Matthew Rogers

You can't just say, "Instead of believing those knuckle-heads on Reduser.net " and have it mean a few people. If you had said, "believing a few knuckle-heads on Reduser" then that would mean just a few people--even then it needs to be rewritten to be clearer. And to be clear, no one at RU jumped quickly too quickly. The auction has every sign from the start of being a scam (feedback is strange, never selling anything before, very basic description, parts missing.) People aren't dumbfounded that someone would sell theirs (I know of one guy who realized that he needed a more broadcast style camera for his workflow and that makes sense), but they are being careful that it's not stolen. What kind of "film gear" are you even talking about? Stephen does not have any 35mm gear that I would sell my RED for. Since my RED will take all 35mm PL-mount lenses, follow focus, matteboxes, and other accessories, the only thing left is the camera body and film mags. Why would I need those?! Your comment makes absolutely no sense. Matthew

Wow. It's really uncalled for to call everyone (including me) at RedUser small minded. Just because I spend time at RedUser does NOT make me a knuckle-head or small minded. I really believe that you owe not just me, but everyone at RedUser and apology. IF you had actually READ the posts at RedUser you would have found out that people HAVE asked and not received an answer. Or that this camera was listed before under a different screen name, yanked when people started questioning it, and re-listed under the current name. (exact same pictures and description) Someone who has a RED camera to sell at this point has waited AT LEAST a year to take delivery and would be aware (if not proud) of it's serial number and know that they would need to post it with the auction for buyers to not be suspicious. Not to mention that it's missing parts that would normally come with the base plate and dovetail (top handle, universal mount, drive cradle, handle, 18" rods, etc.) BTW, it's only slander if I said it WAS stolen (not that I wonder if it is) and that turned out that it was not stolen. Please understand what that word means before you use it. Yes, you are correct Stephen. I guess $500 would be worth it for the 90 day warranty (if they would accept the camera), but just barely. Thank you, Matthew

Doesn't it seem a little odd that they say this: "Our brief listening test of the microphone inputs verified that they are not suitable for anything but a scratch track, especially when phantom is activated. Whether microphone preamplifier performance is a hardware issue or something that will change in the future with a firmware revision is unclear." and then at the end they say: "For most dialog applications, the Red One’s near 16-bit audio performance is similar to many of the digital pro-sumer and pro cameras we have tested. This is perfectly acceptable for dialog, especially when hit with a good, clean line-level signal. Sound Devices recommends dual-system sound for critical applications." ??? Seems like at first they are saying that it's crap and then later say that it's fine as long as you give it a good clean signal... Also, is the 16 bits what they measure the camera as, or is that what they think the spec is for the camera? (red says it's 24bit) I've only had one problem getting clean audio onto my RED and that was my fault because I had set the mixer up incorrectly. Matthew

It is only $500. That's the kinda FUD I keep finding about the RED on forums. What I find strange about the ebay auction is that they don't mention the camera's serial number-which seems really fishy to me. Other people on Reduser have been wondering if the camera is stolen since there's no serial number list and the only parts shown are the bottom plate and dovetail--which look to still have the old finish that RED would fix for free. Something just seems funky. Matthew

Did you not see the RED music video that aired during the Super Bowl? It looked pretty freakin good when compared to the other spots running in 720P. I was also watching ABC one night and saw the Old Navy spots that were shot on RED. It looked much better then other spots because it was so grain free. That said, I can often tell when there is CGI involved in spots because they don't seem to try matching the grain of film in the CGI stuff. Of course, it could also make a difference of what the footage was telecined on. BTW, why don't you take some of the 1080p spots that are on RedUser and play them out on a TV? If a broadcaster is going to degrade the image, it's gonna happen just as much to a 35mm source as a RED source. Matthew

