Comments on: Full Specifications of the Democratizing (and Canon-Beating) RED SCARLET X Camera

By: 5 Reasons Why I Bought a RED SCARLET, and Why It May (Or May Not) Be the Right Camera for You - NoFilmSchool

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:15:10 +0000

[...] year, so if you came here from Twitter or somewhere else and you’re confused why this post is happening a year after he bought one…well…this is your answer. Back when RED had their one-time-only Battle-Tested SCARLET [...]

By: Rodney

Rodney — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:52:43 +0000

Koo,

Do you have a list of accessories you ordered? Did you order the SCARLET-X titanium PL mount package? I was thinking of the Canon EF mount package and then just buying the additional Canon lenses I need. You mentioned 3rd party batteries, where did you find them and are there other items you are ordering 3rd party? Thanks, Rodney

By: Nate

Nate — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:05:28 +0000

Where do you find your actors? Union/non-union?

By: Koo

Koo — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:18:35 +0000

Thanks Jay, that’s what I’m hoping for with the EPIC. There were a number of rolling shutter issues in Kevin Smith’s RED STATE, but that was the RED ONE M-X and the EPIC/SCARLET readout should be quite a bit faster.

By: Jay Patton

Jay Patton — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:34:27 +0000

Everyone knows that the sensor gets windowed, it is not some shockingly big secret. It has been talked about and understood since the Red One came out 5 years ago. Just like shooting 60fps on a 7d can’t be done at 1080p. Lots of people don’t mind trading the crop sensor off in the name of higher framerates.

By: Jay Patton

Jay Patton — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:29:26 +0000

I have been shooting on the Epic camera for the last couple months. Scarlet is the same as the Epic, but doesn’t give you the higher framerates at higher resolutions that you get on Epic ( 5k @ 120fps, 2k @300fps). There are no rolling shutter issues that I have noticed. I have shot out of moving cars with a Canon 7d, or a goPro, and those cameras have a serious rolling shutter. Fences posts look like they are at a 45 degree angle with 7D, and the GoPro is seriously Jello when it hits bumps. After shooting 3 days out of a side of a car with the Epic, I am happy to say that there is no rolling shutter.

Also, you can’t argue with 13.5 stops of dynamic range, 5lb body, raw recording, half the price of the new Canon stuff coming out, 1/6 the price of Alexa, more resolution, less weight, etc. Plus, rock solid easy to use touch screen operation, and a completely transparent customer focused company who designs and builds in the US.

Camera renting is not what it used to be, the model is changing. The rental model exists so heavily in this industry because nobody could afford to buy a 35mm camera, and stuff was priced for the niche markets they served.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:26:49 +0000

Edit: That is Red is NOT talking about it.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:25:33 +0000

No one is talking about the BIG PROBLEM WITH SCARLET: It “windows” the s35mm sensor and crops the field of view with each step up in frame rate. IE 5k 12fps is THE ONLY frame rate that will give you the full s35mm field of view (and DOF accordingly) of your lenses. 4k 24 FPS will be a cropping the s35mm field of view. This is terrible. When you get to 120 FPS and 2k you’ve got a 50% crop of your field of view which will make any wide angle lens into a telephoto. This is a huge issue and I wish someone would explain it in full with charts and FOV and DOP comparisons. Of course, Red is talking about it. See here: http://prolost.com/ for a s35mm comparison which hints at this issue. Phillip Bloom also mentions this on his first comments on Scarlet, though he ordered one too. Any thoughts??

By: WIELGUS

WIELGUS — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:17:05 +0000

Hi,
Its not just about specifications. Red cameras have impressive specs, but are not reliable at all. I will convince my producers to rent three Canon C for an upcoming TV serie. Alexa would be my first choice, but there are some budget limitations. Anyway, 2k is far enough good for TV. I even guess that the majority of an audience can’t even see the differences in a movie theater.

By: Hugh Guiney

Hugh Guiney — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:31:16 +0000

I never said CMOS couldn’t produce beautiful images. The stuff I’ve seen come out of RED cameras is breathtaking. All I said was that I, personally, couldn’t get excited about new CMOS cameras, no matter the cost. If you’ve ever seen a Jell-O-like iPhone video due to the creator waving it around a lot, what you’re seeing are rolling shutter artifacts, which are a limitation of the technology: they can’t be fixed in post (mitigated somewhat with recent filters, but it’s still a herculean task), and this persists even in professional camcorders—not that you would wave those around, but if you want to shoot fast-motion, like a chase scene for instance, it becomes a hurdle that you then have to shoot around. If you’re OK with that, then fine, but you should at least be aware of it, which I feel not many are.

