What do you hate about your EPIC?

[Robert Hart]

As a non-owner, and likely to remain non-owner, I guess the only critique I can justly make is the dog-in-the-manger jealous passion that is aroused by someone else owning one. That said, I think the move in the audio connections to consumer level phono plugs was unwise when they are such known dogs at the best of times. I would have been a very interested fly on the wall during the decision to go with them. I was not greatly fond of the P+S Technik SI2K recorder body solution of replacing the phono plugs with a D-Sub connector and a two-in/two-out XLR breakout cable. It is robust though and does not lose contact under mechanical stress. The design issue for both cameras is fairly obvious, that of finding real-estate to physically place the full sized industry-standard 3-pin XLR panel sockets. They need a lot of unproductive space and have to be robustly supported.

 

[Greg F]

That I cannot delete video clips on the fly as needed while underwater.

Going to 1:1 and having the camera freak out for a moment and spit it out to all outputs. Gives clients the willies.

Why not 1:1 while video is recording, Yes I could use it.

 

[Joachim Hoge]

I don't hate anything about the Epic, but I wish it was lighter and that the Redvolts lasted more than 20min.
Not to keen on the mini jacks for audio, as my rig gets messy when I have to add an A-box etc.

 

[Erich Roland]

epic issues

epic issues

Hate is a strong word, but...

- The location of the connections. My preferred hand held options puts my shoulder right there putting pressure on all these connectors. Plus getting your fingers down there to plug and unplug. And I get the problem, "small" camera means small real estate for connectors, what Red designed was probably the best placement. Yes we have breakout options, but its still annoying.

(to the red volt haters) I love the small battery option in the handle and totally fine with having to change the battery its fast and easy. The reality is more battery life means bigger and heavier. Would life be better if a matchbox sized battery would run this camera for 5 hours... sure, but lets get real. I think Red chose the perfect size and place for a reasonable 20-ish minute run time... this is a big "hit the mark perfectly" in my world given the choices for an internal style battery. Next level....attach a plate on the back and choose your battery size (with an internal batt to keep the motor running) what more could you ask for in the real world?

Don't have any Hate, there are minor issues but the camera is nearly perfect when you get down to really analyzing the possibilities (and it keeps improving). Bring on the Dragon!

 

[Scott Brown]

Would be useful perhaps to create a priority list of things we'd like to see improved on our cameras to best assist RED in their development strategy.

Sensor development is important BUT there are basic faults/issues that should be addressed in tandem if RED is to retain market share now that Sony and others have joined the game.

For me personally, stick the Dragon sensor in the body of a Canon C300 and this would be a near perfect camera :smilewinkgrin:

Scott

 

[Mark Phelan]

For me personally, stick the Dragon sensor in the body of a Canon C300 and this would be a near perfect camera

Ewww, I don't care for the C series look or layout one bit.

 

[Marcos Montenegro]

HATE is such a strong word, but please fix:

1) RedVolts- 2hrs+ charging time for 25 mins of usage?
2) 3.5mm Audio jacks- Since I've always done this part separately it doesn't affect me as much, but it is definitely the weakest link of this camera and of Scarlet and should be redesigned; DLSRs have better audio!

I like that the new redesign fans have been announced; not sure if anyone here anticipated that, so I'm hoping that RED is also working on a DIY solution for audio to swap those 3.5mm ports to something else, and not limit their solution to the PRO I/O, which is made for advanced configurations and way too bulky for a single operator.

+1 on having the ability to zoom 1:1 while in recording mode, especially for us who pull our own focus.

 

[Erich Roland]

For me personally, stick the Dragon sensor in the body of a Canon C300 and this would be a near perfect camera :smilewinkgrin:

Scott

C-300.... now there is a camera i can more easily use the H word. If ever there was a more non-ergonomic shape..... and the stupidity of the design/placement of monitor plus cables and no way to jettison the thing and have audio. The c300 wins the "whackiest camera" award. Image looks good, but... what were they thinking?!?!

 

[George A.]

