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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

So... A little sad about the "Weapon" announcement...

Clayton Taylor

Clayton Taylor

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I picked up my Scarlet X back around September... I haven't even had a chance to really use it much yet as I don't do this for a living (yet). My first production where I'll break it in is coming up this spring... Now there's the news about the weapon coming out... I can't afford to drop another 10k on top of the 18k or so I've already spent on the camera, batteries, accessories, lenses... etc. If I don't make it to a Dragon by end of the summer, then I'll have no upgrade options for my Scarlet. When I bought it I was told "You'll always have the option of upgrading to a Dragon." Yeah... apparently not the case. Looks like I just bought an end of life camera without even realizing it. :(
 
I wouldn't get too discouraged. While there will certainly be advantages to an early entry into the new system - and you are seeing a lot of frenzy here suggesting just that - things have a way of "working out" in the RED universe.

And, don't forget, Scarlet is already a great tool!
 
While Scarlet is end of life there is noting end of life about your career. And while cameras are great tools like Terry said, they dont make or brake a good story or a great vision. Even if you had access to all of hollywood's gear it doesnt mean you would make a quality product. Go out there and make your film, bc that is more important than being able to afford any piece of gear. If you stick around you will be amazed at what comes your way. Its juts going to take time and tenacity.
 
You could have gotten any other camera, and say that it was end of the line, and thats a given.
At the end of the day the question is, what do you do with that camera.

David Fincher shot The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo primarily on a RED one.

Your camera is still relevant for years to come. You can either have it sit around and collect dust or put it to work. ; )
 
The camera still shoots? Does It still produces 4K Raw files that give a huge amount of creative control in post? Is It still better than just about every new camera that is about to be announced at NAB?

Latest & greatest isn't always the best thing in this business - A talented D.P. can do wonderful things with even a cracked lens and badly stored out of date 5201... A scarlet MX will hold it's own for a few more years yet.
 
Clayton, you're not the only one. Believe me!
But as the others have said: the camera may not be sold anymore sometime this year, but that doesn't make it a bad camera.

Think about all the cheap acc and media coming out in the next few months - that is a good thing for somebody with a smaller wallet ;)
And in the end, you can always sell the camera and keep the parts which are working with WEAPON and buy a new WEAPON,
if you start making more money with it.

If you would have known, would you have bought a Sony which is EOL the moment it comes to market?
You wouldn't have been able to buy something else at the time, because otherwise you would have done so.
There's always going to be new stuff coming out - same as with PCs, Smartphones, etc. As long as it works for you,
there's no reason to dismiss it just because it's not the newest shit in town anymore.


Don't let it get yourself down! I love my Scarlet, and even if I don't manage to upgrade it. I still have it and it produces lovely imagery!
 
Your not even driving your Ferrari 2014 and your sad because you want the Bugatti 2016??
 
Clayton,
i own non Dragon Epic, which is pretty much the same camera, and i pray every day to God, that one day i will learn to use my camera to it's full potential, that one day i will be able to create pictures "at least as good" as "The Counselor", "Prometheus", "I Frankenstein", "Hobbit" etc.
i know you've been told, but that's not true, film-making is not about camera model, and even boys with disposable income not always can have the coolest toys in the hood, there is always someone that has something 'cooler'.
well, unless you're running a rental business.
 
LOL Guys! I'm not throwing in the towel or saying the camera is never getting used. I'm just a little sad at the grip of cash I dropped (I'm not used to making purchases this large aside from a car or downpayment on a house or something)... I'm just saying I had no clue I'd make a purchase that big only to have it end of life 6 months later. That's the frustrating part. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW it could easily shoot the next blockbuster/oscar winner in the right hands.. it's leaps and bounds above cameras that have done that in the past. I plan on using it until it wears out, just bummed at the timing of things. I planned on hitting a Dragon upgrade in a year or two when I'd had time to recover and save more cash... just didn't see this happening so fast is all.
 
Clayton you should rename your camera to Ragnarök instead. Would be a cool name.
 
Clayton Taylor said:
I planned on hitting a Dragon upgrade in a year or two when I'd had time to recover and save more cash... just didn't see this happening so fast is all.
Click to expand...

Get used to it. In this business it's the norm. This is nothing compared to the transition from tape to digital editing in the '90s. In 2000 I threw a $75,000 (1990s dollars) digital effects system into a dumpster because I couldn't give it away (and believe me, I tried). And that was just a small part of the stuff I had to abandon. It's just the march of technology.
 
I think Red has spoiled us...Buy a Sony, Canon or any other camera...use it, enjoy it and then thats it. No upgrade, nothing. Do we call this "end of Life"? No, its just the way it is. Technology moves fast...its time to buy another camera.
 
D Fuller said:
And that was just a small part of the stuff I had to abandon. It's just the march of technology.
Click to expand...


After being in this business (yes to me this is a business - I derive all of my income from shooting) for many years; my equipment room is filled with 'abandoned' cine gear... Arri, panasonic, Sony, P2 cards galore, 16mm magazines, etc, etc, etc.

I shoot 3-4 days of every week in my studio - I work that gear until it's used up. My accountant depreciates that gear until there's nothing left. I know that every 12-18 months I will be moving to the next thing; and that gap is closing, every year new happens faster.

I couldn't imagine buying a camera package for a job next spring; why not rent?
 
@ JOEL - I'm a big fan of "Vikings" - chose the name from Ragnar Lothbrock :) Was planning on buying a Dragon one day and naming it Drogon after Dani Targaryen's dragon in GoT. Nerdy right?
 
Glen Powell said:
I couldn't imagine buying a camera package for a job next spring; why not rent?
Click to expand...

I thought about renting... I want to do this for my career. At the time I was on the 5DM3 - I knew it couldn't begin to touch what RED can do, so I sold it and made the switch. I wanted to come to RED since this is what I want to do for my career. I'm a nurse by day just to keep the bills paid until I can make the break into doing this fulltime. I know there aren't as many RED cameras in my area as say L.A. or NYC - I also see potential income from rentals or by using it to help me secure some DP/Camera op jobs along with the rental.
 
So with Weapon moving to the mini-mags - is there a chance the price for the 1.8" SSD's will come down some?
 
Clayton Taylor said:
So with Weapon moving to the mini-mags - is there a chance the price for the 1.8" SSD's will come down some?
Click to expand...

There will be a lot of people here (myself included) dumping theirs as Weapons make it out into the wild. In fact over the last year, I've seen a fair number of 1.8's for sale as friends 'upgraded' to the smaller drives.

Unless you have to turn them in to get the discount on new media that Jared has spoken about.
 
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