Scarlet Low Down - Time to Skip from HD?

[TheWakePlace.com]

Hey Everyone

Im not going to try to hide it, i'm a complete newbie to anything other that High Definition. I have been filming for a few years with HD and hearing the news on the Scarlet, well im pretty confused as to where someone goes from HD now.

The digital recording medium is going tapeless - not for another 10 years i'd say (for professional cam's) but it will eventually. I run a , so far, very successful wakeboard HD video site at www.thewakeplace.com - and its time to get away from my 'pro-sumer' sony camera.
I have been very tempted by the following:
Canon XH A1
Sony EX1
and the new Sony Z7U
All have the capacity to shoot HD and go tapeless (Canon via Firestone).

But, and this is a big but, will the Scarlet effectively make these cameras the middle boys of the digital film world?

And my main question after all that, is do any of you see the Scarlet (or RED ONE) being used in a situation for my filmmaking?

Scarlet or 16mm?

I ask, because i do lots of commercial work for various companies in the Wake industry, and 2008/9 are film feature years (we make a release) and its new camera time. The more unique i can make our work, the better. And the more 'film-esq' we can make it, even better!

So do i wait for the Scarlet? Or will Sony get 10yrs out of me with the EX1 or Z7U???

Convince me Red people. . . . .


Thanks for reading my dribble
JP

 

[Carl Larsen]

nobody is going to get 10 years out of any camera - probably not even the red one (as it stands currently at least - however, it is modular, so it can be upgraded periodically.).

In my experience, Today's high tech is usually a doorstop 4 years out of the gate. You may get 10 years out of a nice set of sticks, but other than that, I'd be pleasantly surprised at anything else lasting that long.

If you have to buy TODAY - the HVX and EX1 are probably the closest competitors in terms of performance to what I'm assuming scarlet will be.

IF you can wait - as I am doing - then red one or scarlet become much more palatable options.

 

[David Dennis]

For a narrative film, you probably want RED One because it will give you the most control. If you're talking about shooting 16mm it will probably cost you as much for film, processing and telecine as it would cost for you to purchase a RED package (about $30k). Clearly the RED package is the better deal since you can shoot an unlimited number of films with it.

Nobody really knows anything about Scarlet yet except for a name and a very, very rough idea that could go in about 10 directions. I think Scarlet is basically planned as a news gathering style RED with more automatic features that give the filmmaker less control but let him go faster. More for run and gun documentary-style shooting than digital filmmaking.

I'm a little amused by the people who are waving checks frantically at Jim trying to get production number 008 even before anyone knows what it is and does! People trust Jim that much. I wonder if it sometimes scares him, a little.

Carl is right that no production equipment is likely to last 10 years. I own a Canon XL1 I bought in 1998 that's still in use today, but I am now phasing it out and it has suffered from reliability problems starting about two years ago. I used it fairly heavily for a prosumer but not daily as a video rental house or serious filmmaker would. I think a five year production life is reasonable but don't count on any more than that.

D

 

[laguun]

nobody is going to get 10 years out of any camera

hm, owners of 1999 HDCAM or Arri 35MM cameras might disagree

The oldest camrea in use here is over 30 years old (arri 35 IIb, however only doing timelapse

 

[dillont]

I got 10+ years out of my Sony DV 1000 camera - still using it in fact (as a deck).

Awesome little bugger.

Though the viewfinder and on camera playback controls are busted.

 

[Yannick Hagman]

What do you guys use to make the cameramovements so smooth and unshaky?

 

[Nathan Garofalos]

I made a wake skate video, and we only filmed when the lake was completely placid. I didn't have any shakes in my shots either. But that may be attributed to the calm conditions we filmed in.

 

[Ryan Patch]

It's a no brainer to wait just a couple of months for NAB so that you can make a more informed decision.

 

[Matthew Greene]

Heck, I have a DP friend that still shoots stuff for the networks on a Sony BVP-70 with a BVV-5 from 1988. That's 20 years he's gotten out of that rig.

 

[Nathan Troutman]

I think your biggest consideration is going to be time. While we should no a bit more about Scarlet in April I think it's going to be at least a year if not longer until we see a working, selling camera. When Red was first announced it took a year to have a working prototype and it'll be close to another year later that it will finally be shipping in full force. Maybe they can move this quicker. I would sure like to be surprised. But I would expect the earliest you could hope to buy Scarlet would be a year from now.

That being said - it's going to be much better than an HVX or EX1 for sure. What I'm really hoping is it lights a fire under Sony's ass and gets them to start making some real improvements in newer models. You'd better bet Sony isn't going to just let this high volume part of the camera market just run away to Scarlet.

 

[Nathan Troutman]

I just checked out the 7ZU specs from Sony. Ho-hum yet another 1/3" HDV camera with a bunch of marketing garbage about how they've got some new analog to digital conversion that makes the image clearer. I have a hard time getting excited about anything Sony does since Red. Scarlet will have specs to get excited about. I can't wait until April for something worth talking about.