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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 :)

To buy a Scarlet or not to buy, that is the question…

Mathew Joki said:
Scarlet seems like it's that guy at the gym who's always focused on building up his biceps to look bigger, but at the end of the day he can't squat diddly, his bench press is pathetic and his cardio is total crap. Sure he could kick your ass in an arm wrestling contest, but is he well rounded and able to compete in a wide arena? Not so much...
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Interesting analogy... :-)
 
Justin O'Neill said:
Has anyone done a lowlight test with the F3 and Epic? From what I've seen the F3 isn't way more sensitive in low light once a similar curve is applied to Epic.
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Bloom has. This was ballsy from him:
this is the first time in 23 years of shooting that I have gone on a job with a camera that I don’t trust
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RED has to be careful about shipping hundreds, then thousands of Scarlets with anything but rock solid dependability.
It will cause too many headaches for them and their customer service. Can they handle hundreds and hundreds of customer problems and complaints? No. I don't think they have the staffing and service department for it.

I suspect the ship dates will be met, but the shipment of orders will be protracted and delayed. This is a GOOD thing. I would rather get a reliable camera late than a buggy camera early.
 
I'm sure he went onto a shoot with the expectation that whatever problem he had in testing was fixed either by firmware, or by RED service.

You run into situations in shooting that you would never get in testing conditions. It's murphy's law and a common experience. Any weakness in a camera/technology will be exposed in the real world shooting that never reared its head in testing.

Brian Iannone said:
There's one thing I don't completely understand. I read his article, but I guess I'm still not getting it... Why would he go on a job with a camera he doesn't trust? I mean, if you don't trust the camera, why in the world would you shoot a job with it...? Test it thoroughly first, if there's a problem, then don't use it anymore. But, don't go writing an article announcing that you went to shoot a job and the device failed. I mean, is there something I'm not understanding here?
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I think there are 2 things to keep in mind here. He took a camera that he didn't fully trust because it has the capability to make amazing images, even though there are issues. He mentions something like this in the article. Second, the epic is still basically in bata. One of the things that a lot of people are going to have to keep in mind is that these cameras are still evolving, and there will be issues. I know I will put up with them for the benefits.
 
This means that his preference was to shoot with the Epic but he had a back up just in case, in this case it was a Canon 5D which is ironic given the feelings here about DSLR. He didn't trust the EPIC.

On any large job you would be wise to have at least one back up for each piece of equipment, more so for the cheaper components, cables etc.
 
Ash Worth said:
This means that his preference was to shoot with the Epic but he had a back up just in case, in this case it was a Canon 5D which is ironic given the feelings here about DSLR. He didn't trust the EPIC.

On any large job you would be wise to have at least one back up for each piece of equipment, more so for the cheaper components, cables etc.
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Which is the primary reason I'm buying the Scarlet - cheap insurance having another body in da bag on a remote location. In my Canon bag I have both 1D and 5D bodies. The 5D was 1/3 the cost of the 1D body . . . hey wait, that sounds just like . . .
 
Not really sure how long PB has been shooting with the RED workflow but there is a learning curve. To me it seems like he's going through the early phases and is learning quickly.

You shoot RED because you are paving the future. Yes its buggy and still in development but you are helping it get better, that is why we are here as a community.

To the average person what we do with these cameras is magic to them. This is some high end tech, having a background with computers and digital photography is key.

if you are scared then go play with your 1080p DSLR. If you want to make an impact, learn with the best tools, and grow with your camera. We are here for you...
 
i don't really agree with the argument of the super extra costs of the scarlet with accessories etc. the package is great for its price, you can shoot out of the box. then, if a project needs more power, batteries, ssd cards, rods, you can rent them.
it's great to own the package to train between projects, or doing personal work, and add some rented extras at a low price when needed.
 
anyway, he answered the question, he bought it.
 
