Why RED will redefine still photography

[danir.photography]

This is the kind of statement that may get the panties of some in a twist but that is not my intent.

I do not automatically believe that new tech is superior to old tech. Simply because the single lens reflex is relatively old technology it does not automatically follow that it is inferior to new technology, in much the same fashion as there are old men who can kick the living beejesus out of younger men.

But when it comes to the RED DSMC it's extremely high RAW capture rate spells the doom of the SLR in a significant portion of the market where it now dominates.

Not to overstate the obvious, but photography... painting with light... is an exercise in capturing the moment. And... at (for example) 30 frames per second of exceptionally high resolution imagery... capturing the moment is what RED's technology does extremely well.

With the DSMC system RED puts the last piece of the technological puzzle in place with superbly flexible optics.

Yes... I still feel that the form factor will hinder many uses where it might otherwise dominate but the concept is still evolving. What is clear to me is that Canon and Nikon better kick up their process of natural selection or find themselves in the dustbin of history.

[nphsbuckeye]

Looking at the price of RED, it has a long way to go before it knocks off either Canon or Nikon.

[FlyingPhotog]

It'll have a better possibility of knocking off Canon and Nikon when RED knocks off a few zeros...

[Sorarse]

30 frames per second. Pah - most video cameras shoot there or thereabouts. RED is nothing more than a glorified movie camera.

[danir.photography]

30 frames per second. Pah - most video cameras shoot there or thereabouts. RED is nothing more than a glorified movie camera.
Thus speaks lack of vision.

Yes. Precisely. But not simply speed, and not simply optics, but insanely high resolution.

A wedding photographer running a RED Scarlet FF35 with the appropriate optics on a professional StediCam rig would cost the same as a Hasselblad H3D2 and eat the competition alive. No more climbing up and down ladders, no more posing people before the money shot, simply arrange them and shoot while they jostle around. You'll capture the candid shots, the formal shots... everything. Faster, easier, better. Toss what you don't want.

Yeh, I understand that it is expensive. I know lots of mechanics who have dropped $50K+ on their tools too. So what?

You can always work at McDonalds.

[Sorarse]

Yes. Precisely. But not simply speed, and not simply optics, but insanely high resolution.



Insanely high resolution is all well and good, but it will be limited by the media to which it is output. That's like admitting that whilst your camera is capable of capturing images at a resolution of a million pixels per inch, your printer can only manage 100 ppi (an exaggeration but you get the point).

And I'm not the sort of person who would spend $500 on a wrench when a $2.50 wrench from the local Kwiki-Mart will do exactly the same job.

[mbellot]

You'll capture the candid shots, the formal shots... everything. Faster, easier, better. Toss what you don't want.

At 30FPS even if you only end up shooting half an hour of frames from a six hour wedding + reception you'll have 54,000 shots to sort through after the fact.

Thus speaks lack of vision.

Indeed. This brings on a whole new level of "spray and pray" photography. Yippee!

:rolleyes:

The whole conversation is meaningless anyway, as I don't believe there is currently a single RED system for sale anywhere, at any price. Imaginary cameras are only good at taking imaginary pictures.

[MDJAK]

Red is definitely an amazing product which will come down in price. it is very interesting and has its place. Will it knock Canon and Nikon out of the box? I doubt it. But then two years ago who would have thought the big three automakers would be on the brink of bankruptcy and their stock worth pennies.
me

[powerslave]

I have a vision.

Photographers will always prefer DSLRs to REDSLRs or whatever you wanna call them.

Don't ask why, its a prophecy :lol:

[Vascilli]

RED looks to me like a replacement of pro film camcorders.

[Colorblinded]

Looks to me like you did get sucked in to the hype. I don't see how you came at that conclusion so easily.

I also don't see shooting at 30fps being all that great for trying to capture those moments. A frustrating amount of information to sift through, and IMO not really conducive to the same types of shooting.

Of course, shooting video is not going to give many advantages for those working with long exposures unless they want to composite many many frames. Personally I see new potential features in SLRs that might make that easier, but you'll still be shooting stills. Video framerate at 30fps dictates a certain shutter speed, not necessarily a good thing.

On top of all that, it looks like it's almost a year until something might actually be available. At that point, the prices they suggest are high and we're yet to see how well they'll actually perform and what their still images will look like. They still have a lot to prove, but they certainly have an army of internet fans building up hype for them. I hope they pull something off, even if it doesn't revolutionize the still industry, because more pressure on Canon and Nikon and others just means better things for all of us down the road.

[RandyMN]

My opinion on this is somewhat similar to someone telling me a better hydrogen car has been invented that put all others out of business.

Technology changes too quickly and many factors play in what actually gets liked and disliked by the buying market.

No matter how good something is, if no one buys it's not going to succeed. At one time BETA was better than VHS and now both are gone.

[FlyingPhotog]

My opinion on this is somewhat similar to someone telling me a better hydrogen car has been invented that put all others out of business.

Technology changes too quickly and many factors play in what actually gets liked and disliked by the buying market.

No matter how good something is, if no one buys it's not going to succeed. At one time BETA was better than VHS and now both are gone.

Beta was always better than VHS but VHS was marketed better.

Beta (in its professional guise) is actually alive and well...

[fungry]

I completely concur that this will bring the "spray and pray" concept. So much for composition.

[Gentleman Villain]

Red - A jack of all trades is a master of none

It sounds like a practical system.... Pornographers will love it...

[neil_r]

You'll capture the candid shots, the formal shots... everything. Faster, easier, better. Toss what you don't want.


I don't think you have gone far enough here, I think the venue should just replace their CCTV cams with Red jobbies and you won't need a photographer at all.

I would add more but am working on my job application for McDonalds