4K NAB WAR - SUMMARY

[Christopher Probst]

Let's not forget that currently Arri doesn't offer a way to record ArriRaw on the Alexa.. you have to buy a separate third-party recorder and strap that on top of the Alexa... AND that recorder with recording media costs AS MUCH AS the Alexa itself. To do this list properly, you would need to factor in all of the accessories needed to make a recordable image at 4K or above specs...

[Wayne Morellini]

I have to say I broadly agree.

I loved the concept of Scarlet Fixed, and if that came back from the dead I'd *still* buy one tomorrow. (1)

Ditto Scarlet Cine; loved the idea of putting all that 16mm glass to work.

Various things were said when Scarlet-X was announced and the 2/3" was killed. At the time, I said 3K vs. 4K wasn't what mattered, what mattered to me was **RAW**. R3D was the real selling point, the must-have feature, and I stand by that.

Now, having bought Scarlet-X and more recently got my EPIC-X, I'll say Jim was mostly right and I was partially wrong. I can still use that old 16mm glass at 2K-3K, in fact I'm having a like-new, never-used, Angenieux 12-240mm remounted to PL even as I write. But Scarlet-X is a hell of a more capable and more useful camera than the 2/3" concepts would have been.

(1) and I don't accept that Scarlet Fixed, in some form, is irretrievable. The big problem was the lens; despite the best in modern computer design and modeling they somehow ended up with a lens that wasn't parfocal as intended. Well, you know what? Now or soon, with all-electronic lenses, they won't be made parfocal by design and optical craft, they will be made parfocal by software and electronics, making the needed constant fine adjustments to focus automatically, throughout the zoom range. In fact there could be a LUT for all focal length combinations that would make the lens perfectly parfocal and perfectly breathing-free, and customised to the inevitable tiny manufacturing variations apparent in each individual lens...

Mike

He, he, Mike, forgot to comment on yours the other day. I questioned their decision to stick with 3k, pushing to go 4k or drop the fixed for the $5-7k (I forget which originally) s35, that got canned for epic s (scarlet x), as the fixed was too little resolution and predatory on the Epic line. I pushed for 2/3rds lens on s35 using cropped resolution. The reality is the fixed would have been the camera you owned when you wanted 4k in the future. It does not matter if not much could be done with 4k last year or this, people are still likely to have the fixed next year and two years after that, some for ten years. So, it could be possible you could have spent much of the camera life wishing to upgrade. 4k upfront, you don't care so much for the next 5-10 years. Plus, Red could have kicked everybody else but for a while.

The lens issue makes me wonder, what happened, who cares if it had to get redesigned and stuck out even three inches (with some Eng like lens control attachments), or stuck to the side. The first cheap high quality 4k camera under $3k could be de bomb (or so my young friends used to say) unless there are just so many of them it dies not matter or something else.

Manufacturing in America in house instead of foxcon, was going to cost. Guys with long production run experience can zip down assembly and prices. This is electronics, hardly easy compared to certain things.

What you say about computer correction is true, I realised in my own lens technology I could just computer correct much in post and design differently. But the reality is better on 8k down scaled to 4k then 3k (pixels count).

I'll give you an award for insight fullness Mike.

[Wayne Morellini]

You know, years ago when we started recording HD and fullhd off camera heads to computers, it was not practical to record 4k, so Red did a custom job, ;) , happy they did. But in tge future a $500 computer may do the same trick in 4k, the tech should be there, at least in part, and arm processors past that. I had my eye on a 5kx5k s35 chip.

Thanks


Wayne.

[Wayne Morellini]

Alexa etc, are so not the future to be concerned about, in a way.

[Wayne Morellini]

Was Apertus at NAB, they have announced they are doing a low cost 4k digital cinema camera design, have a sponsor, good on them, will keep people on their toes.

http://www.apertus.org/en/apertus-camera-dp-team-up

Will take a while, and Red will be on to 6k or 8 by then. The dream lives.

NAB for camera release is overated, that is why everybody turns up ;)

[Michael Brennan]

If we are talking numbers the sensor bit depth of the AD is as important as camera output in my view.

Sony have increased the AD of broadcast video and the F65 from 14bit to 16bit. It all starts at the A/D.


Mike Brennan