RED EPIC

[Filip Stojan]

.
hoping my lighting fits the Red-sensor..

What do you mean ? Hot mirror and IR issues ?

Alexa has also these problems like any CMOS camera without prism...

Daylight .. tungsten ? You can shoot with RED MX without any problem under any lighting...

Do you wanna see 4480x1920, 2700K and 3200ASA sample ???

[MarcVanOsdale]

I hope you understand how naive it makes you sound when you claim that 1920 X 1080 is a "dead" or a "vhs" resolution. I'm surprised that you think you can validate the Red MX by pointing out that Wolski or Vilmos Zsigmond are currently using it, as I could point out that Martin Scorsese and Michael Bay are currently filming 3D with Alexa.

Your Red Image looks very good and sharp becasue it is, well, a STILL IMAGE! I think the stills on Shane Hurlbut's 5D site look pretty spectacular as well. I've had a chance to see some Red 4K Footage which was shot with a very capable eye, projected on one of the finest Sony 4K projectors and I'll say, from my eye, it did not compare to the professional 1080p cameras (Genesis, F35,D-21) not to mention 35mm. Obviously this can be dependent on who is behind the camera, but the way that people have been treating MX and Epic, it does not add up.

Arri has been around for a very long time because it makes exceptional products. Despite these directors who have decided to try using Red, Red still has a marginalized spot in the professional markeet compared to Sony and Arri cameras. Red, however, is absolutely the best option for low budget and independet market simply because it is priced so reasonably...but you do get what you play for.

[Filip Stojan]

I can point Peter Jackson, Steven Sodebergh, J.J. Abrams and many others...

Ok... When I watch Pirates 4, Martin Scorsese's 3D project and Transformers 3 in cinemas I will be back and tell you what camera was better in 2010
Don't forget that You will be watching 4K projection of Pirates
It would be an honest answer...

See You until then... Have a sweet Epic dreams

[Roger]

Whatever camera they use I just wish they would point it at something worth while!!!!

[Cenydd Ros]

Pointing the camera at something worth photographing is important. An interesting story would be nice to.

I am not really understanding how an optical viewfinder can be designed for camera that gives you a digital image. What I mean to say is; the optical viewfinder would not truly show you the image that the digital sensor is going to record. Would it? It might look great in the viewfinder, but then when you play the image back, wouldn't you have something different? I mean, how does that work?

My biggest problems with digital cameras are; how they record color and (even a bigger problem) how they track movement.

And in terms of directors/producers using digital cameras, well, shouldn't the test be George Lucas? Isn't he using the F35?

[MarcVanOsdale]

Even when you look through an optical viewfinder on a 35mm film camera, you aren't seeing exactly what you are going to get, it's the job of the filmmaker to judge the sensitivity and characteristics of the film stock or digital chip that is being used.

The Arri Alexa will soon have the option of an optical viewfinder which means that it will have a spinning mirror shutter just like a film camera. This also solves many of the complaints that people have of the motion blur that commonly occurs with digital cameras. Having an optical viewfinder on a digital camera is quite a bit more expensive, but does give the operator a chance to actually view the action instead of looking at it from a screen connected by a cable. I'd agree, the F35 is a much better camera designed by a far superior company.

[Cenydd Ros]

Anybody know what Ridley Scott is using to shoot his Alien Prequel? Of course, that on is going to be in 3D - just wondering if he is going with Sony.

[Roger]

Arri's D21 already has an optical viewfinder and, as far as I understand, it was only dropped from the Alexa for cost reasons. There is now some doubt whether a version with an optical finder will be produced.
Just because the camera is electronic does not mean that the image you see through the electronic viewfinder is anything like the one being recorded. Thankfully, it is nothing like it. I have now tested the camera in bright sunlight, with a bare light bulb, on a night exterior with passing traffic and in very low candlelight and nothing I have seen looks 'electronic' in the traditional way we mean it.

[MarcVanOsdale]

Does this mean that you will continue shooting Super35 for the time being? Does the EVF negate the image quality and sensitivity you get with Alexa?

[Roger]

That's a hard choice for me to make.

[ken willinger]

Does the idea of having HDR (for moving images) intrigue you? Is it a tool that you would find useful? I'm certainly curious to see what can be done with it in a moving picture environment. In still photography it can be quite stunning. And sometimes over the top and otherworldly but I think it may open up a whole new avenue of creativity.

[MarcVanOsdale]

Whichever camera you end up using, I am sure that we will all be blown away yet again...

[Cenydd Ros]

Roger -
Does it feel to you, from where you are sitting, that the entire motion picture industry is really pushing to move away from the use of film? Is this the general attitude of producers and even directors?
&
For those of us beginning our journey into "filmmaking", is it worth it to invest the time of study in film using cameras, or should we focus on the new digital cameras and software applications?

[Roger]

If I were starting out, quite frankly, I would concentrate on digital capture. The possibilities now on offer and the new work flows that are available seem to me to have tipped the equation. I have yet to shoot a film digitally but I am seriously beginning to doubt that I will shoot film again - other than on my Leica M6 that is. On the one hand I find that a little sad, just as I find it sad that Du Art in New York has processed it's last roll of film, but on the other hand I am really excited by all the creative opportunities that digital capture can offer and which will only expand to 'who knows where' in the future.

[Cenydd Ros]

Thanks for answering that, Roger.
This is the reality I seem to be looking at. On the level that I am working on, using film is just about an impossibility. The cost of a film camera is beyond my reach, and working with film is also far too costly and time consuming. As much as I love the look of it, it is, for me at least, completely impractical. I also do not see a future for film based systems in the industry - so I will concentrate my focus on digital systems. How I ration my time is important, and your opinion means a lot to me.

Hopefully digital cameras will continue to get better. And cheaper.