There have always been three titans in the cinema camera space—ARRI, Panavision, and RED. While ARRI and Panavision made the rules, RED broke them all to forever change the landscape.
That was back in 2007 when RED was the new kid on the block, but now, the three rivals seem to have torn down all the fences between them.
For the past number of years, Panavision has utilized RED as the foundation for its rental-only cameras, while RED has became a leader in the digital camera space with the Komodo and V-Raptor cameras.
And now, ARRI (specifically ARRI Rental) and RED have finally joined forces to create a limited edition RED Raptor XL for the upcoming TRON film to be used by cinematographer Jeff Croneweth.
Let's dig into this unprecedented news to find out what this means for filmmakers.
RED Loves ARRI
Like most news released by RED, this update comes from Jarred Land himself, from his personal Instagram account.
In a post, Land reveals that a "small army" of RED Raptor XLs have been created specifically for the ARRI DNA series of lenses.
The details on this release are sparse at the moment. We don't know the specs of this camera or how it'll be released to filmmakers. If at all.
But from the above post, it seems the cameras will (for now) be utilized on the upcoming TRON. However, like with everything else from RED from the past few years, if popularity creates demand, we may see this collaboration evolve further.
Because RED has explicitly partnered with ARRI Rental, we can safely assume that this RED Raptor XL will be rental-only if other projects want to use it.
ARRI DNA Lenses
ARRI DNA Meets RED VistaVision
The standard RED Raptor XL comes with several sensor options, which include the 8K VistaVision sensor, a 6K S35 sensor, or an 8K S35 sensor.
REDs VistaVision sensor is 40.96mm x 21.6mm, with a diagonal of 46.31mm. This makes it almost as wide as the Fujifilm GFX medium format sensor, which is 43.8mm wide.
That's a massive sensor, making it a great partner for ARRI's DNA glass. This is assuming RED isn't releasing a new and bigger sensor for this collab. And they probably aren't.
On the other hand, ARRI DNA lenses were created for the ARRI Alexa 65 cinema camera, which boasts a 54.12 mm × 25.59 mm sensor. While ARRI does have a set made for the LF series of cinema cameras, RED's VistaVision is a great sensor to pair with the DNA 65 glass.
V-Raptor VistaVision Sensor
RED
Reading Between The Lines
From the little information we have, it seems that RED's new Raptor XL will utilize the ARRI DNA 65 lens series and pair it with RED 's VistaVision sensor. Because it's a few millimeters smaller, it'll further reduce any edge issues the DNA lenses have.
But with the incredible build quality of the DNA lenses, we're inclined to think that there aren't any edge issues at all to consider.
Whatever this new collaboration brings to the cinema camera market, it is clear that the battle for supremacy between Panavision, ARRI, and RED has ended. While one could assume that RED has one, it's the filmmakers who have come out on top in the end.
