A View From the Bottom

[Ethan Cooper]

Yesterday after the announcement of the forthcoming Scarlet announcement I went back and read through some of the old posts from after last year's announcement and laughed a little to myself at how much they read like yesterday's. Lot's of "well when we FINALLY have the camera in fall 2009..."

I think reality has set in somewhat for us hopeful low-enders. Our dream camera of 2 years ago was just that, a dream. By the time it reaches market, the real deal will have taken twice as long to develop and will cost twice the money from what many of us had expected at the outset. Is this Red's fault? No, it's just how things shook out. A $3000 camera that kicks every other camera's butt hitting the streets in 2008 - 2009 wasn't meant to be.

Either I figure out a way to pony up the cash to get the camera I've been wanting for a long time now, or I settle for a lesser camera from Canon that can get the job done, albeit with trade-offs that come with not having the funds to get a better product. Thus is life from the bottom of the food chain.

 

[Martin Weiss]

Ethan,

Why not get that Canon camera now, and build up a client base (and a surplus on your account). Then when the Scarlet comes (for come it will), you are ready for it and can hit the ground running.

 

[Erik Naso]

Ethan,

Why not get that Canon camera now, and build up a client base (and a surplus on your account). Then when the Scarlet comes (for come it will), you are ready for it and can hit the ground running.

This is the way I'm going as well. My XH-A1 is a great camera still and makes me money. I wish I purchased the version with SDI but that cam was to much money at the time I purchased. I think we get to caught up in the tools. Rent what you don't have, Its cheaper than owning every new camera that comes out. And new cameras are rolling out faster than ever.
As it looks like owning a Scarlet is still a year away I'm thinking about the Aja KI to give new life to my XH-A1. But then again. I could just rent it and save the 3G. Lots of options.

 

[Felix van Oost]

Its cheaper than owning every new camera that comes out. And new cameras are rolling out faster than ever.

I agree. But that's a lot of the point of the Scarlet and the reason I'm enticed by it - you don't have to sell it every year / 2 years and getting a new one, you just keep upgrading. And when Red comes out with a new generation of sensors for example, you get some great discounts on a new camera from them (and you can still keep most if not all of the accessories you already have).

 

[Martin Weiss]

Felix,

The discount/trade-in-offer for current R1 owners is a one-time thing. I would not build my business around the expectation that every new sensor generation will bring a similar offer.

 

[Felix van Oost]

OK...maybe we wouldn't get discounts or trade-ins, but we would still potentially save a LOT of money from being able to keep the same lenses, accessories, etc.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

Thus is life from the bottom of the food chain.

It's a good thing that you're living in the bottom of the richest food chain in the history of mankind, then. There are an embarrassment of riches on the camera side these days. The choices from the bottom look pretty luxurious...There is so much amazing used gear on the markets these days, it is a great time to be a buyer.

 

[David Rasberry]

I never thought $3k would get a practical field package for a Scarlet anyway. Just the bare bones camera, as is true of any camera system. Recording media alone for more than just a few minutes of time would bump that by a couple of thousand.

 

[Rick Presas]

I'm hoping to get a 2/3" fixed scarlet in time to shoot my feature film on (may).

But if I don't, them i'm fully prepared to settle for a tricked-out HPX 170. Trade off in quality? Sure. But ultimately, its the Director and his DP that make a movie filmic, not the resolution of the camera.