While ARRI is known for its ALEXA line, the AMIRA is a respectable camera line in its own right, often used for non-fiction projects like documentaries — and it’s only getting better. Now, those who opt to use the AMIRA will have the option to record in ARRIRAW.
According the ARRI, ARRIRAW has been a feature hotly requested by AMIRA users ever since the camera was first revealed in 2013. Their request were finally answered this week. “It’s a response to an increasing demand,” says Markus Duerr, the ARRI AMIRA Product Manager. “With the growing popularity of ARRIRAW, more and more AMIRA users have been asking us to make it available to them.”
The change will come with the installation of the new Software Update Package SUP 5.3 and the purchase of a license, meaning it’s not a free upgrade. It will however allow videographers to record in ARRIRAW 2.8K up to 48 fps to internal CFast 2.0 cards.
News Shooter reports the AMIRA’s ARRIRAW recording is done in the same way as in the ALEXA MINI. The cards being used don’t need to be specially formatted CFast 2.0 cards, so MXF/ARRIRAW and QuickTime/ProRes files can be mixed on the same card.
ARRIRAW support is part of a larger SUP 5.3 firmware update
While the ARRIRAW support on the AMIRA is the highlight of the SUP 5.3 update, there’s a few other features included. The update will give the AMIRA complete Look Functionality for Cinematic Multicam with AMIRA Eco and AMIRA Advanced, add direct remote lens control with cforce mini RF and Wireless Compact Unit WCU-4, and offer an option to override the proximity sensor of the MVF-1 viewfinder to constantly enable viewfinder display.
You can learn more about how to obtain ARRIRAW at arri.com.
