Advice on buying my first RED One

[Vern Moen]

Hello everyone. I've been at DVXuser and now am getting ready to graduate to RED. I'm looking for advice on what to buy. I've tried piecing the information from other threads but I still am looking for specific advice, and I'd appreciate any input.

I film mostly documentaries (features and shorts), some music videos (about 5 a year), and I'm looking to do a couple short narrative films this year for myself.

I've been using an HVX200 with Letus Adapter and Nikon lenses. I love this setup except for the bulkiness of the adapter and the light loss.

A light weight setup for handheld filming is ideal. No matte box. No big zooms. On board mic usually. Go between sticks and hand held quickly. i pull my own focus. i'll (probably) be shooting in 2k.

My questions:

- Should I get a RED One or wait for the Scarlett (I'm guessing i couldn't get one in my hands sooner than the end of the year - which i would miss out on a lot of rental $$)? I definitely need interchangeable lenses.

- I want to use my old lenses. I don't like new lenses (typically). I like gritty and unpolished images. What's a good s16 short zoom lens?

- What accessories should I get? Does the Mantis Rig fully replace the "Production Package" that Red has on their site? EVF or LCD monitor? -- I don't want both. I also want a handle on top, an on-board mic (and possibly light -- i have both), and I'm assuming i shoot shoot on the CF cards. I've done tons of reality TV so the weight of the RED shouldn't bother me.

That's probably more info than you need, but that's my situation. If anyone can give me any advice -- i'd love it.

Thank you.

Vern

www.longbeachfilmcompany.com

[Vern Moen]

So I guess my next question is should I buy a USED R1 or a NEW one? Is there any benefit in getting a new one (other than the fact that its, well, new)?

[Martin Weiss]

Advantage would be a year's warranty

[Elsie N]

Can't a new R-1 purchased now be traded in for an Epic brain later on?

[Jay Gannon]

Personally I would buy Jay A Kelleys RED one and have him do the MX upgrade.
Full MX shooting package for 26,000. Use your Nikon lenses and your ready to roll.
For people wanting to buy into RED this is the time to snap up some of those stage 2 baby's and get an MX sensor in them.

[Shawn Booth]

I've done tons of reality TV so the weight of the RED shouldn't bother me.

In all seriousness, you should go rent/borrow an actual RED and see for yourself. Most people coming from your area are surprised at how heavy the RED is to them.

It sounds like you are a Scarlet guy...

[Shane Kelly]

A light weight setup for handheld filming is ideal. No matte box. No big zooms. On board mic usually. Go between sticks and hand held quickly. i pull my own focus. i'll (probably) be shooting in 2k.

My questions:

- Should I get a RED One or wait for the Scarlett (I'm guessing i couldn't get one in my hands sooner than the end of the year - which i would miss out on a lot of rental $$)? I definitely need interchangeable lenses.

- I want to use my old lenses. I don't like new lenses (typically). I like gritty and unpolished images. What's a good s16 short zoom lens?

- What accessories should I get? Does the Mantis Rig fully replace the "Production Package" that Red has on their site? EVF or LCD monitor? -- I don't want both. I also want a handle on top, an on-board mic (and possibly light -- i have both), and I'm assuming i shoot shoot on the CF cards. I've done tons of reality TV so the weight of the RED shouldn't bother me.

That's probably more info than you need, but that's my situation. If anyone can give me any advice -- i'd love it.

Thank you.

Vern

short answer - you should wait on the scarlet

long answer - rent or borrow a red handheld package for a day and keep it on your shoulder for several hours. Your definition of "a lightweight package"
will change. An easyrig can help this.
The mantis is also a useful accessory. You still need a battery plate, drive holder and et bridge plate, as the mantis only replaces the handheld portion of the prod package.

A good super16 zoom would be the cooke 9-50 or the canon 8-64. But why do you assume that you'll be shooting 2k all the time? I only ever use it for slo-mo above 60fps.

The evf is not available anymore so the lcd it is.

I'd still say wait on the scarlet. It seems like a better match for what you are proposing. The weight of the red shouldn't bother you but it will.

[Noah Kadner]

Grab my book- lots of good advice on RED packages as well as how to decide what to get in there.

Noah

[Tim Duran]

Vern, advise on renting one first is excellent. But before you do that, do the following in this order: 1) determine your budget; 2) determine what a lens or lenses and all the other minimum accessories will cost (like $15,000 min and easily double that for only a modest system); 3) determine if you are going to do your own editing and, if so, figure the cost for the software, Red hardware, fast computer and storage, all at another $10,000+; and lastly 4), how much time you have to invest in all this learning. There is a very steep learing curve to be successful using the Red. Go into this with your eyes wide open. Great camera, but don't make the mistakes I and many others have made.

[John Marchant]

Got to agree with some of the above posts. The Red One is a heavy beast compared to a Letus + HVX200 (or EX1) rig, and you might find it actually restricts your ability to work rapidly. The ergonomics are not really that great for a one-man band shouldermount approach, but it is workable. You need to get hands on to judge this. The other thing I think you may feel on first use is that the light loss through the Letus is not all that bad after all. I'd lay strong odds that you actually find you want to shoot 4k - I had pretty similar thoughts to you before buying our Red, and a lot of expectations needed to shift.

I'm fortunate enough to have a friendly machinist who made me some simple parts I designed to adapt the production pack to work with Sony quick release tripod plates. The Sony plate is not as solid as heavier gear out there, but very useful if you want to go from the legs to shouldermount rapidly and repeatedly.