Thoughts / discussion about the Modular System and Quad battery module in particular.

[Damien Molineaux]

The Quad batery module is huge, with the module adaptor it more than doubles the length of the camera. I'm planning on getting the Pro I/O module and, if Red ever do make a Proxy module (they should) the camera is going to become humungous. Therefore I think I will, like many have started to, resell my Quad battery module. The Dual makes sense, but the Quad is just too big. Modular is good, but I see here the limits on the concept.

Concerning a proxy module, the PIX 240 is apparently having a lot of success. I'm thinking of getting one, but I would much rather have a module to do that. Red should make a proxy module, avoiding cables, allowing to record 1080p in a variety of formats and quality. ProRes in all flavors and DHxHD, I don't see the need for H264. I want either ProRes 422 LT for off-lining, or ProRes 422HQ or 4444 for on-lining when required. The only reason for H264 would be if the same module had the ability to stream the content to an iPad. That would be sweet, but maybe too much for a single module. I've seen discussions where people were suggesting recording to ProRes 4K... That to me is plain silly. If you're going to work in 4K then you want the Raw, not to mentioin 4K ProRes would demand too high a bandwidth and take up too much space. No, as much as I believe in 4K, there is and will be 1080p for a long time to come. I believe in 1080p50 (and p60 if you must :-) ) for broadcast, and it's coming.

Anyway, the Quad module is the first real module released, and they're already all over the "Red Stuff For Sale" thread. Mine coming up soon I think, I haven't received it yet, but should soon...

Looking forward to other modules, I hope they will be compact and light...

Cheers,
Damien

[Häakon]

I've been a champion of the dual module for years... the size of both modules has been known for ages now so I'm not sure why it's that much of a surprise for people. That being said, an Epic with a quad module and module adaptor is still less than the depth of a RED ONE, so I do think people need to take things into perspective. We have no idea what the Pro I/O module looks like at this point as it has reportedly gone through some changes and RED has been extremely quiet about it other than several targeted release dates. There's been a lot of discussion about the proxy wifi module in the accessories forum, and it sounds like most people would rather have Prores than H.264 at this point (though they serve different purposes). But even the state of that module is pretty unclear.

I do still think modular is where it's at; if I need to strip the camera down completely to a side handle and a lens I can do that (and it's still fully functional). One thing I am very grateful for is not having to mess with bricks any longer. With that in mind, I think most people will eventually prefer the dual over the quad just due to the size factor, and I certainly wish it had been an option from the beginning so we wouldn't have to mess with reselling. Still, the quad is a great match for the clutch and all of these configurations are still smaller than something like an Alexa. I think we've just gotten spoiled with the size of dSLRs and it's easy to forget how things were even five years ago.

[Jeff Whitehurst]

I've been a champion of the dual module for years... the size of both modules has been known for ages now

The main question I have when considering the dual module vs. the quad is compatibility with the upcoming REDVolt XL's. Do we have any reason to think that the XL REDVolts will fit in the Dual Module? It seems like the Dual has to be shorter than the Quad, so doesn't that mean that it would only fit normal REDVolts? If the size of both modules has been known for ages now, can you point me to the source of that info? Thanks

[Damien Molineaux]

Haakon, I'm not surprised, yes I've seen pics and 3D renders, but never with a quad battery module, a Pro I/O and a proxy module, and indeed, we don't know what the Pro I/O will look like, nor the Proxy if they release one, or two maybe... It's just that now we have an Epic, and a Scarlet, we also have compact solutions to use Bricks right on thw back of the brains, I didn't know about other solutions before. I titled this thread thoughts and invite people to discuss. I'm not bitchin. I'm with you, I love modularity, Red has given us an unprecedented deal, and I am grateful for it, and thrilled to be able to have such high quality image capture devices in my hands. Thank you Red Team. I however see things differently now that I really have these tools in my hands and learn to work with them. I started this thread after spending quite some time with DP trying to set up a good shoulder config. We are shooting starting tomorrow a short in six days all hand held. We're using bricks to counter balance the weight of the camera.
I liked the idea of the quad module, but realize now it doesn't seem practical.

Jeff, concerning Red Pro XL batteries, they are dual width and will only fit in the Quad module.

My 2 cents,
Damien