How many people can actually afford this "affordable" scarlet ?

[Cüneyt Kaya]

if one of you cant afford, get together and buy one.
you hardly will shoot 50 days a year, so plenty of time to share.

 

[Brad Webb]

If you started saving in 2008 and saved up $3k for 2009... why did you stop? I started saving for a FF35 scarlet and had $0 put away but started saving with the intent of buying a FF35 Scarlet in 2009. 2009 came and went and I just kept saving at the same pace now I have enough for an Epic. The camera is 3 years late. If you had the means to save up to $3k in 2008 just keep going and in 2011 3 years later you should have enough for a Scarlet-X.

I understand the answer a lot of people have "because I don't want to spend $10k on a camera." That's fine. I get it, I don't want to spend $50k on an Epic. But that's a different argument than "I can't afford it." That's "I don't want to spend the money on it." It's also saying "Scarlet-X isn't good enough for the price." I don't think Epic is good enough for the price, it is for some people but not my needs. I think the vast majority of people who "can't afford Scarlet-x" are really saying they don't want to afford it or that it's not worth it. Which again is fine, but not the argument I'm hearing and a quite different argument.

I've been saving my pennies since 2009. I figured then that I would need around $8K to get a nice 2/3 fixed set up, and I wanted to eventually save up to get the S35 brain about a year later. I cut out cable, ate cheap crappy food, drove the same beat up ass car, etc. The camera kept getting delayed and next thing you know I had saved up a ton of money. I gambled that Scarlet would be delayed for a while and bought a 7D, and a bunch of glass. It was a great purchase and I don't regret it for a second. I kept saving up, and made back all the money I spent on the 7D.

Technically, I can afford to drop $16-18k on the camera and accessories. It's a nice position to be in, but I don't know if I want to take that kind of risk. Plus I know that with my luck the second I buy this camera my car will die.

I disagree with you on the "vast majority of people who 'can't afford Scarlet-x' are really saying they don't want to afford it " I think the majority of people would have been in over their heads with a $6K camera. It's sort of a blessing in disguise. When you get to this level of camera it's all the accessories that start bleeding your wallet dry. If the 2/3 would have come out people would have been in for a real shock when they found out how much support, drives, cables, monitors, etc would cost. This was the DVX/HVX crowd. That 5-6K bough you everything you needed to get up and shooting. With the Scarlet it just got you camera. Same with the $10K now. You can't even use the camera for $10K, you have to go up $4k just to start shooting. SSD are ridiculously expensive.

That being said I'm kind of tempted to wait 4-6 months for people who realized they can't afford to shoot at this level and buy a nice used package.

 

[Joseph Coleman]

Over the past 3 years I have been working inside of After Effects and then Nuke as a compositor so I could save up enough money to purchase this camera. If you work hard with dedication and focus, saving up this type of money is not that hard. I always knew that I wanted an S35 sensor so this worked out perfect. In a matter of 7 months i was able to save up more than enough money to purchase this camera without any financing. Stay focused and buckle down if you really want it. There is nothing better than working hard for something and it all coming together in the end. I'm sure Jarred can second that. He must be a stronger man than I, if he can sit at these threads and listen to the criticism that has taken place on this forum, especially after working so hard and offering more than any other camera company has. Jarred if you read this...keep going man, you've changed the game again. And I have nothing but gratitude for the things you have done. you have given us a tool that an average dedicated person can use to make there dreams come to life. I wish the best of luck to anyone that wants to purchase the scarlet. My experience is testimony that anyone can do it! don't get down on Red because you didn't get what you want....that is just life, you must adjust and have a plan B if necessary. Life tends to give us exactly what we need but not always what we want. Keep crank'n away.

 

[Ricardo Moreno]

You can't afford the camera? How can you afford to shoot anything in the first place? It costs a lot to shoot even a micro budget feature, and if you just want to enter short film and Dorito's commercial contests, you don't need this. What else do you feel entitled to from life that you're not getting? Boo hoo.

