ALEXA Mini LF Update 9/20 & SUP 6.0.22

ALEXA Mini LF — September 2020

ARRI ALEXA Mini LF manufacturing continues apace. ARRI sent the following notice in the ARRI newsletter, summarized here:

A limited number of ALEXA Mini LF cameras have experienced errors. ARRI now offers fixes: a camera Software Update Package and a Compact Drive firmware update. If you still experience issues after having done both of these updates, contact ARRI Service, as some of these errors were based on hardware. ARRI Service will be able to diagnose and repair.

ARRI has expanded their camera tests in manufacturing. For a limited time, they are allocating local backup cameras to respond quickly if there are any problems on productions.

ALEXA Mini LF Software Update Package SUP 6.0.22

ALEXA Mini LF SUP 6.0.22 is now available for download from the ARRI website.

This update improves general system stability and changes the Compact Drive status indicator LED behavior. ARRI urges updating.

The Compact Drive status indicator LED will now accurately indicates when the drive can be safely removed. Removing the drive too early can sometimes cause errors once the drive is re-inserted into a camera. Note that none of these errors lead to data loss. Even if the recording stopped unexpectedly, the take recorded up to this point is safely stored on the drive.

Also: from Mini LF SUP 6.0.22 on, the “10 Second Rule” (see ARRI Technical Information “ALEXA Mini LF – The 10 Second Rule for Removing Drives”) can be ignored, as the Compact Drive status indicator LED now accurately indicates when it is safe to remove the drive.

Additionally, a number of changes have been made to the camera’s internal communications that greatly improve system stability and should significantly reduce error messages.

Compact Drive 1TB Firmware Update

A firmware patch is now available to address a firmware error with Codex Compact Drives with the serial numbers from 10020001 to 10022568.

Drives outside this serial number range already run the latest firmware and require no update.

On rare occasions, this firmware error could cause a Compact Drive to take a long time to load in the camera, dock or reader, not load at all, or result in the camera status “INVALID”.

To have the update installed free of charge, affected drives can be sent to any Codex or ARRI Service station. Note that the Compact Drive firmware CANNOT be updated by the camera. More detailed information can be found here .