RED ONE MX WORTH A LOOK AT ?

[steven michelsen]

HI GUYS,

Im currently shooting on DSLR but like every human alive I'm trying to get my hands on a RED, iv noticed that the RED ONE is commonly available 2nd hand and at pretty good money also , ready to shoot packages around $6000. Any thoughts or tips on my theory would be greatly appreciated ….

 

[Mark Phelan]

A very sound plan. The R1 is a battle tank. Shoots at 4.5K resolution and delivers an outstanding image. Nothing wrong with the idea.

 

[steven michelsen]

Cool thanks so much for the advice !

 

[Dunkan Wolf]

Coming from a DSLR, i'd go for the scarlet or epic instead. The red one weighs a ton and is end of life. You won't recieve any warrenty. A repair could end up costing you as much as 4000$.
There is no upgrade path for the the One either, unlike the scarlet and epic.

 

[Martin Weiss]

Really depends what you want to use it for. Great camera if you don't mind the startup time and battery performance. Many of them are still in everyday use.

Take a peek at this thread: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?88836-New-to-the-RED-ONE-Ask-here&highlight=

 

[Erick von Schulz]

I use the Red One almost daily. It is awesome for the money.. Of course if you can afford it get a Scarlett Dragon.

But for 6K it is tough to beat. It is a dream to color grade. If you buy one just get the red transfer so they will check it all out and get it ready for you.

Get a Nikon or Canon mount and you are in the professional camera world.

Now if you only go to youtube.. Just use a DSLR..

It does weigh a ton compared to a DSLR.. But way better then a 35mm film camera.

 

[Russell Morris]

i did the same jump from dslr to a RED One and i haven't looked back. such a lovely camera to work with

 

[Brian Wicens]

The RED ONE has come down significantly in price over the last year, on the used market. What hasn't is the stellar quality that it is able to produce.

As you've noted, you can find and/or build a ready to shoot kit for approximately $6000. In that, I believe it easily trumps any unit currently available on the market, in that price range.

While some will tout warranty and ergonomics as reasons to readily avoid, find a body from a trustworthy seller, have it inspected by RED, and you receive a three month warranty. Furthermore, they now offer a full year of RED ARMOR for $1500, if you're willing to go the extra mile.

Ergonomics are the weak man's excuse. You can create simple configurations that weigh approximately 15 lbs, and make beautiful pictures with it.


However, to play advocate, a Scarlet-X is quickly becoming the next best option if you want to go RED, as price drops have been reflected around the park over the last few months.

You can easily walk into the same (if not arguably better) ready to shoot kit for a couple of thousand more, now benefiting from a light weight, configurable module.

However, this comes with some sacrifices over the ONE, namely 4.5K WS and 120FPS @ 2k.

It really comes down to your budget, and what you're looking to get out of it.

 

[T_Freundlich]

It's an awesome tool - having moved up from a DSLR background myself I can vouch for this firsthand. Sure, it's big and heavy. But as someone wiser than I pointed out on one of these threads, when fully loaded up you can have a 18 kg rig with the R1MX and a 16 kg rig with an Epic. Yes, the repairs can be expensive. But so I imagine is sending in any other professional motion picture camera, and unless you buy new you'll have exactly the same warranty limitations even with a secondhand Scarlet or Epic.

I'll take the liberty of just copy-pasting some earlier comments on a R1MX vs BMCC thread, largely dealing with similar questions...

Excellent responses all around - not much to add that hasn't already been said...

First off, let it be said that I don't have experience with the BMCC so am not qualified to comment on its features and image quality firsthand. I've been running the R1MX for a year now so will nevetheless venture a few additional comments:

- as already pointed out, these cameras are in a completely different league with each other. The R1MX is a heavy-duty digital cinema camera designed for a full-fledged motion picture production environment while the BMCC clearly isn't (not that there's anything wrong with that)

- in extension of the above, the R1MX is also a "crew-served weapon". Yes, you can operate it solo but it is really designed to be run by a camera department.

- the relative "cheapness" of used R1MX kits should be taken with a BIG caveat. If you want to play with professional tools, be prepared to pay the professional price all down the line. The difference between the BMCC and the R1MX is like between buying a new Toyota RAV4 and getting a great deal on a decommissioned lightly used Humvee. Sure, the Humvee will take you places. But the spare parts will also have a Humvee price tag. Need a new LCD cable from Red? Bye bye 200 €. Need to send it to Red in the UK to get something fixed (and every camera will need it occasionally)? Hello Fedex, bye bye another 1000 € on the shipping alone.

- if you do go for the R1MX, you can go far with just adapting your existing 15mm rods and accessories. You can get by fine without an EVF. For gigabytes per euro, Red Drives are unbeatable. But be prepared for the old chain reaction effect - you may find that your fluid head doesn't cut it with the heavier camera. And with a heavier head, the tripod all of a sudden starts to feel awfully flimsy... And once you decide to get proper road cases for all your new Red gear, gone are the days when you used to roll up to the gig with just a camera bag on your shoulder. Did you remember to budget for a bigger car? (I'm only half joking here!)

I have been very happy with my investment and decision to go with the R1MX. I don't miss a single cent I've poured into it, even taking into account all the accessories, upgrades to other gear and maintenance costs. And a year later the damn thing is not only paid off but helping pay my bills. BUT: I still have the 7D kit I moved up from. For a lot of gigs that is the right tool and the Red would be completely unwieldy. Not every task calls for the heaviest tool. So depending on what, where and how you shoot, the BMCC may well be the superior choice. No one else can judge this.

Having said that, if you already have the BMCC and like what it does, I would be inclined to suggest just taking that camera as far as you can. Wear the darn thing out. Prove wrong everyone who says it's a "toy". Make gorgeous stuff and no one will care what it was shot on. Hell, make it pay for itself and then make it pay for whatever you want to upgrade to - and then upgrade to it.

Or, as suggested before, rent the Red for a day, weekend or week and use it on a project. You might find it's just what you need/want/must have (just don't say you weren't warned). Either way, Everything Will Turn Out Just Fine.

 

[Guillaume Tisserant]

If you buy a R1MX, you will need to buy some accessories., like a new tripod which support the weight of the camera.
Except this problem, change DSLR for R1MX is just magic.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

We own an Epic, and there are still things we like better in our trusty R1, Elmo, and Elmo still works very often and delivers wonderful results you could never hope for in any BM camera.