Questions from a Red One prospect

[Doménico Travano]

Greetings Red One users!

Aside from renting Red cameras, and their operators, we really do not spend enough time playing with Red products. So, I was thinking it was time to perhaps dip my toe in the water. But I really do not want to invest 10k+ on a camera (Scarlet and above) since I've already spent almost 15k in accessories for our BMD cameras. I'm hoping that a used Red One can be a good camera for us to test and play with while we look to expand our production and rental lineup in the future.

I do have a few questions regarding the Red One though. A few of these may seem dumb, so please pardon my ignorance as I try to learn more about the Red One

- Do hours used on the Red One affect its resell value? Am I looking for a specific hour cut-off? Or does a high hour count have no effect on the camera's long term usability.

- For a used body-only PL Red One, how much on average am I looking to spend? Most [WTS] Red One posts have complete packages going above what I would like to pay. Especially when they add accessories I do not need (like support).

- Is the Bomb EVF absolutely necessary? We already own a few EVFs we are happy with. Perhaps we can use those? What about the monitors?

- Are Red SSDs the only SSDs that can be used in Red One cameras? We have a nice collection of SSDs we use with other cameras. Can they be used with the Red One?

- Finally, the Red One and Red One MX? Are these two different cameras? Or is one an upgrade of another?

I would really appreciate any help in this. Thank you so much!

 

[Nick Morrison]

Red One "M" was the first RED camera.

The RED ONE "MX" was the same camera upgraded with the improved MX sensor (that was later incorporated into Epic MX and Scarlet MX cameras too).

There is now a third and latest sensor...DRAGON!

The SSDs are proprietary by RED, and not consumer.

I personally would NOT invest in a RED ONE as the form factor is no longer current.

Everyone has moved the the Epic/Scarlet config...where all the accessories are universal and interchageable...even across the move to Dragon...This config also looks like something RED will continue to invest in...

Hope this helps!

 

[Christopher Mills]

Having gotten into owenership vs rental via the BT R1MX program, I have the following notes:
I do like and still use the R1 MX. But I do not rent it out by itself. I charge both for labor and gear.
There are things I like better about the EPic/Scarlet/Dragon, but they are NOT the form factor. The camera is much louder on set, and needs black shading much more often than the R1.
I like the touchscreen controls, however, and the lens mount system is very flexible.

Hours are less important than maintenance history with Red.
Do yourself a favor, and buy one with lots of support accessories. Sell the ones that you don't want individually, and you may make money.
You may already have tripods, but you especially will want the viewfinder mount, lens support systems, and battery interfaces (and batteries!)
I am happy with the EVF and LCD, but if I had to pick one, it'd be the RED LCD.
don't bother with the "bomb" the original will work fine.

Yep, SSDs are proprietary.

MX is newer, and I like the looks better.

 

[Eric Hales]

The Red One cameras seem very resilient to me. I bought a battle tested Red One MX in November 2012 from Red that already had 2 or 3 thousand hours on it and since then I've put 800 or 1000 hours on it having shot features, short films, music videos, etc., and overall my experience has been rock solid. The only maintenance issue I had done was about a year ago the camera was shutting off unexpectedly, but that only cost me around $200 + shipping for Red to repair. It gives gorgeous images. I've read other posts on reduser saying they're running Red One cameras with 10,000+ hours with no problems and considering there are no moving parts inside the camera, I believe it. The camera is basically still the best bang for your buck and built like a tank. The only time I black shaded was right after I got it back from the Red maintenance department but I did that in case rather than out of necessity. I've never had black shading issues with the Red One MX. Great camera.

 

[Doménico Travano]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. Like I said, for the price of the One MX body alone I could have had a Red camera we could play with (not rent). But now I'm torn because buying a full packaged One MX just falls a few thousand short of buying a Scarlet which has a better ROI (on rentals) than the Red One possibly could this late in the game. I may have to wait on acquiring a red, especially when we are eyeing other purchases like lenses.

Thank you once more for your comments. But I promise I will still keep my eyes open for good One MX deals. We may still join you happy One users!

 

[Ramasses H]

Doménico thanks for this post, I too am considering purchasing a Red One MX. I had a couple Blackmagic cameras and they served me well. Over the summer I produced a feature about Marshawn Lynch from the Seattle Seahawks and we went with the Epic for that project and I fell in love with RED. I decided I want to purchase a Scarlet for myself which I'm sure I will still do at some point but the Red one MX is very tempting for getting into the RED market. I realize that it is the older model and will always be looked at that way but I'm more concerned about the images than anything else so the MX model is very appealing to me at a lower price point than the scarlet for a ready to shoot package. So any current info or insight is very much welcomed by me.