Building upon ARRI’s already impressive range of cinema cameras, the ALEXA 35 fits perfectly into underwater production by giving shooters a compact and feature-filled complement to their ARRI camera lineup. It has a rugged compact form factor similar to the ALEXA Mini, but adds higher-end features more similar to the larger ALEXA cameras. The ALEXA 35 records both ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes to 2TB Codex drives with resolution up to 4.6K and frame rates up to 120p.

In order to take full advantage of the brand-new sensor, ARRI developed the REVEAL Color Science. Designed with the feedback of both colorists and cinematographers, REVEAL creates improved colour, contrast, sensitivity and dynamic range.

In addition to ARRI’s newer LPL (LBUS) mount, designed to cover ARRI’s entire sensor size range with optimised full sensor coverage, the ALEXA 35 also accommodates the PL to LPL adapter, the EF mount and PL mount.

Designed with both owner/operator and rental markets in mind, the Nauticam system is very easy to set up. Armed with only a coin and an Allen wrench, the entire support and lens control system is constructed on the camera base plate outside of the housing. This means the rig can be built on a table, in good light, with plenty of working space. Once the camera is assembled on its tray, the entire system slides into the housing and locks securely in place.

Similar to the ALEXA Mini and Mini LF housing, the ALEXA 35 housing features an adjustable gear tower to control Focus, Iris and Zoom all from the knurled knobs on the exterior of the housing. This diver-controlled setup completely satisfies the needs of a single operator.

For more production-oriented shoots which require remote operation and control, the housing features two upper and two lower 15mm rods, allowing the use of cforce Plus and cforce mini motors paired with the ARRI Hi-5 Hand Unit. Only the upper 15mm rods support the larger cforce Plus motors. Unlike previous-generation housings, the motors drive the lens itself rather than through the adjustable gear tower. With the standard housing, two motors can be mounted for short primes. When adding on the optional 16422 100mm housing extension, you can mount 3 motors to the 15mm rods, allowing the use of zoom lenses or longer primes.

The housing ships with one 3/4″ Hydroflex-style bulkhead, allowing the power, remote control and remote monitor umbilical from other Hydroflex rental systems to be used. A tremendous range of lenses is supported, from very small Zeiss Standard Speeds to very large cinema-style zooms; the port system has been tested with the Arri UWZ 9.5-18 with excellent results.

The housing ships with a V-Mount battery plate and LEMO connector for the ALEXA 35 camera. Ample space is available for a range of battery pack sizes to be used in the housing, providing long operation times. Surface-supplied power is also an option for tethered all-day shooting.

The included trim weights can be moved independently along the length of the housing skids, and additional mounting points are featured on the housing itself to trim the housing to the shooter’s exact needs.

The SmallHD 503 Ultrabright or the Atomos Ninja V monitor can be mounted in the NA-503-S or Atomos Ninja V-S housings and connected via SDI bulkheads and cables, allowing greater flexibility when positioning the monitor on the Alexa 35 housing.

The ALEXA 35 housing features Nauticam’s field-tested Vacuum Check and Leak Detection system, providing constant updates on the watertight and safe-to-dive status of the housing. By drawing a slight vacuum inside the housing using a reliable and compact manual hand-pump, the system ensures water-tightness before entering the water as well as throughout the dive. A colour-coded LED system at the rear of the housing indicates when the vacuum is solid or when the housing is losing vacuum. Leak detection is built into the same circuit — water intrusion triggers an audible and visual indication. The system is temperature compensated, eliminating false alarms caused by temperature changes or a camera heating up on an action-packed dive.