I Bought 5 Broken Arri Alexa Cinema Cameras... Can I Fix Them?

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I bought 5 broken Arri Alexas! Make sure to subscribe and stay tuned for part 2!
Huge thanks to C7 Adapters for helping out and providing a lens mount for this project! Check them out here: c7adapters.com/en
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My Gear:
--Cameras--
KZbin Camera: amzn.to/3wxdmc7
Cinema Camera: amzn.to/3qnxM6g
Photo Camera: amzn.to/30aAjp2
--Lenses--
Studio Lens: amzn.to/3bTe0XK
Wide Angle Lens: amzn.to/3061Ecj
Portrait Lens: amzn.to/3mYYL61
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Main Studio Light: amzn.to/3bVWSk9
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#Broken #Arri #Alexa
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE:
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[@FoxTailWhipz]

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/foxtailwhipz07221

[@Mizai]

you definitely needed that sponser i blocked using sponsorblock

[@zollotech]

Interesting. Definitely would like to see a follow up after working on it some more.

[@stevenneaves8079]

Also consider tweeting potato jet, tbh he’s the one on KZbin I see the most directly interacting with Arri. He might get a kick out of the project and know someone he could send your way

[@FoxTailWhipz]

I actually emailed and DM’d him about a week ago about this project but I’m still waiting for a response haha. It really seems like something he would love to check out!

[@380productions2]

Potato jet is gonna go potatoes !!! When he hears what you bought and for how much imagine just fixing one your good

[@sonidojamon]

@@FoxTailWhipz any news on Potato? We can bomb him with requests if need be!!

[@PWN_Nation]

@@FoxTailWhipz recommend just doing a public tweet. The upvotes and response from his subs will get his attention easier, IMO

[@AGTech]

Awesome project, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results! The main question to me tho is why the heck they didn't bother to protect the sensors on these... 🤦‍♀

[@FoxTailWhipz]

I know it was a litttle scary but luckily there’s no damage to the sensors. They could definitely use a good cleaning though

[@jasonwawro7409]

An AC power adapter to have constant power to camera for trouble shooting would be a big plus. Might be another $100 investment. The SxS-1 card your using is not supported by Arri, look into SXS pro card. That will be another expense as well. Love the project! Hope you can get one of these up and running. In my experiecne Andrew Shipsides is a great resource on these cameras, if he doesn't know he will direct you to someone that will know.

[@terenceokane]

If he's in LA or NY or another industry heavy town, check craigslist. You'll be surprised what people will let go for next to nothing (comparatively).

[@ebaystars]

any Lab supply will do they are cheap and chinese Ive several in use for years....

[@CalHallows]

I think you've been mugged off, the fact most of these are missing their buttons and exterior parts, ports etc., makes me think that these are all parts donor cameras which have already had the working bits taken from them. It'll be amazing if you can make a working camera out of these 5, but Frankenstein's monster wasn't without his issues...

[@sharifsalem]

Same

[@ashedinthewoods]

Yeah I mean… if these would compromise parts to complete one camera with an appropriate amount of work, the seller would likely have done that, sold one working camera and four cameras “for parts”. This is very often the case for those lots (watch movements would be another typical example), it’s leftovers someone piled up while sourcing parts for a project, and likely at least one or two critical parts that are hard to obtain will be missing in all of them.

[@axialivanov6101]

Despite the missing parts he got a extremely good deal check prices on any fully built one

[@ashedinthewoods]

@@axialivanov6101 well I stand corrected anyway - seemingly it was possible to get one working camera out of the lot (meanwhile I have watched the second video ;)) - but that’s really a big risk when buying such lots. Luckily he was lucky :)

[@daryl.bernardingtons]

@@ashedinthewoods bro what the fuck with the spoilers

[@JohnWick-dn6ty]

You bought Alexa's that already salvaged, they know how to pick functional parts, it would be very difficult if you could not get the parts to make it functional. .... I still admire the hard work and the process. Hope you could get it working soon.

