ALEXA Mini LF

Recently we were involved with the beta testing program for SUP 7.0 on our ALEXA Mini LF. Since then we have put it through its paces, recording in every resolution and sensor mode, at different frame rates, with and without wireless control. We could not fault it. It has turned the Mini LF into an extremely complete and versatile camera – I would recommend this update to anyone.

1^st AC David Cordell

The new SUP 7.0 on our ALEXA Mini LF is next level. The Mini LF has been an incredible workhorse for us here at Chocolate Studios and SUP 7.0 has made the platform even more powerful – giving us great resolution with low data rates in 4.3K LF 16:9 - UHD – all without cropping the sensor.

David Ellis, Founder and Managing Director at Chocolate Studios

I love this new SUP 7.0 update for the Mini LF.  It gives my company, Ryan Hosking Cine, the freedom to use my Mini LF side by side with the original Mini and give me the flexibility to have every option that the ALEXA Mini line delivers in two beautiful compact camera bodies. I’ve spent a lot of time testing it from giant LED MR Panels to exterior beauties and it’s excelled in each scenario. The updated magnification is also really helpful for my high altitude and long range Aerial work I specialize in at RHC.

Cinematographer Ryan Hosking

I’m really happy with this update. I have to shoot a lot in 16:9 for clients. Now with the Mini LF with SUP 7.0 it’s perfect, because I can now use nearly the full width of the sensor and deliver a large format look.

Cinematographer Joas Burggraaf

The new formats in SUP 7.0 are fantastic. If I am mixing lenses and formats I no longer need more than one camera. This is useful with vintage lenses, periscopes, etc. Also, having higher frame rates in ARRIRAW compared to an ALEXA Mini is very useful. Unless I need the higher frame rates of a full-sized ALEXA LF, I plan on shooting on Mini LF for all jobs regardless of format once this firmware is released.

Cinematographer Logan Schneider (Known for: "Drunk History",  "Gentefied", "Watson" and many more)

While ARRI has added multiple Super 35 formats to the Mini LF with SUP 7.0, it's the additional stability improvements that have increased our trust in the Mini LF and gives us confidence in the camera's reliability on set.

Brandon Zachary, Founder & COO, Dynamic Rentals

I love the large format of the ALEXA Mini LF, and I love the Signature Primes, which give beautiful skin tones and a seamless roll-off in the shadows. 

DP and TRINITY operator Daniel Cawthorne

I’ve always loved ARRI cameras because I feel they capture color in a way that no other camera does. Going to the Mini LF was an evolution of that. I’ve been amazed by the step up in detail with the Mini LF, but also there is something different in the way the sensor handles color, at least in the tests that I’ve done with my DIT, LJ Kim. We’re both in awe of the improvements from the Mini. It makes it hard to go back.

Cinematographer Michael Dwyer (Known for: Hostile Border, “Justin Bieber: Seasons” and Justin Bieber’s “Intentions” music video and many more)

The ALEXA Mini LF has made possible what i thought was previously impossible with large-format photography. The freedom it allows me as a DP, to move the camera in whatever way i feel is best, is unbeatable. Congratulations on successfully, and constantly pushing the boundaries in technology, making my job even more exciting!

Cinematographer Greig Fraser ACS, ASC (Known for: Vice, Foxcatcher, Star Wars: Rogue One and Zero Dark Thirty and many more)

I am thrilled by the natural and organic look, the pleasant sharpness without disturbing micro-sharpness, the warm color rendition in combination with very natural skin tones, and the richness of details deep into the blacks. Thanks to the minimal “breathing” of the ARRI Signature Primes - shifts in focus are hardly noticeable even in fixed tableaus and therefore appear extremely subtle. The combination of my ALEXA Mini LF with the ARRI Signature Primes (provided by Cinegrell) was the perfect choice for the shooting of the Swiss "Aller Tage Abend." The compact design of the Mini LF as well as the amazing light weight of the ARRI Signature Primes allow fast and flexible work.

Cinematographer Simon Huber (Known for: Aller Tage Abend (currently shooting), Lasst die Alten sterben, Experiment Schneuwly and commercials for FIFA, Coca-Cola, Virgin, Samsung and many more)

The image that the LF and the Signatures produces seems, to me, more like what my eyes see than anything else I experienced so far.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins CBE, ASC, BSC (known for: 1917, Blade Runner 2049, Skyfall, Sicario, No Country for Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou? and many more)

The new Mini LF: Less, much less, in many respects; especially weight and size but not less powerful than its big sister, the ALEXA LF, in image quality. Truly, for a cinematographer, less is now more.

Cinematographer Tom Stern AFC, ASC (Known for: Changeling, The Hunger Games, American Sniper, Flags of our Fathers and many more)

The Mini LF is the camera I have been waiting for. A large sensor in a small camera, its perfect.

Sebastian Blenkov on the Set of Operation Mincemeat

I think it is wonderful that ARRI made a smaller version of their large-format camera. Nowadays we have to shoot so fast and be flexible and need to move around real quick. It’s good to have that smaller camera available.

Cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub ASC, BVK (Known for: Independence Day, Black Book, Chronicles of Narnia, Halo and many more)

The images from the Mini LF are just superb and Large Format, allowing me to utilise longer lenses, is such a fantastic combination.

Cinematographer Ben Shirley ACS (Known for: Commercials: Apple/Vodafone, VB, Mercedes, Australian Defence Force, Lexus, Audi, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Schweppes and many more)

The Alexa Mini LF has quickly become my favourite cinema camera. The large format picture quality is absolutely stunning just like the original LF but the small form factor makes it the ideal companion for all my handheld work. The new viewfinder also needs a mention, it’s clearest and most accurate EVF I’ve ever used.

Cinematographer Simon Ozolins ACS ( Known for: The Other Guy, Tomorrow When The War Began; Commercial: Seafolly, RM Williams, KFC, Westfield; Music Video: Empire of the Sun and many more)

After exhaustive tests with many cameras and lenses, my choice was clear: ALEXA Mini LF and Signature Prime lenses. I had found the perfect combination: the cameras with a large sensor, large pixels, intense blacks, skin tones in their natural color range, high latitude and versatility and the lenses with unmatched quality optics including a well-balanced relationship between definition, softness and contrast.

Cinematographer Javier Salmones AEC (Currently shooting "El Cid", a TV series for Amazon Prime; Known for: La Lengua de las Mariposas, The Retorned, Mallorca´s Songs and many more)

Mini Lf fills a very important gap. There are a lot of jobs who want the image quality of the LF but need at least one small camera and so they forced to use different platforms. And now finally there is a way to kind of fit all the different production challenges with the LF model. It opens up a lot of doors for different types of production.

Cinematographer Logan Schneider (Known for: Drunk History,  Gentefied, Watson and many more)

I was absolutely impressed to be holding a large-format camera this small. On the shoot, I never really put the camera down. It’s built to work in every condition, and this is how it feels when you hold it in your hands.

Cinematographer Heiko Knauer (Known for: Stronger, Curtains Falling, Mathilda and many more)

With the ALEXA LF, you have everything you need in one body, including higher frame rate. The ALEXA Mini LF would be my first choice regarding flexibility and versatility. It’s incredible how so much technology, with such a big sensor, can find its place in such a small, but still robust, camera body.

Cinematographer Tom Faehrmann BVK (Known for: The Miracle of Bern, Ulzhan, Campus and many more)

Working with the ALEXA Mini LF, was like driving a luxury car. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of this tool, I don’t want to settle for anything less. 

Director & Writer Chelsea Bo (Known for: Cinematic Self-Portraits, TheCavKid, Doritos: Elephant In The Room and many more)