RED One MX or Scarlet X?

[Christopher Mills]

I use a Red 1 (mine) and Epics (rented or owned by other people). I have worked and produced shots with Scarlets and Alexas

I am happy with my R1.. and like the touchscreen control offered on the DSMC system.

I dislike unmotivated handheld work, but find that the Epic is obviously lighter than the R1. The Laexa and R! feel very similar in handheld and tripod based configurations.

I think that Scarlets have much wider variation in quirks from camera to camera than either R1s or Epics. and the fan noise on both is an issue in an interview situation.

Because of this, I avoid them when I can.

You'll buy what you can afford, and I hope you'll make the most of it.

 

[Karel Šimůnek]

Thanks to all of you. Your answers are really great and helpful. But after all this I am going to buy Scarlet. Because It's upgradeable and its two times ligher than R1. Epic would be my top choice. But the price is too high. I'll wait what RED is going to announce at NAB 2014 and after that I'll see. But Scarlet is now my TOP choice. Thanks a lot again for your really helpful answers. :001_cool:

 

[Mike Garrick]

Congrats Karel IMO. you made the right choice.

 

[J McCurry]

Honestly, you can't really go wrong with any of them, they're all superior (IMHO... coming from a film guy) to the cameras that shot some of the most acclaimed features of all time. They all have issues and quirks, but what piece of equipment (of any kind) doesn't? The main thing that makes your footage outstanding is your ability as a cinematographer. That's true whether you're shooting on a Red or a DSLR. Your Scarlet choice will hopefully serve you well, it's a great camera.

One thing that I didn't see much of in the prior posts is the powerful phenomena of client perception. In my world, I wind up with client/producers that often know the buzz words a lot better than the actual gear itself. I was on a shoot where the producer was concerned that we were shooting on a R1 instead of the Epic that he had heard was the latest, greatest piece of gear. When I asked what feature of the Epic he was looking for, he had no answer.... we were doing a simple interview. But we wound up renting an Epic because of his ignorance. Not necessarily a reason to get different gear, but something to think about.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Honestly, you can't really go wrong with any of them, they're all superior (IMHO... coming from a film guy) to the cameras that shot some of the most acclaimed features of all time. They all have issues and quirks, but what piece of equipment (of any kind) doesn't? The main thing that makes your footage outstanding is your ability as a cinematographer. That's true whether you're shooting on a Red or a DSLR. Your Scarlet choice will hopefully serve you well, it's a great camera.

One thing that I didn't see much of in the prior posts is the powerful phenomena of client perception. In my world, I wind up with client/producers that often know the buzz words a lot better than the actual gear itself. I was on a shoot where the producer was concerned that we were shooting on a R1 instead of the Epic that he had heard was the latest, greatest piece of gear. When I asked what feature of the Epic he was looking for, he had no answer.... we were doing a simple interview. But we wound up renting an Epic because of his ignorance. Not necessarily a reason to get different gear, but something to think about.

Perception is extremely important. This is show business after all.

 

[Dunkan Wolf]

Avoid the Red One if you're new to the 4k game. It's big, heavy and outdated. No upgrade possibilities, higher compression ratios. Many companies will introduce much better 4k cameras in the coming month / NAB 2014 with similar or superior specs in a smaller body at lower pricepoints. Wait until NAB is over, you might be able to pick up a R1 at rock bottom prices as everyone will ditch theirs.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Avoid the Red One if you're new to the 4k game. It's big, heavy and outdated. No upgrade possibilities, higher compression ratios. Many companies will introduce much better 4k cameras in the coming month / NAB 2014 with similar or superior specs in a smaller body at lower pricepoints. Wait until NAB is over, you might be able to pick up a R1 at rock bottom prices as everyone will ditch theirs.

Name me one camera from another company that shoots truly compressed true RAW in 4 K with 13.5 stops of dynamic range. No BM camera does this, Sony cameras do not really do this (Sony data rates are crazy in RAW mode, and besides those cams are very expensive) Canon cameras do not do this, Alexa RAW is HUGE in data size, even at 2K.

Our Red MX made $2000 this month alone - it still rents more often than our Epic, for whatever reason.

Size only an issue if you are shooting with zero crew/budget, and size is still same or less than F55 or Alexa. Epic is too small and awkward for good inertia.

So yes, it's an old camera, but it still does many things that new cameras (except Red cameras) do not, and some things (EVF and monitor at same time without any gizmos, proper sound inputs, very cheap, large media) that even new Red Cameras do not. Just because something is old does not mean it's outdated, and if you believe that you're not really putting much effort or thought into your opinions.

Another amazing old camera is the F35 - in some ways its IQ has never been surpassed for 1080p work. New is not always better - MP3 is way less good sound quality than vynil, and I have a 40 year old tube amp that sounds better than anything you can get at Best Buy in 2014, both perceptually and technically.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Name me one camera from another company that shoots truly compressed true RAW in 4 K with 13.5 stops of dynamic range. No BM camera does this, Sony cameras do not really do this (Sony data rates are crazy in RAW mode, and besides those cams are very expensive) Canon cameras do not do this, Alexa RAW is HUGE in data size, even at 2K.

Our Red MX made $2000 this month alone - it still rents more often than our Epic, for whatever reason.

Size only an issue if you are shooting with zero crew/budget, and size is still same or less than F55 or Alexa. Epic is too small and awkward for good inertia.

So yes, it's an old camera, but it still does many things that new cameras (except Red cameras) do not, and some things (EVF and monitor at same time without any gizmos, proper sound inputs, very cheap, large media) that even new Red Cameras do not. Just because something is old does not mean it's outdated, and if you believe that you're not really putting much effort or thought into your opinions.

Another amazing old camera is the F35 - in some ways its IQ has never been surpassed for 1080p work. New is not always better - MP3 is way less good sound quality than vynil, and I have a 40 year old tube amp that sounds better than anything you can get at Best Buy in 2014, both perceptually and technically.

I agree. Camera still makes money, but I suppose it depends in what context. For me, I don't rent it out. It gets used on my own productions, where I have say over what camera is used.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

RED One is still pretty cool, though. In the way that solid vintage equipment of any sort feels like a craftsman's tool.