Brice LeCarre
Well-known member
I was at NAB Tuesday and Wednesday. Of course my very first visit was at the RED booth to get my hands on the RAVEN.
I have never held a RED camera in my hands so I cannot compare it with other models but as soon as touched it it was, oh yea baby! The Raven screams quality in every aspect. It is a small camera by all means but you know you have something special in your hands. In fact a few minutes later I handheld the Scarlet W without discerning any difference in weight and/or ergonomics. The Scarlet W had the new side handle on which allowed me to test its fit. In short I am glad I already ordered it. It felt very good in my hand and all the buttons and scroll wheels are placed naturally. The scroll wheels by the way are declicked making it a joy to operate the aperture on a cine lens.
Of course I was a little giddy but I am very pleased with my purchase. Even the 4.7 inch screen will be easy to use.
The new battery was in a display case. Its size is much, much smaller than a Red brick. It looked to me to be about the same thickness as the Revolt XL module
I checked the Red booth several times in the two days I was there and every time there were more people around the Raven than the Scarlet W or the Weapon.
The Bomb Squads Leaders were out in force always trying to help you out with your questions and very excited about the products.
Throughout the floor of the convention everytime a exhibitor in the current of the conversation new I bought a Raven, I could see envy in their eyes. One even asked me to post footage online when I can.
I enjoyed the convention. Much more than my feet!
Because of purchasing a Raven, I have to revamp a lot of my kit (coming from a 5D kit) and my approach to shooting too. I found a few gems like the LiteMat LED lights, and of course Mike Hall's Dana Dolly. Mike's daughter ride horses with my daughter at the same stable in Queen Creek AZ. We struck a friendship and talk about film while our daughters ride. At the convention I tried his dolly and I must say I like it for its sturdiness and ease of operation. He unveiled a basic motion control module which attaches to the stock Dana Dolly without modification. It pans the head and moves the shuttle at a programmed speed. It will do stop motion I think.
One thing struck me. There was a lot of Chinese companies offering cheaper version of well established US product. I am not sure I like the trend. Few of them spoke english enough to explain their product in depth.
Being in the market for a drone (I am trying to get a business off the ground, pun intended) this sub industry has dominated the convention in my opinion. You could not look anywhere without seeing a drone.
DJI is really making its mark with a new gimbal for the Ronin and a new full size drone the M600 which will carry a Raven without breaking a sweat. The price point including the new gimbal (used with the Ronin) is about 6k. Their booth was next Freefly's and you could feel a zone of cold air between the two. DJI attracted many more people than Freely did when I was there a couple of times.
I feel that the established companies like Zacuto are feeling the pinch. Their booth was scaled down with just a few product and even a full bar did not draw a crowd when I was there a couple of times.
Kessler was at the back of the center hall almost out of sight. They had a cool setup on their 12 ft crane. A digital Revolution head underslung supported an Epic and it had a digital control station at the other end. It was a joy to operate the camera on three axis plus, their yet to be released follow focus module (or anything you want to programmed into it). The price point of the basic setup (not including the crane or axis motors is about 2K.
I could go on and on but my fingers hurt.
Brice
I have never held a RED camera in my hands so I cannot compare it with other models but as soon as touched it it was, oh yea baby! The Raven screams quality in every aspect. It is a small camera by all means but you know you have something special in your hands. In fact a few minutes later I handheld the Scarlet W without discerning any difference in weight and/or ergonomics. The Scarlet W had the new side handle on which allowed me to test its fit. In short I am glad I already ordered it. It felt very good in my hand and all the buttons and scroll wheels are placed naturally. The scroll wheels by the way are declicked making it a joy to operate the aperture on a cine lens.
Of course I was a little giddy but I am very pleased with my purchase. Even the 4.7 inch screen will be easy to use.
The new battery was in a display case. Its size is much, much smaller than a Red brick. It looked to me to be about the same thickness as the Revolt XL module
I checked the Red booth several times in the two days I was there and every time there were more people around the Raven than the Scarlet W or the Weapon.
The Bomb Squads Leaders were out in force always trying to help you out with your questions and very excited about the products.
Throughout the floor of the convention everytime a exhibitor in the current of the conversation new I bought a Raven, I could see envy in their eyes. One even asked me to post footage online when I can.
I enjoyed the convention. Much more than my feet!
Because of purchasing a Raven, I have to revamp a lot of my kit (coming from a 5D kit) and my approach to shooting too. I found a few gems like the LiteMat LED lights, and of course Mike Hall's Dana Dolly. Mike's daughter ride horses with my daughter at the same stable in Queen Creek AZ. We struck a friendship and talk about film while our daughters ride. At the convention I tried his dolly and I must say I like it for its sturdiness and ease of operation. He unveiled a basic motion control module which attaches to the stock Dana Dolly without modification. It pans the head and moves the shuttle at a programmed speed. It will do stop motion I think.
One thing struck me. There was a lot of Chinese companies offering cheaper version of well established US product. I am not sure I like the trend. Few of them spoke english enough to explain their product in depth.
Being in the market for a drone (I am trying to get a business off the ground, pun intended) this sub industry has dominated the convention in my opinion. You could not look anywhere without seeing a drone.
DJI is really making its mark with a new gimbal for the Ronin and a new full size drone the M600 which will carry a Raven without breaking a sweat. The price point including the new gimbal (used with the Ronin) is about 6k. Their booth was next Freefly's and you could feel a zone of cold air between the two. DJI attracted many more people than Freely did when I was there a couple of times.
I feel that the established companies like Zacuto are feeling the pinch. Their booth was scaled down with just a few product and even a full bar did not draw a crowd when I was there a couple of times.
Kessler was at the back of the center hall almost out of sight. They had a cool setup on their 12 ft crane. A digital Revolution head underslung supported an Epic and it had a digital control station at the other end. It was a joy to operate the camera on three axis plus, their yet to be released follow focus module (or anything you want to programmed into it). The price point of the basic setup (not including the crane or axis motors is about 2K.
I could go on and on but my fingers hurt.
Brice
The new thin V-mount Redvolts coming later this year was pure genius in design, and they're going to sell like hotcakes.
