Will Scarlet's user interface stand up?

[Chris Newman]

After seeing the RED One, and renders of Scarlet/Epic, and then using my Z1U for serious run-and-gun video and narrative film work, I appreciate all of the controls the Z1U provides at my fingertips:

- Record and zoom buttons on the side and top
- ND filter switch
- Lens-cap switch built in to the hood
- 6 custom buttons that I use for the following:
---- Manual white balance up
---- Manual white balance down
---- Frame guides on/off
---- Underscan on/off
---- Optical stabilizer on/off
---- Hypergain on/off
- Separate iris, shutter speed, focus, and zoom knobs
- Auto focus on/off/once switch
- 3-position customizable gain switch
- Left and right audio gain knobs
- Zebras on/off switch
- Headphone volume control
- Display info on/off
- Full-screen audio levels w/ dB labels on/off
- Full-sized XLR inputs
- Phantom power on/off
- Expanded focus on/off
- Color bars on/off

Can the RED cameras possibly provide anywhere near this level of convenience, or will we just expect to have to dig through menus to get to all of these controls?

 

[ReddyForScarlet]

Good point.... there don't seem to be many external controls, but we still haven't seen a final render of the remote or handle.

 

[David Rasberry]

The modern video camera is a highly evolved relatively simple and convenient acquisition system thanks to the demands of ENG shooters.
RED cameras require a different approach to shooting. The 2/3" fixed lens Scarlet is supposed to provide fully electronic lens controls, but for the others lens controls are what is built into the lens. They have more in common with digital still cameras and film cameras than video cameras.

The best way to get some idea of what Scarlets will be like to configure and operate is to download the instruction manual for RED ONE and take a look through it. These are much more complex and sophisticated cameras than a typical video camera. It is possible to set one up for quick out of the case run and gun style shooting with some programmed button functions, but there is a pretty steep learning curve involved.

For example: There are no gain settings. ISO speed adjustments, white balance, etc. affect what you see on the camera monitor or viewfinder, but not what is recorded. This may change with the 1080p RGB mode of the new models, but the camera normally records the raw data from the sensor without pre processing. Like developing and printing a film negative, all the parameters that affect the look of the image, except for exposure settings like frame rate, iris and shutter speed, are adjusted in post: ISO speed, color temperature, color balance, gamma, contrast, brightness, etc. are all completely adjustable in post.