Few reasonable pre-purchase questions on this AMAZING CAMERA

[Brian Lehrer]

WOW. What an incredible night and what an awesome achievement for the RED Team. Been lurking here for awhile, while shooting with cameras all the way from 5D to Red One and good old 35mm film, but I have always wanted to OWN a Red and be part of the family - and now I finally can be without breaking my coffers. I was almost ready to plunk down for Epic but this makes way more sense for my business right now and the work I do. SCARLET here we come! (Fail Canon)

All that said...I do have some nagging questions that are bugging me before I place an order. Would really appreciate some answers from the Red team when they have a second (I know you guys must be busy!) I think answers to most of these questions would benefit most of the prospective buyers.

1) Biggest thing for me: Since the Scarlet is still 5K for stills, but shoots 4K for motion...is even 24p cropped from the sensor, and therefore all our lenses will have crop factors even when we're NOT shooting slow - motion? If so, what is the crop factor? If it's not worse than 1.6 then it's not that big of a deal, but that is one thing that's bugging me.
I completely understand the crop factor for slow-mo work within this price range, but would like to get the specifics when shooting regular 24p.
EDIT: I know there's always a crop for Super35 from FF - I mean crop beyond what we are all used to with Super35.

2) I know Dragon's a bit of a ways off...but would it be safe to see we will see even better low-light performance (for Scarlet too)? (This is probably the ONLY area the competition edges in at RED - though most of the time we're not shooting without lights at night anyway...just asking though. Would love to try some candle-lit Kubrick stuff!)

3) I see from the info released that Scarlet can't shoot anamorphic like Epic or Red One. I understand why that was dropped from the Scarlet model, but can you at least shoot with Anamorphic Frame Guides in 4K? (And have those guides appear as meta data in post so you can crop accurately?) If I can do that, all is well for me.

4) AUDIO: been trying to find this out on the forums, but can't seem to find straight answers. Usually I run separate audio, but it would be wonderful to have scratch audio on the Scarlet to facilitate easy syncing. Those imports - they are balanced, correct? But no Phantom power? If you add an adapter box like Wooden Camera's does that add phantom power, or just XLR inputs? Just asking since I own a Sennheiser MKH 416 XLR Phantom Powered mic and a Rode Video Mic (1/8")...but I'm not sure if either will work. What sort of mic will work? Thanks!

5) Are the dimensions different than the Epic, besides the loss of the top/bottom ridges? What accessories for Epic won't work for Scarlet? The Backpack system? Pro I/O and Battery Modules to come? Top plates and bottom plates? Would love to know so I can order (or not order) those accessories accordingly. I know the FAQ said everything works on both...but the RED store's compatibility markers seem to say otherwise on some items (the backpack for example and the assault plate)

6) Same latitude as Epic I understand. Is that a more or less agreed upon 13 or 13.5 stops? If so, that's friggin amazing.

7) Still a shame you can't run the EVF with the Touch LCD, but I suppose you could always use an SDI monitor or an SDI or HDMI EVF instead. Guess that's not really a question, sorry.

8) Will the Scarlet/Epic work the upcoming new Canon Lenses? I don't see why they wouldn't (would just require coding for the new EF lenses right?)

9) LITTLE NON-REASONABLE QUESTION: Is grey the final color? I'm a sucker for matching hehe...is there any safe, lasting, non-warranty-voiding paint process you would recommend if I am actually vain enough to want to get it painted black on my own to match the accessories?

Thanks for your amazing camera and all the power it's gonna bring me. And thanks for hopefully answering my questions!

Best,

Brian Lehrer
WinterWolf Media

 

[Sherjil Masoom]

I think after reading many post that ... Scarlet-X won't add too many NEW customers to Red user base ... But scarlet will grab more of EPIC customers

( i might be wrong)

 

[Jesper Sichlau]

3) Quote from http://www.red.com/products/scarlet#product-features
"RED’s Scarlet-X comes standard with Canon EF and PL mount options, providing you with convenient access to a familiar arsenal of lenses. Scarlet-X makes it easy to stay sharp with interchangeable lens mounts, so Anamorphic, Panavision, and even Nikon lenses will all be available for you to lock and load. One Camera. Every Lens."

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

1) 5k -> 4k crop isn't that bad. The 5k sensor is actually a little larger than a normal s35 sensor. APS-C is similar in size to 4k MX (22.3mm vs. 22.12mm)
2) It's speculated (by me) that Dragon is a Monstro-generation chip. Monstro was rumored to have 2 stops more dynamic range. With digital sensors more dynamic range is almost always in the shadows. So I would assume *native* 1600+ ISO is a safe bet.
3) Last chart I saw that said Scarlet couldn't do Anamorphic was in 2008. Who knows what's changed since then. I hope it's not the case. Or at least isn't the case after Dragon when I intend to buy some anamorphic glass.
4) -- Don't know--
5) Exact same dimensions. Exact.
6) Yep.
7) Well then, you don't really get an answer then do you.
8) Yes.
9) The body panels are all removable under warranty (you have to remove the side panel for instance to attach a grip). Expect third party black panels.

 

[Zack CC]

I dont see why Scarlet wouldn't be able to record Anamorphic... if it is the same size as an EPIC, anamorphic dequeeze happens in post... it only needs to happen in camera if you need to monitor? and who needs that.... honestly

 

[Brian Lehrer]

Thank you so much for your great answers Gavin (and everyone else0.
1) That's great to hear, so 4K will really be more or less correct at Super35, with 5K being a little larger. I actually think I knew that way back when - thank's for reminding me.
2) Dragon sounds awesome.
3) I'm not speaking anamorphic glass which is REAL anamorphic, but rather just the recording aspect ratio (faking anamorphic in-camera). The Epic lists Anamorphic 2.4:1 and 2:1 in its specs, while the Scarlet does not. That's okay with me, as long as their are frame guides though.
5) Sounds great - but some of the compatibility markers in the RED store confuse me there (backpack says non-scarlet compatible, so does assault plate)
9) I REALLY HOPE SO ahha

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

8) I don't think the store has been updated for the new Scarlet-X realities. The old scarlet had a different backplate size. Jim has said though that All accessories are compatible.

 

[Brian Lehrer]

8) I don't think the store has been updated for the new Scarlet-X realities. The old scarlet had a different backplate size. Jim has said though that All accessories are compatible.

Sounds good , Thanks for the help - Jarred answered me in another section and said as much.
Can't wait to own a RED - the support here is absolutely incredible.
He also shared that the audio will be phantom powered with a firmware update.
And that Dragon is going to be a bigger jump that M to MX. So that's something to certainly look forward to.