Like anything in the world, things could be better in some way or another - no question about that. Everything can be improved.

Browsing over the points raised in this thread, I am surprised to see complaints about WEIGHT.

I shot 35mm film on Arri and Moviecam cameras (not to mention other digital cameras).

You do realize the Epic is INCREDIBLY LIGHT for what it does? There is no comparison.

Just like what Doug Underdahl said - PERSPECTIVE.

 

[Robert Hart]

On reflection and given the sad news that Aaton has gone to the happy hunting ground with a completed camera stillborn because of a sensor quality control issue, what a world it would be if Aaton Penelope D ergonomics and the new Dragon iteration could be wedded. It would be something like the story of Cooke lenses if Mr. Jim became so moved as to buy the company and rehabilitate the marque. -- Wishful thinking maybe but no harm done.

 

[Julian Banos]

This is what I hate about my Epic:



N

A

D

A


But there are some great suggestions in this thread regarding software updates.
Fan noise, fixable soon.
Audio, I always go double system.
And a lot of issues are related to what accessories you purchase. I dont like RedVolts, so I use V-Batteries by Bebob.

i LOVE the modularity of the camera, it gives me an edge on custom fittings for customers when competing against big rental companies.

 

[Joachim Hoge]

Like anything in the world, things could be better in some way or another - no question about that. Everything can be improved.

Browsing over the points raised in this thread, I am surprised to see complaints about WEIGHT.

I shot 35mm film on Arri and Moviecam cameras (not to mention other digital cameras).

You do realize the Epic is INCREDIBLY LIGHT for what it does? There is no comparison.

Just like what Doug Underdahl said - PERSPECTIVE.

I have shot with Arris and Moviecams in the past, and I do appreciate how much less an Epic weighs. But as someone that very often carries his Epic, batteries and a couple of lenses in his backpack all day long to get to a location I got very jealous of my partner and his 1DC on our last outing in Kamchatka.

 

[Scott Brown]

C300....OK, it ain't a beauty, BUT I travelled the world extensively last with one and it really was a joy to work with. Superb in low light, built in ND's, amazing battery life, records onto low cost CF cards, excellent audio with proper XLR inputs and god it's quiet - no clients asking what the f**king noise is, monitor good enough to nail focus on every time and so it goes on.

Our Epic delivers better pictures for sure but for easy travel when every ounce counts, I'll take the C300 every time.

Now let's get that Dragon sensor in there :emote_happyhappy:

Scott

 

[Karl Janisse]

A lot people have posted from the perspective of an owner/operator of an indie camera. I feel I may be able to offer a bit of a different one. I have never owned an EPIC or a RED Camera of any kind. I am a 1st A.C. by trade, specializing in RED Epic and RED One operation. If the RED Epic is to be taken seriously in the professional world of filmmaking it needs a few small tweaks:

- It needs a small (Dumb side) lcd panel to give a readout to the AC during operation so the DOP doesn't get pissed when the camera stops rolling due to a power/media outage or the fans kick in to super sonic mode due to heat. 2 tiny LEDs with 3 colour options does not cut it.

- There has to be better options for pulling focus. The C300 has a few different focus peaking modes to suit the AC or operator best. A 1:1 output box onscreen like a Canon SLR is a must.

- The firmware has to be made publicly available. On the last feature I shot with, we almost lost an entire day because the camera failed 12 times and the DOP refused to shoot any longer until the firmware was reset. Shooting after-hours its hard to get the rental company's license for RED firmware.

- <5 Minute Black shading. I shouldn't have to delay a production to cope with a fussy sensor.

- Finally. The REDMote... common guys

RED has done something truly incredible with the EPIC camera and with it opened up a new standard for quality in a lot of different markets. But at the end of the day, for ease of use and reliability I have seen many productions stray away from the EPIC due to its bad rap for being a "buggy computer with a lens" rather than a camera.

Guys you won the resolution war - you have the cheapest, best looking camera out there by far. Its time to look past the K's and the '4K to stay" attitude and make it the most functional and enjoyable camera to use out there.