Kinda. There evidently were some Sony cards that worked in build 14 and before that now don't work in build 15. However, I found out yesterday that there are some Lexar cards (probably the same as the RED cards, RED just rebrands them) that you can use and after rebate are only $90! It seems that RED has found VERY few cards that are fast enough. It's a shame that RED couldn't have designed a small RAID-0 module out of two compact flash cards. That would have been VERY cool and they could have used slower cards. Matthew

Well, the whole problem with what you are talking about is that RED doesn't record onto SD cards--it uses Compact Flash cards. Also from my understanding, not just any CF cards will work. I believe starting in beta build 15 that RED stopped letting you use other cards that didn't ID as RED cards. I believe they did that because people were having so much trouble with third party cards that said they were 300x, but really were not. Not 100% positive on this info, but it seems like I did read something like it at RU. Matthew

The only difference between them is the quality of the magnetic particles on the tape. I've been shooting HDV on Panasonic Pro Quality tapes with NO problem. All the manufacturers have been doing is taking their higher end "pro" tapes, slapping an HDV label on them and then raising the price even more. Yes, there is a huge difference between the consumer minidv tapes and the professional tapes, but I've never found a difference between the HDV and pro tapes. Matthew

No one else has asked yet, so I will...How much weight do you have on the dolly? I know that when I use a doorway dolly on skater wheels I need at least 75 lbs of sandbags to make it have a smooth pushable weight. Weight along with good wheels on good track will help. Matthew

Hey guys, I am looking to buy a Cooke 20-60 sometime in the next month or so. I've had a couple of leads, but they've all already been sold. If anyone knows of one in good shape, please have them contact me at matthew@macvilleproductions.com. Thanks, Matthew Rogers

Actually, I believe that Jim would be fine with honest criticism. However, if you look at the list, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, & 9 aren't helpful criticisms! Saying things like the RED is no better than a cell phone sensor makes me wonder why I should listen to that person? Why should I accept any criticism from a person like that? Really, the only legitimate criticism that he even closely addresses is the UI on the back (which personally doesn't bother me since you can see the menu on the LCD or EVF.) I think Jim's point with the post is that he is sick of stupid posts like Phil's "Red - it's grotesquely incompetent" that are there just to be a jerk. Ask good questions and give good feedback, and I believe you will get a positive response. Matthew

I thought I might highlight a few misinformed things in this post... Not sure how they can "recommend" the SSHD when it hasn't even been released yet--unless they meant for in the future... Build 15 will address this issue and allow, I believe, both outputting to the LCD, EVF, and a HDSDI/HMDI ports all at the same time. But I agree, not having multiple outputs is very annoying! The RED has a focus hook...it's even called the focus hook. However, it seems whoever you rented the camera from did not buy that (Yes, it probably SHOULD be included with body like any other camera.) Jim has mentioned on REDUSER that the black calibration only has to be done once. It is not like a traditional video camera that you need to do it more often. What "calibration" is the camera doing on boot? Or is that something you chose to do? Unless it is a RED battery, the camera cannot communicate with the battery to know how much juice is left. I have not completely understood RED's explanation of why it can't read the voltage like other cameras do (something to do with a lack of a microchip), but that is the reason. Why would there be GAIN if you are shooting RAW? You can adjust the ASA to see what you will be getting in post if you need to raise the levels. RAW ASA raised in post is no different than GAIN--except with the RAW you haven't baked in the gain and being stuck with it later if decided it didn't need so much gain. Jim has said from the beginning that 60 FPS was MAX for 4k--that is the sensor's max clockspeed. I am not sure what the DIT was talking about with mixing 4k and 2k in post. If you recorded 4k 24p and 2k 72 fps (but for playback at 24p), there shouldn't be any issues with recording both on the same media--and should have no problems in post. Of course, there are a million different ways to do post on RED footage (as with P2 footage, or really any other camera) so it's not really clear what the "compatibility issues" are. Not trying to be mean or anything. Just trying to clear up what I believe to be some misinformation. I hope it helps (and do keep up the suggestions, I saw MANY I agreed with!) Matthew