Also, there’s nothing “high-end” about non-CMOS cameras, unless you’re talking about analog, film-loading cameras. The common alternative, CCD sensors, have been around longer than CMOS and therefore probably cheaper. They are not without their own limitations (vertical smear, for instance), but they lack rolling shutter artifacts and thus, until they come out with something better than either of these, remain my sensor of choice.

By: RadRaven

RadRaven — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:44:55 +0000

Man, your comments are a really good fit for Canon’s products! You really have no idea of what it means, finally having an affordable camera that shoots 4K RAW! With no compromises! No shitty codecs! No Moiree! That works with most lenses! Etc…

Everyone is an iDirector these days… Few know how to make a difference with a tool like Scarlet in their hands!!!

I’m really stoked for Koo getting a Scarlet and can’t wait to see the sure fire results!!! Stay stoked! Stay proud! Your film will benefit tremendously from your decision!

T ; )~

By: VanLazarus

VanLazarus — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:49:50 +0000

I’m sure there are many talented cinematographers using CMOS sensors that have created beautiful looking art that would disagree with you. But each to their own. Not all of us get to use high-end non-CMOS cameras.

By: Hugh Guiney

Hugh Guiney — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:53:11 +0000

“f you’re not excited about this, you’re not into cinematography”

Actually, I’m not excited about this precisely *because* I’m into cinematography. I realize the ramifications of offering this tech at this price-point, but the limitations of CMOS-sensor cameras will simply never appeal to me. Also, while it’s true that the specs don’t make the movie, there are a LOT of filmmakers who think it does, and these people invariably obsess over RED cameras, which can get annoying.

By: Granville

Granville — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:15:44 +0000

By workflow issues I mean the amount of RIG needed to push Scarlet footage through the pipeline. Perhaps only “issues ” for those in need of sleek workflow.

By: Granville

Granville — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:11:55 +0000

Until I see some footage and get some feedback on the crop factors and the overall workflow, it would be difficult to really compare and reach a decision. I liked the C300 footage in both Mobius and XXIt.

I actually think that, do to workflow issues with Red(s), the C300 will get some heavy usage in TV Land over the next couple of years and that Canon will get more “with it” the more that they earn a valid place (however large or small). All of the competitor’s are going to have to start really pushing the envelope maybe even steaming it open (some would argue that Red has already done that).

Promising times for all.

By: Why I’m Ordering a RED SCARLET-X, and How it Relates to My Feature ‘Man-child’ - NoFilmSchool

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:45:31 +0000

[...] a post about the new RED SCARLET-X, I mentioned that I ordered the camera myself. First of all, some context: I’ve been a [...]

By: RedKiteBart

RedKiteBart — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:16:45 +0000

One other thing is that at 2k HDR you have a full frame cropfactor of 2×1.5 (s35) = 3x. There goes your wideangle options no fisheye action. And @120fps 1k has a 6x cropfactor.

By: Koo

Koo — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:41:14 +0000

I hear you. And that would be totally true if I were using Kickstarter money to buy the camera. But I’m not, so it’s kind of different… writing a post about this now!

By: nobody

nobody — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:35:37 +0000

Chris,

Not even amateur vfx guys are looking to work with 8 bit 4:2:2 50Mbps long GOP MPEG and I’m sure I’ve read the C300 SDI output is interlaced (?) Canon are not playing in the same league as RED or any league at all considering what the hacked GH2 is capable of. The truth is that in 5 years, we’ve gone from laughing at RED to laughing at everyone else. Not to be unkind but in 2012 8bit, 50Mbps GOP is perhaps better suited for family album videos of baby, hardly a format that should be in serious consideration for cinema aquisition.

By: chris

chris — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:15:17 +0000

Sam also thought the c300 was a better tool for green screen work after using it on his film Xxit. The compers at his shop loved the footage out of the sdi out because of the doubled up green channel that the c300 has.

Cheers!

Chris