RED FOCUS

[Radoslav Karapetkov]

I'm still waiting to see a "mini zoom lens" for the Cinema Scarlet... :thumbup:

Me 2.

I like them mini things. :biggrinjester:

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

I'm with you on this one. As one of many who have invested a lot in RED already, and plan to upgrade to Epic I feel a little put off by this. This is one product that is universal and IMHO, should be priced universally for all RED customers. At the lower price of course

M

Nobody "needs" this - you can always take extra time to set your backfocus manually. It's an accessory - like a shoulder mount or a mic mount.

It's already more than competitively priced compared to the other solutions out there - and more elegant as well, at least in the surface appearance of things. You should be comparing the original price to everything else out there - then you might not feel quite so put off...y'all might even feel a little psyched. I can't wait for one of these.

Anytime that RED offers us an additional discount that piggybacks on additional purchases - that is a good thing.

 

[J. Eric Camp]

My guess is, the target is in 3D so you can see the sharpness slide down down the rays rather than rolling back and forth to "find" the sweet spot. Or to further illustrate it at any monments notice rather than by comparison to the last moment or the next.

Also, a device costs what it costs. Wether it Mounts to a pl mount or a nikon. The other devices that do a similar job are priced competitivly with this, or this with them rather.

Insisting that being able to put a $300 nikon lens on a camera means that all the tools should reflect the same price demographic is foolish.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

My guess is, the target is in 3D so you can see the sharpness slide down down the rays rather than rolling back and forth to "find" the sweet spot. Or to further illustrate it at any monments notice rather than by comparison to the last moment or the next.

That would be pretty friggin sweet.

And to add to what Meryem said above, it's true that no one NEEDS this. But everyone does NEED to check their back-focus / flange depth here and there. Definitely before any professional shoot starts, definitely when any major environmental change for the camera occurs. I have to adjust my mount ever so slightly whenever I go from balmy 70F degree indoor temps to 20F outdoor (and more so if colder).

I'm reserving final judgement on the RED Focus until I see more of it. But it looks great and it is nicely priced. The Optimator looks great too. I personally own the IBE NULL lens (from AbelCine) and it is a fine solution as well. With the NULL Lens, there is also the NULL Target, which converts it into a device similar to what we are seeing here. The Targets start shipping real soon now and I'm pretty early on the list to get one.

I have to admit that I do like the NULL Lens / Target system for many reasons, so I won't just sell it outright to buy this or the Optimator, or whatever. The NULL can be used without a battery or concern for power if needed. This is a huge consideration for cold environments where batteries can and often do freeze. It is modular so the Target is removable and can be placed on other NULL Lenses. This allows you to have one Target, but a NULL Lens for each lens mount -- PL, PV, Nikon, Canon...

I'm anxious to see a RED FOCUS, hopefully in Vegas next week. And I will most likely buy one and then compare with my NULL system and see which works better for me. I may just keep both, after all my camera collection seems to keep growing and EPICs and Scarlets are getting closer.

 

[JD Holloway]

Maybe automatic motorised tilt/shift/rotation adjustment - but that seems expensive overkill compared to tilt/shift/rotation settings being adjusted and fixed firmly in the factory.

Hmmm...scratching head...

That would be handy as you say, but could also be used as a sort-of poor mans T/S lens.
Instead of buying T/S lenses, you could get away with sensor shifting (to a limited extent), particularly with the longer lenses.
Of could this would mean the sensor was in some sort of manual/motorized gimbal...
The RedFocus could then normalize the sensor after the shot.
Given the cost of Arri/Pani/Century TS lenses and lens systems, this would be sweet, and allow use of RPPs.
Am I completely off base? While I'm likely wrong, this would be cool, and i would throw money down.

 

[Dustin Cross]

That is a much better comparison.

Here is the Target...

If this is the actual target, it looks to me like you could set 3 axis with it. The way the while square is all warped. Seems like you could adjust side to side and top and bottom of sensor until that square is straight.


Dusty

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I'm not so sure about the multi-axis, the white polygon area is skewed, but the siemens star appears to be undistorted. Multi-axis sensor block adjustment was said a while back to be a factory-only thing or RED service center thing.

...Just thinking in another direction here, perhaps the RED Focus can communicate with the camera to give more precise feedback? Could be a good use for that electronic mount and even pave the way for future camera brains that can auto-adjust themselves when a device like this is connected.

Dammit, Jarred. See this is what happens when you tease us. We start speculatin' and dreaming up fantistical things that are probably not true.

 

[David Wyatt]

Just wondering out loud - with Epic's multi-axis sensor adjustment, could you get some groovy shift & tilt-style effects by intentionally putting the sensor out in one or more axes? A quick go with the Red Focus would of course return everything to normal.

