Posted by Jason on December 22nd, 2009
I’m a little late to the party on this. Regardless, I wanted to say something about how much I enjoy using this thing. So, I really enjoy using this thing. Specifically I love being able to navigate back and forth in Safari and Finder using the two finger swipe. Superb.
I’m less impressed with the mouse’s integration with Final Cut Studio. Or maybe I just haven’t explored it enough. The frictionless scrolling in Final Cut isn’t quite precise enough to be useful for me. I expect more support is on the way, though. Especially in future versions of the Studio.
Anyway, there wasn’t enough room on Twitter to say all of that.
Posted by Jason on May 27th, 2009
I’m not really a fan of swapping z’s for s’s — or crappy web design — but golly if these guys didn’t nail their product demo video. So awesome.
I tried building a track-based dolly system on my own a little over a year ago. It didn’t look nearly this good and, more importantly, only the dolly itself is currently usable. The track, not so much.
They’re asking between $500-$600 for the set and, considering my GlideCam jib cost about $500, I think it’s a bargain for something so versatile.
If I had $500 to spend on gear, I’d seriously consider giving it to these guys.
Posted by Jason on April 27th, 2009
On Friday I picked up a Flip Mino HD for my upcoming trip to London. Meagan is speaking at FOWD and we thought it would be fun to have a little camera just for video.
Yesterday our friend Bill Couch pointed out that, although no official word has been given, Best Buy is currently selling a Flip Ultra HD camera. Still 720p at 30fps, but with a removable battery, longer charge life, and twice the capacity. For a full $30 less. I was pissed.
Today we went down to Best Buy for what was (surprisingly) a relatively painless swap. However, they did charge us an addition $3 to cover the rest of the 15% restocking fee. I also found it odd that there’s still no mention of the camera anywhere in the store, on their website, or on the Flip website. More than that, I found it scummy that the Flip Mino HD was marked down from $229 to $209 — especially since the newer model can do more and costs just $199.
Scummy.
A Few Notes
The screen is larger than the Mino’s and appears to be much sharper. The recording indicator light now doubles as the charge indicator and can be turned off. However, doing so also disables the light as a charge indicator. Which is lame. Unlike the Mino, you can’t plug this camera directly into a USB port on a MacBook Pro without it hanging off your desk. It’s just too thick (I’m told this isn’t an issue with the new unibody MacBook Pro) .
I think I’ll be picking up a USB extension cable since I don’t imagine it’s good for either device to be using the port for support. Otherwise, I expect this is going to be a very fun little camera to play with.
Posted by Jason on December 3rd, 2008
It looks like the fixed-lens scarlet will cost less than $4,000. Amazing. The newest brochure to come from RedUser.net shows this model in two variations; one with a brain and lens, and the so-called “complete package.”
My guess is that the complete package will give you some kind of viewfinder or LCD screen, compact flash recording module, a battery, and maybe the REDhandle. The difference between this version and the brain/lens version is only $750. Prices aren’t listed for those items, but it does seem a little hard to believe that you could get all of that for less than $1,000.
Then again, we are talking about a sub-$10k camera that shoots at 3K. So I guess anything goes at this point. I can’t get over how exciting all of this is though. The two cheapest Scarlet models look like they’re going to turn a lot of heads. The price alone should make even the most die-hard Sony/Canon/Panasonic fans pause a moment while their heads explode. These things are going to be everywhere.
Also, what is this? Will I be able to drive my Scarlet? Please say yes.
Posted by Jason on November 13th, 2008
I haven’t gone to sleep yet. I’m tired, kind of hungry, and I feel like I need to take a shower. But the news coming out about Scarlet (and Epic) from RED is making me giddy. I’m so excited.
I’m sure I’ll collect more information as the day goes on, but right now this is what’s got me so worked up.
- Modular design allows for infinite upgradability
- Price point (for the base) is less than $3,000
- The smallest Scarlets will do 120fps
- Interchangeable lenses for most Scarlet models
- You can make the camera be whatever you want
Besides the whole shooting in 3D thing they teased at the bottom of the brochure, what’s really got my mind in a knot is the announced 28K (!) RED Epic 617. It has a sensor that’s 186 x 56mm. For comparison, my DVX100a has three 1/3in sensors. A single sensor of this size is about the size of my hand.
Label my mind: blown.
I can’t even imagine what somebody would do with an image that large. Or where they’d store more than a few seconds of it. Yikes.
Now what I’m interested in is the lens pricing for the 2/3in mini-RED Primes. I’d also like to know if it’ll be possible to get the 2/3in Scarlet, but with a Nikon or Canon lens mount instead of the mini-RED mount.
