11 million pixels for 0.035 million bucks

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A while ago, I wrote about the Red camera project. Now they have not only released some test films, but also a price list. But first a little note on the test films. Our editing station has two 24-inch monitors. Viewing the 1080p (not i!) resolution film fills out the whole screen. Every single pixel. Plain amazing! (just for comparison, here’s a link to a framegrab from a HDV camcorder) And this camera is capable of up to 2540p - i.e. more than 4 times the resolution of 1080p. (Framegrab, Framegrab 2-you see the structure of the mascara!)

Now I am really looking forward to trying out this baby. Luckily a guy I know has pre-ordered one, so hopefully I’ll be able to do some tests. But I am sure there’ll be lots of buzz around when this camera hits the sets.

¿Quanta costa?

But how much does this miracle of tech-specs cost? Well, let’s have a look at their price list, and put together a nice package to get us up and running:

Camera Body - 17.500
Premium Production Pack - 2.750
Battery/Charger Pack - 1.450 (I could find no info on whether the Red accepts the standard V-mount batteries)
Viewfinder - 2.950 (no specs on that one yet, though it seems that it is only 720p, and thus useless for critical focus situations)
On-camera HDD - 900
Red 18-85 f2.8 Zoom - 9.500

Total: just above 35k (US dollars, or 215 000 Norwegian kroner)

For comparision, a Sony HDCAM with 1080i comes at 45k - and that is body and viewfinder (500 lines!) only.

Further reading

UK Red users - the “officially unofficial website for owners/operators/enthusiasts of the Red One Digital Cinema Camera based in the UK”

DVXuser - a thread on suggested lens alternatives; though I would advise against using stills lenses. There is a reason that cine lenses are expensive; on stills you get away with much more aberration.

Red User - Forum about the Red Camera - though I did not find any in-depth information. Guess that will change as the cameras become available. Post from a pro. Section on lenses.

HD for Indies - good overview over what Red offers, and some insight into it

Wikipedia - good general overview. It’s Wikipedia, after all.