10 Scarlet Questions from Joseph Hutson

[George D.]

Interchangeable Scalet "after" fixed Scarlet ??

Interchangeable Scalet "after" fixed Scarlet ??

We still do not have enough of an accurate timeline to give you the SCARLET Mid-May " When is it going to be done " update that you are all waiting for... so as a bit of an interlude:



1 What is the focal length of Fixed 2/3" Scarlet?

FF35 Equivalent of 28mm-224mm.


2 If #21 is something, what is it (besides the most talked about feature released on November 31st)? :laugh:

#21 is indeed something and it has a mind of it's own

It is still far enough out that you need not worry about it right now. It is however worth the recognition that it mysteriously has received


3 What priority will RED One owners have over those who have been saving all funding for Scarlets/tons of modules?

RED ONE owners who have not executed their cameras for Stages 1-3 of the EPIC program will have a short window of priority on Scarlet packages.


4 What is the current weight of the Fixed Scarlet/lens?

Current weight of Fixed Scarlet is just over 4.5 pounds.


5 What kind of success have you had with firing up the Scarlet and taking motion/stills on the Scarlet? (image quality compared to the EPIC/boot up times)

Scarlet 8x is first to be brought up in the lab. It is still in engineering form, not "run around and take pictures form". Think of a mini-Franky. There is alot of effort is going into the autofocus algorithms and lens optimization, and alot of waiting for bits of code to come down from it's big brother. The ASIC, Sensor and Lens work have been complete ( the hard parts ), but there is still alot of firmware work to be done and some minor mechanical changes waiting on tooling.

The images coming off of it are incredible.. remember, the 2/3rds sensor is part of the Mysterium-X family, and you all know what that looks like.


6 Will 120fps recording be possible on the CF-Modules or will another recording device be necessary?

120fps is working on the CF-Module with 64GB cards at a reduced REDCODE rate. The highest REDCODE number you can use with the CF cards are still being determined as optimization work is progressing.


7 Will the read/reset of the 2/3 be on par with the epic?

The read/reset will be on par to the read/reset times of EPIC S35.


8 How much difference in dynamic range should the 2/3 have in comparison with epic?

Compared to the EPIC S35 they will be close. The actual delta changes every day, as both systems continue to independently improve.


9 How does EPIC's delivery date effect the 2/3" Fixed Scarlet's release?

Scarlet Fixed 2/3" is currently behind EPIC and likely will be for the forseable future. Some things are caught up, but as a whole it is a step or two behind it as it inherits a good portion of EPIC's development efforts.


10 What is the biggest change to Scarlet since the last announcement that makes you excited?

The autofocus is actually the most impressive work going on right now... Nobody has seen autofocus on a video camera work like this before, and it is pretty impressive to actually see it work. Of course #21 is pretty incredible. And the (optional) Titanium Lens mount is pretty cool.


SELFISH QUESTION #11: Could I have my Scarlet finished in Silver just as your RED #10? I'd like to name it "High Yo Silver" :laugh:

Kind of... the side"cosmetic" pieces on Scarlet are removable.. and you can get different finishes. I can't remember if we officially mentioned that before for the 2/3"...... but you can. But please... No pink.
Hopefully these questions were "good". :emote_popcorn:

Thanks Jarred, for everything.

I realize the pressure you guys must be under can be awful at times. I feel for you, and I really appreciate what you guys are doing. The work and innovations you guys are doing sure sounds exciting.

I only have ONE question:
Will the interchangeable-lens Scarlet be released "after" the fixed-lens Scarlet, and do you have any inclination as to how long afterward that may be?

For our work, we MUST be able to change lenses, and S35 is overkill.

Thanks again, and take care.

 

[Michael Olsen]

First why worry about TRS inputs if they have phantom power? I am concerned that hanging a heavy connector and cable from such small plugs will stress both the plugs and the casing much much more than XLR inputs would.

