OEM Supplier?

[Kevin Olsen]

First, can someone explain to me how RED started? To build electronics like this, you would need, conservatively, $75 million to start an electronics manufacturer to build a 4k camera that performs this well. Is this how RED started?

On to scarlet. Considering the amount of money it took to build the RED One, and the exponentially larger amount of money it would take to build smaller electronics, does everyone really expect a totally new camera never seen before; beating out Sony, Canon, JVC and others? With a staff of people feverishly working to iron out the kinks in the current RED One, and given it's only been available for around a year and a half, how could they have time to develop a camera from scratch?

What seems more likely is that they will use there expertise learned from building the RED One to modify an existing platform and make a "tuned" version of a street camera; examples being JVC GZ-HD7 or the Canon HF10. They could upgrade the lenses, increase the processing power to handle 1080p, and adapt the camera to fit the platform of the RED accessories. This would give them the edge over the competitors and provide the performance we all want.

Not being a cynic, but I find it very hard to believe they will be able to do so as many of you have claimed. I would love to believe that they would produce a camera themselves, but I don't see how this is possible. It's taken Sony, Canon, and JVC several decades of producing electronics with hundred of millions of dollars in research and development, engineers, manufacturing facilities and other resources that RED has only had for just a fraction of that. How can we expect something so revolutionary?

KO

[Mark L. Pederson]

First, can someone explain to me how RED started? To build electronics like this, you would need, conservatively, $75 million to start an electronics manufacturer to build a 4k camera that performs this well.

Not sure how you calculated that. Red doesn't exactly work in any traditional ways.

On to scarlet. Considering the amount of money it took to build the RED One, and the exponentially larger amount of money it would take to build smaller electronics, does everyone really expect a totally new camera never seen before; beating out Sony, Canon, JVC and others?

We'll know soon enough won't we!

Not being a cynic, but I find it very hard to believe they will be able to do so as many of you have claimed. I would love to believe that they would produce a camera themselves, but I don't see how this is possible. It's taken Sony, Canon, and JVC several decades of producing electronics with hundred of millions of dollars in research and development, engineers, manufacturing facilities and other resources that RED has only had for just a fraction of that. How can we expect something so revolutionary?

KO

True innovation happen in the spark of an idea. It's not always about millions of dollars in research.

[chuckt]

First, can someone explain to me how RED started? To build electronics like this, you would need, conservatively, $75 million to start an electronics manufacturer to build a 4k camera that performs this well. Is this how RED started?
KO

The most important thing is that RED sold more cameras than all the competitors combined and multiplied by 10.
RED is the only serious 35mm/4K camera you can buy today.
RED is the cheapest 35mm digital movie camera you can buy.
Several theatrical movies have been shot with RED.

[Dylan Reeve]

First, can someone explain to me how RED started? To build electronics like this, you would need, conservatively, $75 million to start an electronics manufacturer to build a 4k camera that performs this well. Is this how RED started?

Well Jim Jannard is worth something like $2 billion, so he presumably he has the resources to establish something like that - however it's very unlikely that RED started their own manufacturing operation to support the camera. The will have designed the electronics and had a contract manufacturer produce the actual components.

On to scarlet. Considering the amount of money it took to build the RED One, and the exponentially larger amount of money it would take to build smaller electronics, does everyone really expect a totally new camera never seen before; beating out Sony, Canon, JVC and others? With a staff of people feverishly working to iron out the kinks in the current RED One, and given it's only been available for around a year and a half, how could they have time to develop a camera from scratch?

What seems more likely is that they will use there expertise learned from building the RED One to modify an existing platform and make a "tuned" version of a street camera; examples being JVC GZ-HD7 or the Canon HF10. They could upgrade the lenses, increase the processing power to handle 1080p, and adapt the camera to fit the platform of the RED accessories. This would give them the edge over the competitors and provide the performance we all want.

I'd argue that what the RED team has learned from RED One puts them in a very good position to manufacture another camera. The kinks they've feverishly worked out of the RED One will be kinks they don't need to work out of Scarlet.

If the Scarlet is indeed a 2K camera, and doesn't require all the I/O ports and interfaces of RED One, then there's no reason the phyical board size couldn't be reduced substantially.

Not being a cynic, but I find it very hard to believe they will be able to do so as many of you have claimed. I would love to believe that they would produce a camera themselves, but I don't see how this is possible. It's taken Sony, Canon, and JVC several decades of producing electronics with hundred of millions of dollars in research and development, engineers, manufacturing facilities and other resources that RED has only had for just a fraction of that. How can we expect something so revolutionary?

Given the motivations expressed by RED for producing the RED One camera, I think it's very unlikely that the Scarlet won't be a custom camera built to RED's specifications to meet the market they believe exists for it. There's no reason to believe that the skills and experience they've gained so far can't be applied to a new camera. The Sony, Canon and JVC's of the world have different requirements for their products. They need to make things even cheaper, and they need to produce many many many more. They also need to be user-proof for the most part to appeal to the mass market. They are big companies with product plans that are defined years in advance, they can't operate in the same way.

For my money, aspects of the Scarlet have been being developed in parallel to the RED One from just about Day 0. I wouldn't be surprised if some parts of it have served as proof of concept for the RED One, and vice versa.

[Stephen Williams]

The most important thing is that RED sold more cameras than all the competitors combined and multiplied by 10.

Hi,

Sony has sold an awful lot of cameras over the last 30 years.

Stephen

[Eugene]

to modify an existing platform and make a "tuned" version of a street camera

Saleen made the s7r and they sell tuned versions of the Mustang.
RED is making the ONE.
So you think that RED should make a tuned version of a street camera. I agree. Jim should get together with Canon and make a tuned version of the TX1 (or at least the next generation of the TX1.)



images from saleen.com
(Me, I drive an untuned Subaru.)

[laguun]

Hi,

Sony has sold an awful lot of cameras over the last 30 years.

Stephen

Red outsold any manufacturer in the 35mm space by far, including Arri.

It will be very interesting to see the shot- mid- and long-term effects on the whole rental business once 5.000 digital 35mm cameras are in the market.

Sony, Panavision, Ikegami, Thomson/Grass Valley are not really affected. Their professional business is growing fast as the world moves from SD to HD. It will be interesting to see the effecrs on the middle and small companies as Arri, Panavision and Aaton etc. Sales of 416 and 235 are still good, in relation to their new competition however they are, as incredible it is, minimal.

BTW: Does anyone have figures for SI? I have no idea if the SI is selling in dozens or houndreds.

[laguun]

True innovation happen in the spark of an idea. It's not always about millions of dollars in research.

agreed. 100%.

[Stephen Williams]

Red outsold any manufacturer in the 35mm space by far, including Arri.

Hi,

Correct, however in another thread you said "creativity first, format second. and certain formats are suited better for special purposes than others" so total no of cameras sold of any format would seem to be relevant here.

Stephen

[laguun]

Hi,

Correct, however in another thread you said "creativity first, format second. and certain formats are suited better for special purposes than others" so total no of cameras sold of any format would seem to be relevant here.

Stephen

Red one alone outsells all S16, 35 and 65 Arri cameras together.

I have no exact numbers for arri, but i would be surprised if they deliver even 500 cameras a year.