A bit of advice.... ex1/letus ultimate or which scarlet?

[kathleen little]

I have been saving up for the letus ultimate and now that I've got enough to buy one, I don't know if I should wait for a scarlet to come out. I am a filmmaker/photographer. I'm happy enough with the quality of the ex1 but I hate the lack of proper DOF. I have various prime nikon lenses and I have started to collect older hasselblad lenses that I can use with a nikon adaptor on my nikon d700 (and potentially on the letus). (35mm lenses don't come close in my experience). I know that I'll be able to save money over the next year to buy more equipment and if I was to go scarlet, it wouldn't be fixed lens. I won't be able to afford both the scarlet and the ultimate. I like the idea of using the same body for film and photography. which version would you recommend? I'm not aiming for big screen screenings, but I want quality. I don't want to spend money I don't need to spend but I also don't want to have another dilemma like this in a couple of years... help! many thanks, k

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

I have been saving up for the letus ultimate and now that I've got enough to buy one, I don't know if I should wait for a scarlet to come out. I am a filmmaker/photographer. I'm happy enough with the quality of the ex1 but I hate the lack of proper DOF. I have various prime nikon lenses and I have started to collect older hasselblad lenses that I can use with a nikon adaptor on my nikon d700 (and potentially on the letus). (35mm lenses don't come close in my experience). I know that I'll be able to save money over the next year to buy more equipment and if I was to go scarlet, it wouldn't be fixed lens. I won't be able to afford both the scarlet and the ultimate. I like the idea of using the same body for film and photography. which version would you recommend? I'm not aiming for big screen screenings, but I want quality. I don't want to spend money I don't need to spend but I also don't want to have another dilemma like this in a couple of years... help! many thanks, k

Hey Kathleen -

I see lots of "what should I buy" posts these days - and it's pretty impossible to give the "right" answer because so many factors come into play.

If you can wait ... you should wait. I always tell people who save up money to invest in equipment, "you don't have enough until you have at least 150% of what you think is enough".

As far as the Scarlet & Epic lineup, I'm sure some prices and specs will change - and the biggest "unknowns" are still:

1. WHEN will they ship

2. HOW FAST can they ship

3. WHICH models will hit the market first. (I think if I was RED, I'd get the 2/3" Scarlets out into the market FIRST - fulfill all the EPIC-X orders - then ship the Scralet S35)

I think the best advice I have for you based on what little I know about what you shoot and what type of jobs pay your bills is - if you are asking this question - the answer is WAIT. Hold your breath a little longer.

It sure sounds like what you want is the RED DSMC system.

 

[kathleen little]

Hi Mark, thanks for that. the money is burning a hole in my pocket but I think you are right. I should wait. I like the sound of the FF35 as a sound investment for the future. I am a fine art photographer and a have been using hasselblad equipment for over 20 years - I want to move in the direction of film so I compromised and sold my H2 hasselblad gear and kept my very old beautiful 500 c hasselblad (film, which I can get scanned to huge file sizes). I make large scale photographs, anything up to 30" x 40" (sometimes bigger) but the nikon/canon stuff I've used doesn't come close. In the near future I want to make my own short films and I do films for public sector/charities now. it's nearly 10K for the body, what should I aim to save up by then to cover the rest of the parts I"ll need, do you think? 20K? more? thanks again!

 

[GPSchnyder]

I'd wait for the ff35. You can use your Lenses, and the movies should be superior to the ex1. And you should be able to get really good looking pictures out of the cam. So maybe you could drop your dslr fully and get some money out of it too.

So if you can wait do it. If not buy whatever suits you

 

[Matthew Bennett]

Get a Canon 5d mark2, Kathleen, you'll love it! I'm having a blast with mine. You'll save money as well.
Once you learn all the workarounds it's a joy to use.

 

[Jaime Vallés]

If I'm not mistaken, an EX1 + Letus Ultimate should ring up close to $10K, without lenses. The S35 Scarlet brain is $7K, so if the cost of necessary modules is somewhere in the $3K range, then it will definitely be the better investment. The S35 Scarlet *should* give dramatically better results, since the image is not being shot through a 35mm DoF adapter.

If you can wait for Scarlet, do it.

