Who makes Red Primes ?

[Jeff Steinebach]

I am just wondering who makes Red Lenses? They do look like sigma or maybe even Nikon's

 

[Simon Blackledge]

I'm Spartacus!

 

[Matthew Duclos]

I'm 90% sure they are made by the Keebler Elves.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

I'm 90% sure they are made by the Keebler Elves.

and the remaining 10% would be...:toetap05:

 

[jimhare]

and the remaining 10% would be...:toetap05:

The same company that makes the X-RAY specs you can order from the back of comic books... :coolgleamA:

 

[Vince Doran]

I'm pretty sure that Santa Clause got the contract....I could be wrong

 

[David W. Jones]

Preposterous Matthew!
Fact....
Red Lenses are NOT made by Keebler Elves.

It is time to set the record straight!!!

As someone who has not only used them, but has also seen them being produced in the factory, I can only state the obvious. If you look closely at the lenses it is very easy to see where they are made. For example if you were to look at the focus ring on the 300mm, you would see two small rings of chocolatey goodness and a piping of fudge on the Lens Shade. The 25mm is even easier to tell apart by the pecan pieces between the T stop markings. Even the super chocolate crunch 18-85mm zoom is easy to spot by it's marshmallow Bokeh and fudge piping. But the biggest giveaway is next to the serial number of all Keebler lenses, The chocolate thumb print.
So.... I hope everyone is now clear, Red lenses are Not made by Keebler Elves.

As a side, I will say the the Keebler lenses tend to shoot a little soft, and are not great for shooting sunny exteriors. But they are fantastic with a glass of cold milk.

All the Best!

Dave

 

[James Brundige]

Red makes the Red Primes.... duh

Almost everything is made in Chinese factories. There are few facilities that can handle the high end specs of this kind of work, so it's likely Red uses capacity shared by one of the brands you mention. But Red provides design specs and supervises assembly, who knows where.

 

[PatrickW]

Jim polishes every set by hand to perfection.

 

[Francis Kenny]

I don't have a clue who makes the lenses. I don't even bother asking because the Red team will never tell you. Secrets are hard to keep even in the government. After using my Red Pro Primes on a number of projects I feel as though they remind me of the Leica Sumicron lenses that came with the Leica cameras many years ago. The glass has that color rendition feeling. They also have a similar feeling of the Primos from Panavision. But after working with Red for about two years I don't think anyone in the outside world will ever know. All I care about is how beautiful they are and how much easier it is to shoot with Reds using primes. All they need is a wider version, like a 14 or 18mm and a 135 or 150mm to complete the set. I am sure they are working on this. God knows what is next beyond Epic. Plenoptic, Light Field Cameras, Water Lenses, versions of the Super Harp?

I wish I had 10% percent of the genius of Jim Jannard and his team. I have three degrees, one from Harvard, and I feel like a total moron talking to Jim. In my travels to most parts of the world I have met maybe twelve people that when I spoke with them I realized how stupid I was compared to them. I am trying to figure out you you take genius, passion, courage, and enthusiasm, put it in a bottle, and drink it. Do you think that would work?

Not a clue who makes the lenses. Does it make a difference?

On a side note I have enjoyed this site for years. Great ideas, fresh ideas. It has been terrific. Thanks, Francis Kenny, ASC

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

and the remaining 10% would be...:toetap05:

Me! I often repair vintage pinball and arcade machines and have to sell the extra parts to someone...

But seriously though; All my RED lenses are marked as "made in Japan" on the box. As James points out, there are other manufacturers involved and possibly facilities or manufacturing capacity. RED makes them. RED designs them. This was discussed heavily around NAB earlier this year when people got to take a good look at the RPP's and other new lenses on the market. As to the OP, the Red Pro lenses look nothing like Sigmas or Nikkors, nothing at all. Not in the way they behave or the image looks, etc..

