New Camera Still Be Black - Heat Issue

[Tim Naylor]

Red One issues with overheating are well known. It's especially bad on Sunny warm days. Will RED adopt another color for the body that doesn't absorb so much heat? Light Grey, perhaps? There's a reason Panavision mags aren't black - heat plus film = bad.

Sure the color red looks great against black and from a graphics standpoint, it's a winner. But in a desert or in a NYC heat wave - fuggedaboutit

 

[Jerrod Cordell]

The new cameras are still going to be black. If you're in the Tattoo Program, the Tattoo Epic will be silver.

 

[sander kamp]

The new cameras should run a lot cooler.

 

[JonathanF]

Red One issues with overheating are well known. It's especially bad on Sunny warm days. Will RED adopt another color for the body that doesn't absorb so much heat? Light Grey, perhaps? There's a reason Panavision mags aren't black - heat plus film = bad.

Sure the color red looks great against black and from a graphics standpoint, it's a winner. But in a desert or in a NYC heat wave - fuggedaboutit

Tim,

I actually like the black, it's less apt to catch the talent's eye. So my preference would be improved cooling. Rumor is that's the path they are taking.

That said, I recently saw your 'Don't Balk By' piece and as a NYer I wanted to say that's a really great piece of work.

J

 

[James T Mather]

Tim, not being funny, but what if you built a "loose" cover (as in put some foam blocks in between giving an inch or so of air circulation) out of this for direct sun shooting? Or even the Red bars plus sidecage handles might do the trick of keeping airflow.

http://www.dougrye.com/ad-radiant-barrier.html

Might drop it a crucial few degrees - plus the mirror aspect would backscatter away from the optical axis most of the time (unless you were shooting heavy frontlight and I don't know a cameraman on the planet who would do that without a gun to his head).

 

[Brook Willard]

I would be very excited if the camera was a mid-dark grey or if there was even a finish option [grey or black]. I obviously don't know the logistics involved in such a thing, but it'd be nice. Black is better for reflections, sure, but a mid-dark grey would have the same effect. Similar to the color of an Arri.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

What Brook said....

The finish on the RED-RAM is perfect.

 

[Brook Willard]

ET finished their parts with a grey anodized finish for a while... it rocked!

 

[JonathanF]

ET finished their parts with a grey anodized finish for a while... it rocked!

Brooke,

You're absolutely right, that was a GREAT color. I'd love to see the new cameras in that color. It was really unobtrusive and it just blends into the background on set.

Good call,

J

 

[Rob Ruffo]

Soem people here have painted theirs to a matte grey. I think there are shops which will do this for you.

 

[Dan Kanes]

Every time I see a production still of an operator or cinematographer with camera in blazing direct sunlight it makes me cringe. Where are the grips? Good grips and skin cancer conscious DPs and operators should almost always be aware of the detriment long term direct sunlight can do to a person or a camera.:cryin:

The gray idea does sound pretty awesome too though

 

[Andrew clemson]

As unlikely as it sounds, Id probably go for a lighter coloured camera too.

 

[D Fuller]

Red One issues with overheating are well known. It's especially bad on Sunny warm days. Will RED adopt another color for the body that doesn't absorb so much heat? Light Grey, perhaps? There's a reason Panavision mags aren't black - heat plus film = bad.

While it is true that black absorbs heat if left in the sun, in virtually every other circumstance black helps to cool a camera, because it radiates more heat than any other color. So if you shade the camera from the sun, as you should with any camera, digital or film, the black body will help it to run cooler.

 

[Eric Lange]

We’ve been looking into similar issues with cameras that we are building for 3d digital capture and related processes. A lot of the work that our cameras/instruments will be exposed to will be outside in pretty extreme heat so we like the idea of matt white. However on set this could “raise a few eyebrows” (even though Panivision mags have been white for decades). We have been toying around with the idea of a reflective textile used on the outer covering of space suits (not the shiny aluminized layer) , but instead using spun bonded Nomex (essentially white). NASA found that the matt white was just as reflective as the aluminized layers in terms of IR heat dissipation. So the equipment can be black, but the textile is white shaped with cut outs and snaps/zips etc. for various attachment points, and there are air spacers (like posted above) to allow air flow and radiant heat dissipation. I’m not sure that light grey offers the best thermal properties, and it’s worth noting that an extra paint layer (for example epoxy paint) does act as a further insulator which could impede heat dissipation. We are interested in heat control as thermal expansion affects the precision of the equipment we are using and has to be calibrated for. I’m sure RED, if they had to could devise all sorts of peltier coolers or liquid cooling systems that could be fed externally. We have even been looking into making “white” carbon fibre, which has structured white textiles impregnated with resin, so rigidity is good for non load bearing components so that you can make spaced thin but rigid sun shields positioned around the equipment in close proximity.