Well, to be fair, there should some form of stress reduction on the cable anyway, regardless of XLR or TRS (or USB, or Ethernet, etc...) if you are shooting in any kind of hostile environment. Not only will it prolong the life of the cable, it can prevent any kind of cable from becoming accidentally disengaged.

Also, will they be able to take the occasional yank that happens by unavoidable accident?

This is the one that concerns me - are there locking TRS cables? Of course, I would rather just have the cables come out and lose audio than have a locked cable that yanks the camera out of my hands or pulls the tripod over, probably wrecking a lens.

Will such accidents [catastrophic accidental removal of TRS jacks] create cracks in the cam case that cause huge repair bills?

I don't see that happening, as the case is made from metal and - from all accounts - is exceedingly sturdy.

Yes, I will use dual sound when I can but there are times when that is impossible; for example, run and gun shoots in public places that allow only single person video (a common constraint in India where I do a lot of shooting).

To say that it is impossible is stretching it. I run dual system audio when using a DSLR to film solo - and so do a great many others on DSLRs and other cameras. Not ideal, perhaps, but far from impossible. After all, if you are really shooting run and gun....all one has to do is press the record button once.

Second, I agree that the key is the quality of the mic preamps. I would pay for great preamps - gladly. I have not seen any comparison of mic pre amps on the cam versus on the modules. Do they even have different preamps? I don't know.

I believe you can expect the modules to have nice preamps. And if you would pay for great preamps, then do so - either buy a $20,000+ camera with built in preamps now, buy a separate audio recorder and mixer now, or wait and see what the Scarlet can deliver for less than $10,000.

 

[joshua csehak]

First why worry about TRS inputs if they have phantom power? I am concerned that hanging a heavy connector and cable from such small plugs will stress both the plugs and the casing much much more than XLR inputs would. Also, will they be able to take the occasional yank that happens by unavoidable accident? Will such accidents create cracks in the cam case that cause huge repair bills?

You never want to hang a cable right from the connector, even if it's an xlr one. Always loop it around some part of the body, like the handle, so if the cable somehow does get yanked, the stress is all on the cable (although you could argue that if the yank's hard enough to pull the whole camera out of your hands, you'd rather have it only break the connector...).

If the TRS inputs don't have phantom power, your mic selection is very limited. Dynamic mics are not as sensitive and usually don't sound as good, and powered mics sound crappy. Every good shotgun mic (that I can think of) needs phantom power. I think that's a way bigger concern than the connector.

I'm curious though, if there's a reason why they went with 1/8" TRS over mini-xlr?

I read somewhere that the fixed scarlet will have three ND positions, could we hopefully see this also on the 2/3 interchangeable? I mostly shoot ENG and this is practically a need, if not then with the mini primes would there be some sort of screw on ND that would work with the mini primes other than using a matte box?

Built-in ND? Interesting. I read somewhere that it'll have a 77mm filter screw mount. Just make sure you buy a 77mm -> something bigger step-up adapter so you can stack as many filters as you want without vignetting.

 

[Quentin Brown]

This thread is about the fixed lens Scarlet. Why do you think that I'm too far off topic?

I have a prosumer DV camcorder (fixed lens, bought for $2K 7-8 years ago or so). I also have a DSLR.

This is why I waited for the fixed-lens Scarlet:
- I'm sick and tired of hauling a DSLR with 2-3 lenses + a camcorder.
- I always shoot all my stills in RAW. I'm a perfectionist. I like how I can adjust white balance and other stuff in RAW stills - lots of headroom for improving the image. I would love to have the same options for video.
- When I just bought that DV camcorder, I tried to film instructional exercise videos. That did not work, because the lens was to narrow - I could not go far enough to frame the scene, in a gym. Have you been in a gym?

But I agree, there's not much to discus about this, so I shut up

Sorry, Sergiy I didn't mean to cause any offence. I was attempting to be lighthearted with my use of the funny threadjacked emoticons.

