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A Red Scarlet-X 4K tour around CES 2012 (video)
For the third CES in a row, our old friend Ted Schilowitz has stopped by to let us drool over Red's latest high-end cameras. And boy, this is one helluva camera we have this time. You may recall that last year we were shown a working Scarlet prototype with 3K video resolution and a fixed lens; but fast forward to 2012 and we have the Scarlet-X, a sturdy 4K beast that not only supports interchangeable lens, but it's also actually out on the market. Obviously, the $9,700 base price (excluding the Canon EF lens mount; Nikon and Leica mounts coming soon) is aimed at film studios instead of us regular Joes, but Ted was kind enough to spend a whole afternoon showing us all the goodness on the Scarlet-X -- we even got to play with it on the CES show floor, and unsurprisingly, this Red kit became quite the celebrity. Read on to find out how we got on with it.
RED makes the Scarlet official, 5K stills and 4K video for $9,750
It's been quite a day for all you cinephiles out there. First Canon outed its pair of Cinema EOS cameras, and now RED has finally released the Epic's baby sister Scarlet. Scarlet packs a similar punch as her older brother, so she takes 5K (5120 x 2700) resolution stills at 12fps, or can shoot your next cinematic masterpiece in 4K (4096 x 2160) at 25fps. The Scarlet also can use all of the Epic's accessories and comes with a Canon mount so there's plenty of glass to choose from, too. Best of all, Scarlet can be all yours for the low price of $9,750. That's right, for the price of a used Honda Civic, you can shoot video that essentially looks as good as those made by pros like Peter Jackson and John Shwartzman (assuming you've got their moviemaking skills). We're about to get our hands on one, so stay tuned for our first impressions. When she's all by herself, Scarlet cuts a rather petite figure. She weighs the same as an Epic, but trades her elder brother's ebony exterior for one that is, according to RED founder Jim Jannard, "battleship gray." Not the most feminine color, but we must admit we like the two-tone appearance when you start adding on extras like a RED remote or an external view screen. Unfortunately, we didn't get to shoot any video with Scarlet, but we did get to hold her for a bit and found the build quality to be top notch. The camera has a solid feel, and while we wouldn't want to lug it around all day by hand, it's easy enough to maneuver for several minutes at a time. We're hoping we can do some serious shooting with Scarlet with sometime soon for a fuller impression -- RED aims to start shipping them on December first -- but given her low price point and copious cinematic capabilities, we imagine her dance card will be filled for quite some time. %Gallery-138423%
RED DSMC specs detailed, prices start at $28,000 for EPIC-X, lower-end Scarlet still vague
Here we are at last. RED has finally dropped the full specs of at least one its "Digital Stills and Motion Cameras." And what did you expect? RED has naturally blown this thing out. The first camera to be released will be the insanely high-end EPIC-X, which will come out in four stages and retails for $28,000 (ouch). A pre-production "TATTOO" version will hit this year, followed by a production model for pre-existing RED owners next year, a release after that for RED trade-ins and then finally a widespread release. Meanwhile the Scarlet 2/3-inch camera (which is much more akin to current video-shooting DSLRs, though it doesn't have a full frame sensor) hasn't been given a price range or a release window, but promises to please with dual XLR inputs, electronic lens interoperability with RED, Canon and Nikon lenses (adapters required) and 1080p shooting at 60 fps. One great function shared between the cameras is the ability to operate the camera with a touchscreen and perform "touch focus tracking." So, now that we've frightened off all but the die-hards with a hint at pricing and some vaguely defined functionality, let's let the bullet points take it away after the break:
RED shows off DSMC cam configurations in the flesh, new lenses
RED fans have been getting quite an eyeful this week in the company's forums, as Jim Jannard and crew have been posting all kinds of sneak peeks at the company's latest gear -- including a few configurations of the modular DSMC EPIC and Scarlet systems in action. The company is also working on super-high-end prime lenses for their cameras that supposedly outperform every other test lens the company has in its possession -- Jannard says "it isn't close." As usual, RED doesn't say when any of this is coming out, but it's definitely enough to make a camera geek's hair stand on end -- check it all out in the gallery.[Thanks, Jun-Dai]%Gallery-46951% Read - Prototypes configurations thread Read - Prime lenses thread
RED making "Big Change" announcement on December 3rd
Oh noes, here we go again. At the risk of becoming RED's marketing pawn, we'd be remiss to the gadget community by ignoring Jim Jannard's latest attention begging tease. Titled simply, "Big Change...," Jannard writes, "New announcement on Dec. 3rd. Everything has changed... just as we promised." This comes after revealing "several nice breakthroughs" related to Scarlet and EPIC in the REDUSER forums. JJ then amps up the hype by calling the November 13th announcement of RED's Digital Still and Motion Camera (DSMC) system "insignificant" by comparison. Ok Jim, we'll be at your beck and call. But you'd better show up on the 3rd with something priced more competitively to Canon's EOS 5D Mark II if you expect us to consider your modular SLR / HD video camera anything other than a novelty for the consumer or prosumer markets. In other words: please, with sugar?[Thanks, Ben H.]
