RED MAGS?

[Puven Pather]

Haven't been on this forum for a while, so not sure if this have been covered.

I have had the EPIC MX since it was released and have loved using it. This camera is over a decade old and still going strong creating beautiful images. The SSD's on the other hand are dying. It will be an unethical crime to stick these cameras on a bookshelf or worse, e waste recycle bin because memory cards don't exist for it, while the cameras are still able to churn out brilliant images.

Can RED send out some love to the legacy cameras and release firmware that will allow non red SSDs to be used. This would be an easy adaption for these cameras and we just need the firmware update. I have a Rollie that is nearly 80 years old and it still creating beautiful images. Think about all the positive love RED will get for keeping these legacy camera's going!

Peace

 

[Zack Birlew]

This is the main problem I and many others have been complaining about for a while. As we're in this nebulous time of advancing towards 12K and beyond while many are still holding on to 4K/6K/8K cameras and saying 4K is enough and 8K is the maximum we should ever go, we do have to take a step back and realize that regardless of what the future holds, we have some really great cameras to pick from and legacy RED cameras are still some of the best. Unfortunately, the proprietary nature of the earlier RED cameras is already causing some long term headaches and the SSD issue is the biggest one.

Recently, Jarred made a post on the Facebook group explaining that it would be too costly to go back and work on older RED cameras as they don't even use the same programming software platform as the newer cameras do and the focus is completely on the new cameras now.

So, the situation as I see it now is that unless someone can figure out how to modify the firmware themselves or get permission from RED to do so, these older RED cameras really are going to turn into 720P and 1080P cameras at some point as that's the output resolution of their HDMI and SDI ports. It's really unfortunate but that's the situation that the RED team have put legacy camera owners into. If they could release some source code or something to experiment on older cameras with then that would be something as it should have no effect on the platforms of the newer cameras. Either that or we can just hope someone is going to figure out some sort of workaround with a newer drive or adapter or something DIY fashion that somehow works.

One idea we came up with on the boards that actually sounded pretty cool was to have RED develop a new DIY camera that could have a dock for the sensors of any of the older RED cameras and that way you get the sensor but with all the modern advancements of new RED cameras like CFexpress, 4K HDMI/SDI outputs, and compatibility with newer RED accessories. It would probably be a bigger and bulkier camera than the Komodo or Raptor but that's not the point, it's for those that like the look of older RED cameras much like how filmmakers have appreciated legacy film stocks looking back. Even though it would give new life to those great sensors, the problem still remains with what Jarred said about going back and programming for apparently very different platforms. So, the RED Franken-camera idea would be about the same as hoping for a new SSD unlocking firmware update, sorry to say.

 

[Puven Pather]

I don't understand why it would be that costly for RED. Red has locked the firmware it will read off the cards into the Epic MX firmware. Couldn't they just update the last Firmware and release the restriction for the SSD's. I doubt they just got rid of the programming software platform and threw it in the bin. It would be sitting on the servers somewhere. If you can lock it you can unlock it especially if you have the key, unless you just don't want to.

If Jarred said that is too costly to go back and work on older RED cameras, then I wonder how long it will be till the other RED products will become legacy and then the programming software isn't available anymore. If this is the philosophy, then thats a really unsustainable approach to technology and uninspiring. What I love about companies like Leica and Patagonia, they aren't afraid to repair and refurbish their customers old products. Short term goals lead to short term customers and long term goals lead to 170 year old companies.

I don't think there is a need for RED to create a DIY camera, the cameras are fine as they are, it's just the firmware. If RED doesn't want to do work, then release the firmware/source code like you say to the public and let us do the work, you're not supporting the camera's anyway so let the others support it and give the camera's a few more years of life before they end up on a bookshelf, e-waste recycle plants or worse, in land fill.

Maybe we need a petition.
A little RED love: Unlock/Release the RED MX SSD Firmware.

 

[Eric Santiago]

I still have my original 48GB SSD that came with my old Scarlet MX BT back in 2012.
The camera was replaced with a Dragon 6K and the card is still in use.
I have been hoarding SSDs so that I can still use this camera for years