There are many threads about the fixed Scarlet and this one began with the update from Jarred and his answers to the ten questions about the fixed scarlet for general commiunity info and was keeping with the topic of more questions and the odd answer from Jarred. Your questions were, I felt, taking things in more of a personal direction of asking what camera would be suitable for your needs. I hope you can see the destinction.


The only reason I want to try & keep on topic is for ease of use of the forums. They can be laborious to wade through to get to the actual info vs chat, personal questions etc. This causes a catch22 where people get frustrated trying to find info and just start asking questions in whatever threads are getting attention. I have been guilty of that too in the past.

 

[Rick Burnett]

Powered mics sound crappy? What do you think the Phantom power is doing? It's powering the mic! I use a Rode NTG-2 which I can use a AA battery in for power if I need to and I think the mic sounds really good. And I *know* good mic sound, in my studio I use a Blue Kiwi mic which cost me $2k.

If you mean amplified a passive mic, well, I agree

And yes, it was mentioned long ago built in ND filtering. There are a lot of cameras that offer this even now.

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

Your initial answer was right on, definitely no reason you couldn't shoot a low-budget feature on a Scarlet from what we all can tell!

See, here is what I take issue with a bit. And its no ones fault, but just because scarlet is lower on the chain than red doesn't mean you can't make a full fledged feature.

3k raw on 2/3" sensor at up to 120fps is a higher spec than so many movies, and at the risk of repeating things from other threads:

Public enemies

Miami VIce

Star wars (the crappy new ones)

Sin City

blah blah... you guys know all of these. And with 5 minutes of digging I could greatly diversiy the genres, but I am lazy.

Anyway, just saying, for the right story (which is almost any story) 2/3" is a viable option in my book. If you do a good job, of course.

Just saying

Jeff

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

It does have XLR inputs. On the optional IO module.

I am guessing one could get a beachtek type device with XLR inputs and level control. I agree live events need this. Maybe they assume a mixer?

Jeff

 

[Jay Gannon]

See, here is what I take issue with a bit. And its no ones fault, but just because scarlet is lower on the chain than red doesn't mean you can't make a full fledged feature.

3k raw on 2/3" sensor at up to 120fps is a higher spec than so many movies, and at the risk of repeating things from other threads:

Public enemies

Miami VIce

Star wars (the crappy new ones)

Sin City

blah blah... you guys know all of these. And with 5 minutes of digging I could greatly diversiy the genres, but I am lazy.

Anyway, just saying, for the right story (which is almost any story) 2/3" is a viable option in my book. If you do a good job, of course.

Just saying

Jeff

He said there's definitely no reason, meaning there's no problem with doing so.

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

He said there's definitely no reason, meaning there's no problem with doing so.

Right on, its the "low budget" part I was referring to. Some of the most expensive, high production value movies ever made were shot on 2/3" HD.

I don't even care if people are "looking down" on 2/3", i care that creative people don't limit themselves unduly.

Jeff

 

[Jaymes Poudrier]

Hmmnnn... Auto-focus....in a video camera....#21 "Has a mind of it's own"...Is it an Auto-focus that uses the touchscreen as a tracker to pull focus automatically in video recording? HMMNNN.......
Or perhaps, no touch is neccisary....like auto-auto-focus....

 

[Dane Henry]

Colin... Why don't you add the Pro I/O and the Brain price together, and then show me another camera within even a mile of that price that can even come close to what the Scarlet can do, and I will start actually listening to these bullshit complaints....

BLAM!...it's frustrating to see that so many people don't understand just HOW MUCH they are getting with Scarlet and what the real capabilities are. C'mon having dedicated XLR on the body is not a deal breaker...there are easy remedies if you don't want to go with the base/pro IO modules...but you know I will, and I'm glad I can remove it when I don't need it.

-Dane

 

[Peter_N]

This is the one that concerns me - are there locking TRS cables?