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PB is a respectable filmmaker with a lot of experience and he has influence on many ten-thousands of followers. After reading his blog post I must say he sounds rather negative about the Scarlet.

It's not a pretty foresight he is sketching: am I really heading towards a unreliable beta camera with bugs & flaws, unusable HDRx, inferior in low light situations, batteries that only last a couple of minutes, incredible offloading SSD times and unusable at cropped sensor sizes? We will have to find out ourselves I guess...
 
Erwin van Dijck said:
PB is a respectable filmmaker with a lot of experience and he has influence on many ten-thousands of followers. After reading his blog post I must say he sounds rather negative about the Scarlet.

It's not a pretty foresight he is sketching: am I really heading towards a unreliable beta camera with bugs & flaws, unusable HDRx, inferior in low light situations, batteries that only last a couple of minutes, incredible offloading SSD times and unusable at cropped sensor sizes? We will have to find out ourselves I guess...
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he's buying the scarlet as a B cam. who would buy a buggy crappy B cam to go along with a buggy crappy A cam? but in a way, i'm sure a lot of people think they are buying a "raw 5d". it's a pro camera and pro cameras are not easy beasts. sometimes you have to blackshade for example (it can take up to 12mn on the epic). it's good for people to be aware of these things.
and maybe some epic owners are a bit upset to see people coming into the red world and buying a light version of their cam at 1/5 the price. it makes it less exclusive.
 
Brad Crawford said:
A brand new EX-3 was $15,000... I don't see the issue with price. You get what you pay for.
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Yes, you get what you pay for.. but what you pay is price established.. what we don't want is red setting prices based on what canon or sony do, do we?

Just because buying an EX-3 will set you back $15,000 doesn't mean it costs more than $500 to manufacture..or that it was a good deal for the buyer
 
conrad gaunt said:
Yes, you get what you pay for.. but what you pay is price established.. what we don't want is red setting prices based on what canon or sony do, do we?

Just because buying an EX-3 will set you back $15,000 doesn't mean it costs more than $500 to manufacture..or that it was a good deal for the buyer
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Raw materials and components that go into the production cost of a camera are a very small part of total cost to develop, manufacture, sell, and support a complex high performance product.
 
Brian Iannone said:
There's one thing I don't completely understand. I read his article, but I guess I'm still not getting it... Why would he go on a job with a camera he doesn't trust? I mean, if you don't trust the camera, why in the world would you shoot a job with it...? Test it thoroughly first, if there's a problem, then don't use it anymore. But, don't go writing an article announcing that you went to shoot a job and the device failed. I mean, is there something I'm not understanding here?
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It's called sharing my experiences Brian. I have invested a lot of money in my EPIC and what it produces I love. My Epic is just back from a total rebuild and I will test it on personal stuff until I can trust if for commercial work, or take a second camera as a backup. I am talking about my Redneck Hippie mini doc. It's a personal piece but I was not trusting it before the shoot.

BTW it's my blog and therefore I am entitled to write whatever I want. If I chose to share my personal experiences I shall. It's a pretty balanced opinion in there and if you seriously can't see it's balanced then I am perplexed.
 
sam karr said:
i don't really agree with the argument of the super extra costs of the scarlet with accessories etc. the package is great for its price, you can shoot out of the box. then, if a project needs more power, batteries, ssd cards, rods, you can rent them.
it's great to own the package to train between projects, or doing personal work, and add some rented extras at a low price when needed.
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that's fine. If you can shoot with 1 64gb card and 2 batteries that last no time that's cool. I am just saying I have never been on a shoot where that would suffice. Remember, all just my opinion and I stated that right at the beginning.
 
Josh Snyder said:
Bloom has. This was ballsy from him:
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it was in relation to my most recent shoot. it was a personal project so if it cocked up then only my own artistic plans down the drain, not pissing off a client. I now have my EPIC back from a total rebuilt and will test it thoroughly and shoot with it a lot until I am confident on taking it on a job with a client.
 
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