Scarlet Audio Input and Fixed Lens & Controls

[Phillip Hudson]

Hi all. Just got back from NAB today. Was a ton of fun. Red's new toys were fun to check out. The 4K footage they projected was great to see. It's the first time I've seen 4K projected. Wow, did it blow away the movie I saw at Regal cinema that same night.

I was one of the first in the RED tent the day NAB opened. Here's what I learned:

(1) RED announced Epic, Scarlet and Red Ray with their "proposed" features. I was told that they propose features early to get our feedback to help them decide what the final product will be. Such consideration is unheard of from the "others". Thank you, RED.

(2) AUDIO INPUT: The RED team said that the audio input "may" be a 1/8" unbalanced connection. If Red is listening, and I know they are, I'd ask nicely for a better audio input option.

(3) FIXED LENS CONTROLS: The RED team said that two of the three lens controls (zoom, iris, focus) "may" be located on the back of the camera instead of on the lens. My apologies as I forget which two it was. If we have to have an attached lens, I'd ask nicely for all lens controls be on the lens with hard stops on the focus ring like the EX1.

Thank you, RED for all you do. You guys are great.

 

[Joshua Murray]

Thanks for the post. I would think the zoom would be in the back, with iris and focus on the lens.

 

[Mark A. Beal]

Phillip, I would concur with both your requests -- with an emphasis on "nicely." Red's decisions regarding Scarlet have been based on sound reasoning and Jim is rightly bummed out the strident tone coming from many on this forum.

 

[John Caballero]

I guess that focus should be on the lens itself. The other two you wouldn't use constantly as you would the manual focusing and that has to be all the way in front of the camera for more comfort while using it.
By the time these guys finish this baby I am sure Scarlet will be a great camera.

 

[Aiden Cornwell]

Really it is not needed one can get an XLR adapter for $200 bucks and if you are shooting a feature go to your local film pool or music store pick up a dat or other recording device. Sound for a movie is to important to do in camera. If you are doing a Doc or TV then an XLR adapter is more then enough.

 

[Phillip Hudson]

Really it is not needed one can get an XLR adapter for $200 bucks and if you are shooting a feature go to your local film pool or music store pick up a dat or other recording device. Sound for a movie is to important to do in camera. If you are doing a Doc or TV then an XLR adapter is more then enough.

I've had bad experiences using unbalanced connections, with and without adapter. Especially indoors.

I've never had a problem recording audio into a camera with balanced connections.

Cheers.

 

[dvazp]

I agree with the suggestions. Good sound and controls on the lens would make me start saving money for when it is released. Also, as someone said in another thread, compatibility with wide-angle, fisheye and telephoto adapters would be very useful. Would probably make the need for interchangeable lenses redundant for the vast majority of us.

 

[Dylan Reeve]

It might be impractical to build physical lens controls into a lens of that size. However if there were on to choose a physical focus would probably be it - but to suit the consumer market there also needs to be an autofocus and it can be difficult to have physical hard-stop focusing co-existing with autofocus. The EX1 handles this quite well but that may be a physical impossibility in a small lens. If I had another physical on-lens control it would be real iris (again like EX1, not like HVX or PD150).

As for audio - 1/8" jack is sensible, and unbalanced is sensible for consumer/prosumer usage. However a great compromise would be the ability to switch the input from ubal to bal (so the same 1/8th jack can be standard unbalanced mic, or with an XLR-1/8th adapter handle mic and line level balanced signal.) Alternatively a 1/8th standard connector and a proprietary 2-channel connector with optional breakout cable to 2 XLR would be okay if space is a limiting factor. Offering only XLR would be a problem for non-professional users.

I have been wondering if there will be a onboard mic?