Still a Epic MX owner?

[Björn Benckert]

Any one with an red one MX testing the new IPP2. Think that would do wonders. Would love to see the old redone pre mx with IPP2 also.

Thinking that with the new sauce these old cameras will really be seen in another light. Have not tested myself but seams like RWGRGB would kick ass on the older sensors.

 

[Manuel Sieber]

I truly think RWG kicks ass

 

[Priit Joesaar]

Thank you everyone for this thread. I was in line for a RED ONE when they were still vaporware. I got mine and it was fantastic. (although a bit too heavy for my style)

I went in for the replacement deal for early adopters and got my EPIC-X package. Lovely camera.

Thought I was in on the full update track until the time came when I would have had to spend 10K to upgrade to Dragon sensor to even be in the lineup.

Biggest issue is that other business ventures have overshadowed using my camera. It has been sitting in the safe way too much. Too much to justify the Dragon sensor upgrade at the time.

I had recently gotten a bit sad about two things: Not using my camera enough and missing out on the upgrade path.

I had even recently thought about selling. The proceeds would pay for my Wife's new completely accessorized outdoor patio kitchen with wood fired pizza oven....... (I still have to build it and will now have to find other ways to pay for it)

After this thread, I have my camera out and am not considering parting with it any longer!

So, thanks all for this thread. I am now building the start/stop circuit for my Gunner setup that I bought the parts for a long time ago.

Now planning to finish a sci-fi short that we wrote 5 years ago!

Merry Christmas!

Alan

Im glad you got encouraged by this thread. Many people posted great thoughts from their perspective, very useful and informative. We can continue the thread but the conclusion right now is that the mx sensor will kick ass for many years to come. The only limitation is ones own skill to use it and take the max out of the camera. But skills can be learned and the new cameras can not compensate much of that.

 

[Ben Thurlow]

I adore my Epic MX I've spent years window shopping around the store, but I wouldn't want upgrade for the sake of it now theres the Helium and Weapon

 

[Ricki Bedenbaugh]

Priit, I too am in the same boat. Bought my Epic almost 3 years ago, and like you I can't afford to keep up with the changing and expensive technology. Just keep on shooting. The Epic is still an amazing camera!

 

[Jason Fung]

I know some of you are hanging on to a Epic MX and considering an Epic-W, but I'm about to be a pre-owned Epic MX owner coming from a different perspective. I started off in the stills industry and only transitioned into video/film in the last few years. As a result of this, probably all of my gear and equipment is hybrid oriented, from 5D3s, to A7s and GH4s. I added Blackmagic in the last few years and after being comfortable with a raw workflow, I really had my heart set on a Red Raven and had plans to order one at the end of 2016. Once I found out it was a 1+ year wait on one, I had also considered a C300 II or FS7 II, but found neither particularly appealing, so I ultimately ended up making an offer on a pre-owned Epic MX which I will be picking up in the next few weeks. In my space, the Epic-MX still vastly outperforms most of what I am using, either recently released or considering upgrading to. Red also has incredible firmware/camera support and will continue to for a few years when I decide if I want to sell it and move to another model.

 

[AndreasOberg]

We still have our Epic MX.

We would of course love to upgrade to both Dragon or 8k S35 but the price jumps have been a bit too high for us (the initial upgrade deals were very good but we didnt have the money then). For example now we are gearing up and investing in a lot of other equipment. We bought a very expensive 28 core machine for editing and grading. We are getting sliders, sound recording equipment, 3 new tripods in different sizes, probably a second Canon 600 F4. It just feels as if movement, sound better lenses are more important than better sensor quality. Sensor quality is just not an area we have a problem in!

If I would upgrade I must say the S35 feels the most interesting. We use slow motion in everything we do so I dont feel so happy about 30fps in 8k that Helicon provies, 60 is already lots better.
Another option could maybe be to get an used Dragon for better colors. I do like the improved colors in Dragon. Other benefits with the newer cameras is that they are much lighter as well..

My point is when you do film making its not just the camera, you have to pay for so many other things. When we bought the Epic MX we had a fantastic camera and good lenses, but we had nothing else in the pipeline and this really limited our production possibilities.

I think another point is that the Epic MX was SO much ahead of its time when it was released, so it still feels like a very modern camera even today.

For myself what I want the most of from a new camera is better slow motion. More light sensitive and better colors are great too, but slow motion is always my limiting factor and there has not been any improvements on this area with the Red cameras (except better compression levels). I love using 260fps in slow motion, but well these days I must shot in 4k and that means i "only" get 120fps where I really would like to move up to 500fps. Hopefully Red cameras can at a point have a burst mode where we can have higher resolution for at least a brief moment.

Soon going to sri Lanka ruins in the jungle, and then to the Island Skomer to film Puffins and then... maybe northen Sweden to film eagles, or ice caves in Island and of course some slow motion explosions in between.
/Andreas

 

[Rodrigo Violante]

I had an MX and jump to the Epic-W. I do a lot of low light situations so for me it was a Day and night change to be honest. The sensor is just amazing with low light and high ISO. Also the buy option from red to exchange it was really attractive, even better than what I could have sold my camera on ebay.

 

[Tyler Besh]

Started using the MX recently because I too was a little blown away by the speed of tech innovation. The Epic is cheap, very durable from what it seems to me, and gives me an image I'm never disappointed with at a price a fraction of owning new or renting new consistently.

I'll use it until it dies, no doubt.

 

[Aaron michaels]

I have an R1 and Epic with MX sensors and I wouldn't trade them for the world. To date... they are unmatched, the master minds have moved on but their cameras will continue to be the cream of the crop. I know Red footage when I see it. When you look at the age of the gear and not the finish product, you will start to loose focus of value.

 

[Nick Junkersfeld]

I started working around the original RED One, then R1MX, bought my own Scarlet-X, upgraded to Epic-X, and now own a CF Dragon. I still absolutely love the Epic-X - such an organic, pleasing image. It never felt digital to me. I do like my 6K Dragon (especially the lighter CF brain!), but I still have nostalgia for the MX sensor. None of the post-Dragon cameras except the Monstro interest me as an owner - the higher resolution certainly isn't a draw, but the larger format of the Monstro is very appealing...

 

[AndreasOberg]

We have both an Epic MX and a Helium.
MX is a brilliant camera, especially with its strong slow motion performance.
Benefits I see with Helium is
- much easier to grade naturally. MX could be difficult to grade with the correct colors.
- Dynamic range means it is almost impossible to blow out highlights, while with MX this was always a trade off.
- Much lighter
- Less heat and fan problem

On the downside, I shot more with 60fps these days, while I actually would like to be closer to 100fps or well even 200fps. Also harddrive space is even more of a challenge and even our 28 core workstation cannot playback in realtime 8k.
I think these benefits are all great with Helium but MX is still a fantastic camera.

Andreas