RED's Digital Still and Motion Camera System now official
After a morning of drip-fed images, RED just went official with its DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) System. The system starts with your choice of the professional Scarlet or "master professional" EPIC brains which can then be bunged into about 2,251,799,813,685,248 possible camera configurations, RED only half-jokingly chides. The brains are built upon Mysterium-X and Mysterium Monstro sensors which start at 2/3-inch and end at a whopping 6x17-cm -- when a new sensor comes out you just upgrade the brain. Scarlet will launch in 4 choices ranging from $2,500 (and possibly less) to $12,000 with a variety of lens mounts (yes, Canon and Nikon) capable of shooting 3K @120fps on up to 6K @30fps. Epic will offer similar mounts with capabilities spanning 5K @100fps ($28k) to 9K @50fps ($45k) -- a 28K system hitting 25fps is expected in 2010 for $55k. Still image resolutions will range from 4.9 megapixels to a freakish 261 megapixels. The first Scarlet systems could come as early as Spring of 2009 while EPIC should arrive by summer. Of course, the brain is just the beginning of the costs. RED also introduced a 3D camera configuration today in true, "one more thing" fashion. See all the details in the gallery below, 3D camera after the break.%Gallery-36771%
RED teases again with exposed ports
We've less than a week before RED announces something special on November 13th, but it's not letting you creep any closer to that magical day without two more teases (one after the break) beforehand. As it's already done on a number of occasions, RED's Jim Jannard has posted up a new duo of teasers of the purported DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) DSLR, this time showing off a number of ports that you're surely anxious to slip your connectors into. Oh please, get your mind out of the gutter.
Red announcing DSMC DSLR replacement on November 13?
Ready for the tease? RED just announced an announcement. According to RED Prez, Jim Jannard, "no one has any idea how incredible this announcement will be." A stream of words, specs, and renderings, we presume, all cobbled together on November 13th with a promise to put the "RED ONE announcement to shame by comparison... the biggest, most exciting and incredible thing." So mark your calendar for November 13th -- that's the day RED DIGITAL comes clean with its Scarlet and Epic programs. We're sure Nikon and Canon will be watching to see if RED launches its DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) aimed squarely at the DSLR market, or not. Even if we have to er, settle, for a 3K Scarlet or 5K Epic video cameras, those aren't bad consolation prizes, eh?[Thanks, Brad]
RED Scarlet pulled: "We have a new vision"
Looks like the HD video-capable Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D90 had quite an impact at RED headquarters -- company president Jim Jannard just posted a note saying that the upcoming Scarlet 3K camera is "all different now" because "the market has changed." That's particularly interesting because Jannard's also mentioned that RED's working on a video-capable DSLR and recently pointed out that the D90's CMOS sensor tech leads to "jelly movement" when shooting video -- a problem RED solved long ago with the RED ONE's proprietary CMOS sensor, so we're guessing a few of these threads are coming together. We'll see when we see -- if RED produces anything within the price spectrum of the D90 and 5D Mark II, it'll shake things up pretty significantly.Read - "Wipe your minds of the past announced Scarlet"Read - Jannard points out the D90's "jelly" video
More details on RED's DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera)
You heard that Nikon busted out a DSLR with a 720p movie mode, right? Even that is going to pale in comparison to RED's alternative, or at least that's what RED would have you to believe. In a recent post over at the REDuser forums, Jannard points out that its DSLR "replacement" should be ready to rock by late 2009, and while an official name has yet to arrive, it's going by DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) for the time being. Also of note, Jannard casually mentioned that this piece would be more advanced than Nikon's D90 and an undisclosed 1080p DSLR from Canon; that's the first we've heard of such a beast, but given the natural progression of technology, we suppose it fits. C'mon guys, 3K 4K 5K shooting in a DSLR, we know you can do it.