I realize that a lot of these suggestions are less than feasible with where RED is at right now, but if these and some of the other more echoed ones aboved were addressed - they would truly have the best camera on any market.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

C300....OK, it ain't a beauty, BUT I travelled the world extensively last with one and it really was a joy to work with. Superb in low light, built in ND's, amazing battery life, records onto low cost CF cards, excellent audio with proper XLR inputs and god it's quiet - no clients asking what the f**king noise is, monitor good enough to nail focus on every time and so it goes on.

Our Epic delivers better pictures for sure but for easy travel when every ounce counts, I'll take the C300 every time.

Now let's get that Dragon sensor in there :emote_happyhappy:

Scott

C300 is fine unless you want to do any grading, the you see there ain't much there, under the hood.

 

[Peter Majtan]

First of all - let me just say that the title of this thread is misleading to say the least. It should have been something along the lines of "What would you like to improve / fix in Epic / Scarlet?"

With that out of the way my main issue is the blackshading taking way too long. Lot of my work forces me to quickly change exposure durations and/or temperature conditions. Having to wait 20 min or so to caliber the sensor is just a pain in the butt.
Two possible fixes:

A. Make the blackshading a lot faster (sub 1 min)...
B. Introduce super cheap small REDMAG (like 1GB @ max of $ 50,- USD) so we can caliber our sensors for various conditions and save presets on this media and keep it with the camera...

The saving of presets is nice - but the expensive "working" media get reformatted all the time - so the only way to be able to actually use it is to have a laptop with all the presets and copy the one I want onto a REDMAG and then load it in the camera. This is again silly...

Pretty please...

P

 

[Peter Stelzhammer]

B. Introduce super cheap small REDMAG (like 1GB @ max of $ 50,- USD) so we can caliber our sensors for various conditions and save presets on this media and keep it with the camera...

I'll second that...
But I wouldn't even need the calibration functionality; I'd just need the "space" to always have a fallback-firmware with me (force_update folder).

Right now I need to use a 48GB REDMAG at least...
495$ for just storing a few Megabytes for a "just in case"-scenario is a bit too much if you ask me

How difficult would it be to introduce "lower" disk space MAGs? I mean like 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB?
I think I'd pay up to 150$ for such a small(er) MAG - it would save me time and worries, that's for sure...

 

[Owen Rennie]

I love my scarlet. With 8 red volts, a quad module and a few chargers its perfect. Plus I have a v mount so power isn't a problem.
Fan noise doesn't bother me (yet) as I shoot surf and sunsets mainly.
If I do record with sound ill get my sound guy anyway.

I do regret selling the c300 though. I travelled thiailend with it last year and was the easiest camera I've ever used. Loved it

 

[Scott Brown]

"C300 is fine unless you want to do any grading, the you see there ain't much there, under the hood."

Holds up just fine here...finish your edit, drop into a 10 bit u/c timeline & happy days. Certainly no complaints from our clients.

As good as Epic, no...but we've made lots of money with the C300.

Scott

 

[Sid Idris]

First of all - let me just say that the title of this thread is misleading to say the least. It should have been something along the lines of "What would you like to improve / fix in Epic / Scarlet?"

With that out of the way my main issue is the blackshading taking way too long. Lot of my work forces me to quickly change exposure durations and/or temperature conditions. Having to wait 20 min or so to caliber the sensor is just a pain in the butt.
Two possible fixes:

A. Make the blackshading a lot faster (sub 1 min)...
B. Introduce super cheap small REDMAG (like 1GB @ max of $ 50,- USD) so we can caliber our sensors for various conditions and save presets on this media and keep it with the camera...

The saving of presets is nice - but the expensive "working" media get reformatted all the time - so the only way to be able to actually use it is to have a laptop with all the presets and copy the one I want onto a REDMAG and then load it in the camera. This is again silly...

Pretty please...

P

Alternatively red can add an erase command that formats the media less protected folders that contain "presets" and force upgrade folders. Similar to what magic lantern has done.