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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Red One Mx still has some advantages over Scarlet

R

Rob Ruffo

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1 - Red Drives are cheap and huge. On docos with long interviews this is a big thing.
2 - Higher frames rates, like 60p at 3K
3 - OLPF is different and some prefer its look. I do at 4K, but not at 3K or 2K (where I prefer the Epic OLPF).
4 - EVF and Red monitor possible at the same time as HDMI or SDI out.
5 - Easy outs, inc. HDMI with no extra accessories needed.
6 - Shape and weight in my opinion easier for Steadicam and shoulder work Epic/Scarlet too small and too light for enough inertia and too light relative to the lens- so then you need to add weights and so on and it gets more complicated.
7- Red One looks more like a "Real Big Camera" to actors or clients not technically versed enough to know what an Epic is. It has a more authoritative presence. For those who say this shouldn't matter I say A) I don;t care what should matter, I deal with what actually matters. 2) Try wrangling 100 inexperienced extras on a tight schedule, then we'll talk about what matters or does not.
 
Great Points Rob.
The RED ONE is an impressive looking camera, people who have no idea what it is stop and turn their heads when they see it. This should not be underestimated. I've gotten into places by just walking in with my R1 on my sholder, security just looks at me walk by probably thinking 'must be official'.
 
We love our MX. And it's a good thing, too, 'cause we can no longer afford to upgrade. But I do think that the points about it being better balanced are very well-taken. The camera is certainly heavy, but up on our Easy Rig it just works well for hand-held shots.

I also like the fact that we can NOW get 4 audio tracks into the camera.

If they could find a way to get HDRx and the RED Dragon sensor into that RED One body I wouldn't have any Epic-envy at all. None.

Stephen
 
Good points Rob, Ian, and Stephen,

My Red One MX is rock solid in performance. It does everything superb and 4.5k is amazing. I added the SSD option last May and feel like the camera has really hit its stride. I don't think that the Alexa has even come close to what my Red One can do. Alexa sure isn't 4k. The other day I opened a Premiere project and the R1 footage was at full rez. The screen was showing a forearm with a detailed tattoo.... made me real glad I had nailed focus. When I clicked "scale to frame size" the image filled the screen and the forearm was on a guy head-to-toe, and he was one of five guys spread out in a stack covering about a 20' span. Pretty amazing.

I am getting to know and love my Epic X. I see the R1 and Epic working together quite well. In terms of improvements to the Red One, I'm hard pressed to ask for any. There are some times I could use it a bit lighter. The size is fine though when I throw on the big lenses.

Red has been extremely generous to us Red One guys. Right now I know they are up to their necks in fine tuning the Epic and now Scarlet. After the dust settles a bit (if it ever does at Red), I hope to see some continued love for the camera that changed the world. It sure changed my world.

I know one day the time will come to place my Red One in an honored place on the shelf. I'd like that to be some time from now though.

Best,
lael
 
I know I will likely be proven wrong, but I just have this feeling that RED is going to show the RED One one more spark of affection before its time for retirement comes. I just don't think Jim is going to want to leave it alone. It was his first. And firsts are always special.

Stephen
 
Well said, Stephen. Funny, that is my gut feeling too.

I turned down a sale of my Red One. Couldn't part with what works.

lael
 
Rob Ruffo said:
1 - ...
7- Red One looks more like a "Real Big Camera" to actors or clients not technically versed enough to know what an Epic is. It has a more authoritative presence. For those who say this shouldn't matter I say A) I don;t care what should matter, I deal with what actually matters. 2) Try wrangling 100 inexperienced extras on a tight schedule, then we'll talk about what matters or does not.
Click to expand...

On point. I concur. 100%.
 
It was a pretty tough call for us between Scarlet and Red One MX. In the end we decided that the Scarlet's being more "future proof" outweighed the additional features right now for the MX. If we decide to add an Epic body in the future (or even just rent one for a particular project) then we'll have many of the necessary accessories in place to use one and if we decide that we want to upgrade to Red Dragon when it is released then that option will be available to us as well.

I don't think there's much doubt that the Red One MX is, right now, a superior camera to the Scarlet though. Higher resolution than the Scarlet, higher frame rates at a given resolution than the Scarlet, several features that are still in development for both the Scarlet and the Epic which are already working on the MX. It's just a more functional camera in most ways.

The principal advantages that Scarlet has are its form factor (and this is a really subjective thing, not everyone prefers the form factor of the Epic/Scarlet, but we do), the ability to use HDRx (which is far from a necessity, but I'd imagine very useful at certain times) and the aforementioned "future-proofing".
 
All good points. I love my Red One. Except when I have to lug it up a volcano single-handed to film an eruption, which is what I really like to film. Then it bloody near kills me. Red One & PL lenses vs. Scarlet & Nikon glass? No contest for that application!

It can be a hard decision as to what equipment to use; it becomes enormously simplified when you remember you have to carry it all on your own back... so while I love my Red One, I can't wait to get rid of the bloody thing!

Yes, when they get cheap, as in ebay cheap, I'll probably buy an old Red One anyway, just for old times sake.

Mike
 
Rob Ruffo said:
7- Red One looks more like a "Real Big Camera" to actors or clients not technically versed enough to know what an Epic is. It has a more authoritative presence. For those who say this shouldn't matter I say A) I don;t care what should matter, I deal with what actually matters. 2) Try wrangling 100 inexperienced extras on a tight schedule, then we'll talk about what matters or does not.
Click to expand...

Slap a matte box on the front of the lens and V-Mount battery to the back of the Scarlet and you'll get the same big camera effect. You're totally right that it does matter.
 
Second that, nobody should be calling the Scarlet a 5K camera... yet. At least in my world of tv commercials and stuff, there's so few applications for 12fps video that it's kinda laughable to call it 5K unless you're talking stills. However, I betcha they'll have 5K for Scarlet eventually, as well as HDRx at 24fps. They're clever, those RED guys.

RED MX... still such a great system. I am not trading up to Epic. I'm buying a Scarlet, though. For me it's also about workflow. We have a killer 4K pipeline that can deliver what we need, quickly. 5K? HDRx 5K? Yikes, no thanks not right now.

And I add my voice to the chorus of people who think there may be something more for RED One. Jim said so, in a post months back. About those who hold onto their MXs will be glad they did at a future date.
 
Yeah, I highly doubt we'll ever see 5k/24fps on Scarlet even in a highly compromised form. 4k mo, 5k ill.
 
8 - If it falls on the ground it will brake the ground.
9 - No one will grab it and manage to run away with it.
 
Nick Wernham said:
It was a pretty tough call for us between Scarlet and Red One MX. In the end we decided that the Scarlet's being more "future proof" outweighed the additional features right now for the MX. If we decide to add an Epic body in the future (or even just rent one for a particular project) then we'll have many of the necessary accessories in place to use one and if we decide that we want to upgrade to Red Dragon when it is released then that option will be available to us as well.

I don't think there's much doubt that the Red One MX is, right now, a superior camera to the Scarlet though. Higher resolution than the Scarlet, higher frame rates at a given resolution than the Scarlet, several features that are still in development for both the Scarlet and the Epic which are already working on the MX. It's just a more functional camera in most ways.

The principal advantages that Scarlet has are its form factor (and this is a really subjective thing, not everyone prefers the form factor of the Epic/Scarlet, but we do), the ability to use HDRx (which is far from a necessity, but I'd imagine very useful at certain times) and the aforementioned "future-proofing".
Click to expand...

I hear your points, but only Epic shoots motion-HDRX - in Scarlet it is only for stills.
 
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