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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Why I wouldn't recommand RED for features

Marco Graziaplena said:
where is going the power cable of that preston (coming from the other side of the camera)? I hope not to a battery...
Click to expand...

Um - that would be going to the MDR unit on top of the camera
...An integral voltage booster allows for
operation over a voltage range of 11 – 28 VDC.
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
Ok i got you.. i?m just saying there plenty of things on the camera that COULD be better.
Click to expand...

And there are many things about your critical process which could be vastly improved upon...for starters, loading up your criticisms with careless inaccuracies doesn't do much for your credibility.

People in glass houses should not be the ones casting stones.

Start-up time has already been addressed in future incarnations of the camera. The EPIC and the SCARLET have already been announced as having a 2-second start-up time. RED ONE start-up is actually around 80-90 seconds, not 3 minutes, and you can be framing your shot while the camera is booting, since the image is in the viewfinder.

My question for you is...Why should RED (or anyone else, for that matter....) attend to someone who themselves can't pay reasonable attention to details or keep up with the basic information about what is actually going on with the camera development?
 
Camera capabilities

Camera capabilities

You guys at RED are doig a terrific job and probably changing the ways of making movies but you need to correct a couple of things:

1- Switching on the camera

2- Batteries

3- Hand held

4- No 24V out

5- SD video out
Click to expand...

Marco, thanks for the feedback. We are always interested in making the product line better.

A few comments.

1. Boot time is 1 minute, this is because the camera technology is FPGA.
The new series will be much shorter than that - similar to other electronic cameras I predict.

2. Battery time is 90 minutes.
That's pretty typical for electronic cameras, and dual battery plates do exist as do block batteries.
Again the new camera series will use much less power.

3. I'll pass on that one .. others have offered their opinion.

4. No plans for 24V outputs from any of our cameras. Time to move forward.

5. No plans for SD outputs from any of our cameras. Time to move forward.

Also - menu lock out is under discussion.
But as the camera is a professional tool, there is a balance to be struck is between "idiot proofing" and "ease of use"
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
Thank you Stuart
why you don't think about original RED aks for hand held & eyepiece leveller?
Click to expand...

There's already great products out there - why do you want Red to supply every single camera accessory? Why not allow them to focus on making cameras?
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
and there is also one more point

6- Is absolutly necessary a LOCK switch for all those buttons on the camera body and on the viewfinder... Hope everyone agree at least on that
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Sure - EVF buttons have been known to get pushed all the time. Well, you can disable these buttons OR you can use the Element Technica EVF Guard.

If you're pushing buttons on camera while operating... Well, you have a problem in my IMO.

Marco ask yourself this. Are the "cons" that come with working with RED worth the final product?


And, what is the point to getting all of your AKS from one place? Anyone else get ALL of their AKS from the same rental house?


Can you name a perfect camera system? (Correct answer is no, perfection does not exist)
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
and just a word for shawn:
435, 535, arricam st and lt, millennium, platinum (i'm not sure about GII) has a switch to lock... and you're not talking of amateur cameras
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No, we're not. I am familiar with all of the mentioned camera systems. In the last 11 years of working in this industry, I have never seen an operator (or a DP) utilize this option. But, what's your point?

Perhaps the real problem here isn't the RED...
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
Sorry I don't know exactly if it is 1 min, 2 or 3...
In any case is much much more than any other camera...
the problem is that with reflex you can see also if the camera is off, but in digital you need to switch on, and should be as fast as possible
Click to expand...

I run a hot swap system. The camera remains on all day. This is not an issue, unless you want it to be.
 
