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RED's Scarlet-X cheaper and 4K

by Alistair Lowe on 4 November 2011, 10:12

Tags: RED

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HD-beating camera-maker RED demonstrated at its recent camera event the new Scarlet-X 4K cinema camera, starting at the exceptionally low, lens-free price of $9,750, which will be on sale from November 17th.

RED Scarlet Camera

This is a big unveiling, as after what was meant to be Canon’s big step into Hollywood with the announcement of its C300 cinema camera.

RED, with its m.o. to break from trend, has released a camera with a superior spec, for a lower cost, available this year and not January 2012. Canon did release a statement confirming that comparable 4K 'EOS Movies' DSLR cameras were on their way soon but with such a release likely behind the C300’s January 2012 date and with the price of Canon’s 1080p camera already up at $20,000, it feels like RED has, well and truly, trampled over Canon’s big-break announcement.

As for the new device’s specifications, make sure you’re wearing a bib whilst you read through - these come undiluted straight from RED’s website:

SENSOR 14 MEGAPIXEL MYSTERIUM-X™
PIXEL ARRAY 5120 (h) x 2700 (v)
DYNAMIC RANGE

13.5 stops, up to 18 stops with HDRx™ 6 fps with 5K FF and HDRx On 12 fps

with 4K HD and HDRx™ On

MAX IMAGE AREA 5120 (h) x 2700 (v)
LENS COVERAGE 27.7mm (h) x 14.6mm (v) = 31.4 mm (d)
LENS MOUNT Al Canon EF (PL mount optional)
MAX DEPTH OF FIELD Equivalent to S35mm (Motion) / APS-H (Still) lenses
ACQUISITION FORMATS 5K FF REDCODE RAW (Full Frame)
  4K HD REDCODE RAW
  3K HD REDCODE RAW
  1080p REDCODE RAW
  1K REDCODE RAW
PROJECT FRAME RATES 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 47.96, 48, 50, 59.97
MONITOR/PROGRAM OUTPUT

HD-SDI and HDMI with Frame Guides and Look Around or Clean Feed 1080p

4:2:2, 720p 4:2:2 SMPTE Timecode, HANC Metadata, 24-bit 48Khz Audio

DIGITAL MEDIA REDMAG (SSD) Module : (64, 128, 256GB Media)
REDCODE™ 16-bit RAW Processing : Compression choices of 18:1 to 3:1
  1-12 fps 5K FF
  1-30 fps 4K HD
  1-48 fps 3K HD
  1-60 fps 1080p HD
  1-120 fps 1K
AUDIO 2 channel, uncompressed, 24 bit, 48KHz.
  Optional 4 channel, and AES / EBU digital audio.
MONITORING OPTIONS RED LCD 5" Touchscreen Display
  BOMB EVF™ High Definition Viewfinder
REMOTE CONTROL REDLINK Wireless, Ethernet, RS232, GPI Trigger
WEIGHT 5lbs. Body only
CONSTRUCTION Aluminum Alloy
COLOR

Battleship Gray Brain Body, Black Canon Mount and Side SSD,

All DSMC Modules Black

TEMPERATURE RANGES Operating Range: 0˚C to +40˚C (32˚F to 104˚F)
  Storage Range: -20˚C to +50˚C (-4˚F to 122˚F)

 

So, sadly, looking at the operational temperature ranges, you won’t be able to film BBC Frozen Planet on this camera but the device looks ready to take on just about anything else. It’s interesting to note RED’s continued adoption of SSDs as a storage media. This makes a lot of sense as SSDs are compact yet can hold a lot of data, are incredibly fast and robust, with the technology continuously evolving, already reaching capacities of 1TB in a 2.5 inch form factor.

This new camera significantly undercut’s RED’s own EPIC device, which we suspect Canon had been targeting, and creates a great and surprising new, low-cost contender in the 4K cinema market. RED suggests that with all the basic trimmings such as an LCD, lens, rails and handles, the unit will set punters back $13,000; with full support for the previous EPIC model's accessories and a Canon lens mount option, there's plenty to chose from.



HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Crafty move by RED. Looks to be a great gap closer between RED one and the DSLRs. I'm positive
Seems like a good investment unless it does the magical-electronics-exchange-rate of £1:$1…

brasc
although not a fan of high end filming or photography, i just love RED's equipment, i't so sex

if my brain suddenly develops enough so that i can tell the difference between pictures shot on a £200 camera and a £20,000 camera then their kit will be what i go for :D
Tunnah
…i just love RED's equipment, i't so sex

if my brain suddenly develops enough so that i can tell the difference between pictures shot on a £200 camera and a £20,000 camera then their kit will be what i go for :D

Hah, it is pretty in it's industrial clicks together way, don't know if you know already but the guy who founded Oakleys also founded RED, so he's got a good design+business brain!

@telling the difference between 4K and current HD, you don't need you're brain developed but maybe your eyesight!? :D It's not so much about the res more the quality of the image and camera's colour capture. We were still filming on film up until recently because colour was never as good with digital, RED changed peoples minds :)

cheers
brasc
18 stops dynamic range? :eek:

Is that normal for these cameras? My 60D tops out at less than half that!

Bet Canon are wishing they'd announced a 5D Mk III round about nowish :(
“4k megapixels” so is that a 4 gigapixel camera, or just a really bad forum thread title?