 

[JD Holloway]

see #85

 

[Brent J. Craig]

Perhaps the target is three dimensional so so we can use it for the preliminary line-up on 3D rigs. (although if that was the case, it would benefit from some solid horizontal and vertical lines as well.)

 

[Nook Kim]

Not to hijack this thread, but just wanted to ask to Jarred:

Are you going to offer a torque allen wrench to go with the RED FOCUS?

From the Op. Manual on page 33:

"7. Tighten the camera focus ring screws, and retest focus. Screws should be tightened to approx. 22.22 In-Lb of Torque.."

I also wonder what people are using not to stress the mount by over-tightening.

 

[Sean Solowiej]

I was thinking 3D too. We were told earlier that the 3 axis adjustment is not accessible to users, only for the shop. User just tweak 1 axis, the back focus. Unless that has changed...

 

[Brent J. Craig]

I was thinking 3D too. We were told earlier that the 3 axis adjustment is not accessible to users, only for the shop. User just tweak 1 axis, the back focus. Unless that has changed...

I really hope it hasn't changed. As much as I want to able to control everything on a camera, moving the sensor around is a bit too scary for mere mortals. (And it wouldn't be the way to adjust a 3D rig other than initially making sure the camera is as neutral/perfect as possible.)

 

[Jarred Land]

user has access to change back focus, service center can adjust all axis.

 

[Bob Renalds]

Users messing around with sensor tilt would be a disaster (for Red).

 

[Mark Pedersen]

Nobody "needs" this - you can always take extra time to set your backfocus manually. It's an accessory - like a shoulder mount or a mic mount.

It's already more than competitively priced compared to the other solutions out there - and more elegant as well, at least in the surface appearance of things. You should be comparing the original price to everything else out there - then you might not feel quite so put off...y'all might even feel a little psyched. I can't wait for one of these.

Anytime that RED offers us an additional discount that piggybacks on additional purchases - that is a good thing.

You are missing my point entirely. I know what it's for, and yes, it looks more elegant than other solutions, it is competitively priced compared to other products, and yes I'm psyched about it. I'm just making the point that I feel RED should extend the same price to their entire community, and not only extend a discount to those who bought their lenses. They don't have to of course. It's their call. Just my 2 cents as a camera owner.

I assume you bought RPPs

M

 

[Jarred Land]

I always find it fascinating when people bitch when we try to do something special for our customers.

For the Red One Camera owners, I think we have given plenty already by taking everyones cameras in for full value trade towards an EPIC, but I guess you want more?

 

[Sterling Wescott]

Jarred:1
Bitches:0

On a serious note, I was late to the red party. I didn't find out about R1 until about a year ago. Since then I have shot EVERYTHING ON IT on It. I can't speak for the current RED owners, but If I get a chance to trade in my two Scarlet's or my EPIC (which ever I end up getting) for a Monstro cam. I will cream my pant's and sit with a smile on my face until my monstro arrives. And I won't bitch about Fucking chump change.

Jarred:1
Bitches:-1

 

[chrislancaster]

I always find it fascinating when people bitch when we try to do something special for our customers.

For the Red One Camera owners, I think we have given plenty already by taking everyones cameras in for full value trade towards an EPIC, but I guess you want more?

I have to agree... i think its awesome RED gives these incentives ..


RED makes an amazing product already and that means demand will be there regardless of low prices and incentives

so i have no idea why they even do it but that just shows a lot of class on their part


You stay classy, RED team. :beer:

 

[Joe Kleber]

I always find it fascinating when people bitch when we try to do something special for our customers.

For the Red One Camera owners, I think we have given plenty already by taking everyones cameras in for full value trade towards an EPIC, but I guess you want more?

I'm very happy and appreciative to be part of the RED USER/OWNER family and I agree that you have "given plenty already". I was just trying to convey the following point.....

All the discounts and trade in programs offered by RED may be for 100% altruistic reasons,
but it also provides a huge amount of incentive for customers to remain loyal and keep buying more RED stuff. :drool5:

You're rewarding the RPP group for buying. I think that's a fantastic idea!! It makes ME want a set even more.

I just found it a little peculiar that a discounted item that can be used by the entire RED CAMERA group is the one you guys chose to use as a reward for the RPP group only.
My guess is that, if you offered the discount to the camera group, you would actually sell more RED FOCUS units and profit more. I could be wrong.:blush:


In the end, the decision is yours (regardless of the reason why). I respect that and I agree that "bitching" isn't the best way to go about communicating. :yesnod: