October 30th Announcement Feedback

[Andrew Salter]

Looking at the photo of the lens on the 2/3 fixed scarlet, there are markers-but-could be switchable from zoom, focus through to aperture. Jarred mentioned in another tread that the lens was mind blowing, so lm waiting and l think the details on the 30th will be fantastic. this lens will beat the HVX hands down (yes l had one now a HPX), as said don't be constrained by tradition.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

Annnnd there goes any chance I was getting the Fixed Lens Scarlet. Oh well.

Sorry to say that a zoom ring is a pretty necessary feature. I assume you have some robust settings to control zoom beyond just the "+/-" buttons we see on the Side Handle, but still, having to program how far you wanna zoom and how fast for every single shot? Just give me a ring to grab!

that's a deal breaker? strange...I have such different priorities, image quality, shooting RAW...

this thing is going to be able to be mounted anywhere, simply anywhere, and run with relative ease.

another miracle product from RED. i love it. i want it.

 

[Andrew Salter]

Totally agree Meryem

 

[Harrison Hui]

Wow! Just bashed through 120+ pages of comments and I must say that what you guys just did is just unthinkable. In just 3 years you truly revolutionized the video industry(not just the cinemas).

Sort of disclaimer, I am by no way affiliated with Red Digital Cinema. I'm just a 17 year old kid with a Canon 7D.

With the red one, you opened the doors to digital cinematography to many people who otherwise wouldn't be shooting features, or whatever their style of shooting. Due to the prices of professional camcorders or cinema gear.

To those who wants scarlet to come first. Please remember the professional or high end is where all the main features trickle down from. Its evident in every electronic industry. If some of you would remember, the first 35mm full frame digital SLR, the Canon EOS 1Ds, came into the industry with a cool 12k SGD(around 8k USD)price tag in 2003. And look at the industry right now. A Canon EOS 5D Mk II going for only 3.8k SGD(2.4k USD). And the cheapest full frame DSLR is the Sony Alpha 850 going for 2.6k SGD(around 1.6k USD). But we must not forget about the early adopters of the first DSLR.

Another example would be a Mercedes S class. Sure they cost a pretty penny, but what your getting is a car with gear that would be standard is 5 to 10 years time. For example, in 1980s, the s class was fitted with ABS, modern airbags, passenger side air bags, seatbelt pretensioner and traction control. Now those features are almost standard in every car. Just look at the current S class, radar guided cruise control, brake assist plus, interior air filter, voice recognition navigation system, universal garage door opener, automatic day/night rear view mirror, night vision system. The car brakes for you! I thought that was only possible in Gran Turismo. All these technology costs money to implement and what better area to implement it other than the high end.

In other words, how Epic-X develops out would dictate the way Scarlet's brain to develop. I think it is ingenious that they release in stages. From a business point of view, they are a good move. It shows that they are really dedicated to their customers and really wants people who deal with them to be a lifelong customer. I work at a camera store whose boss is really dedicated to great service. Our profit margins are pretty low and occasionally my boss would go below cost just to keep a customer. He told me that while we might lose some now, it is more important that the customer feels inclined to come back as a lifelong customer. He has customers that patronized the shop for over 20 years. So while Red might lose some money due to the Tattoo program, it is for the greater good. They are laying the foundations for the rest of the Red brains to be built on. So Red, take your time.

Back to gear galore. I must say WOW 250 fps at 2K. In pal terms thats 10x slower! I could imagine a soccer game playing in my head where its super sharp and the soccer ball moves really slowly at 2k! I suppose such high resolutions and frame rates would give a really big file size, luckily, we are able to buy 90MB/s UDMA 6 64GB CF cards now.

Also if the ISO noise at 8000 is not too bad, imagine the savings of lighting to whole set up to F/4 ISO 320. And just think of how wonderful the low light performance would be especially with T1.3 lenses like the Master Prime or Super Speeds.

Maybe you could add a PS3 module, so that during breaks, the operator could play a game or two XD. Or while waiting for the set to be ready.

I hope that the video companies in Singapore picks up one or two of these Epic X. Over here, the quality of the local television is quite horrible honestly. Occasionally you could see the striped shirt of the person being interview shimmering due to the moiré effect. And most commercials are shot on the 5D Mk II. It could be due to our small economy, but whatever.

If I had a Red One(which sadly I don't), I'd have gone for stage 2 and upgrade the Red One's sensor. 2 is better than one isn't it? While I cannot possible get my hands on an Epic X, it wouldn't stop me from dreaming of owning one. In the meantime, my 7D would suffice for me. Sometimes I wish that I am a 25 year old bloke in the States. Haha.

Keep up the good work in keeping the cinema industry on their toes. And whew is all I can say to those who just bashed through 120+ pages of comments. Happy shooting ( for those who have a camera).

 

[ryanbarrycotter]

Would it be possible for the lens to be programmed to pull focus according to focal length? So we could zoom in and set a focus point and zoom out and set a point and let the lens adjust focus itself as we zoomed? Would be really helpful for a lot of fast paced/difficult shots e.g. surfing.

 

[David Rasberry]

Annnnd there goes any chance I was getting the Fixed Lens Scarlet. Oh well.

Sorry to say that a zoom ring is a pretty necessary feature. I assume you have some robust settings to control zoom beyond just the "+/-" buttons we see on the Side Handle, but still, having to program how far you wanna zoom and how fast for every single shot? Just give me a ring to grab!

Just because it is programmable doesn't mean you have to. There is a rocker switch on the smart handle and on the Redmote for manual servo zoom, so it should work just like any typical servo zoom camera.

 

[Eki Halkka]

Just because it is programmable doesn't mean you have to. There is a rocker switch on the smart handle and on the Redmote for manual servo zoom, so it should work just like any typical servo zoom camera.

Yep - and i'd assume that like in broadcast lenses, we'll have a good control on the zoom speed simply by applying more or less pressure on the rocker.

 

[J Davis]

Ahh ... but how much more is the price increase ?
That is the big question

 

[David Swan]

Sorry, I don't like rocker zooms, probably because I come from a stills background, but I prefer to set a given, and repeatable fl for each shot. I don't do zoom-in-shot for my own work, and find it distracting when others do.
But then that's just me.
De gustibus non disputandum est, as they say.
I'll also cost out a 2/3 Cinema to see how it compares.
Dave

 

[David Rasberry]

Ahh but how much more is the price increase ?
That is the big question

I really don't care too much about the price increase. Scarlet will still fall well under $10k for a reasonable field package, and there will be nothing even remotely close to its all around capability for that price range.

 

[Luca Perin]

David you're right!!! I can't fully understand how this "Fly by Wire" works... but I really need a Zoom gear... and a focus one at the same time... waiting waiting the end of November!!!!

 

[J Davis]

I really don't care too much about the price increase. Scarlet will still fall well under $10k for a reasonable field package, and there will be nothing even remotely close to its all around capability for that price range.

Money is tight for us little guys. I'm maxed at 5k budget to cover all bar sticks. David, if you get a 10k package can I borrow it sometime?

 

[David Rasberry]

Sorry, I don't like rocker zooms, probably because I come from a stills background, but I prefer to set a given, and repeatable fl for each shot. I don't do zoom-in-shot for my own work, and find it distracting when others do.
But then that's just me.
De gustibus non disputandum est, as they say.
I'll also cost out a 2/3 Cinema to see how it compares.
Dave

Those of us who work extensively with zooms use them as infinitely variable primes most of the time. Zoom to frame, rack focus, shoot, reframe. Very fast and efficient. If you plan to buy a comparable quality zoom new for a Scarlet Cinema, expect to pay between $15-20k minimum. Good used ones from reputable dealers will run $2k-8k or more. So far I have bought about $3k worth of used 16mm glass off Ebay, mostly zooms. I have been fortunate to get lenses in pretty decent shape. By the time I get some of these serviced , cleaned, lubed and collimated, that cost will at least double. The fixed Scarlet will be the bargain of the century.

 

[Jeff Coatney]

It also looks DONE! As in final production unit done.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

Sorry, I don't like rocker zooms, probably because I come from a stills background, but I prefer to set a given, and repeatable fl for each shot. I don't do zoom-in-shot for my own work, and find it distracting when others do.

It's not so much about the zoom-in-shot ability, it's about the getting accurate framing extremely fast, practically and very precisely. Rocker zoom is miles ahead of button zoom control. It just needs some time for getting used to it. Repeatable exact fl might be taken care of by RED and shouldn't be a huge challenge to implement. I absolutely agree with David Rasberry.

 

[Todd M.]

It's not so much about the zoom-in-shot ability, it's about the getting accurate framing extremely fast, practically and very precisely. Rocker zoom is miles ahead of button zoom control. It just needs some time for getting used to it. Repeatable exact fl might be taken care of by RED and shouldn't be a huge challenge to implement. I absolutely agree with David Rasberry.

And, you always have the option of buying a Scarlet without a fixed lens! I think people seem to be forgetting that. Don't like a servo, don't buy one.

Personally, I was totally against anything fixed until I saw how sweet this lens is. If it performs like RED's existing lenses it really is the bargain of the century.

 

[David Cherniack]

Rocker zoom is miles ahead of button zoom control.

True enough, unless the buttons are pressure-to-speed sensitive. If not, I agree and would find them of considerably less value.

 

[James Brundige]

program zoom

program zoom

yes

Programable zoom and focus?????

complete game changer .... again

 

[DoubleORed]

If you don't see what he was saying and actually think that they want to do a beta program solely for the purposes of people telling them everything is ay-okay... then...

You are right. Creating a feedback program which is made only from very early Red One owners, who were ready to put a deposit for a camera before it even existed, or when it was not fully functional, users who are extremely technical, and who are a very certain type of people, are those users who are perfect to test a new system which is meant to be mass produced and sold to only "slightly" less sophisticated users.

Not to mention that from the above type, they should also be the ones who are extra patient (who are less bothered by faults and problems), and who are early cult followers (who will probably prefer to keep some remarks to themselves over making Red think they are "bitches" and get flamed).

This will ensure a wide range of feedback indeed and that is exactly the type of people who should test a new mass produced system which is meant for everybody.

I didn't say they do it "solely for the purposes of people telling them everything is ay-okay", and I understand this is meant to reward early users, but it is also a little counter productive and I just tried to point that out.

AND ridiculing those with a different point of views is also very good corporate culture. So much so that people who agree with me can't say it in public and had to send me a PM instead. :thumbsup:

 

[Rick Presas]

I'm curious as to how friendly this 1-ring fixed lens will be to "vertigo" shots (zooming in while the camera dollys out and pulling focus)

logic tells me not very, though i could be wrong.

if RED offers a good 3-ring zoom lens to go with the 2/3" non-fixed at a reasonable price then i guess thats the route i'll take.