nofilmschool » reddragon

Where is RED DRAGON? Upgraded Camera Spotted in the Wild

Joe Marine — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:03:53 +0000

It has been relatively quiet on the RED front regarding their fire-breathing beast known simply as DRAGON. We saw the first actual images from the camera back in February, and there was mention a few weeks ago that some internal power supplies needed to be redesigned as they were getting additional noise in the shadows. While development seems to be edging towards completion, Jarred has finally posted our first glimpse of the monster in the wild: (more…)

Aaton, Maker of the Penelope Delta Camera, is in Financial Trouble, Plus a RED DRAGON Update

Joe Marine — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:05:10 +0000

We’ve mentioned the Aaton Penelope Delta a few times, not only because it is a seriously impressive piece of machinery, but also because it comes from a long line of well-designed cameras from the French-based company. While certain manufacturers are going small and/or modular, a few — namely Aaton and Arri — are still making cameras that are well-balanced and can be thrown on your shoulder right from the factory. Unfortunately, the company has faced a few setbacks with their still unreleased camera, and now it looks like those issues have put them in serious financial trouble. We’ve also got an update about the RED DRAGON sensors, and why we’ve yet to see any footage (even though the hardware is done). (more…)

RED EPIC DRAGON & SCARLET DRAGON Specs, Upgrade Pricing, Warranty Information, and Price Drops

Joe Marine — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:29:38 +0000

As we await the first footage from the DRAGON sensor (we’ve already been given some still images, but nothing was shown at NAB 2013), upgrades are already happening. Some of the first cameras to be upgraded, EPIC-Ms, were given the royal treatment right on the NAB floor where RED set up a clean room to give attendees a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of what goes into camera upgrades. It was definitely one of the more spectacular displays of just how far the company has come since their first appearance at NAB 2006. We know RED is upgrading sensors for current EPIC and SCARLET owners, but what exactly will this cost, and might it actually be more cost-effective to sell your camera and buy DRAGON brand new? Click through for specs and a complete analysis on all prices. (more…)

RED Announces Four New Products: Rocket-X, Motion Mount, Fan Upgrade Kit, and Proxy Module

Robert Hardy — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:31:44 +0000

Last night, while we were all dreaming of Blackmagic’s magical new cameras, Jarred Land from RED was busy posting new upgrades and products to the reduser forum. Some of these new products are quite significant, so without any further ado, read on to find out what Jarred had say. (more…)

Will 6K with RED Dragon Mean Unmanageable File Sizes? Plus, New RED Rocket Card in Development

Joe Marine — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 00:36:12 +0000

While companies like Sony and Canon are just starting to offer their first affordable 4K cameras, RED is forging ahead to even higher resolutions. 5K is so 2012. Thanks to RED we’re about to get 6K. But it’s not all about resolution, we’re also getting other improvements with their new Dragon sensor, including better sensitivity and more dynamic range (Dragon will likely surpass the best 35mm film stocks with the latter). With all of these advancements comes a potential data headache for any working professional — what are we going to do with all of this data? RED and Sony both work in compressed RAW formats, but 4K compressed RAW is still a lot of data, and 5K pushes that even further. How will we deal with 6K RAW? According to CEO Jim Jannard, that’s where the power of RED’s wavelet codec comes into play. (more…)

RED Dragon Indeed: First 6K 2000 ISO Images from New Sensor Unveiled

Joe Marine — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:07:08 +0000

Jannard and Co. have been quiet for a while now except for the occasional firmware update. When the guys at RED aren’t talking with users on their forum into the wee hours of the morning, there is a sure bet that something is brewing. We got our first image of the spectacular dynamic range of the sensor (which looks to be well over 14 stops), and now Jarred Land has posted some of the first still images taken from 6K (6000 x 3000 pixels) 86fps footage. (more…)

RED Dragon Unleashes Its First Image, and SCARLET Camera Gets an Upgrade Path

Joe Marine — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 06:52:29 +0000

It may be 2013 in many places around the world already, but it probably feels like a whole bunch of holidays wrapped into one over at RED. The company has been somewhat quiet about their Dragon sensor over the last few months, but thanks to the CEO Jim Jannard we’ve been getting details here and there throughout 2012 about the sensor. It’s claimed that it will be able to achieve over 15 stops of dynamic range, and they are trying to back up that claim with a dynamic range chart showing what appears to be that, and possibly more. (more…)

RED Ends Lens Production, Dragon Sensor Compares to 65mm According to CEO Jim Jannard

Joe Marine — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:44:39 +0000

Though RED has certainly not been quiet lately, there hasn’t been much news about their ‘one sensor to rule them all,’ also known as the Dragon (though I wonder if this codename will stick as we are about to leave the Year of the Dragon in a few months, and enter the Year of the Snake). We may not have much new information about the sensor, but Mr. Jannard has been making some rather interesting statements regarding the development and why 65mm, not 35mm, should be the benchmark for RED going forward. (more…)

RED ONE MX Out of Stock, CEO Jim Jannard Says He's Not Retiring Soon, and He's a 48FPS Convert

Joe Marine — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:54:59 +0000

That didn’t take long. Two weeks is as long as the stock lasted on the Battle-Tested RED ONE MX cameras. It’s likely going to be the end of the road for new sales of MX cameras, though I guess with RED, never say never. Certainly if you were looking to get in on a real cinema camera with RAW output, it was a fantastic deal even if, as I’ve heard at least a hundred times, that you can’t actually put together a working camera for $4,ooo. Also, since we decided to cover it in the first place, turns out Mr. Jannard wasn’t being quite as forthcoming with the timeline on retirement as we originally thought. (more…)