[@glevasseur]

My KZbin algorithm knows me too well: DIY project, repair and Arri Alexa. Count me in!

[@yealevi2850]

Definitely get AC power adapter. That’ll clear up one of the warnings, and reduce the risk of a shut off during critical work! Plus; these things eat through batteries quickly, so a v mount battery will only get you so far for so long. Also I’m sure you’ve scoured, but the Alexa manual has an error/warning code list with at list minimal explanations. Last, I’m excited to see the things that you can learn about these cameras. Now that they are getting cheaper I’m hoping more people will be able to dive into the internals and see how these tick. My Alexa Plus’s fan is a little loud so I’d love to find out if the fan has a widely available replacement;)

[@TheGalacticWest]

Tear it apart rewind the motor. just kidding but not if you're desperate

[@yealevi2850]

@@TheGalacticWest not desperate enough yet to mess with a working Alexa haha

[@ebaystars]

Build a DC regulated supply or buy one they are cheap...Lemo connectors are mega expensive military use them in non-critical applications!

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

I think you bought part donor cameras. They all have some unfixable underlying issue. And getting those parts that have been harvested from them is impossible, otherwise they would not have harvested them and ordered spare parts.

[@uhohwhy]

All their cameras just do a fancy video filter, they are overpriced junk.

[@thetys4659]

@@uhohwhy Lol what are you talking about ARRI cameras?

[@daviduribe5897]

@@uhohwhy brother the 10+ years of color science development for this camera specifically is SO far beyond a “fancy video filter”… you really should educate yourself on the history of cinematography before you belt out bullshit like that so confidently

[@derrollmops]

@@daviduribe5897 i bet he prefers the colors of his iPhone, because it's Apple 😂

[@xp8969]

@@uhohwhy lmfao, bruh, sober up 😂☠️😂

[@bgeardigital]

Cool video! I saw that auction on Ebay but said nah. You may not need SXS cards. If you have working BNC outputs you can record to an external recorder. If you have one with the ARRIRAW license you can record the highest quality to an external recorder like Odyssey 7Q.

[@LearningCurveTech]

Lol, I actually saw these for sale and wondered who would buy them. Good to see that you got them!

[@mcmadskillsz]

same lol

[@AdrianTache]

Someone with more money than sense, probably.

[@goldcd]

I'd have been a little bit worried about buying from somebody who had "5 of these" If you've got 5 of anything, that's not likely to be random stuff you picked up in a yard-sale - they've been collecting. If the collector then sells off "5 in a random state of completeness" - you can be pretty sure they've stripped out anything of value. The "oh it's weird that that's missing" is going to be list of consumable parts required to make a functioning camera.

[@FrequenzBlog]

This. Arri has great customer service. If they were fixable individually they would have been. They were used for scrap already - why would they be missing buttons and whatnot ? Additionally : Sensor boot errors and failing software updates are also a big nono. It seems that these got fried somehow.

[@NickXXXToday]

Looking forward to where this goes. I’ve used these cameras a 1000 times. They are still better then most cameras out there.

[@TheBigNegative-PhotoChannel]

„ I can‘t believe the first camera powers one without any problems“ Alexa: Please kill me. Nice vieo tho :D

[@SleeplezzLinkzPhotography]

looking forward for part 2! even if this was a long video, i would still watch it. Awesome project!

[@thomashenden71]

Believe it would benefit @ARRIChannel too, to give a helping hand, as the more of these cameras can be held in service, and tried by, also amateurs, the more interest it will be for the brand. If your fix simply is swapping parts between broken cameras and there is no DRM bullshit preventing you, it is really good news for indie film makers too, and still, they will come back to ARRI for more parts and acessories, meaning ARRI will still benefit from these broken cameras getting a new life.

[@MatixLA]

Dying for Part 2. Oh how I wish this was a full series I could binge watch.