I can't agree more. Few years ago to get this quality, you will need to shoot in 35mm, and nobody own one, plus stock-film, developing and telecine transfer. Filmaking and cinematography are not based on equipment, RED is a tool, a very powerful one, but you won't become a a "real" filmmaker if you got one. The Scarlet is a huge achievement and contribution to the industry. I am impressed that in this time, we can get a 4k for just 15k, when not even the prosumer (canon), can get even close to the specs and price.

Sorry to say, but People than can not afford a Scarlet, it's because they might not need one in the first place.

Rentals are very accessible and the way to go until you get enough work to justify the purchase of one.

 

[Steven Dean]

I was planning for the fixed 2/3 price point - but I didn't really see it coming at $6,000 - I was thinking more like $7,000-$8,000 in the end. As many people have stated, adding media, accessories etc. could have easily pushed it further to $10,000ish, which is about what I was thinking. I was actually having a hard time justifying spending that much on a 2/3 camera - yes, I know that is what many people want, and that would have been an incredible deal, but I was not really that excited about a 2/3 chip.

I was able to afford the Scarlet-X, but just barely. I have been saving for more than 2 years, and got a personal loan for the rest. I do ok, but I am no rich man... I already have a decent selection of glass, tripod, head, slider, and a few other pieces of kit. Still need to deal with audio, and shoulder mount, and who knows what else... I still have plenty more to go - be real, you can shoot with the "base" package, but no matter what, in the end the cost is going to creep up regardless. I am guessing that my overall investment is easily going to creep to $20,000 plus. I have thought - hey, you could buy a new car for that - well, I don't really care about having a brand new car, so whatever.

I love the specs on the Scarlet-X! I am fully aware that many do not, and I am not minimizing your pain, but - RED owes you nothing. Sure, a lot of people got caught up in the 2/3 price point, including myself, but I am serious enough about owning this camera to make it work at the current price point. I was mentally preparing for this the whole time. I think that RED made the right move. I believe that you are getting more of a camera proportionally at $10,000 than $6000. Bitching at/about RED is going to do nothing.

If you want it that bad, you need to be able to prepared to make it work, regardless - at least that is how I look at it.

 

[Ruben and Sheri O.]

Ppl who shoot web Fs100 is the way to go =)l

Too expensive for me too, but even if I could afford it I wouldn't buy it. It's not a very practical camera. For the 99% of us who shoot stuff for the web, this camera is not for us. This is a b cam for people who already own an Epic. Jim keeps saying this camera is for professionals. What o think he means is that its for big movies. Because the majority of professionals have no use doe this camera. Not for folks who like to shoot and edit their own stuff because the setup to edit this stuff costs half of what the camera does.

Save your money. I believe in the next year there'll be a camera - Red or not - in the 6k to 8k range that will be great for us.

 

[Tim Nitsch]

We have the money for Scarlet-X. But it doesn't have the specs we want. i.e. 120fps in a HD resolution. Wow never thought I'd ever have to say that. What a shame...

We're probably just going wait a bit and look into a used Red One.

 

[matthew hendriks]

for the people who talk about other costs in filmmaking, isnt it so that these people will shoot exactly the same as they would do with a 7d and any sony / canon hd cam ? if we speak about small productions isn't there such thing as a budget provided by a possible cliënt and that you are hired because of skills and knowledge ? Ofcourse you can rent any other camera and solve the problem but personaly I would like to test and learn it inside out to achieve the expected results with it..

 

[Christian Jadot]

Not gonna waste time reading through all this, but Scarlet is relatively cheap for what it does. If you can't recoup the cost of one over the course of 6 months then you're doing something wrong...and I'm being very generous with that figure. I'd say the same for an Epic or any other piece of high end gear like this. It's all about risk and reward. The more you spend, the more it should allow you to make.

Not all of us live in New York and are established.

 

[matthew hendriks]

this guy at least had a fixed lens scarlet in his hands

at this time there was no such argument of a camera what wouldnt be good enough, didn't we all see this test footage ?

