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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 :)

NAB 2014 - RED SWITCHBLADE-M

This is a bit of a silly question but is it too late to swap the names for the switchblade and sidewinder?

Switchblade: A small handheld implement in which metal tools (such as a knife) retract and extend. Very similar to a swiss army knife. A perfectly sensible name for a tool in which small allen wrenches pop out.

Sidewinder: A snake, but has the word "side" in it. A perfectly sensible name for a control pad that is affixed to the SIDE of the camera and even has a little wheel you can "wind" one way and the other.

The only way I can remember which is which is to think of what it *should* be and then name the other one. :P
 
The sidewinder is like a gift you would give away at trade fairs, useful sure, but as a red product it's one step up from a hat or circular saw.

Every order with red over $100 should have one shipped with it gratis.
 
Completely agree with Mr Clements.

Does Red seek any input from camera assistants when they design this stuff? Do they want it to fit in with the way we work or do they only care about the owner/op crowd. All to often it feels like things are designed with a 'we know best attitude' and therefore we have to do things the Red way. Arri gives us the most intuitive way. Please copy the Alexa menu layout and be done with it.
 
Gavin Greenwalt said:
This is a bit of a silly question but is it too late to swap the names for the switchblade and sidewinder?

Switchblade: A small handheld implement in which metal tools (such as a knife) retract and extend. Very similar to a swiss army knife. A perfectly sensible name for a tool in which small allen wrenches pop out.

Sidewinder: A snake, but has the word "side" in it. A perfectly sensible name for a control pad that is affixed to the SIDE of the camera and even has a little wheel you can "wind" one way and the other.

The only way I can remember which is which is to think of what it *should* be and then name the other one. :P
Click to expand...

Isaac Marchionna said:
What Gavin says is true, every-time I seem to have a conversation with fellow RED owners they get the two products totally mixed up.
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Just wait 'til you send an intern back down the hill to the van with instructions to bring you the "sidewinder." '-)
 
+1 to Paul Clements suggestions...any opportunity to improve a non-owners UI experience with this camera would be welcome, and likely seen as a recognition by Red that an AC's opinion/input is valid in terms of how a camera is designed. It's already a step in the right direction, but as Paul has pointed out, there is always room for improvement...
 
+1 to Paul Clements suggestions. The main thing that camera assistants say about the Alexa is it is easy to use. i frequently get complaints about all the buttons on the side handle and most of the time it is taken off. The red mote is also confusing to many assistants and so also doesn't get used. This was a real opportunity to sort out these sort of complaints and create a must have bit of kit but the current design is not it.
 
Buttons on the side of the LCD would help. But most of the time when ACs tell me they hate the Epic it's because of things like the SDI cable being impossible to get to, every bolt being a different size (mix of imperial, metric and torx for seemingly no reason). Then the audio guys start complaining about no XLR ports by default etc.

That standard IO module that disappeared 4 years ago and a slightly tweaked switchblade though I think would at least resolve most of their complaints.
 
I can't seem to excess the playback functions with my REDMOTE , will it be possible to playback with this?
 
Gavin Greenwalt said:
Buttons on the side of the LCD would help. But most of the time when ACs tell me they hate the Epic it's because of things like the SDI cable being impossible to get to, every bolt being a different size (mix of imperial, metric and torx for seemingly no reason). Then the audio guys start complaining about no XLR ports by default etc.

That standard IO module that disappeared 4 years ago and a slightly tweaked switchblade though I think would at least resolve most of their complaints.
Click to expand...

Its modular... and if you dont buy the modules people will complain.
For audio you can use the Abox from VC or the pro io module or any other 3:rd party solution.

And for ac's complaining about the touch i think the switch blade and a extra 9" touch on the blinde side is the best solution. Even thoug i personally like the side handle and redmote (ours actally works with no issues).

for the sdi cable i just put one of those bnc to AV female conector abd provide some AV male connectors with the camera as i really do not want rental clients to hook up BNC cables straight to camera. I want the video cable to be not only easy to connect but also I want it made so its possible to rip it out if sombody steps on it or such. So i actually like the sinked in sdi connector.

I think we can not really blame red for the stuff we did not buy when it come to rental clients. Red made these cameras super small and limited to give us options to add whats wanted and to me every angle is pretty much multi covered with options by red or 3:rd parties.
 
charles lim yi yong said:
I can't seem to excess the playback functions with my REDMOTE , will it be possible to playback with this?
Click to expand...

You can either switch the redmote to local mode and control the menus on the camera. Or assign the playback function to any key on the remote.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Its modular... and if you dont buy the modules people will complain.
For audio you can use the Abox from VC or the pro io module or any other 3:rd party solution.

And for ac's complaining about the touch i think the switch blade and a extra 9" touch on the blinde side is the best solution. Even thoug i personally like the side handle and redmote (ours actally works with no issues).

for the sdi cable i just put one of those bnc to AV female conector abd provide some AV male connectors with the camera as i really do not want rental clients to hook up BNC cables straight to camera. I want the video cable to be not only easy to connect but also I want it made so its possible to rip it out if sombody steps on it or such. So i actually like the sinked in sdi connector.

I think we can not really blame red for the stuff we did not buy when it come to rental clients. Red made these cameras super small and limited to give us options to add whats wanted and to me every angle is pretty much multi covered with options by red or 3:rd parties.
Click to expand...

Hi Bjorn
Could you point me to a link with those AV connectors you are mentioning please?
Last week I had someone dropping our Atomos Samurai, the Atomos survived, but not the BNC cable, so I would love to come up with a better system than I have right now
 
I often use a BNC to RCA on camera... Think Björn was talking about those... I also put an angled BNC before it so the cable can go out sideway...

rca-bnc-2.jpg
 
Mikael Lubtchansky said:
I often use a BNC to RCA on camera... Think Björn was talking about those... I also put an angled BNC before it so the cable can go out sideway...

rca-bnc-2.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes you are right, put one off those on the camera and a few BNC to RCA males. Then you do not need to send your camera in for service after it has been rented out...


And if somebody trip on the cable or step on it when you run around in the studio the cable comes loose instead of ripping out the back of the camera... or tipping over the tripod.
 
Fall? What the heck?!? Really need this for gimbal use now.
 
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