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.

Here is what Jim said about his previous comments:

I guess my post was a bit tongue in cheek. The caveat in the post was getting out Dragon and "the New Technology". The "New Technology" will take a bit of time... so apparently that means I won't be retiring tomorrow.

Sorry if my playful nature was taken wrong. There is still a lot to do.

What is true is Jarred's ever increasing role at RED. He now does more than I do. God love him. :-)

I think this means we can expect to get more interesting late night posts for some time. It's not clear what this "New Technology" is, but it will be interesting to see if RED really tries to push the boundaries as far as the way movies have traditionally been shot. He's talked about RED working on a moving version of the tech used in the Lytro camera, but what RED might be working on is anyone's guess. It's probably not the 3D camera they were showing as a prototype a while ago, as interest seems to be waning for that format in many circles, and they have heavily invested in making EPICs work inside 3D rigs.

Jim also has said some interesting things about the new Hobbit film shot in 48fps:

When I 1st heard that PJ would shoot the Hobbit at 48fps... I was skeptical. To me, 24fps was "sometime". 48fps was "this morning".

I have to say that I am now a convert. The way this was shot (thank Andrew Lesnie), the VFX and Gollum... 48fps is "other worldly". In a good way. A way you have never experienced before.

Peter is much smarter than I thought. And I always thought he was pretty smart.

48fps on this movie is like nothing you have ever seen... magnificent.

Wipe your mind of preconceived notions. Forget "the will of the mass mind". This is just plain better.

There are so many reasons why to watch this movie...

The initial response was somewhat lukewarm from many who had seen a preview of 10 minutes of Hobbit footage in 48fps, and while it's looking like it will get a significant release in that format -- around 450 screens so far -- the majority of showings will be in the traditional 24fps. The big deal about 48fps is that it can make for a better 3D experience, but whether it can make for a better 2D experience, I personally am not yet convinced, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The Hobbit will only be shown in 48fps in 3D, though, and the other screenings will be derived from that master converted to 24fps.

As for the RED ONE MXs, if you got in on the deal, we'll have more coverage about what you might need to get started relatively soon. If you haven't already read it, I've also joined the RED ecosystem as well with a RED SCARLET, so while we won't be covering RED exclusively, we are definitely aware that there are many more RED users in our community than there were even six months ago.

If you are a RED user, it would be great if you could comment if you never have on this site before -- as we're looking to get some real feedback from our audience about the cameras and about what people want to know about.

As for 48fps, what do you guys think? Are you going to go see The Hobbit in that format?

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Cinematography & Cameras