ARRI's New ALEXA HD is a 'Budget' Version of the Industry-Leading Digital Cinema Camera

Want that sweet ALEXA look but can’t quite afford the full price to buy one? Or need the rental to be just a little cheaper? What if you don’t need that fancy schmancy RAW option? Then the new ARRI ALEXA HD might be in your immediate future. ARRI has taken everything that’s good about the camera series — like the 14-stop 800 ISO sensor, 10-bit Log-C ProRes, SxS cards, and the intuitive menu system — and is passing the cost savings on to the customer. Here is AbelCine’s Mitch Gross explaining exactly what this camera has to offer for users who want their ARRI just a little cheaper: 

So what about price? This isn’t going to be Canon DSLR affordable (obviously), but it is a good $10,000 to $20,000 cheaper than a comparable setup from one of the lower-end ALEXA models that has the ability to shoot RAW. It was looking like this might be a steal for the hardware at around $30,000 for body, but it must be purchased with a few key components that bring the price up a bit. Thanks to Katie Shipsides from AbelCine for the clarification on Twitter (AbelCine is selling the camera exclusively for ARRI):

Alexa HD Body Only is $30,300 but MUST be purchased w/ ProRes Codec, ALEXA SxS Module, ARRI QT File Format = $44,008

AbelCine has a starter package available for $65,000, but you might be able to find a used ALEXA with RAW for somewhere around that price. The base price, however, is probably the cheapest you’re going to find an ALEXA that could theoretically shoot with some cards and a battery, but this will likely appeal to shows already using ALEXA, who want a few additional cameras but don’t need the extra capabilities, like the 4:3 sensor or RAW of higher-end models. We’ll see if it will do anything to bring back users who might be moving to the F55, but I think if ARRI had figured out a way to get a full starter package under $30,000 they’d really be putting serious pressure on Sony and Canon.

Links:ARRI ALEXA HD Body 

Nobody wants a tripod anymore it seems… Nowadays it is all hand held brushless gimbal rigs and no tripod in sight.

So it is no surprise that a rig has been made for the popular GoPro POV style cameras. STABiLGO is a motorized, handheld camera stabilizer perfect for smaller action cameras.

STABiLGO is an affordable, motorized stabilizer for active cinematography aimed at GoPro users. A high-speed processor and state of the art gyroscopic sensor work in tandem to keep the camera both perfectly horizontal and vertical. The STABiLGO allows for 180 degrees of pitch movement and 270 degrees of roll movement. It frees you to independently capture movement without a crew or cumbersome equipment. You will produce more usable, cinematic footage with a handheld device. Put the STABiLGO on a monopod or tripod for an instant auto-leveling, portable crane. At 1.5lbs, with a GoPro attached, the design minimizes weight making it ideal for active cinematography.

The STABiLGO works seamlessly with your existing gear and comes complete. All the mounts are standard 1/4-20 threads and the unit quickly attaches to a tripod plate. With the STABiLGO on a monopod or tripod you have an instant auto-leveling, portable crane.

Every unit comes with one battery and a charger.
With further development the unit will have an easy to change battery.
Our goal is to take this finished unit to production.

The unit is a combination of custom parts and readily available and affordable electronics. The unit utilizes 2 re-wrapped brushless motors controlled by a 32-bit Flash Micro Controller Unit. A gyroscopic sensor feeds data to the mini CPU to keep it level. The gimbal is cut from carbon fiber plates. The handle is ABS plastic and has an integrated 7.4v LiPo battery. High flex silicon wires allow for free movement. The STABiLGO allows for 180 degrees of pitch movement (forward/backward tilt) and 270 degrees of roll movement (side to side tilt). Like any gimbal, you attach your camera and set the center of gravity (COG), it’s easy and takes like 5-10 mins. Once balanced for your camera, you’re ready to power it up and start shooting.

STABiLGO SPECS:Run Time: 90 mins on full charge, continuous usage

Roll angle limit: 270 degrees

Pitch angle limit: 180 degrees

Stabilizing speed: roll: 180 degrees/s; pitch: 180 degrees/s

Weight: 470g/16.5oz (670g/23.5oz with a GP3)

Suitable payload: 120g-400g; width: 79mm max

Cameras known to fit: GoPro HERO2, HERO3

Power: LiPo battery- 7.4v 1000Mah 20c

Current: 160mA ~ 400mA

COG adjustment range: X: 27.5mm Y:11.5mm Z:35.5mm

link: STABiLGO

As many people have proclaimed, day to night or night to day time-lapses are the ‘holy grail’ of time-lapse shooting. They tend to draw the attention of viewers because of their assumed complexity. At the same time, what people don’t understand is that they aren’t as tough to achieve as they appear. In this blog post, I will quickly walk you through a few different ways of capturing these types of shots.

There are three different ways to approach day to night time-lapses which include:

1.Shoot in APERTURE PRIORITY and de-flicker in post.

2.Shoot at least one shot during the day and one at night and then BLEND IN POST.

3.RAMP YOUR EXPOSURE / ISO.