 

[kathleen little]

Hi Matthew, I would but I am based in UK and 30FPS is no use to me and I hear the conversion to 24FPS is bad! if canon do a firmware update soon and give the option of 24, I know I'll jump! maybe I could sell my d700 buy the canon and just get on with working just now....

Hi Jaime, already got the ex1 so in my head, it's not a lot more money I have to put out in future for the letus set up. scarlet DSCM is very appealing but people are saying necessary accessories are expensive...twice as much again. also would go for next one up because it's only a couple of grand difference. I don't have a lot of money to burn so the idea of future-proofing is also very tempting. it's so frustrating! but also it looks like the future is going to be positively appealing!

 

[conrad gaunt]

If its large prints you want, keep your film camera and use a scanner, as you said. Until the Epic 645? 28k comes out, there's nothing close, unless you scan objects directly (I have a big spider I scanned at 30,000 pixels square under a glass ash tray!).

Go to www.fxguide.com and have a listen to the last "red podcast" with Ken Duncan (www.kenduncan.com), who use a Phase One 60mp camera, but again, doesn't come close to a scanned film.

For moving images, you want the $7k Scarlet with the Monstro sensor IMO, then you should have fun and flexibility, and dynamic range, galore in post, and you'll get whatever framerate you want. It should be worth the wait, which could be a while..

Discipline is needed on your part, concentrate on the stills for now, and wait for the good stuff. Line your pockets with heat resistant materials

ps, Kill the time with some stop-motion..

 

[kathleen little]

Hi Folks, just wanted to say thanks for your input. I saw a great 2nd hand ultimate kit for a fab price and just went with that. still keeping my d700 - film and photography separate. main reason for doing so was just to jump off this mind-numbing roundabout of what-ifs and just get on with making my own stuff and my paid stuff will look even better! got my old blad as backup for quality photography. I'm sure I'll upgrade at some point but I just want to get started NOW and the ultimate is the way to do it for me! cheers kathleen

 

[jesse zook mann]

35mm question

35mm question

hi everyone. this is my first post. apologies if it has been covered but i couldnt find it.

will there be a way to use the full 35 mm sensor if you buy it and downconvert to a smaller file size in camera to say 1080p or 720p so you dont have to have storage for a full 35mm image in the camera and so you wouldnt have to downconvert in post? or if you shoot a smaller file size do you have to use less of the sensor and then loose dof?

thanks all!!!

 

[Jeff Hitchcock]

will there be a way to use the full 35 mm sensor if you buy it and downconvert to a smaller file size in camera to say 1080p or 720p so you dont have to have storage for a full 35mm image in the camera and so you wouldnt have to downconvert in post? or if you shoot a smaller file size do you have to use less of the sensor and then loose dof?

You can shoot on any of the cameras in FF1080P mode, which uses the entire sensor and thus maintains depth of field. Of course shooting in this mode will limit your framerate options due to the extra processing required.

 

[Joel Chu]

Hi Matthew, I would but I am based in UK and 30FPS is no use to me and I hear the conversion to 24FPS is bad! if canon do a firmware update soon and give the option of 24, I know I'll jump! maybe I could sell my d700 buy the canon and just get on with working just now....

Hi Jaime, already got the ex1 so in my head, it's not a lot more money I have to put out in future for the letus set up. scarlet DSCM is very appealing but people are saying necessary accessories are expensive...twice as much again. also would go for next one up because it's only a couple of grand difference. I don't have a lot of money to burn so the idea of future-proofing is also very tempting. it's so frustrating! but also it looks like the future is going to be positively appealing!

I shoot lots of stuff with my HV30 in 30p mode (I am in UK too!) and never found any problem with a 3:2 pull down.

I also have a letus extreme. Lets put it this way , lots of people come from the video world. They don't realize the camera is only tiny part of the whole package. My accessories cost 5 times to the camera ...

I wish it's variable frame rate. There are lots of interesting stuff you can do.

BTW the only thing worry be at the moment. It's not just when do they ship Scarlet (I am gonna to get the 2/3 as soon as it comes out) but how long the queue is gonna be.

It took almost 1 year to clear the RED ONE back catalog ...

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=47,2582,0,0,1,0

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=47,2582,0,0,1,0