Update on Epic/Scarlet

On Friday evening Jim Jannard posted an update on the forthcoming new Red cameras, the Epic and the Scarlet. It was more an informational update than announcing anything that wasn’t already largely known (or speculated about), but there are some interesting features that are worth rounding up here.

Red are referring to the new system as DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Cameras) which is a genuinely modular system. This means that you can use different modules (sensor block, mount, I/O, Battery etc.)  to build up a camera that meets individual requirements, and the camera will be suitable for both Stills and Motion photography. The main module for any camera will be the “Brain” and as mentioned you get a choice of two flavours, the Scarlet and the Epic. In brief, the Scarlet is the cheaper less featured of the two, whilst the Epic is capable of more and costs more.

There are a sometimes confusing array of format options even in these two “Brains” – 2/3″, s35mm, Full Frame 35mm, 645 or the monster-sized 617 (186mm x 50mm sensor). The two we’re most interested in though are the 2/3″ entry-level Scarlet and the s35mm Cine-Style Epic-X. The Epic-X will be the replacement for our current Red One camera and features Red’s new 5K resolution Mysterium-X sensor (which promises significant improvements to latitude and noise levels) and will be able to shoot up to 100fps at full frame. Alongside this we intend to buy a basic fixed-lens Scarlet, featuring a 2/3″ sensor (the same size as you will find in many HD cameras), 3K resolution and up to 120fps frame-rate.

Our intention in looking to buy and rent out both cameras is to be able to offer an upgraded version of the cine-style package that we currently have available, whilst also catering to those who are interested in a cheaper yet still amazing quality camera for smaller, lower-cost projects. In fact the number of jobs we shoot as a production company where our current Red One is a bit overblown (talking heads anyone?) will benefit from having a smaller, easier to use but still great quality system.

Jim has announced a schedule that includes several stages of rollout, depending on how much customers are willing to spend and whether they are happy to be beta-testers or want to wait for a fully production-ready camera. At the moment they are planning to roll out the first cameras late this year. On the basis of the published schedule (and taking into account Red’s “Everything Changes” policy), we expect to be able to offer our new Epic and Scarlet cameras for rental in the summer of 2010.