Red scarlet and Epic

Red Scarlet and Epic - Any colour you want as long as it is Red! - November 2008

I think someone described the Red system with the letters "OMG", and rightly so.

When you dive into what it is all about you will see why...it makes the war between Canon and Nikon seem like a puny water pistol fight when up against the mighty Red Scarlet and Epic.

For many film makers, both mainstream and indie, this set up will suffice for just about any recording situation you can think of.

You see, once you have the "brain" of the camera, the brain being a simple, understated box, the possibilities for accessories, add-ons and future upgrades are endless and as Red will tell you, the amount of different combinations for the system stands at well over 1 million at the time of writing!

However, the cheapest "brain" module will set you back around $2,000-$2,500 and the top of the range 617 monster...a cool $55,000 (although that does have a ridiculously huge sensor measuring 186mm x 56mm!!!

You can configure your Red camera to shoot like a DSLR, a Cine camera...anything you want. The one thing that pleases me to the "nth" degree is the fact that this camera is future proof in that it continuously evolves as technology progresses. That means that once a part becomes obsolete, you simply upgrade that part without having to splash out another fortune on a new, complete body.

What this means to mere mortals like you and me is hopefully Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax et al will start to follow suit. They will create a DSLR with "upgradeability" so that once the 22mp sensor of your Canon EOS 5D Mark II is not enough for you anymore, or you damage it, or you need to replace the shutter, you can simply buy spare parts from your local dealer...yes please!

So if you...do you know what, why not just go to the Red website yourself and drool for a while...it's quite ok, honestly! Love it or hate it you have to agree, the specs are incredible and in my opinion, this is the future of digital imaging!

Once you have had a nose around, please come back here and give us your thoughts...

Red Scarlet and Epic at Red.com

What do YOU think of Old Red?

Have you used one? Would you like one? Do you think this will change digital photography?

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