, graded the material. Later we held a live-grading workshop for our members in a small cinema at the rental house at Storyline. This is an independent test made by FNF with no financial strings to any camera manufacturer or other companies. The test was performed by a number of FNF-members under leadership of Vice President Ole Andreas Grøntvedt FNF and John Christian Rosenlund FNF, member of IMAGO Technical Committee. We got great technical and practical support from Storyline Studios, Camera Nordic, Cinelab Film & Digital, Filmlight and NRK (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). No one has paid us to perform this test, nor tried to influence our report.
This is not a test to see how great each camera perform at their maximum. When comparing different sensor sizes and ISO-ratings we needed to do some compromises to see how the Alexa 35 differs from the cameras we already know. The Large Format sensors were cropped to Super 35 in post. We adjusted the shutter on the Venice and the Arricam to match the exposure of the other cameras. (180° / 500 ISO vs. 112,5° / 800 ISO). We rated all cameras at 3200 degrees Kelvin to match the tungsten film. These are not the optimal conditions for each and every camera, but it gave us the possibility to compare the cameras in a controlled setting.
In June 2023 we held a presentation for an international audience at the 8th Oslo Digital Cinema Conference. Here is finally our report.
