We recently asked cinematographer Stijn Van der Veken, SBC to test shoot with an ALEXA prototype. His verdict? "I was absolutely amazed by the incredible exposure latitude," says Stijn. Check out images from the shoot and to read more of Stijn's valuable feedback...

Focus Puller Teja Schwed with DP Stijn Van der Veken, "I was lucky to be invited by ARRI to do one of the first test shoots on a prototype of the new ALEXA digital camera. Together with a German film crew, I shot some footage in Berlin last weekend. Here are Focus Puller Teja Schwede and myself with a happy ALEXA prototype."

"I am used to shooting on film and on digital, and am currently shooting a feature film with the F35. Last Friday and Saturday I had a two-day break on the feature and couldn't resist flying from Brussels to Berlin, at ARRI’s invitation, to test the ALEXA prototype. Here we are in front of the beautiful Schloss Charlottenburg. We did some wide, wide shots with the UP8R and some close-ups with a Master Prime 150mm."

"I fully expected it to be a wonderful camera, knowing ARRI wouldn't settle for anything less. However, after a few hours shooting, I was absolutely amazed by the incredible exposure latitude, both in the highlights and the shadows. The Nordic Embassy in Berlin is all glass and wood. The sun came out, and we got some interesting reflections that the ALEXA prototype handled surprisingly well."

We captured some planes taking off and landing at Tegel airport. Teja is preparing an ND filter. I shot most of the outdoor scenes at 200 to 400 ASA, with some ND filters in the matte box."

"Preparing a low shot of the Brandenburg Gate before magic hour. Look at how small that camera is!"

"This is a fantastically small and lightweight camera that works extremely well on the shoulder with great ergonomics and a typical ARRI user interface. There is no delay on the viewfinder and the viewfinder image is superb. As you can see, I use my left eye, and the viewfinder bracket has enough range to allow comfortable viewing."

Testing shoulder shooting. We had no shoulder set or shoulder pad, but the camera balances perfectly on the shoulder, so it was fine without."

"Inside a van. Since the camera is so small, it is easy to use in a car."

"Late at night we went to Gendarmenmarket, where it started to rain. There was only available light, but the ALEXA prototype captured beautiful images. On Saturday morning we went to ARRI Schwarzfilm, their postproduction house in Berlin, and ingested the pictures into the Lustre suite. The highlight exposure was excellent; I was very impressed. With the street lights in the night material you could actually see the light bulbs and the structure of the lamp housing. With most other cameras, that whole area would have been blown out with no definition, except on film."

"Next day we shot in the Berlin Botanical Gardens. The intense colors of these flowers were a really nice test for the color processing. There are also no artifacts, and that is a big thing. Out of focus, blurry middle-grey parts of the image are always a challenge for digital cameras, but the ALEXA renders them perfectly. High contrast contours are also very difficult for digital cameras and they usually show some sort of artifact. With the ALEXA, there are no artifacts at all, even in these difficult areas."

"Here you can see the viewfinder bracket. Marc Shipman-Mueller, ARRI's product manager, accompanied us and told me that they have improved this bracket already, so the viewfinder can also be moved up and down. On the viewfinder is a zoom button that magnifies the viewfinder image for as long as you press it."

"It really doesn’t look like a video camera, because the image still has texture. The expression 'What you see is what you get...' normally applies only to film, but this time it also counts for digital cinematography. Here we are filming Berlin Cathedral."

"The trusty crew (from left to right): Producer Moritz Wessendorf, Focus Puller Teja Schwede, ARRI Product Manager Marc Shipman-Mueller, DP Stijn Van der Veken, Second Camera Assistant David Schaufert."

To see more images of ALEXA out in the world, check out the ARRI Facebook Page.

Mark Shipman-Mueller and Mark Hope-Jones