ARRI today announced an upcoming upgrade to their documentary style camera, the AMIRA, to allow it to record ProRes Ultra High Definition (UHD) files. This marks the first ARRI camera to record UHD files in-camera.
The upgrade – available online before the end of the year from the ARRI License Shop – will involve purchasing a simple software license and, for those lucky enough to already own an AMIRA, a sensor calibration. The camera will be recording 3840 x 2160 resolution directly onto the AMIRA’s in-camera CFast 2.0 cards using any of the ProRes codec formats.
The AMIRA has been catching on lately, not only with the wildlife documentary crowd, but also as the prime choice for the award-winning NFL Films production company, as they make the switch to all-digital cameras.
How convinced are they in the AMIRA? After fielding a number of test units, NFL Films purchased 30 AMIRAs. And why not? Shooting over 200 frames per second makes for some pretty dramatic slow motion footage.
No doubt, the ability to record to UHD on camera will aid in some quick-turnaround UHD workflows.
While the ARRI ALEXA and AMIRA’s custom developed, large pixel 35mm CMOS Bayer sensor has already been successfully proven in 4K and IMAX environments using up-sampling (think Gravity and Iron Man 3), this will mark the first time that an ARRI camera can perform the up-sample to UHD in camera, in real time.
The ARRI ALEXA and AMIRA cameras are known for their wide, 14+-stop dynamic range, extraordinarily accurate colorimetry, natural skin tones, and organic look and feel. They are widely used in high end productions, from television commercials to feature films.
