Should I get the new vraptor, or the old dragon 8k vv?

[Edith blazek]

Hello, I'm looking to buy a cinema camera in this range of price and the 2 options I have come to are between the new red vraptor, and a old used red dragon 8k vv, which would be the better bet? could I get decent money renting the dragon vv? I'm in the DMV area of the US btw. Now why these cameras? Well it's because I actually like the look of red cameras (it just appeals to me more) and for my workflow I like having the 8k (personally speaking, I know I will get some up my ass for this tho), and I can use Leica m mount lenses so that kinda alot of other options are out of the running. I know the vraptor absolutely has a technical advantage over the dragon in every way and it has great image quality, but I like the gritty look and aesthetic of the dragon sensor with the legacy color science, to me it exemplifies what I associate with the look of red cameras the most and I'd have to do some work in post to get that out of the vraptor since you can't choose legacy color when shooting but can only work on that through selecting legacy color in redcine-x (not the end of the world I realize, but prefer to go with something I know will give me the aesthetic I want as I haven't seen any footage matching the dragon from the vraptor), and I also have no option for hdrx or any resolution options besides whole numbers on the vraptor. Basically I'm dealing with the age old conundrum of practicality vs aesthetics and I don't know where to go. If anyone has some advice, please give it to me, also if you have also pondered how to make the vraptor look like the older red cameras and succeeded in matching them based on the dragon, please tell me your ipp2 settings.

[Edith blazek]

Bump

[Robin Phillips]

if its for renting and jobs, everyone (read: clients) always seem to want the new thing regardless of if the old thing is just as good. 

If its your personal camera and you're getting a hell of a deal on it, that may work occasionally, then may as well get whatever you want. I saw a Red Ranger Gemini listed for 12k on ebay not sell the other day, so theres deals to be had for sure.

Hopefully someone who rents more can chime in. I know a lot of people who have played the constant upgrade game and few seem to enjoy it

[Edith blazek]

25 minutes ago, Robin Phillips said:

if its for renting and jobs, everyone (read: clients) always seem to want the new thing regardless of if the old thing is just as good. 

If its your personal camera and you're getting a hell of a deal on it, that may work occasionally, then may as well get whatever you want. I saw a Red Ranger Gemini listed for 12k on ebay not sell the other day, so theres deals to be had for sure.

Hopefully someone who rents more can chime in. I know a lot of people who have played the constant upgrade game and few seem to enjoy it

On pricing, at first it seemed like a good deal, but honestly by the time I'm done with it, the two will probably cost around the same anyways, that's why I'm placing the conundrum as being aesthetics vs practicality.

[Kemalettin Sert]

Why do you want a Raptor?  Is it for rentals or for your personal projects? If its mainly for rentals i would say wait for XL which ll be around 38-40k smth.

I own a Raptor and very happy with it.I dont need a bigger camera so XL is not an option for me and i can rent my camera like this on the jobs im on without a problem.

[Edith blazek]

4 minutes ago, Kemalettin Sert said:

Why do you want a Raptor?  Is it for rentals or for your personal projects? If its mainly for rentals i would say wait for XL which ll be around 38-40k smth.

I own a Raptor and very happy with it.I dont need a bigger camera so XL is not an option for me and i can rent my camera like this on the jobs im on without a problem.

As for the reason, I wanted a red camera as I like the grungy aesthetic they deliver, and I wanted a full frame camera, and also I wanted something like the vraptor as it's highly versatile and fits my needs, I don't really need a bigger camera either, and I would want the flexibility in terms of lenses I'd get from the rf mount, that's why I'm looking at the two cameras as I can use Leica m lenses with them. As for renting, I'd use it on my personal projects, but I'd definitely would be renting out whatever I get a lot.

[Robin Phillips]

40 minutes ago, Edith blazek said:

On pricing, at first it seemed like a good deal, but honestly by the time I'm done with it, the two will probably cost around the same anyways, that's why I'm placing the conundrum as being aesthetics vs practicality.

if thats the case, I'd buy the new one so you can make $$$ back on it ASAP. Bonus points for getting it new and having a warranty

[Edith blazek]

On 8/1/2022 at 6:22 PM, Robin Phillips said:

if thats the case, I'd buy the new one so you can make $$$ back on it ASAP. Bonus points for getting it new and having a warranty

Update, I calculated it, and the dragon vv is signifigantly less expensive than the raptor fully kitted out, so I will probably go for the dragon unless within the time it takes for me to purchase it, it sells, then I will get the raptor.

[Edith blazek]

On 8/2/2022 at 11:54 PM, Edith blazek said:

Update, I calculated it, and the dragon vv is signifigantly less expensive than the raptor fully kitted out, so I will probably go for the dragon unless within the time it takes for me to purchase it, it sells, then I will get the raptor.

Nvm, for the few thousand dollars I'd save by going with the dragon, I'd lose out on nearly half what I can price on rentals, forget that.

[Nathan Walters]

Glad to know I'm not the only one to overall prefer the RED look over some other sensors.  I'm mostly shooting what I would describe as grungy science fiction, so I feel the RED's color science has been a better fit for what I look for.  Even though most of my peers think I'm crazy.

I have a friend who just bought a dragon about a year ago, and he's not able to rent it out that often. There's so many comparable REDs floating around the market at this point in time. You'll probably get significantly more rental revenue on the raptor.