With each of these given scenarios, there are there elements or settings to consider which include interval, aperture / shutter speed balance & ISO.

Another consideration is white balance. I didn’t include this in the settings above because all this advice is based off of shooting raw so white balance is able to be changed in post. On the same note, because I shoot low resolution jpegs for reference, I still choose to set the initial white balance. What I normally do is set my white balance based on the shooting conditions. If I am shooting a day to night, I will set my white balance to 5600K. Being that we are shooting a raw time-lapse, the white balance is not critical as we will more than likely need to ramp it in post.

I will be using case studies to help illustrate these settings which can be viewed in either the full length Day to Night Tutorial video or the breakout videos below. As much as I would like to recommend settings for each scenario, this just isn’t possible due to the almost limitless possibilities.

Also, I want to also note that my mantra when it comes to learning new techniques is to stick with what works. When I find a workflow that works for me, I tend to stick with this method and as such, the information under bulb ramping is somewhat limited.

I have also drafted up a quick start guide for each section because let’s face it, some of us like to get to the nuts and bolts. However, if you are serious about mastering time-lapse shooting, you will want to check out the post in its entirety.

•Aperture Priority Quick Start

•Blend in Post Quick Start

•Bulb Ramping Quick Start

***Please note that this series is presented in a serial fashion and I highly recommend checking out the previous ones if you haven’t already as there are some skills you will need to master before proceeding to this lesson. If you have yet to check out the previous episodes, click here.

Both the post and video are long so I recommend sitting down with a coffee and be prepared to take some notes! Also, I have included a bunch of more information in the blog post that isn’t in the video and will keep adding to this post so make sure to also check out the info below!

Aperture Priority

The simplest method of the lot is capturing the time-lapse using aperture priority mode. Although the simplest, it also comes with risks. First off, by shooting in aperture priority, you are relying on the camera’s internal processing or metering to determine the change of exposure between day and night. Often I have found that if I set the exposure perfect for the start of the time-lapse that it often is either under or over exposed depending if it was a day to night or night to day shot.

Determining the exact settings is a bit of a challenge based on your given scenario but as an example, I will walk you through a case study.

Aperture Priority

The simplest method of the lot is capturing the time-lapse using aperture priority mode. Although the simplest, it also comes with risks. First off, by shooting in aperture priority, you are relying on the camera’s internal processing or metering to determine the change of exposure between day and night. Often I have found that if I set the exposure perfect for the start of the time-lapse that it often is either under or over exposed depending if it was a day to night or night to day shot.

Determining the exact settings is a bit of a challenge based on your given scenario but as an example, I will walk you through a case study.

Another disadvantage with aperture priority is that you will more than likely experience a lot of flicker and will be forced to remove in post. I primarily shoot time-lapses using the Canon 5D Mark II’s but have recently upgraded to the 5D Mark III’s. I’ve found that the Mark III’s are MUCH better with the accuracy of its metering resulting in less flicker. It is important to note that with this method, there is a chance of your shot failing because of the amount of flicker.

How to Shoot Using Aperture Priority

To shoot a day to night / night to day time-lapse in aperture priority mode all you need to do is set your initial exposure and interval and let the camera do the rest for you. For this method, you will more than likely want to use a wide aperture (low number) so your shutter does not have to remain open as long as it would have to be if your aperture was closed. In aperture priority, the camera determines the shutter speed.

In regards to your interval, there are two approaches:

1.The first method requires you to know how long your longest exposure will take for your given shot. Once you know that, you will then be able to set your interval based on that number. Keep in mind that you will need to work in buffer time as well. For example, if your longest shutter speed is 15 seconds, you will want to set your interval to around 17 seconds.

2.The second method allows you to set your interval to something quicker however, by doing this, when your exposure time starts to exceed your interval time, the smoothness of the motion will be inconsistent as you will start to get less frames as it gets darker. The time between shots will also change as the exposure times increase. Although not noticeable on most shots, there are times when you will notice this on motion controlled shots. 

When choosing your settings using this method, it is a fine balancing act. For most shots, the night shots will have a smoother motion and your day shots will have a staccato look as seen in the image below. 

(left) SHUTTER: 1/4000 ISO: 100 APERTURE: 5.6 (right) SHUTTER: 1/30 ISO: 100 APERTURE: 22 FILTER: Heliopan Vari-ND

Okay, now I am sure you are asking, can you just get to the point already? WHAT SETTINGS DO I NEED TO USE TO SHOOT A DAY TO NIGHT TIME-LAPSE USING APERTURE PRIORITY MODE. Although it is a bit of a balancing act to get started, here is the step-by-step guide.

Quick Start Guide – Aperture Priority

To shoot a time-lapse in aperture priority mode, you need to:

1.Set camera to aperture priority mode.

2.Focus image.

3.Choose interval using method 1 or 2 mentioned above.

4.Set INITIAL EXPOSURE (Aperture & ISO). As mentioned, when choosing your settings using this method, it is a fine balancing act. For most shots, the night shots will have a smoother motion and your day shots will have a staccato look if you hope to capture the most dynamic shift between day and night.

