Kwan Khan
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Still, the best Machine Like many other RED cams (to keep), however, resale is total DEAD in 2021 (and it's usual)
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SCARLET MX worth in 2021
- Thread starter Thomas Pawlowski
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Scot Yount
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I have a 2011 Scarlet-MX that still works great. It was my first RED camera and when I see a title like "SCARLET MX worth in 2021" my thought is it is "worth" keeping. I know the original poster is looking at buying one, but despite the fact that you really cannot get them repaired anymore, I think it is a great tool to have on hand. I have thought of selling it in the past but, it is worth far more to me in my well established RED ecosystem than it would be to virtually anyone else. If you need to see what this thing can do check out this thread. http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?175062-State-of-the-Scarlet-MX started by Eric Santiago. Of particular interest to me is the work of Alex Lubensky. Very nice images from a camera that the market says is worthless...(which is a good thing if you want to buy one!)
Eric Santiago
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So true what the Market says but then who really pays attention to that when you are having so much fun with your own camera
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Thomas Pawlowski
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Screen from a video I took last night. Lit by my Mac air screen and a 500w light diffused.
Yeah they definitely aren't going for a lot on the used market. I traded my Z-cam S6 rig for the RED scarlet MX. I've been shocked how much richer the REDcode is vs 10 bit from other cameras though. The image in general is great imo.
Looks very nice! You get 20 minutes on a 95wh battery?
Very true!
Anyone have any idea of a good mic to use for scratch audio? The rode video mics I've been trying to use don't seem to work. That's my only hiccup so far.
Yeah they definitely aren't going for a lot on the used market. I traded my Z-cam S6 rig for the RED scarlet MX. I've been shocked how much richer the REDcode is vs 10 bit from other cameras though. The image in general is great imo.
Looks very nice! You get 20 minutes on a 95wh battery?
So true what the Market says but then who really pays attention to that when you are having so much fun with your own camera
Very true!
Anyone have any idea of a good mic to use for scratch audio? The rode video mics I've been trying to use don't seem to work. That's my only hiccup so far.
Eric Santiago
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I've been using the Olympus ME-51S/OLME52W Stereo Microphones for years as scratch mics.
Great frame on that shot of yours
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Thomas Pawlowski
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Thank you!I've been using the Olympus ME-51S/OLME52W Stereo Microphones for years as scratch mics.
Great frame on that shot of yours
That mic looks perfect. Does it worked plugged directly into the camera without an adapter?
Scot Yount
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I get 90 mins on a 95wh battery and approaching 4 hours on my 190 wh batteries. With the old school REDVOLTS in the side handle I get about 20-25 minutes.
Karim D. Ghantous
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Beautiful images, Patrick. Really, really nice.
On a technical point, I see a lot of white 'speckle' in the images. What would that be? I don't think it's snow.
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Eric Santiago
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Just plug and play.
But dont forget to go into audio settings and check levels.
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Thomas Pawlowski
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Ah that is very good actually.
Just got two of them, thanks for the suggestion.
PatrickWebb
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So true what the Market says but then who really pays attention to that when you are having so much fun with your own camera
Absolutely agree.
PatrickWebb
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Yeah, I was using the Redvolts and I get around 20mins with one battery. It is OK when on a small mission. If I go for longer hikes I will take a redbrick and that lasts easy 2-2 1/2 hours.
PatrickWebb
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G'day Karim,
Thanks
Yeah, I think I got too excited with the sharpening in PS. I am using an older version and cannot manually adjust the sharpening. Plus it is a JPG conversion too, so there might be some loss in quality. I probably should have treated them in REDCINE-X for this.
I used the scarlet as a BTS camera to make timelapses and pull out frames in the moment of creation. Here are 2 grabs from the Scarlet X:
1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VGLq9Ppp3cPIHGx5C2yCpQGrpfCXg2Am/view?usp=sharing
2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z9gZpaptq5j7ReChAj2cX2L-uHkgJKNt/view?usp=sharing
again TIFF to JPG and PS'ed.
PatrickWebb
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Yes, I agree, once you are in an ecosystem then it makes sense to stay in it as long as you can and as long as the cameras stay well functioning. For me, I use the MX Epic and Scarlet and I use them side by side often and I love to swap parts off them if I need them, for example monitors, cables, modules, etc. When do I see it worth moving over to DSMC2? That will be when my collaborations with other productions are demanding that, however, I haven't ever had that demand, as I am a smaller operator at the moment. Would I like to? Yes. But for now both my cameras serve me well and produce the images I want to create!
If I got the demand for a DSMC2 I probably would rent the system out.
When the market says it is worthless, it is to a point. That point is only on the repairs. As red doesn't repair them, that mean that bigger productions cannot rely on them as big money doesn't take risks (again that is debatable) and you want to be able to have the backup option that your gear is repairable. That being said, there are some clever people making frankensteins from defect bodies, bringing back the DSMC back to life and hope into the market.
Being worthless is not true in this aspect. If you want to care for your gear and repair it when it breaks down, then you can opt to ship your camera off to a third-party repairer and hope he/she can bring it back to life, then that is also worth it, in my opinion. That being said, the repair costs might be higher than actually buying a new brain as a replacement, as the brains are selling for like $2K USD with relatively low hours, every now and then. If you want to keep in the system, it is totally do-able.