 

[Jeff Coatney]

My 18-50mm was made in the UK. The rest of them are likely made by the same contract vendors that supply more "established" lens makers. India, Taiwan, Singapore, China all have state of the art factories that are capable of matching or beating the industry leaders in quality-- you just have to supply the right specs, tolerances and have someone to oversee the testing and QC regimen diligently and have the patience and money to eat a lot of rejects until the failure rate stabilizes. I doubt one factory does all the work, you probably have an optics supplier, then a factory to do the outer housings in bulk, then a specialized, smaller factory (likely Red owned or joint venture ) that makes the inner mechanics, electronics and final assembly.

Red's team has extensive experience in developing lenses with exotic optical properties for clients like the military and for the mass market. I think they can handle making superior quality lenses for the movie industry.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

My 18-50mm was made in the UK.

Yep, I keep forgetting about that. I wonder if the currently shipping 18-50s are still the same? I don't know the country of origin for the 50-150.

 

[Jeff Coatney]

Red has the three things going for it that give it the potential to supplant all other legacy lens makers in quality and performance on the Red camera.

1. A REFERENCE PLATFORM: They make their own sensors, powered by REDCODE. This gives them a finite, closed-loop system to design optimum lenses and measure their performance. They can alter either lens or sensor or code or all three to achieve optimum results.

2. A GOAL: Jim has a large reference collection of the finest lenses. Any desired optical characteristic can be identified, somewhat isolated and integrated into their design specs. So Red can synthesize the best characteristics of the best lenses ever made and match them to the performance of their sensor. Red can then produce the specifications necessary to create an optimum solution and manufacture it in high volume. The critical element here is not so much Jim's lens collection, but the sensor program as a reference platform. Other lens makers have reference lens collections too, but they are limited because their resolving medium is someone else's film emulsion or someone else's sensor. Anyone making lenses that do not also make their own sensors, can't control how both of those systems are integrated. They are likely to produce lenses that perform optimally for one generation of sensor and increasingly less optimally on later generations of sensors.

3. CAPITAL: This is expensive. Red has deep capital reserves. Red's pricing structure is often cited as a reason one should not take them seriously as a camera maker. This idea is ludicrous. Red's relatively low cost pricing structure allows end users of all professional levels to acquire their camera and amortize the capital expenditure over a smaller time scale. This gives Red a wider customer base and greater cash flow than similarly positioned competitors which feeds the funding demands of Red's development program well after its weaned off Jim's checkbook.

To achieve optimum imaging results in the new digital cinema age, you must have all three of these elements at your disposal. Red is a major player in an emerging, yet small, group of companies that can do this. Red has a time, intellectual and market share advantage currently, which means any competitor has to improve upon sensor technology, pricing, and manufacturing volume to beat them.

 

[Matthew Duclos]

Muahahaha. I've already taken them apart
I'll just say that it really doesn't matter where they come from.
The internals are top notch. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
In other words, RED has given the industry excellent optics at an unheard of price point. Be thankful

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Muahahaha. I've already taken them apart

Did you manage to put them back togeter? Now you have to tell us. Your credibility is on the line. :devil: LOL

 

[Imran Farouk]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

That's all that needs to be said if your asking from what country they are made in...
as for what company...kind of like asking who makes Nike...or Adidas etc.

Just don't understand the logic here but ah well...they are a great set none the less!!only thing is they are so heavy or maybe i'm just weak :tongue_smilie:

 

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

Is that information something RED would not like to see disclosed? Why so?

Enlight me.

 

[Guidofilippi]

That's all that needs to be said if your asking from what country they are made in...
as for what company...kind of like asking who makes Nike...or Adidas etc.

Just don't understand the logic here but ah well...they are a great set none the less!!only thing is they are so heavy or maybe i'm just weak :tongue_smilie:

The words "Made in China" is not always welcome...

 

[Mark Toia]

I am just wondering who makes Red Lenses? They do look like sigma or maybe even Nikon's

don't no, don't care... but they are sweet.
I'm using master primes on one camera, RED lens on the other.. cant tell the difference. both are clean and sharp right into the corners.

Who ever is making them needs a BIG MAN HUG!