I believe there ARE locking TRS connectors that screw in a couple of turns after they are plugged in. There also seem to be ones that have a separate locking tab ( see: http://www.guitarcenter.com/VTG-NJ3FP6C-Neutrik-TRS-Locking-Connector-102781648-i1169998.gc )

 

[Rick Burnett]

I believe there ARE locking TRS connectors that screw in a couple of turns after they are plugged in. There also seem to be ones that have a separate locking tab ( see: http://www.guitarcenter.com/VTG-NJ3FP6C-Neutrik-TRS-Locking-Connector-102781648-i1169998.gc )

Those are 1/4 inch. I wonder if there is enough room on a 1/8 inch jack for that?

I'd rather not have locked in connectors though. I'd want to use at least a cable with break away connectors in case someone trips over the wire. I've seen these on one set before and they were really cool to have (especially when the camera operator needed to go test 5 million locations they wanted to shoot from, and the sound guy could easily unhook from him during that testing period.

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

... (especially when the camera operator needed to go test 5 million locations they wanted to shoot from, and the sound guy could easily unhook from him during that testing period.

hahaha, stupid camera guys. Oh wait.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Hopefully this will change for the fixed lens scarlet at least. If this camera is going to compete with even the HVX, it needs XLR inputs and someway to control the audio without going into the menus.

This will be essential for live event, documentary work, etc.

Exactly. To suggest that you need to spend between $1750 and $2950 to get XLRs on a $4500 camera is crazy - just the base I/O adds 40%.

From what I've seen the fixed scarlet is suppose to be a fully functioning camera. In this day and age (unless it's a consumer camcorder or a stills camera) that requires XLR inputs.

All you have to do is look at the complaints surrounding the 5D/7D and it's pretty easy to see that 1/8" ports don't cut it.

Colin... Why don't you add the Pro I/O and the Brain price together, and then show me another camera within even a mile of that price that can even come close to what the Scarlet can do, and I will start actually listening to these bullshit complaints....

It's no wonder Jarred is frustrated. Sadly, I think the fact that RED has announced a kit for the fixed Scarlet has set people on the wrong road as far as their thinking. All of a sudden everyone expects to buy the Scarlet brain and just start shooting everything. It doesn'ty work that way.

Scarlet is modular... period. You are not buying a camera, you are buying into a camera system. Modularity means flexibility and options. Pretend for a moment that you don't get any modules with the fixed Scarlet for $4750, or that you are buying the interchangeable lens brain for $2750. From there, you see that you have to spend some more money to get exactly the camera you want - and, consequently, don't have to "waste" money buying modules you DON'T want. Want a 5 inch monitor instead of a 2.8? No problem. Prefer a viewfinder instead? No problem, you don't need to "waste" money on a monitor at all. Shoot separate sound? Great, who needs high quality audio inputs on the camera that you will not use anyway. Get it? It's MODULAR!! The brain is where you start for $2750/4750. But the camera system you end up with will cost more - get used to the idea. But, as has been pointed out a zillion times, try and come up with a camera that offers as much for anything close to the end price. Good luck, because IMO, you won't. :rant:

 

[Michael Olsen]

IYou are not buying a camera, you are buying into a camera system.

It's funny, because something similar hit another market a few months back when people realized that the cameras they could buy for a relatively very cheap price really weren't worth much without a few extra lenses, recording media, batteries, real tripods and support equipment, an external audio recorder, microphone, cabling, etc...and soon those "cheap cameras" became nearly as costly as an equitable camera system with only a few major advantages.

I'm confident the fixed Scarlet, as a single package, will do far more than anything else for the price - right out of the box. But it seems similar to me in that it's true potential is unlocked as you expand it and specialize it to become exactly what you need. That is, after all, the whole point of modularity. You can get in at the base for a little. But spend a little bit more, and you get a lot.