The same goes with the EPIC-X / M ~ to buy a used camera is still a $4-6K with or without accessories and that is the going price for a Komodo brain. I don't know, but I feel the value more a package deal where all the modules and mags are already included than to buy a komodo for now. You can also send in the EPIC for repairs to the 3rd party dude and the repair costs and shipping would be less than the costs of a second hand purchase (maybe).
Then, if you have a DSMC2 body with accessories, you're up there in the $20K+ EASY and if you are an Owner Op, like I am, that money is a tall investment initially today. That is where my EPIC and Scarlet step in and make it all worth while. I can still reel off 120fps in 5K, if I need to, and run around the forest and snow with a side handle and monitor and a couple of batteries and have a ball and capture the images I want. Would I love to have a Gemini 5K with a grip, battery and a 40mm Tokina Visa Vision lens? Yes. But, my Epic-X, which is also 5K, with a Zeiss 15mm Distagon ZE can blow me out of my studio with resolution and image quality still, so there is no budge to upgrade.
When looking at IQ, I have used a Weapon and Raven for work before and I do love the Dragon Sensor! However, I feel drawn to the MX sensor and I know that I can produce what I want to see in an motion picture. That is all taste stuff, at the end of the day. Really, all of the cameras that RED have produced have been great. The bottom line is: capture what you want in professional style. The technology that is available to today is incredible. We have nothing to complain about here nor is there anything "worthless" on the market.
I have to admit that the RED EPIC X is my dream camera and I own it. So I am pretty stoked every time I pull it out of my bag and get to work with it ... Every single time. The scarlet is a luxurious bonus for me. (also a good B-cam or back up!).
Think about the Market like this: "One man's rubbish is another man's treasure."
Cheers all! Keep creating!
PatrickWebb
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Karim D. Ghantous
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Nice lighting. Clean, simple and natural.
I have considered buying a Scarlet X just so I can get used to using a high end cinema camera. I have no doubt that for a lot of things, a modern Sony body would be a better option. But we're talking 16-bit RAW files here, plus a whole lot of other stuff.
PatrickWebb
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Thanks Karim!
I have posted some screenshots from that production in the EPIC X page/group: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...amp-Voigtl%E4nder-glass&p=1924461#post1924461
There are some Scarlet X kits for sale on the market place. I thought I saw one actually in Australia (Brissie maybe) for a good price. I would recommend picking one up and playing around with it. They are worth the time to get into, imo. I would suggest to pick up a full kit and go from there. You can only try and see if you like it or not. For me the RED experience is fun and what you can capture from these machines are nothing short of creativity and ability to expose for your scene.
I have been getting deeper into my lighting and I have noticed the difference between my older work opposed to my newer work and it is really night and day. The Epic and Scarlet love good quality light, like with my KinoFlos, the image just pops out on the screen!
If I were you and had some extra cash on the side, I would get one and start playing with it today.
Karim D. Ghantous
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Whatever spare cash I had is in crypto. But, when that matures, I'm going on a spending spree. ;-)
Quick question: how difficult is it to reliably clean the CA? I assume that Resolve does it but I have no experience with that kind of thing. As you're no doubt aware, photographic RAW converters have lens/sensor profiles which do all that in one simple step.
What's interesting is that the Sony A1 has a buffer of about 155 RAW files, which is about 6 seconds at 24fps. So, even with cameras like this, you are arguably handicapped as far as video is concerned. Not that there is anything wrong with this camera! Not at all. It's just aimed at a different market segment. And I think that in skilled hands it could easily replace dedicated cinema cameras. But, as I said before, working with actual RAW files is something that is worth the effort.
Quick question: how difficult is it to reliably clean the CA? I assume that Resolve does it but I have no experience with that kind of thing. As you're no doubt aware, photographic RAW converters have lens/sensor profiles which do all that in one simple step.
What's interesting is that the Sony A1 has a buffer of about 155 RAW files, which is about 6 seconds at 24fps. So, even with cameras like this, you are arguably handicapped as far as video is concerned. Not that there is anything wrong with this camera! Not at all. It's just aimed at a different market segment. And I think that in skilled hands it could easily replace dedicated cinema cameras. But, as I said before, working with actual RAW files is something that is worth the effort.
PatrickWebb
Well-known member
Uff, that is a question on the lens as well. If stopped down that cleans up CA nicely. But wide open, you are in all sorts of dangers. To answer your question: I am not entirely sure. I often try and keep that at bay, but if my CA creeps in the image, then it is generally around highlights off shiny objects. However, I have not looked so closely to my videos for that to bother me. I know Resolve does a brilliant job at NR, but CA, not sure, mate. That might be a question for the postproduction guys, maybe for a colourist or DIT to answer in depth. There probably is a corrector in DvR16~17 that corrects this, but I have never used it.
Scot Yount
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At the end of the day, the Scarlet-X shoots compressed REDCODE raw. 16 bits (linear I think...). Raw is key and this kind of raw with so much freedom is the beauty of these cameras. Sensor is key for a "look" or for the amount of light you have on hand, but really, giving you a full raw workflow is the most valuable piece of the equation. Learning how to work with that data is what brought me to RED in the first place. The room for creativity that it provides is what keeps me here.