[@blairwilliams136]

Omg I saw this ebay add last week and now you got them, that's awesome! I had the same dream as you to buy them all and hopefully make 1 working camera but it was a bit out of my $ range . I ended up buying a C100 extra cheap and am very happy.

[@MatthPeder]

What a cool idea and I wish you the best of luck! Just a note though - the editing on future videos in the series could use some tightening up. I found myself skipping 30-60 seconds at a time yet the same thought was being repeated.

[@rogerrussell5155]

I subscribed...purely because I like the idea that you have the balls to attempt this project....no idea what you bought ..but I love the idea of getting educated in camera technology

[@OhkayCarlos]

This is an awesome video bro! I just got my Arri Alexa Plus a few months ago! I'm sure someone told you about the compatible SxS cards by now on the comment thread. Can't wait for the 2nd video and I really hope you get 1 or 2 up and running!

[@matthewTobrien]

Can’t wait for Part II!

[@Filmitvfxstudios]

Errors : Arri does not do well with after market items , you definitely need to plug this into the wall to do a firmware update as you could end up bricking it also I know it’s a little bit of money but invest in official plug unit for Arri you we’ll find it may clear up some of the errors x also that’s wrong memory card you also have a overheating issue check the fans are spinning correctly as if not could over heat and fry the board check to see if connection to fans not lose

[@RudyAyoub]

This is madness lmao

[@Jahmhury]

They say cheap is expensive , hope you nail it. b'coz $1250 is way too much money from where i come from to buy broken stuffs. All the best.....

[@AndreasKielb]

Awesome you got these! The DC input expects 24 volt, that's why battery warning is active at the first booting camera. If you get a battery plate you can power the cameras also with a single 14,4 Volt battery.

[@FoxTailWhipz]

That’s what I figured! I can change the low voltage warning to a lower voltage so the warning goes away but every time I power the camera back on it resets back.

[@stevenriverman7920]

@@FoxTailWhipz try changing the little 3 volt battery in the camera, it may also be able to handle a firmware update after that

[@iaincowell9747]

@@FoxTailWhipz what model number are these. I've seen the 35 for €86,000 😱

[@stevenneaves8079]

I SAW THIS LISTING AND ALMOST BOUGHT IT 😂😂😂 glad you got them for some content. I considered doing something similar

[@dncviorel]

Unless you're someone with deep knowledge in Electronics I would never touch a project like this.

[@steviestl2269]

Short info for some of these Error-mesages: High/Low sensor temp & sensor boot error: Could be a connection issue between sensor and the rest (also maybe why some of the update failed) LDS failure: (LensDataSystem) you don't have a mount on there thats (maybe) it The red/green LED flashing is just a general system error indicator for above mentioned things. Changing sensors between different cameras of the same(!) type is possible (but there will be image artifacts since they weren't calibrated on this body), but it would be sufficient for testing.

[@alain99v6]

The Alexa use a temperature controlled sensor when booting up a peltier device behind the sensor heat it up to get quicker to the optimal temperature, once reached it reverse polarity and starts to cool down the sensor to keep it at the optimal range pretty sure it is defective and the brain of the cam can't get temp data from the system

[@whodatdere1]

I know it seems like $100 is a lot for a cable, but those LEMO style ends are really not overly cheap for brand name. China style ones are not terrible under normal use if you need to make one or get the chassis mounts for them

[@bennybbergeron]

I had been watching this listing and was contemplating buying and fixing them hahaha. Glad you got them and made a great video on it!

[@mcgavin098]

Good luck on this project. There are so many different combinations of parts to make one complete unit that a high reliance on both your skill and available time are crucial factors for success.

[@whatsappme3600]

You are selected among the greatest winners 💐🎉Kindly send a direct message to receive it immediately, thank for watching and commenting.......,,

[@AdemVessell]

Awesome. That looks like a ton of fun. Also what a gorgeous machine to use once you get ‘em up and running!

[@23san30]

Genuinely amazing project, I can't wait to see the final results!

