Is Red One still a worthy investment?

Vito Huizar · February 13, 2013

I am looking for my first "cinema" quality camera to update a t2i ive been using. I have been looking at the Red One since I can get one for $4,000 with AKS, but is it still a good investment. Do people still want it? Looking to rent it out.

My other choice was the Black Magic camera but that crop factor is kind of killer. I'm just kind of stuck to put it simply.

Matthew W. Phillips · February 13, 2013

Vito, I know Im not the most unbias source but local to me (Im in Northern Cali), there are some DPs who own REDs that are so desperate for work that they are willing to undercut any other DPs rates just to get working. In essence, they are the lowest bidder. The scene here is about the latest and greatest camera, not the skill of the DP sadly.

In that sort of climate, youd be much better off with a BMC than a RED. You might not like the crop factor but I can guarantee youll get more indie work with it.

Brian Drysdale · February 13, 2013

I am looking for my first "cinema" quality camera to update a t2i ive been using. I have been looking at the Red One since I can get one for $4,000 with AKS, but is it still a good investment. Do people still want it? Looking to rent it out.

My other choice was the Black Magic camera but that crop factor is kind of killer. I'm just kind of stuck to put it simply.

Please don't double post, it causes confusion and spreads out any responses.

Geoff Howell · February 13, 2013

If you're wanting to make a fast buck in renting out; the C300 is the way forward. Everyone had a good laugh at this camera when it was announced at the same time as the Red Scarlet but in the past year I've seen a huge amount of footage from the Canon pass through the edit suites at work and not a single frame from the Scarlet.

Chris Burke · February 13, 2013

Will that 4 grand get you a complete or I mean to say, ready to shoot kit? With four thousand dollars you could have a shootable BMCC set up; lenses, batteries, SSDs. Plus, the BMCC doesn't need any complicated post. Does the RED One you are looking at offer all that for $4k ?

Adrian Sierkowski · February 13, 2013

I would go for the BMD. I thing RED has cannibalized itself a bit on the one; and all that work will now be going to scalet and epic, when/if it comes. the BMD with the ability to do ProRes and DNxHD will allow it to fit into a much wider work range than would a red one. hell, with the SDI out, you could theoretically use it for live events even.... not that I think you'd really want to.

Vito Huizar · February 13, 2013

Thank you for everyones answer, I have been leaning towards the BMC over the Red One the thing that make it hard is i would be getting a hell of a deal with the Red One - Rods, media drives, battery plate, arri mattebox, the red one monitor, and a few other things.

I think I will go for the new BMC after all. Makes more sense in terms of renting the package out for my work. Haven't seen much of the Red One in the industry lately.

Just wanted reassurance ^_^

Adrian Sierkowski · February 13, 2013

If you're getting a great deal on the MX; go for the MX and sell the hell out of it for awhile and then buy a BMD. Afterall; a lot of that stuff, Rods and the like, wil transferr over. Same witht he MB and the Monitors ect.

Vito Huizar · February 14, 2013

Yeah, i might go the red one route afterall. after seeing the list of issues the black magic has. Plus i can get the red one package cheaper than a bmc package and its a proven camera.

Matthew W. Phillips · February 14, 2013

Yeah, i might go the red one route afterall. after seeing the list of issues the black magic has. Plus i can get the red one package cheaper than a bmc package and its a proven camera.

Good luck getting work with it once the BMCs saturate.

Freya Black · February 15, 2013

If you're wanting to make a fast buck in renting out; the C300 is the way forward. Everyone had a good laugh at this camera when it was announced at the same time as the Red Scarlet but in the past year I've seen a huge amount of footage from the Canon pass through the edit suites at work and not a single frame from the Scarlet.

I think you are really onto something there Geoff!

In commercial terms companies are looking for 50mbps in 1080p hd, preferably in pro res or DNX-HD.

This is why the Alexa is such a hit in so many contexts. The red one is only really of use if working in raw which is great if you are shooting a feature film or maybe a music video but the exact opposite of what most commercial shoots are after. You can use an outboard recorder with the scarlet and epic but it's a bit of a bodge at the moment. Thus the Epic and Scarlet people are crying out for the meitzer module thing, probably more so than for dragon.

Canon is also a name that's doing well at he moment. It's THE name with the DSLR crowd and is also doing great with the Canon XF305 for cheap tv docos.

Freya

Kyle Raney · February 19, 2013

From my experience with Digital Cinema Cameras the producers, directors, and/or cinematographers will rent your camera for the lenses you own and not the body itself. If you own or have access to say a good set of cinema primes like Cooke Panchro's, Zeiss Ultra Primes, or better, you will get the work. If you can't afford the lenses and the rigging gear which easily adds up to 20-30k plus the cost of the camera body, you will not be able to compete with the flooded market of Digital Cinema Cameras.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Kyle Raney

Mike Lary · February 19, 2013

If you can make your money back fast it might be a good investment, but you need to consider purchasing a RedRocket card as well to increase transcoding speeds. It's a tried and true system (unlike the BMDCC), so you shouldn't be in for any surprises if you do your homework.

Mendes Nabil · April 6, 2013

hi everybody, the red one mx is a good camera, don't forget all movies that was shot on with it.. Can i ask you where did you get your red one mx at 4000$, i'm really interested in it... Thanks !

Adrian Sierkowski · April 7, 2013

Red was selling their traded in Red Ones for $4000. That's over now, and it was body only you were still looking @ around 15K for anything really "shootable."

Robert Ruffo · April 11, 2013

Vito, I know Im not the most unbias source but local to me (Im in Northern Cali), there are some DPs who own REDs that are so desperate for work that they are willing to undercut any other DPs rates just to get working. In essence, they are the lowest bidder. The scene here is about the latest and greatest camera, not the skill of the DP sadly.

In that sort of climate, youd be much better off with a BMC than a RED. You might not like the crop factor but I can guarantee youll get more indie work with it.

Uh... Here in Montreal many DPs own no gear at all - they get work based on their reel, and rent what they need. We only own an Epic to make a few extra bucks renting it back to our own production (although with recent price drops, that has actually been a money loser, in the past our Red One paid for itself many times over).

What gear you own or don't will not affect your career at all, one way or another -it's just a business investment you can make as a DP, knowing that you will be a regular client of your own rental company.