Accounts of Redmote Reliability

[Brant Hadfield]

I am trying to decide whether to use Redmote as the only means of camera control for Scarlet. I do not anticipate purchasing Redvolts (too little time per batt), my camera will always be on a rig of some kind, and I already have a 5.6" monitor far superior to the RED 5" touchscreen. So that leaves me really interested in Redmote, as it is versatile for use with my jib, or right on the camera.

I have read some reports from owners of Redmote saying they are not reliable, will stop working for long duration, and start again without apparent reason. Now I've read a couple other reports saying the latest firmware has cured Redmote of its ills.

Can I rely upon Redmote as my only means of camera control? Please base your thoughts on this less on theory, and more upon actual experience with the most recent firmware revision. Thank you.

 

[Brett Clements]

Murphy's Law rules film-making Brant. The great thing about the RedMote is it looks sexy and protects the inputs at the back and is YET ANOTHER way to control the camera. Now I have three ways to control the camera. Monitor. Side handle. Redmote. And if there's bugs, relax. They'll get sorted. If your Canon has a heart attack on the buttons....who u going to call? I'd love to shoot a short film on you scaring up some Help line stuff on your 5d. You guys need to stop sweating the small stuff and demonstrate a bit of TRUST. This is the creative world. We all make it up as we go along. I think they call that..evolution.

 

[Scott Crawley]

If he has a cast and crew full of people waiting for him then blind TRUST is no basis for descision making. They will already be waiting for him to set the jib up so every extra minute fooling with the Redmote could really screw the day.

Is yours a prioritized list? Is operation really the third most useful aspect of the Redmote in your opinion... After "Sexy looking"?

Murphy's Law rules film-making Brant. The great thing about the RedMote is it looks sexy and protects the inputs at the back and is YET ANOTHER way to control the camera. Now I have three ways to control the camera. Monitor. Side handle. Redmote. And if there's bugs, relax. They'll get sorted. If your Canon has a heart attack on the buttons....who u going to call? I'd love to shoot a short film on you scaring up some Help line stuff on your 5d. You guys need to stop sweating the small stuff and demonstrate a bit of TRUST. This is the creative world. We all make it up as we go along. I think they call that..evolution.

 

[J.D. Frey]

Like it or not "sexy looking" is distracting if not useful. I've landed some jobs with the words Red One and no other reason.

If you are going on set then you need to know the capabilities of your gear- if the capabilities are missing then you can bet that Red will make it right at some point in the future. The redmote might be the gear you need, but it might not be ready for your needs until the bugs are ironed out. You can't buy the redmote of the future- the only one available is the one that is out now.

If I were you then I would watch these boards for info and buy the redmote later, or wait for the version with the ff knob. If I were me then I would get the redmote because it is only $550.00 and be happy when new software realeases are announced. if I don't trust it on set I won't use it until I trust it on set.

 

[David Didato]

IMHO, I never want to have only one way to do a critical task. I always try to have a backup plan B and C as much as budget allows.

That being said, I've heard that the distance from Redmote (and many wireless devices) is a concern. So watch out for planning really high crane shots.

PS - It would be interesting to know if we can extend the cabling of the 5"LCD for control.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

I'd say that we don't have enough data points on the latest firmware to draw firm conclusions yet - it does seemed to have fixed the reliability issues, but since the latest firmware is less than a week old, it might be a little premature to pronounce it done, or as reliable as the other two options, which plug directly into the body rather than relying on a network.

 

[Jason Wietholter]

Brant, regardless of the reliability, I would be very weary of having only one form of camera control and it being wireless. I would go with the Redmote and the DSMC Side Handle at a minimum, especially with DSMC Side Handle prices going up after the 1st of the year. This would give you one remote (wireless) form of control, and one on-camera (hard-wired) form of control.

@David - there are extension cables in the RED store. I think 10' is the longest, and I'm not certain if you can continue to daisy chain extension cables.

 

[Stephen Wheeler]

I really feel the touch screen is still the best option for controlling the camera. The way the menus are set up they're designed for a touchscreen interface. It's possible with the side handle and redmote, but things like entering a card name or camera name can be difficult/ annoying/ time consuming. As far as wireless reliability I've been disappointed with the redmote so far, but do have high hopes for the new firmware that is supposed to improve it's range. I hope to be testing that today.

 

[Brant Hadfield]

Murphy's Law rules film-making Brant. The great thing about the RedMote is it looks sexy and protects the inputs at the back and is YET ANOTHER way to control the camera. Now I have three ways to control the camera. Monitor. Side handle. Redmote. And if there's bugs, relax. They'll get sorted. If your Canon has a heart attack on the buttons....who u going to call? I'd love to shoot a short film on you scaring up some Help line stuff on your 5d. You guys need to stop sweating the small stuff and demonstrate a bit of TRUST. This is the creative world. We all make it up as we go along. I think they call that..evolution.

Brett, I do not own a 5D. I will never own a 5D. I spent 20 years using ENG cameras costing much more than the Scarlet. These cameras had "one way" to control the camera. I currently own a Panasonic AF100 and a Nanoflash. These units also have "one way" to control. The products are well-tested and bullet proof. The nature of the answers to my question here are well appreciated and in themselves answer my question indirectly. I do not need my camera control, or the camera itself for that matter, to be "sexy". I DO need it to be reliable. I need to know the money being spent by my client or production company is being spent safely. I have been accustomed to buying Japanese or German made equipment which simply works as advertised and designed, all the time. I am learning, based on descriptions by those contributing here, that RED equipment functions more akin to an Italian sports car. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

I don't think the sports car is a good analogy, Brant.

By the time RED was "done" with my RED ONE, it was a thoroughly reliable workhorse - bomb-proof. But it didn't start its life that way. You could say that I bought an Italian sports car that morphed into a German sports car. Similarly, the EPIC isn't "done" - it's still new, and they are still inventing it, as we continue the journey. As I mentioned already - and this should be all the answer that you need - the REDMOTE fixes are too recent to be able to calculate its total reliability at the present time. So, the answer - right now, right this second - is that you'll probably experience some frustration if you choose the RedMote-only option. In time, this option likely will be viable.

The EPIC will be a bomb-proof workhorse soon, at a much faster speed than the ONE.