No, it's not the A.D.D. you're thinking of. RED has developed something new for RED CINE-X called Advanced DRAGON Debayer to squeeze even more quality out of the image in post, which is in addition to the new Optical Low Pass Filter on the DRAGON that gets rid of an ugly flare and in the process helps increase dynamic range. There is word more improvements are coming, but if you're wondering about actual cameras, the general upgrades for all EPIC users is almost here, which will mean DRAGONs for every EPIC owner that wants them.

First, it's probably worth sharing some work we haven't shown that gives even more of what the DRAGON can do (these were all done with the old OLPF):


Same clips, different grade:

And more from the man who posted the first DRAGON footage:

And for the new updates, here's what Jarred Land said on REDUser:

A.D.D. is a new hyper-debayer algorithm for Dragon that spends a ton of time analyzing every single pixel and creating the best frame possible. It doesn't pull any punches, it processes everything at the highest degree possible and squeezes out every last ounce buried deep inside Dragon R3Ds.

It is incredibly expensive computationally... each frame will take seconds to process. The results are absolutely phenomenal. 

For all you guys using the Dragon to pull stills from motion, it truly can't be beat.

More from Jarred:

A.D.D. needs the extra information that only the Dragon sensor provides.. including the invisible bits. 

There are enough tests out now that shows the Dragon is the best camera that we have ever made... better color, better DR, and of course better resolution. But I am telling you, this is just the beginning. A.D.D is just one example. 

I am thrilled that everyone that has an Epic ( or Scarlet ) has the opportunity for this upgrade and to jump into the Dragon deep end.. you are in for a wild swim. For all you guys waiting to get into the pool.. I know this news probably sucks even more with the addition of A.D.D. Sorry for that... but It's worth the wait.

It seems clear that the power of software/firmware updates means that there is even more performance locked away inside the camera, just like with the previous models. It was mentioned in the forum that the new debayer method doesn't need any special hardware, it's simply a more advanced version of the software debayer that already comes with RED CINE-X. Jarred also gave word about where we are in terms of upgrades:

If I had to field a guess.. and don't hold me to it.. I would say we should jump into the second priority group at the end of March / first week of April.

If that does happen, things should speed up considerably, as the second priority group includes all current EPIC owners who want to upgrade. I don't see most people with a DRAGON upgrade until at least the summer based on numbers and speed, so SCARLET DRAGON will likely be even later (and new EPIC DRAGON purchases after that).

Two years since the original announcement is a long time to wait, but RED has been heavily criticized for letting users Beta test their cameras for them, so I suppose they are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Getting the thing to be rock-solid with as much performance as possible seems to be a priority, and I can't be alone in thinking this is a good thing with so many products being released into the wild relatively unfinished.

Read more about the updates over on REDuser.

Link: Dragon Update + A.D.D. -- REDUser