Time Running out to Buy a $4,000 RED ONE MX, and RED Founder Jim Jannard May Call It Quits Soon

Joe Marine — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:55:25 +0000

If you somehow missed the price drop announcement a few days ago, RED’s workhorse camera, the RED ONE MX, is now selling for $4,000. Forget 3K for $3K, the RED ONE is capable of an astounding 4.5K for $4K. While it will cost a little bit more to get one shooting, there’s no question it’s a sign of how far technology has come that a camera used on seriously high-end feature films like Contagion and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is now available for such a low price. If you’ve been on the fence about getting one, you’ll have to move quickly as these are going fast — the CF module version has already sold out. We’ve also got word that the man who started it all, RED’s CEO Jim Jannard, may be stepping down once the new Dragon sensor and a “new technology” are both released. (more…)

RED Cuts EPIC Price in Half: EPIC-X Now $19,000, SCARLET Under $8K, RED ONE Goes 4.5K for $4K

Joe Marine — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:17:43 +0000

We knew RED was going to respond to the recent announcement from Sony, and respond they have. RED has recouped their initial costs for the EPIC project, and that means they’ve decided to cut the prices on both the EPIC and SCARLET platform (since SCARLET shares many of the same parts as the EPIC). If you’ve been waiting to buy one of these high-end cameras, there hasn’t been a better time than now, especially since RED has created an upgrade path for their new Dragon sensor. They’ve also dropped a serious bomb with a new battle-tested RED ONE MX. Without further ado, click through for the new prices. (more…)

Jim Jannard and RED Give Hat Tip to Sony, 1080p/2K Still a 'Scam,' Price Reductions Coming Tonight

Joe Marine — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:35:55 +0000

Jim Jannard, the man with the plan for RED, has said a lot of interesting things on the RED forum over the last few years, mostly about how 4K is the only format we should be aspiring to, and 1080p and 2K is not enough — even stated by Arri’s own material on film scanning to 4K. It’s not very often that he gives credit to another product, but that’s exactly what he does here. Why does this matter? RED didn’t have any competition as far as price was concerned until now, and with a little pressure, we could see some drastic reductions in price. Read on for what Mr. Jannard had to say about Sony. (more…)

Easily Calculate Crop Factor, Focal Length, and Depth of Field with RED's Cinephotography Tools

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:37:36 +0000

To round out the good amount of RED-related news we’ve covered recently, Jarred Land has recently posted about something not directly related to their cameras or software. While not busy working on their new sensor or getting a bunch of SCARLETs ready for shipping (hopefully to you), RED has been working on a few online tools to calculate the inter-connected nature of sensor crop, focal length, and the field of view of your final shot — among other things. Read on for more details. (more…)

RED to Cut Prices on EPIC and SCARLET Cameras November 1st, Dragon Sensor Delayed

Ryan Koo — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 20:30:59 +0000

In a move that surely has absolutely nothing to do with Sony’s new cameras, RED has announced price drops on the EPIC and SCARLET cameras. They haven’t said exactly how much the prices will drop, but they will be sharing those details on ~~October 31st~~ November 1st — which is again, completely coincidentally, the day after Sony will announce their new camera(s), speculated to be the F5 and F55. This is reminiscent of when RED announced the SCARLET the same night as the Canon C300 in that RED has clearly taken a class in Headline Stealing 101 — and by going second, they get to make last-minute adjustments based on their competition (and by being a much smaller, more agile company they can pivot more quickly). They also recently shared some updates on their Dragon sensor. (more…)

RED Claims Dragon Sensor Doubles EPIC/SCARLET Sensitivity, ISO 2000 Cleaner Than ISO 800

Joe Marine — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 23:35:01 +0000

All has been quiet on the RED front concerning the new Dragon sensor since NAB in April. After their kickoff party before the start of the exhibition, they announced the specifications of the updated sensor. One of the criticisms of the MX sensor has been lower dynamic range than some of its peers, like, for example, the Arri Alexa. RED seems to be gunning straight for that camera with a reported 15 stops or more of dynamic range and 6K of resolution with a sensor only slightly larger than MX. Now we’ve got a little more confirmation on sensitivity of the $6,000 EPIC upgrade (SCARLET pricing and specs will come later). If the numbers from RED’s CEO turn out to be true, it would mean that the new Dragon sensor would be a little more than twice as sensitive as the MX, even with smaller pixels. (more…)

RED to Ship Dragon Sensor in Late 2012, Promising 6K Resolution, 15+ Stops of Dynamic Range

Joe Marine — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:06:42 +0000

It’s been announced – the long awaited successor to the MX sensor, Dragon, is finally getting some specs and a release date. Upgrades for Epic will cost $6,000 and begin late this year, while the Scarlet upgrades won’t be until 2013 with a price TBD. Jim slightly broke his rules – announcing specs for something that isn’t shipping yet – but it’s still fun to see what those guys at RED are coming up with. I just came from the REDUser event where the 4K portrait finalists had their films displayed on multiple 4K TVs all at once – my favorite being the Panasonic 152″ behemoth, which isn’t even at NAB – only RED had it at their event. (more…)

RED's Other NAB Announcements: a Boatload of Accessories and a 4K Projector/Player

Ryan Koo — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:05:16 +0000

The new 6K Dragon Sensor isn’t the only thing RED is announcing at NAB — far from it. While the Dragon upgrade is aptly-named after a mythical creature — and will remain so until its spec sheet becomes a reality — some of these other RED announcements are actual products. Others, like their 4K Laser Projector, continue their wildly ambitious streak of announcements long preceding actual availability. (more…)