Press release from Well Above
ARRI Australia announced on Tuesday that the first of its long-awaited ALEXA digital cameras have arrived in Australia.
ARRI’s ALEXA is a new compact, lightweight and affordable digital camera that utlises ultra-fast workflows and image quality akin to 35mm film. By combining proprietary ARRI technology with ubiquitous tools from industry-leading partners, ARRI are quoting the ALEXA as the most complete and powerful digital production system it has ever built.
ARRI Australia General Manager Stefan Sedlmeier said, “As many people in the industry are aware, demand for the ALEXAs is significant and we are delighted that the first three cameras have now arrived in Australia.”
The first three cameras have gone to Cameraquip, Red Apple Camera Rentals and Lemac, all of whom purchased the camera following ALEXA's first unveiling to the market at IBC 2009.
Sedlmeier continued, “Such is the demand for the ALEXA that we had to devise a fair early adopter loyalty programme to answer delivery priorities. I’m pleased to say that we have already sold over 20 ALEXAs throughout Australia and New Zealand, many of which will be delivered by the end of the year. We also have significant orders for 2011.”
All the ALEXAs bound for Australia and New Zealand ARRI include its brand new DTE (Direct-To-Edit) capability which, through the use of Apple's ProRes 422 (HQ) and ProRes 4444 codecs allows high fidelity footage to be recorded onto Sony SxS PRO removable media cards, providing immediate availability of material into Final Cut Pro and AVID editing systems.
Malcolm Richards, managing director and owner of Cameraquip said, “Cameraquip has been almost totally equipped with ARRI cameras for nearly 30 years. We are absolutely delighted to have received our first ALEXA. It’s everything it claims to be and more. We will receive our next ALEXA in Singapore on 18 August and look forward to two more cameras soon for our Melbourne and Brisbane offices. We are very glad we waited for the Right One!”
Viv Scanu, owner of boutique camera rentals house Red Apple Camera Rentals added, “We have waited a while to get the first of our two ALEXAs and I can honestly say it has been well worth the wait. We are so impressed by this camera that we have placed orders with ARRI Australia for an additional two. This camera is way ahead of its time and it rivals any other cine digital camera out there. We have a queue of customers waiting to use it. As ever with ARRI the quality is second to none. I have a feeling this camera will put my 35mm cameras into retirement.”
John Bowring, Managing Director of Lemac and well-known industry commentator said, “It’s no secret that the ARRI ALEXA is an excellent digital camera – just look at the pictures it produces and you'll appreciate that. We've been at the digital pointy end from the beginning and ARRI has really fulfilled our digital camera wish list, on performance, size, integrated recording and modularity. We received the first of four we ordered this week and we have been very impressed. Apart from film, there really isn’t much that can touch this camera at the moment and quite honestly I can’t wait for us to get the other three.”
ARRI Australia General Manager Stefan Sedlmeier concluded, “We deliberately waited for version 2.0 of the ALEXA so that all of our customers in Australia and New Zealand could immediately enjoy the new Direct-To-Edit capability without the need for an upgrade. All of our cameras also benefit from version 2.0 software which is even faster and more efficient than the first release. ARRI is making ALEXAs as quickly as is humanly possible and at the rate they are being sold the ALEXA is looking to become our fastest selling and most successful camera ever.”