Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 11, 2005. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.Two years ago, ARRI first presented the D20 digital camera as a concept at IBC. Last year came the report that the camera probably would not be made after all, and finally this year the small surprise: the D20 is ready for production and can be rented from ARRI from October. The digital technology is not intended to replace analogue cameras, but only to supplement them. That is why ARRI promises cinematographers that it will make the integration of the new technology into filming as simple as possible.
The camera handles like a 35mm camera and all accessories from other ARRI cameras can be used. The CMOS image sensor is the same size as a 35mm image, which means that this camera also behaves like an analogue camera in terms of depth of field.
With the recording media available to date, up to 60 frames/second can be recorded at 4:2:2, while only 30 fps are achieved with 4:4:4 recording. The recording medium sets the limit here, because the camera theoretically manages up to 150 fps!
Recording takes place in 1080p format either on SONY SRW-1 tapes or a hard-disk recorder. Since IBC, the D-20 Flash-Mag, which was developed together with Thompson Grass Valley, has also been offered. It is a flash RAM memory in the form of a film cassette that can record up to 10 minutes in 4:4:4 or 15 minutes in 4:2:2 format.
As a second innovation, ARRI presented the new “Ultraprime T2.8/8R lens. It has a focal length of 8mm and thus has an extremely wide angle of view. The special feature of this lens is its rectilinear design, which has no optical distortion. Straight lines are therefore also reproduced as straight lines on film and are not distorted into circles as with other fisheye lenses.
In the spotlight field, Arri presented, among other things, the ARRIMAX 18/12. According to ARRI, this 18KW HMI spotlight is
currently the world’s most powerful of its kind. Thanks to new reflector technology, diffuser lenses are no longer necessary to achieve absolutely even light distribution. The new GX51 lamp, which sits on a likewise newly developed base, provides the corresponding light output. ARRI developed the ventilation system together with the Fraunhofer Institute; it does without a fan.
The ARRIMAX 18/15 and the Ultraprime T2.8/8R are available immediately; no price was given for either product.
Further Links:
- ARRI
