FS7: Question to RED, or higher end camera owners on their FS7 interest.

starcentral said:
Just show them your reel, your work is fantastic enough that they can not dispute it. Also give them a price to shoot with RED, say "here's my rate if you want RED EPIC, but this is my rate if you go with my kit" - again back it up with your work.

It's normal that everyone on planet asks "do you have RED" or "was that shot with RED" because its become synonymous with independent film or owner/operator/DP. No one knows what is a F5, F55, or FS7 so you're always going to be educating. That's just the way it is unfortunately.

RED stickers are a good idea too. :cool:
Click to expand...

Good strategy but problem is red owner can charge cheaper because he own camera. So if they want red they will go with red owner because most just want cheapest.

This is the problem with hype because hype is fake. Like hype FS7 is as good as F55. Make it hard for F55 owner charge more than FS7 because all are saying FS7 is as good and is not. Like red. Many ask red but don't even know what it is or how workflow is.
 
Its funny, it may be different in your area....but most of the clients in mine don't have any idea from one camera to another. They have no knowledge of specs or models...they just want to see an end result.

That said...if you did bite the bullet and purchase a Dragon...I'm sure you would not regret it. Its a fantastic camera that does have the ability to change your company for the better if you structure your business plan right.
 
I know and regularly speak to a ton of Red owners that find it hard to rent out their camera. I was one of them until I recently sold up. Prices are so competitive that people are just getting great deals from rental houses. There's plenty of reasons to own a Red, but a guaranteed decent income from rentals is not one of them.

EDIT: As an aside I had a client be disappointed on my first FS7 shoot the other day that we were using good cameras because they'd expected we would just be using DSLRs and wanted some stills taken :)
 
Per this conversation...thats where the RED platform would have come in very handy. You could have extracted raw stills. If done properly, by taking advantage of capturing the perfect frame...you could have made it better than a DSLR.
 
Well it wouldn't have been practical because I had to run about 10km alongside shooting with my gear during that day which I couldn't have done with my Red.
 
On thing is for sure though...all things being equal...proper lighting, stabilization, great composition, dynamic production artistry are hands down, every time, so soooo much more important that a camera body.

I have to produce music videos on a regular basis and, by the time we are done creating the look we are going for, it almost doesn't matter which body we shoot on.

These days, I feel so much more confident in sinking money into lighting, hardware, transportation, glass...tools to get the job done. More and more, the camera body is becoming a lower line on the list.
 
Ben Scott said:
Well it wouldn't have been practical because I had to run about 10km alongside shooting with my gear during that day which I couldn't have done with my Red.
Click to expand...

You are so right. Often times, during concert event, I bail on the RED cams and grab a C100 for this very reason. I can capture more footage...more quality footage, because of the ergonomics.
 
Oh man, lights and set design are 80% of the job.

10% the lens, 5% feeding me and caffeinating me at the rights times and then 5% the camera.
 
I couldn't agree more Ben. I would much rather have a top shelf production...food in my teams belly, and a C100 than a shoestring budget project and a RED Dragon.
 
And in fact on that if you were going to invest money in something for rental forget cameras or lenses, buy a bunch of HMIs of varying sizes and offer great deals to indies. You'll be set for years.
 
Last edited:
ReelWorksMedia said:
These days, I feel so much more confident in sinking money into lighting, hardware, transportation, glass...tools to get the job done. More and more, the camera body is becoming a lower line on the list.
Click to expand...

I have said for some time now that the camera body is the new expendable!
 
I said recently on another thread that I have a rule of thumb that if you are having to justify your rate and the camera is the most expensive expense on something that purports to either be, or aspires to be, a professional production, you should think long and hard about walking away.
 
I find it funny that this discussion is happening with the birth of the FS7 and yet, in terms of IQ, I see no real improvement on the FS700+7Q. Yeah it's cumbersome to use and the 7Q is really clunky, but IQ wise, there's no difference IMO.

The FS7 looks like a great camera, but I don't really see it as ground breaking. Still, I might end up getting one. But I will probably just get an Epic :)
 
Prendi said:
I find it funny that this discussion is happening with the birth of the FS7 and yet, in terms of IQ, I see no real improvement on the FS700+7Q. Yeah it's cumbersome to use and the 7Q is really clunky, but IQ wise, there's no difference IMO.

The FS7 looks like a great camera, but I don't really see it as ground breaking. Still, I might end up getting one. But I will probably just get an Epic :)
Click to expand...

I spent the day last Friday shooting an FS7 side by side with an FS7 and Odyssey 7Q and the FS7 absolutely wiped the floor with it just with its internal recording, let alone if I was recording pro res via an SDI recorder.

I couldn't care less about revolutions or my camera being ground-breaking. It's a tool like a hammer and it's far more important what you're hammering. It's a hell of a lot of camera/hammer for the money.
 
I own an Red Epic Dragon and Tried the FS7 for little more than a Week. I think the FS7 is the best value for money camera at the moment. Image Quality wise is really on par with the F55 which cost 5 time more. but all the things I'm able to achieve with the RED I don't think would be possible with the FS7.
 
Last edited:
AndreyBlanco said:
I own an Red Epic Dragon and Tried the FS7 for little more than a Week. I think the FS7 is the best value for money camera at the moment. Image Quality wise is really on par with the F55 which cost 5 time more. but all the things I'm able to achieve with the RED I don't think would be possible with the FS7.
Click to expand...

I 'm not posting to argue at all, just wondering what those things are for you? I heard that the Dragon sensor was very slow, but don't know if that's true. I'm used to Epic.

Ben Scott said:
I spent the day last Friday shooting an FS7 side by side with an FS7 and Odyssey 7Q and the FS7 absolutely wiped the floor with it just with its internal recording, let alone if I was recording pro res via an SDI recorder.
Click to expand...
Ben Scott said:
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]
Click to expand...
[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]I assume you mean FS700 + 7Q? Were you recording 4K>HD on the 7Q? That's a pretty good look. Would be surprised if the FS7 wiped the floor with it. what codec were you recording with since they don't both shoot SLOg3?[/FONT]
 
Lenilenapi said:
I 'm not posting to argue at all, just wondering what those things are for you? I heard that the Dragon sensor was very slow, but don't know if that's true. I'm used to Epic.
Click to expand...

Neither is perfect is just everytime I do a project with the RED I always ending thinking Whoaoo what a great image. probably because of all the control Redraw can offer. I did own an Scarlet but Dragon is a different thing this sensor is just perfect.and trust me when I tell you I was really skeptical about all the dragon thing
 
Last edited:
There's a ton of misinformation about the Dragon out there posing as fact - mostly from people who haven't been in the same room as one let alone operated one. Put all that OLPF rubbish to one side for a moment and it is one of the best images you can get out of a cinema camera bar none. Just depends what your requirements/resources are whether it is the camera for you or you prefer the Arri or Sony route.
 
How is its speed in low light. that's the biggest negative already with the RED IMHO.
BTW I have enjoyed shooting withe EPIC quite a bit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top