Obsolescence Obsolete

Never on a road shall I ever meet

a camera from RED that is not so neat

as to blow me completely off my feet

This day, this very day, the 3rd Dec RED does it again. Check it out here,

What is obvious right off the bat that there are less, and dare I say more realistic, a number of possible  configurations – from something like 2 trillion to 1,048,576. Also Jim has a lot so say of the options available to current RED One owners. One thing that is for sure is that you do not have to worry about your camera becoming obsolete – like a 4K camera is going to be obsolete (not in the next few years at least), because RED is looking after it’s loyal customers which is a big thing.

Also there is the option of a Scarlet 2/3 with 8x fixed zoom lens.

And what on earth are those images later on in the post?

A spiked RED Ball?

An Offroad RED System?

ha ha ha

Yip first Jim comes out with the mind blowing RED announcements on the 13th November. Showing us a preview of the awesome modular options available at awesome resolutions and frame rates. All the while saying that things may change.

Have they?

On the 3rd Dec, only a day away, we are told that there will be a Big Change.

What will that be? I cannot guess nor sum up the ideas that people have put up on the RED User forum.

But I can post Jim’s words from the forum that he titled “Be Prepared”

The 13th November 2008 will live in the history pages as a day of victory and amazement. Or Maybe not, maybe it will be the 3rd December 2008? “Everything Changes” as Jim from RED says, and he is right, but how much more awesome can things get for RED other than what was announced on the 13th November?

Check what was announced on the 13th here

Interesting…

The RedUser forum has be afire with activity with Jim starting off with:

“New announcement on Dec. 3rd. Everything has changed… just as we promised. ” 

and, ummmm, expect more.

“The 13th was insignificant…”

thank goodness for that.

“It is imperative that we make the final decisions as late in the game as possible for two reasons:

1. We are learning a ton everyday.
2. Technology is advancing so quickly.

We have also learned that we need to keep our program as flexible as possible so upgrades can be done easily. We really do want Scarlet or EPIC to be your last camera purchase. Then, you can upgrade as we make modules better (expect that) and as you need them (not before). 

This interaction with the community has been invaluable. While we have to filter out some of the “we want it all and we want it now” posts, the program is better for your suggestions and us learning to listen. The more we know about what we can (and can’t) do, the easier it is to listen. In the beginning, we had to ignore a bunch because we had no way to do it. Lots of great ideas, no roadmap to get them done. Things are different now.

I wouldn’t be surprised if things continue to change before release. The should. It is to your advantage… and mine. While we are paying overtime like crazy to execute as fast as we can, we have also learned that there is no rush to get it wrong. The announcement a couple of weeks ago was really important to set the tone for a system that interchanges and upgrades everything. Now we have some fairly significant new info to share.

What a fun ride… eh?

Jim”

Well, what could it be?

• Scarlet will be a pre-configured camera and only Epic will have all those Brain options?
• Scarlet and Epic will have REDCODE 225
• RED Projector with a Brain configuration as well
• RED Ray with a Brain configuration as well
• 28K is obsolete

One thing is certain and that it that the Hype Engine is running wild, oh yes, and I am enjoying the ride as well. Good on ja Jim, good on ja RED, we need to feel the rush of technology steaming ahead especially in this world of Digital Cinema Cameras, and it’s fun.