RED news! Info for Scarlett & Epic Cameras released!
RED has finally released new details of their highly anticipated new Scarlett and Epic digital cinema cameras. Earlier this year, RED had pulled details of Scarlett and Epic in order to do a redesign of the cameras, citing that the camera market had totally changed and that they had to change as well to stay ahead.
Dubbed the DSMC (Digital Still and Motion Camera), the Scarlett and Epic cameras are now the centre of a totally modular and customizable digital camera system. Built around the updated Mysterium sensor inside a base camera module, users can literally create their own camera by purchasing and attaching accessory modules such as sensor, IO, battery, monitor, lens mount, and media modules. In addition, Scarlett and Epic modules are interchangeable with each other.
– Here is a brief rundown –
Scarlett comes in 4 different base camera modules:
1) a 3K sensor module with a built-in RED lens that can shoot from 1-120 fps
2) a 3K module with an interchangeable lens mount that can shoot from 1-120 fps
3) a 5K module with an interchangeable lens mount that can shoot from 1-30 fps
4) a 6K module with an interchangeable lens mount that can shoot from 1-30 fps
Epic comes in 4 different base camera modules with an interchangeable lens mount:
1) a 5K sensor module that can shoot from 1-100 fps
2) a 6K module that can shoot from 1-100 fps
3) a 9K module that can shoot from 1-50 fps
4) a 28K module that can shoot from 1-25 fps
According to the RED website, camera will start to become available summer/fall 2009. Of course, actual release dates and specs are subject to change.
For more information (including preliminary prices), check out the RED website.
How else can $30,000 last a couple of years?
Srsly, those cams are amazing, but does anyone else think they might be a bit on the pricey side?
Expensive yes but considering what it is your getting its not exactly surprising…
Awesome shit…
Ya, considering that you are getting Digital Cinema Cameras, with the low end being a 3K camera, the prices are really good. Before RED, 2K and 4K cameras were around the $80,000 – $100,000 range (see Panavision’s Genesis and Dalsa’s Origin cameras). RED has really opened up this type of camera system to more people who otherwise would not be able to afford this kind of equipment. I’ll be interested in seeing how much the entry level Scarlett with the built-in RED lens will cost, along with everybody else. If they can still make it for under $3000, that would be amazing! Companies like Sony and Panasonic should be worried because their affordable HD cameras (Panasonic HVX200 and Sony EX1 & EX3) cost around $5000 for the HVX200 and $7000 for Sony’s EXs.
I have had a look at RED’s website and I agree that RED’s new modular multi-configurable design is extremely cool and exciting! However, we should keep in mind that any advantage to be gained from this modularity absolutely depends upon RED maintaining the same exact module interlink sizes and interfaces into the future. Considering the facts that (1) the new red cameras don’t seem to be compatible with the original one, and (2) the ever-advancing march of miniaturisation and digital link bandwidth improvement, what is the likelihood that RED will actually carry through on that promise?
I would be surprised if RED didn’t introduce a whole new modular interface system, with new linking protocols both physical and electronic, requiring the purchase of all new modules for anyone wishing to upgrade even ONE component, and this will happen within two or three years, max. The old modules will probably still be available but they won’t be much more advanced, so replacing everything will still be the price of moving into the future.
So I think anyone thinking that buying all these components separately is going to save them money in the long run, is probably fooling themselves. This is just a way for people to be able to purchase in different configurations and probably artificially inflates the price due to separation of price tags and markups, in exchange for a promise of future upgradability, a promise that will inevitably be broken, and sooner than you think!
On the specs themselves though, the cameras are stupendously good.
[…] starting at about $20,000 for the basic kit, but it’s aimed at professional film makers. Back in 2008 RED also announced the much more affordable Scarlet model, which would be priced at $4750, which […]