Call it hype or call it confidence, but RED has lived up to the hype and they’ve got a lot to be confident about. Here’s what RED Head Jim Jannard said in a recent Reduser forum post:
“We will announce the new Scarlet and Epic programs on Thursday Nov. 13th.
I want to say that no one has any idea how incredible this announcement will be. Call this hype… please. I am quite sure that the announcement will be called a “scam”. Should be a lot of fun to hear the reactions. I can’t wait.
Jarred is buying extra server bandwidth… we will post specs and renders for people to email around. This makes the RED ONE announcement seem small by comparison.”
Oh my. Suddenly Nikon’s medium format rumors looks a lot less exciting.
Could this be part of the change that Jannard mentioned when he revealed the Epic and Scarlet were getting rebooted? A ScarletUser forum post by one Joseph says:
…within the last 24 hours, Red has registered the trademark “Red 3D” with the description of:
Cameras, camera lenses, projectors, eyeglasses and software, all for use in the recording and playback of 3D images.
A unified, hi-def workflow for 3D cinema would be an interesting leg up for the RED brand. Although 3D cinema is still considered a gimmick, James Cameron thinks it worthwhile to drop several hundred million dollars into it for Avatar. Whatever the case, we’ll probably be learning more in early November.
You know, to be honest, I could probably get a less fluffy account of shooting on a RED ONE from my friend Mike, who has been shooting on RED for quite a long time now. But he can’t write, and I’m lazy, so in the meantime we have a pretty solid article here that describes the experience of shooting in 4K, the trouble they had, some of the strengths and limitations, and so on.
Since RED is in the process of revamping the prosumer-level Scarlet, knowledge of Redcode and the workflow may actually be relevant to some of us peons soon.
What the hell?! I think Jim Jannard took some peyote at Photokina and brought his laptop. He’s posted on the forums saying everything’s going pineapples for Scarlet and RED Epic.
We have changed everything about Scarlet because the market has changed and we have discovered a lot of things in the process. We have a new vision.
Wipe you minds of the past announced Scarlet. Forget the design and forget the price. It is all different now. We think you will be surprised. Glad we didn’t take any deposits… :-)
Just like Scarlet, Epic has changed completely. Throw out everything you thought before. We’ll reset the deck at the same time we announce about Scarlet.
All good here. No bad news at all. Only good surprises. Still early-mid 2009. RED ONE upgrade still in effect.
And yes, it will still be called RED EPIC.
Give me a break! Doesn’t he sound like he’s drugged, though?
It doesn’t have a catchy name yet (Crimson?) but RED is now officially taking aim at Canon, Nikon, and everyone else in the DSLR arena. In a forum post, Jim Jannard announced the Digital Still and Motion Camera, saying it is not a replacement for any RED products but a separate product aimed at doing to still camera makers what RED has done to digital cinema tech — which is to say, utterly leapfrog them.
Look forward to “higher resolution, higher S/N, higher DNR, higher frame rates, smaller bodies, more system flexibility, and many more options…” but not until late 2009. [Thanks for the tip, Mike]
Looks like it
, according to CEO Jimbo. What RED does is a little over my head, but I know they do some crazy RAW compression and shoot in 5K, Epic, or something ridiculous like that. It’s superduberjuber high definition. Check out Jimbo’s little message to the RED forums and let your mind drift into some dream world where this news will make you happy. Down there like it does for Devin. ROFL.
The primary advantage to RED is REDCODE. Compressed RAW at over 23.976 fps. This is a core invention of RED that’s full effects have not been seen yet.
The secondary advantage of RED is our sensor program. Some could argue that this is number one.
Mysterium “Monstro” is a sensor program that pushes the envelope past anything on the horizon. It will go into Epic, and another camera aimed squarely at the DSLR market. Epic ships with Mysterium-X and has a free upgrade to Monstro.
Scarlet has been talked about extensively. It is a 3K, 120fps camera with a built-in 8X zoom that starts at 28mm (full frame still 35mm) wide angle. The T-stop will be “at least” as published.