 

[Nils Ruinet]

Your correct.. No Optical image stabilization, but instead a hybrid stabilization using the sensors in the camera for movement and then shifting the window.. its all metadata so the stabilization correction can be applied, or discarded.

So, even the image stabilization is kinda RAW... Which is great, except that means that you probably won't be able to correct any motion blur resulting from these shaky images.
It also means that we'll be able to use image stabilization on any existing lens, which is great.
I guess we can't get everything...

 

[Colin Sheldon]

BLAM!...it's frustrating to see that so many people don't understand just HOW MUCH they are getting with Scarlet and what the real capabilities are. C'mon having dedicated XLR on the body is not a deal breaker...there are easy remedies if you don't want to go with the base/pro IO modules...but you know I will, and I'm glad I can remove it when I don't need it.
-Dane

Even though they're balanced, and support phantom power, they have issues. They are not durable. The headphone jack on a camera is one of the first things to go. After a few hundred in/out cycles, or if it gets bumped, and all of a sudden you're needing to send it out for a repair and probably have an entire internal board replaced.

And it means almost always using adapters, which are always too long, or too short, they get in the way and they reduce sound quality.

Yes, I know fixed Scarlet will make wonderful pictures. Yes it is a fantastic motion picture camera, and a great value. I look forward to having one or two to go along with my Epic, Red, 5D, and HVX.

But to understand the frustration of the sound people that visit these boards, I think you have to understand a little about what it's like to work in the Sound Department - even on high budget features. There are literally dozens of people who are dedicated to producing the highest quality image possible... and two guys in the back corner somewhere trying to get good sound. I got more respect as a camera trainee then I ever did as a Boom op or Mixer.

At Red there are people who are passionate about codecs and compression ratios. There are people passionate about accessories and design. Red has people who are passionate about lenses, and or course sensors and mounts. But who is passionate about audio? I mean someone who tucks in their 788T every night?

I meant no disrespect to Red. They are doing fantastic work, not only creating great products, but pushing the entire industry in a direction that's better for all of us.

And maybe people leaving comments are right - putting even mini XLR connectors on the fixed scarlet is asking too much, that it would make the camera too expensive, or cause design issues.... but can't the issue be discussed?

 

[Sergiy Kolokolkin]

Sorry, Sergei I didn't mean to cause any offence.

No offense taken First of all, I'm glad that I asked about image stabilization. We finally know the answer. Thanks, Jarred! Second, now I understand that I need either OIS or sensor shift, that is "real" stabilization, not post-production tricks that will cause "individual frames will be accompanied by blur in the camera movement direction" - Thanks, Quentin_B. So, I've got all answers that I needed, no sarcasm, honest thanks to all people that explained this stuff to me!

 

[joshua csehak]

Powered mics sound crappy? What do you think the Phantom power is doing? It's powering the mic! I use a Rode NTG-2 which I can use a AA battery in for power if I need to and I think the mic sounds really good. And I *know* good mic sound, in my studio I use a Blue Kiwi mic which cost me $2k.

If you mean amplified a passive mic, well, I agree

And yes, it was mentioned long ago built in ND filtering. There are a lot of cameras that offer this even now.

That's great that the NTG-2 sounds good. I've never used it, but I've gotten great sound from the NTG-3, so that doesn't surprise me. I've seen some tests with the video mic where I was less than impressed. I don't have a lot of experience with battery-powered mics, mostly because they're on the cheap end and I don't expect them to perform, so I don't really give them a chance. How do you like the Kiwi? I tried the Dragonfly years ago when I got my first condenser, the Neumann TLM 103, and the Neumann sounded way better to my ears. And then I found the Gefell MT71S, which beats the Neumann: http://www.mercenary.com/migemts.html (Mercenary's a great company to buy from, btw. They'll let you try things out at home and return it if you don't like it, or try out a few different ones and only buy your favorite. I wish they carried shotguns.)