 

[Ben Coleman]

I bought a HPX170 a few years ago for nearly 6K, not even close to what Scarlet can do. Even a new HPX250 is over 6k and add a couple of P2 cards and it's right up there. Still 1/3 chip and not nearly the dynamic range. Just saying. I think some people need to put this into perspective of the grand scheme of things across the whole industry and not just what Red said years ago.

I bought a Scarlet now. I'm investing in the future.

I'm also investing in Jim's vision. I know that guy won't let up and will always push to be better. I like that, I like the drive that he gives the company.

 

[Häakon]

We have the money for Scarlet-X. But it doesn't have the specs we want. i.e. 120fps in a HD resolution.

I love how no one was even shooting offspeed (digitally) until a few years ago, and now people are expecting ridiculously high framerates in cheap cameras. Aside from RED, what's even out there right now? A couple of dSLRs and plastic camcorders that go up to ~60p if you're willing to scale down to 720 lines of resolution or a Phantom that costs $50K+...

 

[Erich Ocean]

I love how no one was even shooting offspeed (digitally) until a few years ago, and now people are expecting ridiculously high framerates in cheap cameras. Aside from RED, what's even out there right now? A couple of dSLRs and plastic camcorders that go up to ~60p if you're willing to scale down to 720 lines of resolution or a Phantom that costs $50K+...

The Sony F3 does 60fps at 1080p out the HD-SDI connection.

 

[Häakon]

The Sony F3 does 60fps at 1080p out the HD-SDI connection.

Alrighty, add that to the list. I'm sure there are a couple of others as well. But that's 60p, not 120p... and at a maximum of 1080 lines of resolution. The point is that none of these cameras record as high as Tim was hoping, RED or otherwise. In fact, Epic is probably still the cheapest option if that's your need. High framerates just don't come cheap.

 

[Erich Ocean]

Alrighty, add that to the list. I'm sure there are a couple of others as well. But that's 60p, not 120p... and at a maximum of 1080 lines of resolution. The point is that none of these cameras record as high as Tim was hoping, RED or otherwise. In fact, Epic is probably still the cheapest option if that's your need. High framerates just don't come cheap.

I definitely agree the Epic is awesome for the high-frame rates. Alexa and F65 are both 120fps in the new year, but only the F65 has the resolution (and it's, what, double? the cost of the Epic).

 

[John Bannister]

..At $8000.00 ready to shoot from the box, Scarlet was to be my dream camera allowing me to start production of my Indie, and take a journey that would put many beasts to bed in my life. I cant stretch to $15,000 and wanted to shoot RED with all my heart.

Sad for me but at the same time happy for those that love the Scarlet's new specs and have the funds to buy it. I continue to LOVE RED Congrats RED and Team, Scarlet was a great ride.

 

[Brad Webb]

..At $8000.00 ready to shoot from the box, Scarlet was to be my dream camera allowing me to start production of my Indie, and take a journey that would put many beasts to bed in my life. I cant stretch to $15,000 and wanted to shoot RED with all my heart.

Who needs a Scarlet when you can have a FREE Epic. http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...s-Who-Feel-They-Missed-Out-on-a-Cheap-SCARLET....

 

[conrad gaunt]

Scarlet is perfectly priced.. if it was an Epic.. but its not.. so its over priced, just not as massively as Epic

Im sure Canon can make Red prices "look" good.. I have a feeling my money will be spent very differently in the future..

 

[Erik Franzén]

Scarlet is perfectly priced.. if it was an Epic.. but its not.. so its over priced, just not as massively as Epic

Im sure Canon can make Red prices "look" good.. I have a feeling my money will be spent very differently in the future..

Hold yer horses.

So you're saying an EPIC is overpriced? :emote_headwall:

 

[David Rasberry]

How about $16k+ for a Canon 300C ? 8-bit 4:2:2 1080p only.

I was realistically planning for a Scarlet 2/3" ready to shoot package in the $12k plus range based on previous announced prices for modules, media, batteries, etc. Scarlet X shooting package at $14k is not that far off the mark.

Obviously any camera is "overpriced" if you can't afford it. But compared to any other camera system at any price for all around image quality, features, and performance Scarlet X and Epic X are exceptional values in their price ranges.