Who is RED?

[Jannard]

We didn't exactly know for sure. But we are slowly figuring it out.

The concept of RED was to build a camera with as much capability as possible... for the professional market. Then we thought we could extend it down a bit to the prosumer level. Apparently, that was a mistake.

We recently came to the conclusion that, indeed, we cater to the professional market. That's it. A pro camera company. We want to build the best tools possible for those that want to "man up". There are plenty of companies dedicated to selling prosumer (short for "almost right") cameras. We aren't going to be one of them.

If you want a serious tool to use for professional projects... think RED. No more "soccer mom" thinking. Pros only. Life is short and the clock is ticking. We have decided who we are.

Jim

[Scott Miller]

Seemed obvious:) Glad to be along for the ride.

[Billy Gedney]

I love a company with dedicate vision- good or bad (which people will argue about either way). Red has taken this idea and blown it out of the water. You guys could design freaken cupcakes and you'd be successful, and I'd but one from you. Congrats.

[George Tsai]

just how did Red get its name? or how did you decide on naming this company Red?

[Terry VerHaar]

Jim - As a guy who has been involved in a bit of branding here and there in my career, I think you are building your brand the right way - from the ground up and from the inside out.

But, you already know that. There are very few brands that were built as successfully as Oakley. The market for all things RED is there and you have and will continue to have their loyalty. Keep doing what you are doing - and THANKS!

[David Baumber]

Very wise Jim. Really like the stance you're taking.

[Jannard]

just how did Red get its name? or how did you decide on naming this company Red?

Old topic covered several times...

Jim

[Kaku Ito]

We didn't exactly know for sure. But we are slowly figuring it out.

The concept of RED was to build a camera with as much capability as possible... for the professional market. Then we thought we could extend it down a bit to the prosumer level. Apparently, that was a mistake.

We recently came to the conclusion that, indeed, we cater to the professional market. That's it. A pro camera company. We want to build the best tools possible for those that want to "man up". There are plenty of companies dedicated to selling prosumer (short for "almost right") cameras. We aren't going to be one of them.

If you want a serious tool to use for professional projects... think RED. No more "soccer mom" thinking. Pros only. Life is short and the clock is ticking. We have decided who we are.

Jim

[Nick Gardner]

If you want a serious tool to use for professional projects... think RED. No more "soccer mom" thinking. Pros only. Life is short and the clock is ticking. We have decided who we are.

Thank god, and god speed. Kick it's ass.

Nick

[Gavin Greenwalt]

It's a race to the bottom you couldn't win.

Professionals have demanding and critical eyes. We pixel peep. We go frame by frame. We shoot resolution charts.

As long as there are cameras which sell for less than $1k that shoot "1080p" with shallow DOF most people are going to say "Good Enough". A $600 camera is good enough if you don't care about Moire, Jellocam, Chroma Subsampling or DCT compression artifacts. If a 7D is good enough and you don't find its glitches offensive then a $4k camera is just a waste of money, you're burning money on things which you can't see and don't bother you.

Pretty soon cell phones will be 1080p. And most people will think that they'll be "Good Enough". If RED competed on price alone they would lose. If RED sacrificed image quality in order to compete on price they would lose the customers who aren't satisfied with the mass market alternatives. If putting the latest cheapest mass market chip into a plastic box is the name of the game then Canon and Sony are far better positioned with their long established manufacturing and buyer infrastructure.

This isn't really a departure though for RED. Originally Scarlet was announced as a "Professional Pocket Camera". Nothing has changed. Professionals are just more demanding now. RED has shown us more and now we demand it from all of our tools--even our pocket cams.