[@kthmtchll]

i wish you luck on your journey! you've basically signed up to be an arri technician. i would say just get as much documentation as you can find. also if you do a complete teardown video of one of the bodies i'd be very interested!

[@Cinematographer_brenton]

this is a great video dude, I have thought about getting a used classic. cant wait for pt 2

[@racocrea]

bro i need the secodn part!!, hope you made it man!, honestly this is the truth behind everything, always grinding for our equipment, i would to love to know what it takes to build an arri , that´s amazing man, i hope you can get this done bro ! good luck !

[@daytonars5]

Hope you can get one running my dude, your enthusiasm for it is so deserving of this going well. Watching, liking and subscribing and hoping the money you make helps you get there.

[@g0battimicrofografia]

amazing video and it’s touching to see your emotions going through all that. keep up bro!

[@FoxTailWhipz]

Thank you so much!

[@alexbrambilla]

You are a hero. Your passion and determination will surely get rewarded. Good luck

[@nachoupe]

+2

[@imnickfriend]

This is fantastic. Looking forward to Pt II!!!

[@Boosuf]

this is a real once in a lifetime opportunity, , I'm excited for part 2!

[@oentusiasta3102]

Buddy, this is the dream of every filmmaker in this planet.

[@adrienpayet]

This is wild ! Would have loved to try saving them ! Have you tried to switch motherboards ? Excited for part II !

[@FoxTailWhipz]

I haven’t switched any motherboards around yet, just a few other components.

[@adrienpayet]

@@FoxTailWhipz I wish you the best luck !!

[@JacobVossFilms]

Please don’t do a 3D printed top handle - Arri classics are heavy and imo not worth the risk at all of a plastic top handle

[@doulos5322]

The whole damn camera is plastic

[@YouTube_can_ESAD]

@@doulos5322 No it’s not, that Alexa is a literal boat anchor bro… You’ve clearly never operated one and know nothing of what you speak. 🤫👉🏽🤡

[@doulos5322]

@@KZbin_can_ESAD yep your right I'm clearly wrong. I thought the hammer finish was fiberglass reinforced plastic instead it's milled metal with a hammered powder coat my mistake.

[@doulos5322]

There is nothing wrong with a properly designed 3d printed handle. 3D printed material can support 160,000 times it's own weight, but if you don't know how to design one or run a proper FEA on the part then just use a cage.

[@ThaGhettoBlaster]

@@KZbin_can_ESAD 🖕🏽💩

[@joshuarosado5885]

I don’t know if you’ve check, or someone said it, but go online and search for the maintenance manual. I found one that has information on the hardware and firmware, that could help you with the trouble shooting and finding more information. It’s also nice if you can find an illustrated parts catalog. I really like this project and wish you the best!

[@DarylCatholicArtist]

All the best! Can't wait to see you get the Alexa up and running!

[@whostorrey]

Def have to subscribe now to watch your progress man. keep it up!

[@FoxTailWhipz]

Thank you!!

[@claudio6032]

So excited for Part II ! Great Projekt! Hop you can get one of them Babys Running.

[@ChristopherMichaelLaw]

Great video man. Can't wait for part two!

[@tombuck]

What a journey! I’m excited to dive into the next videos…this is like a new Netflix series to binge now 😁

[@FoxTailWhipz]

I really appreciate the support! Love your videos too!

[@tombuck]

@@FoxTailWhipz oh wow thank you! 😁

[@ElEscolta]

That was definitelly a great find, danm do i wish i could get myself some Arri`s and just frankestein them until one works for cheap, hoepfully you have luck with the rest, if you could end with all 4 eventually working that be amazing!

[@JakeSloan]

see I knew I had seen some of your videos! It was great to meet you in person the other night at NAB!!

[@andrewsaraceni]

Great video! This is a really cool project - the kind of thing most people think about (myself included), but wouldn't bother going through with given all the headaches, etc. Having the ambition to give it a try and capture the entire process is really appreciated. Looking forward to seeing where this all goes.