Yes, there were other issues, but the original language was that those cameras were dead (as in, won't boot, might as well be a sandbag). I wouldn't call issues with flair and dynamic range a failure. They may not produce the results you want, but that doesn't mean the camera isn't running and recording an image. I would say the camera has had alot of issues, but complete failure rate is still low. Matthew

Actually, I'm pretty sure they have shipped at least 300 cameras (probably closer to 400.) Even as 3% for a brand new camera (the first 100 being considered beta) is pretty good. If in a year they still are have many cameras fail, then that is when I would worry. Matthew

If you order today, your number is going to be right over 3,000--unless there have been a TON of orders in the last couple of weeks. That means that with their current posted timeline you should get it in June I believe. The $17,500 only gets you the camera body. You have to buy everything else separately (lenses, camera body framework, viewfinder/lcd, batteries, etc.) A working package is going to be closer to $30,000. Matthew

First, I have not either units. However, I am wondering why you are wanting to compare the FF4 and FF5HD? The FF4 is meant for cine style lenses, and the FF5HD is meant for video lenses. Matthew

I don't know what price list you are looking at, but with the 25% discount at Norms, their prices are MUCH better than matthews! What do you all think of the difference between all modern and norms gear? I am getting ready to buy a 1 ton package and would like to buy the better overall brand. I am looking at flags, butterflies, combo stands, c-stands, beefy babys, a doorway dolly, track, skater wheels, and a few other items. Modern with thier discount actually seems to be cheaper by about 5%. Matthew

Have you tried running them through RedCine to see if it's the file or the program/computer? Also, are you using the latest version of RedAlert? Matthew

I get the feeling that you are only here to be anti-red--considering you only joined yesterday and already have 25 posts that are all RED related. I don't know about you but I like talking with people from different company's. In fact, when I called to order some equipment today I talked with someone who's posts I had already been reading online. There is a connection there that I'm not talking to a stranger--it's very nice. Matthew

This is exactly what I was getting at. I don't think any camera actually resolves the resolution that it claims to. Think about this...do any of the cars that claim certain gas mileage actually get that? I don't think so. The RED is 4520x2540. It's as simple as that. While it may only resolve around 3500 pixles, that's still impressive... Matthew

The camera is 4K. It records 4k pixel size. It's that simple. True, it may not RESOLVE 4K, but it records that natively off the sensor. But if we are going to get picky then we need to ask Sony, Panasonic, JVC and many others to label their products with what they truly will resolve. I'm sure that my Panasonic DVX-100A won't resolve as much as a Panasonic SDC-615, but both won't resolve what they claim... If you want Jim to be honest with you, then first ask the other manufactures who have lied to you for years to be honest with you. Matthew

Unless I missed something, I believe that in the end (when all the features are enabled) 1080P will be available over dual link HD-SDI on the camera. I would still like to have the option in camera to shoot scaled 4k to 1080P:) Matthew

Two things, I shot some tea in a clear plastic cup earlier this year and used rock salt and a mister bottle to get the dripping effect. I also used a rotisserie motor (Wal-Mart $20) to move my rotating platform. It's very hard lighting something so friggin small. In my case, I was doing bluescreen also, so I was trying to light that along with the products. Matthew

Weird, that almost sounds more a design flaw in the camera with maybe something in the cards not being up to spec. Everything rots.... Matthew

Not to be mean, but I would go to a good source like Jim at Reduser for your information. Sound is CURRENTLY not being recorded on CF. But of course, it's not being recorded on anything because it is not enabled. (supposed to be enabled by the end of Oct. I believe.) The CF's may not have a track record with the RED, but they certainly have a good track record with digital photographers. I don't know anyone (and my wife's a photographer) who's had a CF card fail. Now, I'm sure they have, but I don't know anyone personally. But then again, what medium doesn't fail? (Film certainly does) Matthew