Scarlet Dragon?

[Brian Merlen]

Well like Peter mentioned, such a product hasn't been specified at all yet. It may never exist even. I almost hope they don't sell them new, and only do upgrades. Because the reality is since the Epic price cuts happened the Scarlet price points getting much closer to the Epic to the point where one may wonder if they still need two lines at all going forward...

But who knows, Alexa just put out a new 1080 camera instead of a 4k one... Its a crazy world out there...

 

[Mike Garrick]

Price cuts for Epic IMO happened in part because of the Sony F55 (competitor) and also to create breathing room for the New Dragon Price around $24k-ish (?) when launched.

Which is somewhat interesting given the price between the 2 cameras & the feeling of elitism espoused by some is in no way representational of the price difference which I think currently sits around $8K . For some apparently $8k means they are more professional than others. Which is essentially the price of 2 x 512 SSD cards . I never knew being a professional was so cheap ; )...here let me get my wallet out.

 

[Mike P.]

Yeah, I was referring to the cost differences between the sensor-only upgrade and a new Dragon-by-Default Scarlet-D brain. If the Scarlet-D brain is $17.5 than the upgrade is certainly worth consideration... However, the competition can certainly compete being that they have 4k/RAW/s35 cameras in that same ~$15-20k range. On the flip side, if the Scarlet-D brain is launched at $12.5k, who would be so strapped for cash that they couldn't splurge the extra 3k over the $9.5k of just the upgrade (hell, you could easily sell your Scarlet-X for $3k to make up the difference and then you'd have a year warranty on your Scarlet-D instead of only 90days).

Like I said, when the sensor upgrade costs MORE than the original purchase price of the entire Scarlet-X brain, it's no longer an upgrade. I'm happy that the options exist, but to jump on them blindly is kind of fool-hearted. Especially after the 2012 price-drop, which is yet another indication that 'anything goes' in this era of affordable s35 RAW (soon to be FF35) cameras.

 

[Mike Garrick]

Well all my work is in HD/ SD broadcast TV land......so 6k is overkill.

So another option is to use Scarlet (I have armour) for another year and half (end 2014). Sell the brain 2nd hand for what 3K- 2K ? Then buy a Scarlet Dragon new. Whilst Peter is right there has been no official announcement about off the shelf Scarlet Dragon I bet anything it's coming.

Plus somewhere out there a FF sensor is coming. In this environment stay nimble, stay liquid don't over commit , don't get locked into anything .

 

[Brian Merlen]

Mike P jumping in earlier I think is dependent on people who intend to make a quick return. Say big name rental houses, they probably want in early, or big budget films who feel like beta testing. It might make sense depending on someones needs.

Mike G sign me up for that 8,000 dollar "imapro" adapter lol!

 

[Mike P.]

Brain, I totally agree. And bare in mind I'm talking solely of the Scarlet-Dragon here.

Realistically, only the users who expect to make $9.5k+ above and beyond what they would make in the same timeframe had they kept it a Scarlet-X should even be considering the upgrade (unless $9.5k is chump change to them.) I don't see how so many Scarlet users think Scarlet-Dragon will bring in an additional $9.5k MORE than the normal Scarlet-X in, say, the 6months before the next "game-changer" is released at NAB2014 or RED's next price drop. Especially when they'll be competing against 5Ds, BMDPC, BMDCC, F5, F55, C500, Scarlet-X, Epic-X, Epic-Dragon, and other Scarlet-Dragons for dollars (rental or as part of a DoP's kit)... It's already stupidly competitive and the other 4k/RAW cameras (one is $4k, remember) haven't even entered the market yet in high numbers...

Seriously, last year people were actually pissed off because of the price cut. Here we are, less than a year later, and a lot of Scarlet users seem to be making the same mistake. I wonder how pissed those same people are going to be when BMD releases a $5k 6k FF35 RAW camera at NAB or RED themselves launch a Scarlet-Dragon for ~$12k half a year after they paid $9.5k for a mere Scarlet-X-to-Dragon upgrade? As unbelievable as those scenarios sound, they're actually more than plausible in the current market.

The only reason I don't think rental houses apply is that the ones big enough to be able to beta test, would likely be able to afford (and would prefer) an Epic-Dragon for the long haul. That's why I don't understand how so many Scarlet users seem to be jumping in so early without seeing how Scarlet-Dragon actually shapes up.

 

[Brian Merlen]

I happen to know one rental house interested in subleasing a Scarlet Dragon. So if I do go that route, it would be to try and get in on early rental dollars. My time stamp is like 2 minutes after it was released... But I got something else cooking so its really all up in the air for me personally. Either upgrade deal is pretty sweet pricing. I really like the Epic warranty though, it might be a clincher for some...