A while ago, I wrote about the Red camera project. Now they have not only released some test films, but also a price list. But first a little note on the test films. Our editing station has two 24-inch monitors. Viewing the 1080p (not i!) resolution film fills out the whole screen. Every single pixel. Plain amazing! (just for comparison, here’s a link to a framegrab from a HDV camcorder) And this camera is capable of up to 2540p – i.e. more than 4 times the resolution of 1080p. (Framegrab, Framegrab 2-you see the structure of the mascara!)
Now I am really looking forward to trying out this baby. Luckily a guy I know has pre-ordered one, so hopefully I’ll be able to do some tests. But I am sure there’ll be lots of buzz around when this camera hits the sets.
¿Quanta costa?
But how much does this miracle of tech-specs cost? Well, let’s have a look at their price list, and put together a nice package to get us up and running:
Camera Body – 17.500
Premium Production Pack – 2.750
Battery/Charger Pack – 1.450 (I could find no info on whether the Red accepts the standard V-mount batteries)
Viewfinder – 2.950 (no specs on that one yet, though it seems that it is only 720p, and thus useless for critical focus situations)
On-camera HDD – 900
Red 18-85 f2.8 Zoom – 9.500
Total: just above 35k (US dollars, or 215 000 Norwegian kroner)
For comparision, a Sony HDCAM with 1080i comes at 45k – and that is body and viewfinder (500 lines!) only.
Further reading
UK Red users – the “officially unofficial website for owners/operators/enthusiasts of the Red One Digital Cinema Camera based in the UK”
DVXuser – a thread on suggested lens alternatives; though I would advise against using stills lenses. There is a reason that cine lenses are expensive; on stills you get away with much more aberration.
Red User – Forum about the Red Camera – though I did not find any in-depth information. Guess that will change as the cameras become available. Post from a pro. Section on lenses.
HD for Indies – good overview over what Red offers, and some insight into it
Wikipedia – good general overview. It’s Wikipedia, after all.