[@jcvb1393]

This was very interesting to watch, can't wait to see the second part💪

[@monophonoise4548]

I know nothing about camera but this is exciting, can’t wait for part 2!

[@noahisbroken]

TronicsFix would be proud.

[@noureddinehasan]

this is crazy! cant wait for part 2

[@AfoteyAnnum]

I am absolutely enthralled with this LOLZ

[@nachoupe]

Amazing video, waiting for part II !!

[@Clebb]

This is crazy! Really looking forward to seeing if you can fix them :D

[@lburger404]

This is sick dude! Excited to see what you do with them

[@Danjul89]

Wow what an adventure! Cant wait for part 2, liked and subscribed. ARRI ❤

[@JasonCharlesButkiewicz]

Hell yes brother stoked for this project! Def subbing to stay updated. Hope you get one of these bad boys up and running. That would be so awesome!

[@nachoupe]

Same here!

[@dangoldbach6570]

Dude that is the holy grail of cameras, super hopeful you can get one working because that would be epic if you scored one for that price!

[@Coolbreeze8500]

Foxtailwhipz with yet another fantastic video! 💯

[@hoodzie9671]

My Amazon echo going crazy while I’m watching this. Lol…Alexa. …Alexa….

[@chattymatt]

Awesome video man, love the content!

[@thomasmaagaard]

You have a unique ability to talk without saying anything.

[@clemcap]

Been keeping up w/ your progress in the FB group & you just popped into my recommended on YT! Algorithmmmm 📈

[@joshherumdp]

Look forward to seeing more of these!

[@gaelxmdb]

i would recomend that you make your own cables for the camara, its more cheaper than buying the cable

[@broketostoke]

Came from the FB group. Been watching the updates from a distance. Really excited to have found you. A quality video. Really love to see this process of resurrecting these amazing creatures. I literally cannot wait to see what happens next.

[@rx2316]

I used to work at a TV station, I think I might have seen one of those camera hanging on the wall of dying or dead cameras

[@mariusbruhn6354]

Welcome to the world of cinema cameras where everything is expensive and conditions are rough 😂. Awesome project, kinda jealous haha. Some input from my side: E stands for Error and W for warning i guess. LDS is Arris Lens Data System for communicating with compatible cinema lenses through contacts in the PL Mount. The Error makes sens because the PL mount is incomplete. Should still allow the camera to function tho. The most complicated thing with the Alexa is everything around the Sensor. Arri has put a lot of engineering in the temperature management of the sensor to ensure a constantly good image. So findig an Alexa with the properly working sensor and temperature management and without any errors related to the sensor temperature may be your priority number one. Cam #1 showed Sensor boot Error and low Temperature, so it might not be suited best for the final functioning model. You can connect a monitor and see what kind of image the camera outputs and if there are any dead pixels or other sensor defects. That also works without a lens attached although I phyicaly cringe seeing these beeing shipped without any lens caps and no lens attached haha. I mean the sensor is the part that makes the Alexa that special and relevant in the industry and people would not bother protecting it. But a large studio or rental house does not care about these old work horses. They have probably paid for themselfs multiple times and are now just collect dust. It would be interesting how many hours runtime are on them. Lower runtime might indicate better internal conditions because of less use but could still be heavier use and worse conditions tho. Looking forward to part 2!

[@tb1235]

So true.. When you buy the body of the cinema camera about a month later you end up spending about 4-5x more for new lenses, accessories, gear and quality of life improvements. The cinema world is crazy.

[@mariusbruhn6354]

@@tb1235 Yup, bought a Red Raven last year, the body was 2500€ but all together I ended up spending tripple of that for everything

[@petertorda5487]

Excellent, looking forward to second part.

[@salvadoralvarezproduccionv2542]

Woooo this is awesome, I mean wow, as a person who loves rebuild things, like the ooooold sx-980 Pionner amp which I bough few months ago, I'll start to rebuild it to its original and new state, but come on, is one of my passions but is only a 500 dollar amplifier, but a really expensive and marvelous camera, cinema cámera like this, wow I mean, I wonder which movie those cameras taked, who used it before, amazing video, I stay tuned for the next part!, regards from San Luis Potosí, México!