•Option 1 (Day to Night): This method is the most versatile for capturing the widest range of light change. However, you will get a staccato effect during the day time portion. Aperture: 2.8-4.0 ISO: 640-1250 Shutter: 1/1000 to 1/8000 NO FILTER

•Option 2 (Day to Night): This method allows you to capture a smooth / fluid motion throughout the entire shot. The downside is that your range of available light is limited in some scenarios. You will not be able to capture an astro time-lapse with this method. Aperture: 5.6-16 ISO: 100-320 Shutter:1/30 to 1/15  Use ND Filters

•Option 1 (Night to Day): This method is the most versatile for capturing the widest range of light change. However, you will get a staccato effect during the day time portion. Aperture: 2.8-4.0  ISO: 640-1250 Shutter: 10-30 seconds. NO FILTER

•Option 2 (Night to Day): This method allows you to capture a smooth / fluid motion throughout the entire shot. The downside is that your range of available light is limited in some scenarios. You will not be able to capture an astro time-lapse with this method. Aperture: 5.6-16 ISO: 100-320 Shutter: 10-30 seconds. USE ND Filters

5.Double check focus.

6.Start the time-lapse.

7.Sit back and take in the environment.

My go-to option out of the three is the blend option. With this method, you will not only be able to ensure your time-lapses stay flicker free but you are also able to track the progress of your shot. By breaking the shot into sections, you are able to shoot multiple shorter time-lapses with more flexibility in post.

Blend in Post Case Study

In the video above, I walk you though how to blend between two motion controlled shots.

Once you have lined up all your shots, all you need to do is blend between them using the opacity function (or using the ‘holy grail’ method if using LR Timelapse).

***Please note that you may see some variation in the moves so I recommend using a difference matte in After Effects to make sure the tracks line up. I will go over this method in a future tutorial.

Quick Start Guide – Blend in Post

To shoot using the blend option you need to:

1.Set camera to manual mode.

2.Set your focus.

3.Set exposure (aperture & ISO) for each given shot with the desired settings. If you are unsure what settings to use, check the samples at the bottom of the post on how to shoot a static time-lapse.

4.Choose interval based on the look you want.

5.Double check focus.

6.Start the time-lapse.

7.Monitor as your exposure changes.

8.Stop the time-lapse and adjust settings, ensuring not to bump camera.

9.Repeat steps 6-8 as desired depending on the amount of shots you want to capture.

Bulb Ramping

The last of the three options is bulb-ramping. I won’t be going in depth on how to shoot a day-to-night time-lapse using the bramping solution but if you would like to find out more about this method, I have included resources at the bottom of the page.

With this method, you are able to smoothly blend between exposures to create a smooth transition between day and night. The disadvantage of this method is that with some of the devices, you need to manually ramp the exposure as the light shifts. I have also found that minor deflickering is necessary for these time-lapes.

Another disadvantage is that the range of exposure change is limited and you may not be able to achieve the range of light achievable using the blend option.

Bulb Ramping Tutorial by Joel Schat

Bulb Ramping Tutorial from Joel Schat on Vimeo.

 Joel Schat is a Time-lapse Photographer living in Beautiful British Columbia. The video above was embedded with permission. If you would like to find out more about Joel or view more of his work,make sure to check out his website. 

Quick Start Guide – Bulb Ramping

To shoot using a bulb ramping device, you need to:

1.Set camera to bulb mode.

2.Set exposure (aperture & ISO) for each given shot with the desired settings. In bulb mode, you cannot fire your camera faster than 1/10s.

3.Choose interval starting point based on the look you want. As the light either darkens or lightens, change your settings accordingly.

Currently there are a few options on the market for capturing day to night time-lapses using a bulb ramper which include:

1.Promote Control w bulb assist kit - The Promote Control Bulb Ramping / Bulb HDR Assistant Kit helps create high precision bulb Time-Lapse sequences, ensuring accuracy of up to 0.001 EV steps. Now you can create stunning time-lapse sequences of sunsets or other variable light conditions.

2.GB Timelapse - Currently limited to Windows platform – Trigger your camera using a windows based computer connected to USB port of camera.

3.Timelapse + – This device is used for triggering the camera as well as auto-bulb ramping.

4.Triggertrap App – iPhone app developed to trigger your camera with bulb ramping integration.

5.Little Bramper – Currently Sold out & limited to Canon DSLR’s: Little Bramper was designed to addresses this short-coming, permitting smooth exposure variationsover a wide range of exposure (>10 stops).

6.Magic Lantern – Software solution part of the ML install.

Out of all these solutions, I have only used the Little Bramper Solution.

Resources

Still have questions on how to shoot day to night time-lapses using the bramping method? I’ve attached some resources below for reference.

•Make sure to check out a recent video and blog post by Joel Schat! He does a great job walking through how to shoot day to night time-lapses with a focus on the Promote Control.

•Shooting a time-lapse using the Holy Grail Method in conjunction with LR Timelapse.

If you found any of the information above helpful or would like to find out more about other time lapse techniques, please visit prestonkanak.com/timelapse. I also highly recommend subscribing to our newsletter using the forms below.