While many of us who ordered SCARLET-Xs right away have not yet been contacted about our orders, at least one SCARLET-X is in the wild, which means RED kept their promise of shipping on November 17th -- almost. SCARLET-X brings with it an important feature, not just for SCARLET cameras but also for EPICs: playback.
I know, I know it seems stupid that a $30,000 camera like the EPIC couldn't even play back its own video files, right? Well, yes and no. The ARRI ALEXA couldn't either, initially, and without playback you're forced into more of a film-like workflow... except instead of having to take your footage to the lab to be developed, you needed to offload the cards to a computer (which is much faster). Playing back 4K files is not easy for a full-size desktop computer, much less a 5lb box that looks an awful lot like a
still camera (right down to the color scheme). Still, playback is a welcome addition and no one's going to argue against it.Also of note: the RED ONE was a notoriously slow-to-boot camera, taking 90 seconds to start up, and it seems the SCARLET-X (and by extension EPIC) improves on that quite a bit.
Alright guys... I know you want to say it. "My $700 DSLR is faster to boot and has always had playback!" Go ahead...
[photo and videos via Tonaci Tran]
