Every ARRI Digital Camera: D-21 to ALEXA 35

ARRI doesn't chase trends. They wait until they can do it right, then drop something the whole industry pivots around. Here's every digital cinema body they've ever shipped, and what actually matters about each one.

The digital pioneer

ARRIFLEX D-20 / D-21 (2005/2008)

This is before ALEXA existed, back when "the ARRI look" wasn't yet the most expensive compliment in cinematography.

The D-20 and D-21 were ARRI's first real swings at digital. The D-21 refined the idea with a PL mount and tighter integration. Both are museum pieces now, so respect the history but don't book one for a job. For the record: a single-chip Super 35 CMOS sensor (yes, CMOS, even back then), 2880 × 2160 resolution, HD-SDI output at 1.5G, and external recording only. HDCAM-SR was the move back then.

The ALEXA era: when everything changed

ARRI ALEXA Classic (2010)

The camera that ate Hollywood alive. ALEV III sensor, 2.8K native at 2880 × 1620 resolution, 3G-SDI dual outputs. The moment ARRI put out test footage, the conversation was basically over. The skin tone, the latitude, that thing it does with highlights that nobody else has cracked. It still holds up today, and that's not me being nostalgic.

ARRI ALEXA Plus (2010)

The Classic with more ports and a wireless receiver slot. Same ALEV III sensor, 3G-SDI with extra outputs. If the Classic was the artist, the Plus was the artist who actually showed up to set prepared.

ARRI ALEXA M (2012)

The remote-head ALEXA, built for gimbals, car rigs, and spaces tighter than a submarine hallway. ALEV III sensor and 3G-SDI output. Looks weird, shoots like an ALEXA.

ARRI ALEXA Studio (2012)

This one was for the DPs who wanted an optical viewfinder or nothing at all. ALEV III with a spinning mirror shutter and 3G-SDI output. Heavy, expensive, and polarizing. The people who love it would marry it. Everybody else moved on.

ARRI ALEXA XT (2013)

ALEXA gets serious. ALEV III sensor, 3G-SDI output, in-camera ARRIRAW recording, and tighter build quality. This became the workhorse. If you worked in narrative between 2013 and 2018, you probably had your hands on one of these most weeks.

The 4K chapter (sort of)

ARRI ALEXA 65 (2014)

ARRI goes large format and makes it rental-only, because of course they do. The numbers are outrageous: a 65mm sensor (three ALEV III sensors stitched together as the A3X), 6560 × 3100 resolution, 3G-SDI output. It costs more per day than some of your crew, and it earns it. This is the camera behind The Revenant, Joker, and a long list of films that made cinematographers weep into their light meters.

ARRI ALEXA SXT (2015)

The last evolution of the Classic ALEXA line. ALEV III sensor, still 2.8K native with 3.2K Open Gate, HD-SDI out. The 4K UHD here is an internal ProRes recording format, not something it pushes over SDI. ARRI squeezed every last drop out of the ALEV III here, with better internal processing, ProRes 4444 XQ, and improved HDR handling before they finally moved on.

ARRI ALEXA Mini (2015)

The one that rewired the industry. ALEV III sensor, 2.8K native and 3.2K in ARRIRAW, dual SDI out (up to 6G). Tiny body, light as hell, same image as the full-size ALEXA. All of a sudden you could strap an ALEXA to a drone, a gimbal, or the side of a building. It didn't just dominate production, it changed what production physically looked like.

True 4K arrives

ARRI ALEXA LF (2018)

Large format for the people. Well, the people with budgets. ALEV III LF sensor at 4.5K, 4448 × 3096 resolution, 6G-SDI out. Same gorgeous ARRI look, bigger sensor, true 4K and then some. Netflix-approved from day one. The LF was ARRI's answer to everyone who'd spent five years yelling "but it's not 4K."

ARRI ALEXA Mini LF (2019)

Large format in a body you can actually move around. ALEV III LF sensor, same as the LF, 4448 × 3096 resolution, dual 6G-SDI out. Everything people loved about the Mini, plus everything people loved about large format, in one package. It's still one of the most popular cinema cameras on the planet. Walk into any rental house and you'll see a wall of them.

The new flagship

ARRI ALEXA 35 (2022)

A new era, finally. ALEV 4 sensor (Super 35, but new everything), 4.6K at 4608 × 3164, 17 stops of claimed dynamic range, dual 12G-SDI outputs. This is the first new ARRI sensor in over a decade. New color science called REVEAL, with highlight handling that makes the already-legendary ARRI rolloff even more ridiculous. Native 4K that competes on resolution while keeping the look that made ARRI ARRI in the first place.

If you're shooting high-end narrative or commercial work right now, odds are this is what's on the truck.

Quick reference

What this means for your cable bag

3G-SDI cables cover the older Super 35 ALEXAs: Classic, Plus, M, Studio, XT, and SXT. The LF and Mini LF step up to 6G-SDI. The only true 12G-SDI body in the lineup is the ALEXA 35. No shortcuts, no "it'll probably be fine."

The good news is that 12G cables play nice with every older ARRI too. Buy 12G once and your cable bag is ready for whatever rolls off the truck, whether that's a beat-up XT or a brand-new 35.

ARRI completists, yeah, I know about the Amira. That's its own article. One obsessive deep-dive at a time.