Going to buy a Red this summer...

[Daniel Nethery]

This summer I’m planning on buying a Red to shoot a realty documentary series in South America. I want to build a system like the current one that I use at my job. I think I want to shoot everything at 2k and 24p. I was planning on shooting any kind of action shots at 120fps.

I’m currently shooting with a Sony PDW-700 XDCAM HD. I have the dual channel wireless receiver system in the camera body and a Fuinon lens. I plan on buying Gitzo stick and head. I want to use gitzo because they are carbon fiber.

The major things that I need are: Two channel audio receiver. An on camera shot gun, a quick and easy way to connect the camera to the sticks.

Also what is recommend to record to… Compact Flash or hard drive. What kind of load times could I expect to get from a Compact flash at 2k 24p and 2k 120fps?


thanx for the help, dan.

[Ben Holmes]

Even aside of the depth of field issues with shooting 2K, you will be disappointed with the lower quality of 2K footage (noise etc.) over 4K. Whenever you can (ie. not overcranking) plan to shoot 4K.

I think most RED users would echo this view.

[Rob Castiglione]

Ben's right. I really wanted 2K to work as well for doco work but after shooting with it for a while I have decided that it just doesn't cut it. It can look very good when there is a lot of light especially if you are shooting with Super 16 lenses. From now on I am going to shoot in 4k. I guess for slo mo work we will have to wait for the Epic X!

[Daniel Nethery]

I'm wanting to use a ENG style lens from Fujinon... Do you think I will get a lot of noise... maybe I won't be getting a lot of light into the camera even at 4k. I will shoot a lot in the mountains and the jungles... low light from the shade in the trees some times... I plan on using an LED Lite Panel. I don't have a lot of experience with hand zoom lens.. What would you guys recommend? Should I just cowboy up and go with a more manual lens?

I'm also used to shooting a 40 to and hour load at a time. Will this be tough to achieve at 4k? I really want to shoot with a red. From the quality that I have seen it looks great. And I think in the long hall it will be cheaper to shoot.

thanx again guys...

[DAVID McNAMARA]

Ben's right. I really wanted 2K to work as well for doco work but after shooting with it for a while I have decided that it just doesn't cut it. It can look very good when there is a lot of light especially if you are shooting with Super 16 lenses. From now on I am going to shoot in 4k. I guess for slo mo work we will have to wait for the Epic X!

Does anyone know if the 2/3 scarlet is equivalent to super16 in chip size at 3k? 3k on my Red One is of course that in between s35 and s16 chip size.

[Mick van Rossum, NSC]

This summer I’m planning on buying a Red to shoot a realty documentary series in South America. I want to build a system like the current one that I use at my job. I think I want to shoot everything at 2k and 24p. I was planning on shooting any kind of action shots at 120fps.

I’m currently shooting with a Sony PDW-700 XDCAM HD. I have the dual channel wireless receiver system in the camera body and a Fuinon lens. I plan on buying Gitzo stick and head. I want to use gitzo because they are carbon fiber.

The major things that I need are: Two channel audio receiver. An on camera shot gun, a quick and easy way to connect the camera to the sticks.

Also what is recommend to record to… Compact Flash or hard drive. What kind of load times could I expect to get from a Compact flash at 2k 24p and 2k 120fps?


thanx for the help, dan.

Hi,

I wonder what you will be gaining. Without an assistant a Red is very cumbersome to work with and very heavy to do handheld, and when using the Fujinon you're stuck at 2k which is rather poor and you lose at least a stop compared to the 700 . So my advice is , don't..... (I own a red for 15 months now and absolutely love it, but not for run and gun handheld work)

[NateWeaver]

I think you should stick with the 700. It's a really great camera designed to do what you want to do. The Red, while adaptable, is not the best cam for the job.

Now if you think you can hang with shooting 4K with 35mm lenses, it's a different game. But to echo the 3 or 4 that already said it, 2K mode on the Red is not gonna be as good as the 700 in a lot of situations.

[Steve Sherrick]

Can you test the two side by side? Compare the 700 image to the RED at 2K. If you are happy with the RED image, then step 2 is configuring the camera in a way that works for run and gun documentary. This might involve an ET Mantis or an EZ Rig, etc. Make sure your HD zoom lens is tack sharp. Make sure you are able to add some light to your scenes to avoid noise. It's not impossible to get a working 2K rig, you just have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Also, don't overlook post. Although RED workflow has come a long way, you'll want to make sure you are comfortable with it before jumping in. Otherwise, we'll hear more stories about how there's no workflow with RED. There is, you just need to do your homework.