How Rugged is Red?

[Appleguy]

Hi all, I'm ordering a red camera soon,
How rugged are they? I mean if you have the Flash drive (not the raid array) does it still easily drop frames if shook about?
For that matter how sturdy is the cameras build itself? I know if you drop it on the floor it's a goner but is it say as sturdy as a a good Sony shouldermount? I have a DSR 500 and that things been banged around so much but still delivers everytime and has never needed a repair.

I'm not planning on knocking my red around, I just don't want something that's like faberge egg and I'd be afraid to loan to friends (insurance nonwithstanding).

Also, what temperatures can it take?

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

A lot has been covered on these questions you have, but know that the camera itself is built like a tank. Not a lot of plastic. Temperature and dropped frames have been covered on many threads.

 

[jbeale]

My impression of the Red camera body is it's more rugged than any video camera currently built and could probably take more abuse. The connectors are a weak point on any camera, Red not least, and of course lenses are usually fragile.

Temperature: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7011

HOT- 1st warning at 106º F, camera shut itself down at 116º F ambient temperature.
COLD- Camera booted, operated, and recorded at -28º C.

Those are testing results. As far as recommended or warranteed temperatures, I think it is the same range as most video cameras.

 

[A. Bastaki]

i was like.. i dont need a cf card at first... then after i read some threads i was like i need a cf card.

i got my red... my cf cards and the reddrive... buddy.. trust me.. ure gonna need a cf card.
________
Iphone games

 

[Appleguy]

Akube, what do you mean? Are the drives not up to the challenege? Wouldn't the CF cards hold very little footage? Could you explain a little more?

 

[jbeale]

Reports I've seen say the Red drive is good for handheld, even vigorous handheld, but Red themselves caution you to treat the HDD with respect. It has been reported to drop frames when used on a car mount, but this was fixed with improvised cushioning of the HDD mount. This is really common sense, try running your laptop strapped down to a car hood, you'd probably see HDD write errors there also.

Apart from vibration, I think there are some shooting scenarios (short takes needing frequent on-set review & backup on laptop) where CF may actually be more convenient. It just seems a bit quicker to change the cards in & out, than swapping out the drive.

 

[Rainer Fritz]

The reddrive has no shock absorbers and has no gel protection inside. So every little movement has a result to the movement of the heads inside. Don't explaining what that cause, you can imagine, as the drives still not reach military standard.
The body itself looks solid. But not that what is inside. Nearly blank PCB boards. So think about humidity and dust which is getting very easy inside the body because of no filtering. Closed and tight rain covers can provide you with enough humidity which can cause electronic damage inside.
I think it would be neccessary to remove the dust at least one time a year from the boards inside.
The PL mount is made of Aluminium. So think about the steel mounts on cooke or arri lenses when you tighten the red mount.
the base plate of the base production pack and the shoulder pad has a tolerance of more than a milimeter, which let you not tighten mount the cam on a tripod. use the arri adapter plate of element technica which fits exact and tight to the arri plate. but also the ET parts are not stainless or protected enough against corrosion.
the body on the bottom side was not plain. was funny to see the body standing on a plain desk.
Just look to the connectors and the fitting to the body, as all connectors have no cover...

But we love it and deal with it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


regards
rainer

 

[zak forrest]

yes the drives should be treated with respect. but i have had nothing but amazing results with them in all kinds of conditions. if the going gets really rough, just take the drive out of the cradle (which holds the drive super rigid with the camera body) and wrap it in a hat like i did, or a cloth or a scarf or whatever you invent, just a tiny bit of added cush really helps. i haven't had a single dropped frame yet, even mounted on the hood of a car. and im sure there are more professional shock absorbing drive mounts coming soon. but really all you need to do is take the drive out of the cradle so it doesnt take every single tiny little vibration that the camera takes...

 

[Dylan Reeve]

Shooting onto solid state media (CF or RED Flash drive when it ships) should be rock solid no matter what the physical forces... Other parts of the camera will give out long before the flash memory is incapable of recording. I don't think there's anything in the camera that should be particularly sensitive to movement, but everything has it's limits.

But I doubt the RED would fail to live up to the types of forces that any film or video camera would withstand.

I wonder who's going to be the first to stick a RED in a crash box to get wiped out in some car stunt? I want to see that footage.