While the film world is still waiting for the first 4K S35 camera from ARRI, the Munich-based company is surprising the market with an unexpected new product. The new AMIRA Live camera is primarily intended for broadcast applications. The camera is intended for cinematic images in broadcast and is therefore not equipped with a 4K sensor but with the proven ALEV III 3.2K sensor, which has been used in ALEXA cameras for a decade.
"More cinematic" than ALEXA is probably hard to beat, and so ARRI also particularly promotes the high dynamic range and ARRI Color Science here, which is now explicitly offered herewith for live multicam broadcasts.
The big USP of the AMIRA Live is the direct fibre cabling option for a MultiCam setup. Together with the Multicam Monitor, ARRI leaves no doubt that it intends to become more involved in the broadcast sector in the future.
Interestingly, Blackmagic Design discovered the potential synergies of large cine sensors in the broadcast segment some time ago. That ARRI is now also entering this market, and (still?) without a 4K model, comes as a bit of a surprise.
The AMIRA Live comes with the latest SUP 6.1 software update package, which also supports advanced multicam features. Among the many refinements are improved noise reduction, an expanded focus adjustment range, improved defect pixel correction and faster boot-up. The update also adds a green tally indicator to the viewfinder image and enables intercom talkback via the VTR or user button, making it easier to communicate when operating the camera over the shoulder.
For promotional purposes, ARRI has put a current production example with 10 AMIRA Live cameras online: Anyone who wants to take a look:
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