We have a couple of other “tricks up our sleeves”. The important message is that we are just getting started.
Jim
I have to say, the Wired I used to love would have covered the RED camera about two years ago when it was all buzz, phantom tech, and prototype sensors, and not now when it is essentially an established cinematic tool limited only by the small amount yet manufactured. At any rate, they’ve written a pretty comprehensive long-format history of the RED from birth to current success, and it’s worth reading whether you’re a RED head or not. It’s a bit gee-whiz and they gloss over many of the issues the RED has had (buggy drivers, supply problems), its limitations (e.g. framerate), and the actual cost of outfitting oneself with one of these amazing cameras. Still, it’s worth a read and it’s good to see my favorite camera getting this kind of mainstream attention.
When I heard about LG’s “Scarlet” line of HDTVs and its misleading ad campaign, the first thing I thought of was the real Scarlet and then “Is RED going to sue these mothers or what?” And so, four months later, they have. A post at the RED forums by Jim Jannard reveals that the legal gears are turning in Orange County and they’re going to be doing a little more cracking down from now on.
Now in this day and age when people sue one another over spilled drinks, one might legitimately ask whether they have reason to do this. Well, I certainly think they do; if LG were putting out a “Scarlet” mp3 player or something I’d say no, but a product for viewing HD video? RED’s already in that game and they’ve already got a product announced. And as it turns out, LG asked RED for permission, and RED said “no.” And yet, here we are. The scoundrels! [thanks for the tip, REDmaster Mike]
To you and me, this is red. To T-Mobile this is “sunset.” Regardless, everyone’s favorite BlackBerry and the one I recommend the most when folks ask me which BB to get is now in bright, shiny red. Standard goodies: HotSpot@Home, Wi-Fi, 2 megapixel camera, redness. $149 with two year contract.
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Rumors have been propagating through several popular Mac blogs that Apple will be releasing a red iPhone 3G model for the holiday season. The release will be well-timed, considering the initial iPhone hype will start to slow, and people will be opening up their wallets more for the holiday season. (Photo via MacBlogz)
The red iPhone will presumably be sold as part of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, a charitable organization that donates money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Apple has released several products for this campaign previously, including (PRODUCT) RED iTunes gift cards, a red 8GB iPod Nano, and a red 1GB iPod Shuffle.
So pretty. So chunky. And it’ll fit in the palm of your hand. That’s the lens on the left, where the focus ring will be; the cutaway right at right is either aperture or zoom, most likely aperture since it looks notched. It’s also possible it could be a multi-use wheel. Jannard says in the forum that there are still some surprises left (he cites “competition” though there is no competition with RED at the moment).
Its small size belies its price ($3000-ish) but also its capabilities; it’s able to shoot 3K video at 120fps (I think its 120fps anyway), which is beyond even the most expensive digital cinema cameras being sold for more than ten times the price. I’m looking forward to trying one of these babies out. [via DVICE]
We’ve discussed the Red One camera and its counterparts before, and the 4K ultra-hi-def cinema they represent, but now Japan’s getting in on the action. NHK’s Science and Technical Research Laboratories has come up with a 7,680×4,320 pixel sensor that it plans to use for future digital cinema shooting. The 16:9 cameras would have enough resolution for movie theaters or super sharp TV screens.
It’ll still be a few years before the technology is commonplace, in fact most people thing 1080p is hi-def enough for home use (it is), so this is mostly for cinematic use. What’s important though is that it’s all digital, meaning faster editing of movies and an easier transfer to the small hi-def screens of tomorrow.
Something called the Microsoft Zune 80 (wasn’t that an ABA team, the New Orleans Zune?) was released in the color red a few months ago, but you had to purchase it from the Zune Originals online store, which added tacky artwork to the backside. Seems now, however, you’ll be able to find it in normal retail stores.
