RED One Camera hire

RED One ... the basics

My RED One kit (pictured above), shoots at 2K at up to 120fps, 3K at up to 60fps or 4K at up to 30fps, all with progressive scan (RED doesn't do interlaced).

There are two major benefits gained from these formats; when shooting at 4k the depth of field is the same as 35mm film, giving a look that is appreciated by most directors. When shooting 2k it is possible to shoot high speed, up to 120fps, which leaves the Varicam standing!

4k sensor comparison

Comparing sensor sizes in common formats

Even at its lowest setting, the RED One has a bitrate of around 225 Mbs, much higher than the 140 Mbs of HD-Cam and considerably higher than the BBC minimum requirement for HD material of 100 Mbs.

There are 10 types of peope in the world; those that understand binary and those that don't! I have to confess I don't care too much about bitrates or the number of pixels on a sensor... I didn't care to know how many grains of silver there was on a piece of film! What does matter is if it looks good.

Lenses for 4k

Due to the 4k sized sensor, you have will have to use lenses with 35mm coverage for 4k shooting with RED One. These lenses are bigger and bulkier than lenses for HD-Cam or Digital Betacam. My kit comes with the RED 18-50mm and RED 50-150mm Zooms. These lenses are very sharp and clean, given that they cost a fraction of the price compared to well known 35mm lenses. They are also light-weight and versatile, suitable for most types of work, including hand-held, documentary shooting. However, when shooting 2k with 4k lenses, the image becomes two times zoomed, because only the middle part of the sensor is being used. The only real reason to be shooting at 2k with the RED One is to access the higher frame rates. If your shoot will benefit from high speed filming at wide-angle, then renting in a Super16 lens, like an 8mm, for example, would be a good idea.

18mm lens at 4k

18mm lens at 2k

The RED One has a PL mount which will accept most 35mm and Super16mm lenses, and additional, specialist lenses can be hired in as required.

Shoot 4k... edit 2k

Most edits, even for cinema, are done at 2k resolution. By shooting at 4k you can retain the 35mm depth of field and also have a bit of room to "zoom" in to the image or apply "steadying" effects when necessary. It is very easy to mix 2k and 4k shooting on the same time-line, without encoding.

RED One records the data as a R3D RAW file, basically the video equivalent of RAW files in stills photography. This allows for significant changes to be made in the "look" and grading of the pictures in post production.

Digital Media

Digital media is recorded on to 320GB hard drives (approx 3hrs at 4k), or 8GB CF Cards (approx 4 minutes at 4k). As it is a tapeless format, the data needs to be backed up (ideally twice) on to portable drives for production to take the away. Therefore a laptop and portable drives are required on set.

Viewing Shots & Material on Set

The kit comes with an on-board 5.6" LCD screen which is very clear, even in bright light. The director can view the screen which is either mounted on the camera or hand-held with a 2m cable. It is possible to also connect up to 2 HD-SDI Monitors and 1 HDMI monitor. The material can be played back directly from the camera and if you have a MAC Laptop on set, with the RED Quicktime Codec installed (download codec), you can also play back rushes directly from the RAW files.

Who are RED Digital Cinema?

RED One camera rental

Based in California, USA, The RED Digital Cinema Company was started in 2005 by the Oakley Sunglasses tycoon, Jim Jannard. Like his sun-glasses, RED cameras have also been designed to look very cool!

Currently the 4k RED One is the only camera available from RED. In late 2009 and in 2010 RED will be releasing a number of more advanced cameras (Scarlet & Epic) covering up to 5k, 6k, 9k and even up to 28k (which is aimed at I-MAX scale productions). A 3D version and a fixed lens 3k "handycam" are also planned.