what does sony, panasonic say about red!!

[Zakaree Sandberg]

i bet you all wanted to see what they say about red! but so do i.. thats why im posting this. anyone have any articles with quotes from any of these companies?
last i heard some reps were spitting out "vaporware".. but now that footage has been shown.. spike being built.. and so on, i havent heard anything.

[Akcelik]

they suffer in their jox.

[Kenn Christenson]

They're probably too busy figuring out rebate programs that will make their cameras look attractive - as they say, "You can put lipstick on a pig..." :)

[Blue]

I'd say those reps are trying to avoid the subject as if it was some (excuse me) genital infection. I know I would if I were them.

[Zakaree Sandberg]

maybe they arent worried too much.. because the consummer market is of much more value to them.. how many f900's, varicams, or dalsa's do they actually sell..?
i think arri and sony are at more risk.. (sony makes the panavision genesis right?.. pana just panavised it.. correct?)

[Blue]

how many f900's, varicams, or dalsa's do they actually sell?

Not many, and fewer in the future I dare say.

[Zakaree Sandberg]

Not many, and fewer in the future I dare say.

i concur

[Kenn Christenson]

I think Red is going to cut into their lower end $10K-30K market as well. (Just look at the recent JVC rebate program for their brand new cameras.)

Why buy one of those cameras that will end up being a spendy doorstop in 3 years or less, when you can get a camera that is built to be upgradeable?

[Zakaree Sandberg]

i just looked at jvc new hd200u or whatever and the 250.. i find it funny how its so obvious that they purposly dont put the "extra" stuff from the 250 into the 200. there is no way those extra adapters and the fact that it can output timecode shoudl cost an extra 3-4 grand. and your right.. if you buy that crap.. its just gunna be outdated in april;-)

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Market stratification strategies that leverage a common base platform have been employed for years. Remember the "crippling" of the original Sony VX-1000s by unlocking the audio to try and dissuade the low end broadcasters from jumping to Mini-DV from BetaSP. Sony has long been one of the most egregious offenders as they actually have discrete divisions within their infrastructure to market to each strata of customers and try mightily to wall each channel off.

Almost 10 years ago I spent $25K to buy a Sony DXC30 head with DVCAM back and BQ Fujinnon zoom. I still go out with it regularly but if I wanted to upgrade what would I have to choose from? Let's use the RedOne with the 18-85 Red Zoom, 3 Red Drives and some accessories as a reference point of around $30-35K - I already have Anton bricks, decent sticks, Lectro package, et al. Guess what, the units aimed at the Broadcast market from Sony and Panny are in the same price range. XDCAM-HD anyone, of course we're talking 1/2" chips and brutal compression rates but at least the workflow is easy and the media cheap and easy to archive. Panny is releasing some P2 based rigs with 2/3" chips that are promising an H.264 codec upgrade by NAB so that you can cram more footage onto the P2 cards - which are going to get cheaper any day now :D . I have seen demos of the Thompson Infinity but does anyone actually have one yet? Keep in mind that a decent B4 HD zoom lens for any of these rigs is north of $20K.

From a price standpoint these are the direct competitors to the RedOne, not the Varicam (even with the recent price drop) or the Sony F900 series which are far pricier. From a performance standpoint one might argue that the Varicam and F900 series cameras are of sufficent quality to meet producer and audience expectations so why aim higher. I think that argument is specious because it assumes that display tech is static and that given exposure to better images audience expectations won't adjust. Don't even get me started on the value of creating assets that will hold up a decade or two down the road when display tech is substantially better and home screens are commonly over 70" diagonal.

The adoption of IT centric post workflows will not happen overnight, the installed base of major manufacturer cameras, decks, et al will not become obsolete overnight. The highly trained people who use and service the existing infrastucture will look to extend the useful life of their skill sets. When Ted bills himself as the leader of the Rebellion it is more than just a homage to Princess Leia. The new paradigm will be birthed with a lot of screaming from the Sony's of the world.

Get ready for a serious disinformation campaign, they are already planning it.

Blair S. Paulsen
RedOne #19