Still $250.
via Zune Insider
I’ve got a friend working on a few things with his Red One that will probably win a few awards as well (hey man lets hang out btw), but this film, made for a 168-hour film contest, is apparently quite good. It’s about “a merciless society that segregates its undesirables” — in other words, America — and I understand it is very well-done, having won about half the awards they were giving out: Best film, best actress, best drama screenplay, and more.
So maybe you’re excited about Red’s sudden announcement of two new cameras earlier today (the 5K Epic and the 3K Scarlet) but you’re not really sure why. What are these “K”s everyone is talking about, and why would anyone care whether they had two, three, or a hundred?
Well, Red’s handy chart above should clear things up for you. You can see how basically it would take seven or eight of the newest 1080p hi-def TVs to show an entire 5K image, and even then it wouldn’t be the whole thing because Red shoots to a special raw format with more color depth than your TV can display. So there. Sorry the chart isn’t really in 5K but you know how PDFs can be.
Update: Yeah, here’s one that’s a little more readable.
As if Scarlet wasn’t enough, Red today surprised many by launching a new flagship digital cinema camera known as the Red Epic.
It’s fairly similar to the Red One in most respects, except that instead of shooting in 4k, it shoots in 5k, which is fairly nuts.
It works with all current 35mm lenses the current Red One supports, as well as most of the other hardware.
It’s basically Red doing a zip-thump to the other companies trying to play catch up to last year’s hit Red One camera.
We’ve been hearing whispers about Scarlet for a few months now, and today she’s made her first appearance.
Scarlet is the code name of Red’s “professional pocket camera”, and that’s all we’ve known about it until today. Now, however, we know that it’s a fairly small digital still and video camera that can shoot up to 3k resolution, which is roughly three times the resolution of 1080p, meaning this could be considered a digital cinema camera.
It has many accessories already, and can be outfitted with a number of rail options. It supports dual simultaneous CF cards, USB 2.0, Firewire 800, and HDMI. Oh, and it looks insane.
No word on pricing yet (guesses are it’ll be under $3,000), but it should come in well under the $14k Red One from last year that everyone loves.
Rather than bore you with a handful of other random gadgets and doodads that run Linux, I’ve decided to focus on one really big thing that’s phenomenal. So I present to you, dear readers, with Virgin America’s in-flight entertainment system, RED. I’ve written about it once or twice before and every flight I take on VA gets better. I’ll be flying to Vegas this weekend for CTIA and I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl because I’ll be taking VA. It’s a completely different experience and its only getting better, but don’t take my word for it. You should really take advantage if they’re servicing your city. If not, then wait it out and try it when you can. It’s definitely worth it and once Aircell’s GoGo network is implemented into VA’s fleet, you won’t find a better airline in the US.
Today, we’re interviewing Charles Ogilvie, the Director of Inflight Entertainment and designer of RED.
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This is rad.
Take one Movie Stuff Workprinter XP. Now add a Red One. You now have an ultra-high-def Super 8 telecine system.
What does that mean for you non camera geeks? It means it’s a way of transferring analog Super 8 films into perfect, high-rez digital archives.
Why anyone would need that kind of quality from Super 8 remains to be seen, but this is a very awesome proof of concept.
Hit the jump to see our friend Mike and his Red in action. Why? Just because camera nerds love those photos.
Red One and Super 8mm at last! [On Super 8mm blog]
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Starting January 31 at Best Buy stores and Dell’s Website, you’ll be able to purchase a Dell machine with Windows Vista that’s been branded by (Product) RED. I can give you a bunch of statistics, but I won’t because you’ll ignore them. I will, however, tell you that with every purchase of a Dell product, Dell and Microsoft will contribute $50 to $80 to the Global Fund. Each Dell machine that’s been branded (Product) RED has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Windows Vista comes packed with six unique wallpapers, a screensaver, two Windows Sidebar gadgets that are somehow innovative and a (RED)-themed Windows DreamScene.
The following products are included in this campaign.
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