Red - controls,menus,connections,etc.

Please no touch screens

Please no touch screens

1) A touch screen is gonna be destroyed after 12 months of real field use. I thought this camera is supposed to last for a little bit. I am gonna be pissed if I have a magnesium ally body that lasts for 10 years but a touch screen that dies in 2.

2) There is a reason that professional motion picture cameras and ENG style cameras have buttons available for the most frequently used functions. It's so you can access them quickly while your light, moment, production money are passing through your fingers. Cycling through menus to change white balance, exposure, sound settings would be AWFUL. Having a physical control allows your mind to learn its position and use it without thinking about it or sometimes even looking at it.
 
Metal buttons?

Metal buttons?

What might be cool, since this camera is suppose to last for a period of ten years or so through upgrades.....may instead of rubber or plastic buttons....maybe some nice metal buttons with their functions painted into a recess within the button. ....I would assume that frequent use would not wear away the symbols and the buttons would last much longer.
 
Internal ND Filter and Special Effects Switches

Internal ND Filter and Special Effects Switches

This may be a ridiculous request, but it would be very cool to have some "special" filters built into the camera and accessable through switches similar to the ND filters on the DVX100.

Say one switch had 3 levels of ND Filters and the 2nd switch had maybe 3 separate special effects....like a common Pro-mist filter, a Day for Night filter and maybe a polarizer filter,.....all built into the camera and sealed in.

Maybe these wouldn't be quite as good as premium filters but would be awesome tools in the field when time doesn't permit to change out filters and we could have fast access to them.

I think that would be a great option other cameras just wouldn't offer.

Please make it so number one!! :dankk2:
 
the problem with having a filter wheel in a camera this size is the actual size of the sensor.. the filters dont need to be a cm squared, they need to be an inch squared. So making a wheel inside the camera before the sensor is a very tricky operation.
 
I'm not familiar with the complexities of adding a filter wheel, but man that would be an awesome feature if it was possible...I'm sure there's a lot of us out there that would take advantage of a feature like that as long as it wasn't a compromise in picture quality.
 
It would be great if we could interface our motion control system to red. If they had either a serial/ethernet/usb/wifi connection on the camera that would allow for remote control of all the functions. At a minimum it would be nice to have record, stop, and single frame capture available via some external interface - that would make ramping, timelapse, and stop motion a breeze to integrate with other systems.

When you start getting as small as red, button space becomes a big issue. We ended up eliminating all the buttons on our product and just having an external control box, but then again our product is designed to be at a static location.
 
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Forgive me if i'm presuming, Jim, but I seem to remember that the intent was for the red to be a paradigm shift for digital cinema design, AWAY from the over-complexity of the 'video camera' based workflows of products like the cinealta, back towards the economy of film camera control.

Recording format
Speed (Fps)
Audio, input/levels
Sensitivity ( +/- db, or, more preferably, equivalent asa rating)
Color ( daylight/tungsten)
Record start/stop

You want ND's or Polas'? they go in the matte box, where we're used to putting them.

Metadata input would be handled by a seperate remote, ( bluetooth?)
This would be something that the scripty or AC could do whilst setup is going on.....actually here's a thought, give the camera an I.P address, notes could be added to metadata at any time by laptop via wirless or wired.
The point is that the camera itself should not present a major shift in operation for an experienced film crew, it is after all a Red "Digital cinema" camera.
Further control is obviously possible( via remote, wireless, bluetooth etc.), but not necessary for basic camera function.

just more ideas


J
 
It would be nice if the physical controls (lcd, all buttons, wheels, etc.) could either "dock" onto the camera and look like part of the body, or be pulled off and remoted via a cable. This would enable access to common controls outside of any cage mounting. Users will get used to a collection of physical controls by touch and geographic memory -- being able to pull that baby off and use it from six inches to several meters away would be quite useful.

USB would be a good protocol for connection, as you could then plug the controller into a computer when using remote control software. That would keep the tactile user experience of using the camera identical in hands-on and remote usage.

Would also enable upgrades and third party controllers with things like automation and cool unthought of features. Would be smart to not "bake" any controls or buttons onto the camera body itself.
 
John Allardice said:
The point is that the camera itself should not present a major shift in operation for an experienced "film" crew, it is after all a Red "Digital cinema" camera.
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The name is RED Digital Cinema camera, but in reality it is a true media convergence camera. Those whose experience has been largely or exclusively in film production naturally would like the RED One camera to be precisely what they are used to. The reality of the current and future motion media production marketplace is that the technology and techniques of the formerly separate film production and video production industries now have converged into a necessarily unified whole. Traditional film crews have had to move out of their usual comfort zone and learn electronic television/video technology. Traditional television/video crews have had to learn film-style techniques and the use of certain traditional film equipment. Even the term "digital cinema" is an indication of convergence: "digital" referring to technology derived from the television/video persuasion, and "cinema" referring to technology derived from the film persuasion.

In today's motion media marketplace, producers need to maximize their equipment investments by purchasing equipment that ideally has the capability of being used on everything from a feature film down to the smallest event. Thus, the crews they hire also need to be able to shoot in all the production styles that the camera will support. Looking forward, DP's and shooters that have convergent skill sets, and have convergent equipment to match their broad skills, will be the most in-demand crews. Though I’m a DP and a director, I’m also an executive producer. My traditional production genres have been diverse: television programs, documentaries, commercials, music videos, infomercials, business videos, VOD, and webcasts. My additional future genres include feature films, indie films, and specific IPTV programming. I’ll use the RED camera across that entire spectrum of production genres.

