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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Do I need the Touchscreen?

A

Arnold F.

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I purchased the Touchscreen because it was part of the package but as the unexpected costs mount ($700 to put a brick on the camera?!), I'm now looking for ways to cut back. I already have the TV Logic and I would get a DP4/EVF. Assuming I take the speed of menu navigation out of the equation (I'll be fine with the side-handle), what does the touch screen do now or in the future that I can't do with another monitor? Will the touch-focus really work that well? Can you "follow" focus with it?
 
Arnold F. said:
I purchased the Touchscreen because it was part of the package but as the unexpected costs mount ($700 to put a brick on the camera?!), I'm now looking for ways to cut back. I already have the TV Logic and I would get a DP4/EVF. Assuming I take the speed of menu navigation out of the equation (I'll be fine with the side-handle), what does the touch screen do now or in the future that I can't do with another monitor? Will the touch-focus really work that well? Can you "follow" focus with it?
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I'll take it off your hands if you don't want it.
 
I worked with the EPIC and just being able to use the touch screen was amazing. I can use the REDone's joystick menus with my eyes shut, and switching to the epic/scarlet touch screen made first day's use so easy. Only down side is the size, I do love the RED 7" LCD.
 
Jon, you're supposed to be persuading me to part with it, not keep it! I saw the touchscreen in action whilst taking a product tour at a local rental house. It's cool, yes. I just don't know if it's $1600 cool if I already have two other monitors. If it's only for menu navigation that I can get on another monitor without touching then I won't need it.


Jon Carr said:
I worked with the EPIC and just being able to use the touch screen was amazing. I can use the REDone's joystick menus with my eyes shut, and switching to the epic/scarlet touch screen made first day's use so easy. Only down side is the size, I do love the RED 7" LCD.
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You need to spend the day with the touch screen. If you have the touch screen and some media but no camera brain. Since you in NYC, I'll lend you my camera body for the day so you can decide on whether its worth it. The side handle is probably the second best way to control the camera following the REDmote. Let me know.
 
Jon, I want to acknowledge your very generous offer. I'm going to PM you.

Jon Carr said:
You need to spend the day with the touch screen. If you have the touch screen and some media but no camera brain. Since you in NYC, I'll lend you my camera body for the day so you can decide on whether its worth it. The side handle is probably the second best way to control the camera following the REDmote. Let me know.
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Buy the screen. It's needed. Or you will bend your neck of from finding menus etc in the view finder or other monitor and to navigate the menus without the screen is maybe possible but with the screen it's something a kid can learn in 5 minutes.

Also if you are going to rent out the camera, even only for a day, the screen is needed, and it's paid of by the end of that day...
 
You write that navigating without the touchscreen is "maybe possible." My understanding, and perhaps I've been wrong, is that one can navigate the menus completely with the side handle and another monitor connected via HDMI or SDI. If that's not the case then the touchscreen would indeed be a mandatory item for everyone wishing to access camera menus.

I don't know if I have the stomach to rent out the camera and while I admit I know little about rental prices (insofar as I don't know anyone who'll pay me to rent it), I don't know if I'd get $1600/day for the touchscreen alone. Maybe that's not what you meant. Although, if you did, I'd stop shooting and go into the RED Touchscreen rental business.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I feel certain that navigating the menus without the touchscreen is possible (and, once you get the hang of it, fairly fast). The question is what it offers that a TV Logic won't.




Björn Benckert said:
Buy the screen. It's needed. Or you will bend your neck of from finding menus etc in the view finder or other monitor and to navigate the menus without the screen is maybe possible but with the screen it's something a kid can learn in 5 minutes.

Also if you are going to rent out the camera, even only for a day, the screen is needed, and it's paid of by the end of that day...
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I think of it more as a luxury than a necessity. That said, I won't be selling mine and use it pretty much exclusively for navigating menus. If you are thinking about selling yours, I suggest you not use a touchscreen even as a trial. Make the Redmote or side handle your first learning experience. If you don't know what you are missing, it will not haunt you. ;-)
 
Currently I prefer using the touch screen over the redmote and sidehandle. There is something more gratifying about touching a menu and seeing it change. In my mind, yes you may already have an onboard monitor, but you don't have a redundant way to change menu settings. Say you don't want to use the sidehandle or redmote or have to take them off for some reason or another. I feel like the extra control gained from the lcd is definitely worth it. Also the LCD is more calibrated to the camera than any other onboard would be. I'm not sure if all the menus will display to the SDI feed out, but it is definitely good to have a histogram that more than one person can see (instead of the evf). There wil be plety of times you have multiple people, shooter/dp/gaffer/whoever that all want to see the camera's histograms.

I'd say go for it. It's a hot item and like Jon was alluding, you'll be able to sell it easily if you don't like it.
 
I'm finding the side handle is much faster for screen navigation. I'm sure I'll find more uses for the screen, and the quality is great, but I could easily see trading the 5" touch for the 5.6" lcd.
 
Let me refine the question because most of the answers (thank you!) deal with rental and ease of use.

Can I focus AF lenses using the touchscreen? If I could follow focus with it then there would be no question about keeping it. Any other cool things that my TV Logic can't do?
 
In my opinion the Touch LCD is key. I would do what you can to keep it.

In your first post you said "....as the unexpected costs mount ($700 to put a brick on the camera?!)". I am pretty sure you can find cheaper options to mount the RED Brick Battery than $700, especially if you already own a RED Quickplate or RED Cradle. First you need a 2B-to-1B cable ($190). A couple cheaper options of the mount I've seen/used are at Wooden Camera and Cinema Oxide.

The most affordable I've seen is at Cinema Oxide, all you need to buy is http://www.cinemaoxide.com/epic-battery-plate-and-pin-guard.php

It comes to about $420 total with cable

Basically, what I'm saying is try to save your money in other places. Don't give up the Touch LCD, it's really amazing!
 
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