RED Digital Cinema and their RED ONE camera have been shaking up the traditional world of film production for the last few years. And one of their long anticipated products, the RED Scarlet, has been something of a holy grail for indie filmmakers for nearly a year, with rumors of impending release dates circulating online, only to see hopes dashed as it was pushed back and the product features reformulated, time and again.
But, now things are really heating up as a full scale prototype was recently unveiled:
Highly configurable by design, it also shoots stills and is representative of the convergence of photography and video/film that is ongoing in the media professions today. Cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II and the Panasonic Lumix GH1 are offering HD video capabilities along with the vaunted digital stills they were primarily built to provide. And, at a price point far below that of standard high quality video cameras.
RED Scarlet and Nikon D3s size comparison
The Scarlets promise of a relatively affordable camera able to shoot super-high resolution cinema images (and stills) in a very compact package will no doubt move a lot of units -- if it ever truly gets released.
Configured for cinema
RED's innovative modular design concept is also potentially game changing.
More on the RED Scarlet website.
