If RED made a 4/3rds brain, what res could it be?

J Davis

Veteran
I know this is wishful thinking but if RED can get 3K raw from a 2/3 sensor,
what kind of resolution could they get from a 4/3rds sensor?

The pixel size on the scarlet 2/3 sensor specs they shot Izzy with is 3.04 microns. (source)
Is anyone good at calculations like this?
 
The 4/3 sensor is fairly close in size to the Red One's sensor. The GH1's 4/3 sensor has basically the same pixel count as the Red One's.
 
The 4/3 sensor is fairly close in size to the Red One's sensor.

Interesting. So all the hollywood big budget films that we are seeing shot on the RED ONE are dealing with the x2 crop factor issues that us GH1 users also face.
- like fast wide primes

And a Red Pro Prime 50mm on the RED ONE is then 100mm if 4k capture?
 
Interesting. So all the hollywood big budget films that we are seeing shot on the RED ONE are dealing with the x2 crop factor issues that us GH1 users also face.
- like fast wide primes
Crop factors are a red herring. Red uses a 22mm wide sensor, which is the same size as cinema film. The GH1's sensor is 18mm wide, so it's not 100% as big but it's close.

And a Red Pro Prime 50mm on the RED ONE is then 100mm if 4k capture?
No, a 50mm is a 50mm. It looks like a 50mm lens would look on a movie camera.

What a lens would look like on a 35mm still camera is a silly theoretical argument that has no real relationship to filmmaking.

On a GH1, there is a small crop factor, about 1.3x, as compared to movie film. So if you increase the distance from your subject by 30%, you'll get the same field of view as you would have gotten on a full-frame movie camera.
 
The GH1's sensor is 18mm wide, so it's not 100% as big but it's close.

... combined with the 24p feature, panasonic's targeting for the GH1 seems very much aimed at the indi filmmaker crowd and therefore the scarlet crowd.

BTW Barry, thanks for answering my questions, this is all good information.

Going back to my original post tho.
(as per scarlet 2/3 sensor technology) if RED made a 18mm wide (4/3rds) sensor with a pitch of 3.05 on the photosites instead of 5.4 micorns (as per R1) wouldn't that yield somewhere in the region of 7k ? (wow what does the future hold for us) or did my math get way off?
(edit: I'm just hypothesizing here on what is possible, I know it wouldn't be cost effective or practical)

Also you mention the R1 sensor was 22mm but I always thought it was 24mm. Or is it only 22 that is usable because of that aspect ratio when at 4k?
 
Last edited:
Red's sensor is 24.4 wide, but that's the overscanned 4.5k size, I think they use 22mm because that's the size of a cine frame of film.

4/3 is technically 17.3mm wide, but the GH1 uses a slightly wider chip when in movie mode, about 18.5mm IIRC. The Red One has 4520 horizontal pixels, the GH1 has 4352.

An 18.5mm wide sensor with 3.05 micron pixels would deliver about 5.6k of total res. But that's a bit unfair because we're talking about Bayer pattern technology, so you have to shave off about 25% for "real world" resolved res, so that 5.6k would result in around 4.2K of resolved detail.
 
Red's sensor is 24.4 wide, but that's the overscanned 4.5k size, I think they use 22mm because that's the size of a cine frame of film.

4/3 is technically 17.3mm wide, but the GH1 uses a slightly wider chip when in movie mode, about 18.5mm IIRC. The Red One has 4520 horizontal pixels, the GH1 has 4352.

An 18.5mm wide sensor with 3.05 micron pixels would deliver about 5.6k of total res. But that's a bit unfair because we're talking about Bayer pattern technology, so you have to shave off about 25% for "real world" resolved res, so that 5.6k would result in around 4.2K of resolved detail.

Hey Barry, thanks for answering all my questions, both hypothetical (5.6k bayer 4/3rds) and practical (cine crop factors as opposed to 35mm still crop factors).
I owe a lot to people like yourself and these forums in general. I better sign off and get back to work. G'nite to you sir!
 
Back
Top