[@KosterBenjamin]

First video of yours ive watched and I love it! Subscribed liked and commented!!! Keep it up! You inspire me for sure!

[@whatsappme3600]

You are selected among the greatest winners 💐🎉Kindly send a direct message to receive it immediately, thank for watching and commenting...................!!!!!!

[@VagiPeti]

Dude I got excited watching the video, such a well documented journey :D :D Amazing! LOL that happy face when you had the box!!!!

[@erockvaughn2190]

I was so excited when it booted up. I am such a geek. Great video.

[@nachoupe]

Me too hahaha!

[@imwanjohi]

Been waiting for this💪🏾💪🏾

[@MichaelHeiland]

has anyone from arri burbank reached out to you? i used to work there. i know a few homies that take apart alexas for a living.

[@outfield1988]

Love your passion for the device and desire to fix them.

[@stranstudio]

Glad you got it working man, congrats!

[@markbrown1609]

I did same thing with BMW 318 roadster, bought three for repairs 500 each. I had the storage and flat bed access to tools. Able to make one good one and sold remaining parts on ebay. conclusion: I made a profit. Good luck. now I'm shopping for camera and found your video

[@JohnPretto]

Great story telling....bravo

[@MarcoAries]

I really hope you can manage to put together at least one functioning camera from the five of them! Good luck!

[@nickxc]

This is amazing. I remember seeing this listing and almost pulling the trigger.

[@ForestCinema]

So cool! I’m not as bold as you, I think I saw that listing though. I’m holding out for a working Alexa at around $4K

[@DanielCaiMedia]

I got a full Alexa Classic 16:9 kit for around $3600, so you can definitely find deals, maybe kits with fewer extra accessories. Just keep in mind the rather high individual cost for key accessories like the viewfinder, top handle, battery plate, and PL mount (though Leitax's EF mount is relatively inexpensive). And the high wattage batteries and heavy duty fluid head and tripod hahaha

[@the180degreerule3]

man if You could get DIY PERKS on this, who knows You may create an Arri Alexa XLF by bringing 4 sensors in one body lol

[@FoxTailWhipz]

Let’s make it happen!!

[@A_Fortunate_Traveler]

Great and fascinating project, I'm so curious to see the final result.

[@nachoupe]

Me too!!!

[@leoimr7321]

Oh you’re really crazy to spend $1500 into broken Alexas but this video is awesome. I love your content :)

[@2jpu524]

Is there a service manual ? Can you get schematics for it? It's worthy to monitor the basics, like measure the voltage rails, and test-points. Do you have basic test equipment, like a scope, a volt-meter, an RLC meter, etc? Can you see if there are any serial port or JTAG headers. Are there any electromechanical sensors or actuators.. Mechanical fiddly things are often points of failure to take a close look at. Can you run these boards outside of the camera and check for valid logic levels and the like?

[@VictorHugooli]

Good luck man 💪🏽 let’s gooo

[@ChannelWright]

Fascinating! A total geek out for me!

[@chuave892]

Great video !!!

[@jayacustico9518]

I really like your videos! Can you do a test between an Arri Alexa and the more cheaper Canon C100 for cinematography? Both are 1080p cinema cameras

[@chrisw443]

You can get SXS and P2 adapters for SD cards, as long as you get good quality SD cards, it should work fine.

[@smartduck904]

I've ran into so many scams on eBay like this I would have just passed right over it I'm glad you got it though that's great news my luck is I wait 3 months and get nothing and end up having to ask eBay to step in watch out for the A7 camera lineup there's a lot of scams on there

[@infinitepower6780]

You mean like sellers listing fake camera listings?

[@smartduck904]

@@infinitepower6780 yes

[@Nekomakesnoisesagain]

The relief I felt when it turned on...