There has been a lot of talk and many rumours surrounding the Red Scarlet. Well, a couple of days ago it was announced officially by Red.
For stills photographers and for photographers needing to also shoot video, these cameras seem ideal; the ones to look out for are the Scarlet and the Epic. Also, you need to learn a new acronym; DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera)!
The camera system that caught my eye most is the Scarlet, of which there are four variations which range from $2500 to $12,000 for the full frame model. Although Red will be producing their own lenses, there is also the option to get a lens plate for Canon and Nikon lenses. The other interesting thing is the whole modular technology (grips, lens mounts, monitors and eye pieces, recording modules, batteries and I/O module) which means you bolt on what you need and also upgrade certain bits as time goes on.
Going back to the full frame model, the Scarlet FF35, lets you shoot 24 megapixel stills at 30 frames per second! Absolutely nuts!! You can also shoot 6K video on this thing.
The other item of interest is the 2/3″ Mysterium-X with a built in x8 lens. The focal length of the lens has yet to be announced and the price isn’t yet known, but this might just become the perfect photo journalist’s video camera.
For the medium format photographer, the $45,000 Epic 645 will no doubt raise some interest. This camera will shoot 65 megapixel images at 50 fps!
As far as I can see, there are no samples yet, but I’ll keep you posted as and when they appear.
The Canon 5D MkII has re-written the rules on video quality for the photojournalist. The only place the Canon fails is professional quality sound with the ability to allow the input levels to be managed (although it does have a built in microphone jack); this is where the Red Scarlet may make the difference. If the system delivers what it promises, these are going to be interesting times! Lets welcome the DSMC!
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