Sorry Shwan
may be in fact I'm not talkin as an operator..
I've been AC for long time.
My point is that you can't swicht frame rate on a 435 unless you REALLY want to
by the way you can for example switch to COLOR MODE just because you hitted a button while you were hand held
I just say that a LOCK SWITH would be safer for all of us
 
Marco,
Next time you shoot a feature, give us a call. I think you will find that if you rent your package from a quality vendor (like us) that has in depth knowledge of the camera and accessories your list will quickly vanish. All of our camera packages are designed for professional productions and as such have the appropriate accessories that address all of your concerns. We regularly supply packages to large budget productions and have not once had a single complaint.

http://www.digitalfx.tv/#/red/camera

1- Switching on the camera
Our cameras boot in 1 minute...never had a complaint, but in case thats not fast enough we have accessories that will prevent you from ever having to shut down the camera.

2- Batteries
We have numerous battery options including Blocks that last longer than any of our 435 packages.

3- Hand held
We can switch our cameras to hand-held in far less time than our 435, and its much more comfortable rig. 30 seconds tops.

4- No 24V out
FYI- Cinetape does not require 24v, we power it fine from our Red...all the other accessories we provide and they work just fine with our power system.

5- SD video out
Its 2009...time for your steadicam ops to move forward. We were tired of the Video Assist guys bringing in their circa 1985 gear so we built our own systems that are full on HD 2 camera video assist stations that run circles around ANYTHING on the market. But if you still want to remain in 1985 we have plenty of downconvert options that wont break your back.

6- Buttons- all our Reds are equiped with guards which eliminate your problems.

Bottom line is, if you are shooting a feature you shouldnt be renting a $500 Red Package...you get what you pay for.
 
Marco Graziaplena said:
Sorry Shwan
may be in fact I'm not talkin as an operator..
I've been AC for long time.
My point is that you can't swicht frame rate on a 435 unless you REALLY want to
by the way you can for example switch to COLOR MODE just because you hitted a button while you were hand held
I just say that a LOCK SWITH would be safer for all of us
Click to expand...

Uh... Marco... Unless you program a user button and then take additional steps, you "can't switch frame rates on a RED unless you REALLY want to" either.


I don't care if you're talking about being a camera PA, an assistant, an operator, a DP or even someone else on the set that shouldn't be playing with cameras. It's obvious your issues with this camera system are your issues and those issues go beyond the RED.

Operator error can not be fixed or updated by RED.

It really appears you are just new to both the camera and REDUSER. Welcome. Sorry it isn't the best experience for you.

But I know what you mean. I think RED needs to get off their butts and figure out how to make the CF cards and drives emit the celluloid fragrance while the camera body plays the sounds of internal mechanics purring away. Until then... I just don't know how I'm ever gonna do my job again...
 
Really?

Really?

The RedOne camera is not perfect - that's news?

The Epic will be better in many ways, including dealing with many of the issues in this thread.

The Epic will still have flaws, just like every camera system in the world.

There are at least a half dozen camera systems appropriate for shooting a feature, it has been proven on many occasions that the RedOne is in that group.

If the RedOne's particular idiosyncrasies cause too much interference with your creative process, by all means, select a different camera system.

Keep in mind that most other camera systems appropriate for feature work have had far longer to develop best practices to mitigate their inherent limitations. So much so, that it is easy to forget they exist.

It should be noted that some of your issues relate to incomplete support packages at some rental houses, not the RedOne itself.

Cheers- #19
 
Experiences from 2 features had shown me, that none, really none of your points are something to be concerned of. For everything there is a sollution, and you do not even have to look hard those days....

20 minutes takes, out to SD wireless, crane, steadycam, -10C, shooting in rain, ... all was doable with the proper research in advance and there were not more hiccups, than with any other camera.

Not sure where you got your package, but I think that is the real problem here.

I also question, why you are posting "provocative" not-well-researched facts by intention, because the reasons you give actually reveal quite a lot about your qualities as AC. AC's like you probably should not decide on what to shoot a feature, and luckily they rarely are. Thanks for your opinion however.

There are other issues with the RED, one have to be very careful of. They all have to do with image capturing and processing, and they are those that decide if you shoot RED or not.
 
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