If you closely analyze the tech specs of the RED camera, and the array of peripheral accessories that can attach to it, there is something that stands out clearly: it will be a true convergence camera that, depending on how it is set up and accessorized, can be used in basically every possible type of motion media project. This didn't happen by chance. In the development process RED has listened equally to longtime professionals from both the film industry and the TV/video industry. In wisdom, the new RED camera is being designed to exemplify the best technology of both of those persuasions - and to be usable in every type of project in both persuasions.

From my exclusive interview with Jim Jannard:

Gibby – “Target markets? Obviously this camera, by its design and accessories, and what’s been said about it, it can be used for the digital cinema market and the ENG market. It can be used for everything from a feature film, an indie film, a commercial, a music video, stock footage, high-definition television, you could do news gathering if you needed to – so address the latitude of target markets, what was your thinking?”

Jannard – “You just named it. You did it perfect! I’m not sure I could add much to that, except to say the idea is to create a camera that is inclusive.”

The absolute genius of the RED camera will be that they will maximize all the best and most progressive technology from both the film and TV/video industries to create a camera system that will be the multi-tool for any possible project, can be used in familiarity and confidence by crews from both persuasions, and will have the "long legs" to satisfy the needs of the convergent motion media industry for a long time to come.

RED - the new poster child for media convergence.

Gibby
www.cut4.tv
 
How about keeping it simple, with a nice feeling of solid-state, that's what works for film cameras.

For ease of use and navigating menus just look at the scroll wheel on a Blackberry. Simply brilliant. Put a couple of them at strategic places on the camera and we're good to go. :) Of course, you'd want them made out of titanium or solid platinum (just kidding). :)

Also, maybe a secondary 3-4" screen could be plugged in or used wirelessly, but not for monitoring....just for menu functions. I think this option has been mentioned before.

Ok, I'll go now. Long live the scroll wheel!!!
 
those are very cool suggestions too! ...I'm sure Red has a lot on their plate. ...I'm sure they cannot incorporate many of these suggestions but it's nice seeing that Jim (Red) is checking these posts out. There's a lot of talented and creative people throughout this forum and I'm sure Red will be successful by following their process and maybe even chewing on some of our ideas.

Maybe there should be monthly DVXuser brainstorm sessions on how we should run our government, maybe we'd actually get some things accomplished! :Drogar-Evil(DBG):


johncordell said:
It would be nice if the physical controls (lcd, all buttons, wheels, etc.) could either "dock" onto the camera and look like part of the body, or be pulled off and remoted via a cable. This would enable access to common controls outside of any cage mounting. Users will get used to a collection of physical controls by touch and geographic memory -- being able to pull that baby off and use it from six inches to several meters away would be quite useful.

USB would be a good protocol for connection, as you could then plug the controller into a computer when using remote control software. That would keep the tactile user experience of using the camera identical in hands-on and remote usage.

Would also enable upgrades and third party controllers with things like automation and cool unthought of features. Would be smart to not "bake" any controls or buttons onto the camera body itself.
Click to expand...
 
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This is an interesting topic. We have already incorporated ideas from this and other boards into our program. HOWEVER, we have a tight schedule and don't want anyone to think we will get EVERYTHING in this camera on the 1st rev. Good news is that as we add features to the camera after it is launched, you'll be able to update the body you have.
 
thanks Jim.

I love the idea of a breakout control box... specially if it allowed actual additional lanc-type operations apart from menu setups. Not only does it allow another excuse for those 1st and 2nd AC's to keep their jobs by offloading tasks from the operator (we love you ACs) it also creates even simple ergonomic advantages such as being able to leave the camera on the tripod and sit down comfortably and setup the camera without looking around handles, bending fingers the way they shouldn't bend and needing to walk around the camera to set different settings.

And of course.. for motion control etc. (depending on the box's ability to work with lens controls etc) it allows them another way to remotely syncronize the movements of multiple cameras.

Oh.. and those damn brave Emo crash camera operators.. their life insurance rates would fall a few price levels.

USB would even allow the fairly new W-USB protocol to make controls wireless with a simple wireless USB adapter.
 
Love everything I've seen in the specs so far. Especially the 120fps, thank you, thank you, thank you. When everyone sees what super cool slow mo they can do with that they'll turn flips. I was wondering what happened to the dual fiber channel output?

Also I think I made this suggestion once before, so sorry if I'm redundant. The dockable controls sound great, but is that just the buttons or the full menu controls? I'd like the entire menu setting to be output in meta data, including lens info (if the lense is electronic). Now if you could manipulate that remotely that would be cool. For instance something like DV Rack but actually have the menu settings for the camera available.
 
We have announced that we will have a high speed RAW output port. With a module you can connect to the port and output via Infiniband, dual fiber or whatever future option comes along. The idea is to NOT lock down on any one specific high speed output option.

Jim
 
johncordell said:
It would be nice if the physical controls (lcd, all buttons, wheels, etc.) could either "dock" onto the camera and look like part of the body, or be pulled off and remoted via a cable. This would enable access to common controls outside of any cage mounting. Users will get used to a collection of physical controls by touch and geographic memory -- being able to pull that baby off and use it from six inches to several meters away would be quite useful.

USB would be a good protocol for connection, as you could then plug the controller into a computer when using remote control software. That would keep the tactile user experience of using the camera identical in hands-on and remote usage.

Would also enable upgrades and third party controllers with things like automation and cool unthought of features. Would be smart to not "bake" any controls or buttons onto the camera body itself.
Click to expand...
Now, THAT is a great idea. I can't believe I missed it on the first read-through.
 
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