RED One's Changing Hands (why?)

[Ian Laurie]

Its Funny you know, three years ago I looked at my Red One and thought " would I possibly need more?" and after some serious soul searching and longing this past winter, I had my answer... Nope. The lure of the EPIC was huge. really really huge. but when it came down to it I had a momentary epiphany. Most who use my camera want really good looking 1080P. which always brings a little lump in my throat as I know my baby can do so much more. I still have hopes that the R1 will continue to improve bit by bit. But if not, its still a stellar camera.

 

[Rob Macey]

Agreed Ian Hoping the new camera build applies to the R1 also.

 

[George Butterfield]

To be honest..

even with a new sensor for red one..

the boot up time is a killer.. as is the weight..

It depends on your shooting style and what you are shooting, for narrative dramas the boot up time and weight is no problem for me. If I change lenses or setups I just tell the Actors "There will be a ten minute break" there is plenty for them to do ... work on lines, blocking, have a smoke etc. We setup camera/lens, lights, reboot, run through a rehearsal then do a take. The Camera is never a bottleneck. Getting the best performance is always the most time intensive element.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

It depends on your shooting style and what you are shooting, for narrative dramas the boot up time and weight is no problem for me. If I change lenses or setups I just tell the Actors "There will be a ten minute break" there is plenty for them to do ... work on lines, blocking, have a smoke etc. We setup camera/lens, lights, reboot, run through a rehearsal then do a take. The Camera is never a bottleneck. Getting the best performance is always the most time intensive element.

And quite honestly, there are a lot of solutions out there now for keeping the camera running through battery changes, etc. This really does come down to whether you need to be ultra portable, always "live" kind of shooting. Narrative, music videos, and arguably commercials could easily get by with a R1 power/bootup scenario.

 

[Greg Blakey]

i think it really just emphasises the growing problem of peoples obsession with the new (Producers included) technology is just moving too fast, and it seems a lot of people now spend all there time worrying what new camera systems are coming out. Something i am guilty of my self. At the end of the day, the red one is an amazing camera and there are still a lot of people who would die to shoot on it.

Its my A camera and a scarlet is my B cam

 

[Rob Ruffo]

And quite honestly, there are a lot of solutions out there now for keeping the camera running through battery changes, etc. This really does come down to whether you need to be ultra portable, always "live" kind of shooting. Narrative, music videos, and arguably commercials could easily get by with a R1 power/bootup scenario.

Add up battery changes in a day. 8 changes? 6? 8 is 12 minutes total. Not that big of a deal, plus you switch batteries and re-start while you're moving around something or someone else, so it's not a dead loss, at least rarely.

 

[Tony Lorentzen]

To be honest..

even with a new sensor for red one..

the boot up time is a killer.. as is the weight..

Not really. In the past 4 years with the RED ONE, I've only experienced having to wait impatiently for boot-up on the RED ONE 2 times. Not exactly something I'd call a killer. Sure, if you don't plan ahead, have no hot-swap unit and you're loosing touch of the production then it might be a problem - but then it's your fault, not the camera's. The weight - really? I love the size of the Epic but you need to realize that as soon as people start adding modules to the camera to get features up to spec with the R1 then it's weight will be about the same. Cine-styled cameras are just HEAVY, so renew that membership to the gym today! Always have been - always will be ;-)

 

[RikiButland]

I agree with Tony,Rob,Greg, Steve etc size and reboot times have never been a problem for me either, I hope there is a possibility to upgrade the sensor in the future,but either way,I will keep my 2 Red MX they still create great images

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

In over 4 years of shooting RED, boot-up times have only been an issue for me in two situations -- live event and wildlife shooting. Even then, it was never a deal breaker. If you're on a controlled set and the boot-up times are a problem, then, um... well... I'm confused. Like there isn't usually a million different other things that can be done for 90 seconds while a camera starts up, even on the odd occasion it wasn't planned?

Weight... I'm with Tony, Riki and others. The RED One is not bad at all. in fact, it's still small compared to most others. You guys complaining about size/weight do realize that a RED One body weighs 7lbs *LESS* than an Alexa body, right? And as others point out, that EPIC/Scarlet is going to grow quite a bit once you stack a few modules on there.

As for the topic of this thread, RED Ones changing hands... I'm trying to sell a RED One right now. The simple fact is that it's mostly just business, or at least for many of us. Things change, plans change, markets change, etc... I love the RED One, but I would be lying if I said I was shooting with it these days. I've been busy on a variety of projects lately, many of them not allowing me time to touch a camera myself. And I own three EPICs... First and foremost, many of us jumped at the opportunity to buy an EPIC-M. An option that wasn't even on the radar when we signed up for Stage-2 or Stage-3 programs.

On the flip side, I may be keeping one or more RED Ones that I would like to sell because current resale price is in the shitter. The one I'm trying to sell at the moment is a package that would cost $40K new... The accessories alone, without the camera body, would have a fair market used price of over $12K. I can't get anyone to offer more than $9K for the whole package, including camera. So my next step is to try and sell the camera body on its own and piece out the accessories. I have a lot of requests to buy the various bits and bobs on their own. It's obvious the only people who want the camera are the bottom feeders who are cruising the market for a killer deal from someone who needs to sell ASAP. At least if I part it out, I know I could get $11K+ for the accessories and still have a camera to sell... It's really frustrating.

So many people jumping into the RED world right now are focused on EPIC and Scarlet. Many are snubbing their noses at the RED One... But she's a fine camera. Even does a couple things that Scarlet can't do. And you can pick one up for a song right now...

RED has said they may have other surprises in store for those who hold onto their RED Ones... Maybe so. I might keep one around to find out. On the other hand, the poor thing will just sit in its case on a shelf because I'm done with rental kits (not worth the hassle in my market) and I have a hard time for myself and my small operation to keep 3 EPICs busy. In fact, one of those EPIC cameras is in the care of another local RED shooter who is eventually going to buy it.

Many of us who are selling RED Ones today would have opted for different stage programs or had gone about our business differently if we had known how EPIC was going to play out. The opportunity for the M, the lengthy delays, etc.. It's all fine and good and we have our cameras now, but like I said above. And even to use RED's own motto as a point of justification, everything changes...

 

[Rob Ruffo]

There are not enough cameras around here, as we share with Van Royko and have renters. But at a minimum, just for Amber and I, we'd want an Epic A and would keep the RedOneMx as B. 2 cam shoots do happen, and we have our MX rigged-up just the way we like it.