Top-notch imaging has made the ARRI Alexa a huge hit in both feature-film and television production, but many DPs have coveted the compact, lightweight form factor of the Red Epic — itself no slouch in the image-capture department — because it can be used in extremely tight spaces, mounted on brushless gimbals, and flown on drones. ARRI is getting ready to meet those users halfway with the new Alexa Mini, which puts the familiar Alexa ALEV III sensor in a space-saving design that approaches the physical economy of the Epic.

The Alexa Mini's carbon body measures 125mm wide, 140mm high, and 185mm deep (including the PL lens mount). That's still bigger than the Epic, which measures 98mm wide, 147mm high and 148mm deep. But both cameras weigh just five pounds, which is more likely to be the key spec except when shooting in incredibly close quarters.

What's more striking is the dramatic size reduction versus the familiar Alexa XT Plus, which is a much bulkier shoulder-mounted camera that weighs more than 19 pounds with EVF and top handle. ARRI said the Mini is optimized for use with brushless gimbals, multicopters, and space-constrained rigs like gyro-stablized aerial platforms.

Lens motors can be connected directly to the Alexa Mini's PL mount, allowing focus, iris, zoom, and more to be controlled with a hand unit like ARRI's WCU-4. Internal ND filters are motorized and remote-controllable, too. Camera functions can be controlled via Wi-Fi using phones, tablets, and laptops.

The Alexa Mini takes a different cue from the ARRI Amira, offering optional UHD ProRes image recording upsampled from the Alexa's native 3.2K (3200×1800) sensor resolution. In addition, the usual range of Alexa recording options is offered, including 2.8K ARRIRAW and various ProRes resolutions in 16:9 and 4:3 modes. Frame rates max out at 200 for footage recorded to CFast cards in HD ProRes and 2K Cine formats (excluding 4444 XQ).

Footage from the Alexa XT and the Alexa Mini should intercut seamlessly, even on anamorphic shoots—again, like the bigger Alexa XT, the Alexa Mini has a 4:3 sensor (switchable from 16:9) and an automatic anamorphic desqueeze option. ARRI says workflows in ProRes or ARRIRAW will be identical, either recording to on-board CFast 2.0 cards or to a new Codex recorder.

About that recorder—the new Codex Multi-Camera Recorder can record ARRIRAW at up to 120fps from four Alexa Mini cameras simultaneously via SDI-6G. It is designed to work with the Codex Capture Drive and newer Capture Drive 2.0.

The Alexa Mini is debuting this week in prototype form at the British Video Expo. ARRI said it will take orders beginning in March, with delivery expected to begin in May. One note: neither ARRIRAW recording to the Codex nor shooting in 4:3 mode will be available at launch; both features are set to be enabled via a software update sometime in 2015.