Red Scarlet vs. Nikon D3s ??

G

George D.

Well-known member
I have been heavily considering a Scarlet Camera, made by RED for over a year now. I've been waiting it's release with great anticipation.

But, NOW, I'm beginning to doubt as to whether it truly does have SUBSTANTIAL advantages over shooting with a DSLR like a Nikon D3s. Especially after looking at the last video here, and reading this article:

http://poetzerofilm.com/2010/04/8-reasons-to-buy-a-dslr-for-video/

Shooting with a DSLR is supposed to have problems like moire patterns, swaying vertical lines when fast panning, and missing video scan lines. Yet, I see NO such problems with that last video shot in India.

As a professional freelance wildlife cinematographer, doing everything from telephoto to macro, this could be a blessing and a great boon for my video work for television. Especially when I consider that I've shot stills with Nikon equipment for over 35 years.

Anyone's feedback on this would be greatly appreciated, especially if you've had experience shooting video with a DSLR for television production, which is my primary market.
 
I would say that something like the D3s might make a great addition to your camera bag, but if you shoot lots of long lens action you might start to have serious jello problems with the Nikon. I quite like the look it produces and that might be exactly what you want for travel and b roll material, but you would probably want to give one a tryout for this kind of work and see how it works for you.
 
scarlet will be released very soon, within the next 50 years for sure, might be worth holding out lol ;-) Scarlet must have one of the longest coming soon advertisement in history for sure. Every year its looking like oh end of this year it will be released.... roll on 2011 still with no scarlet. I wouldnt hold out for one, just get whats available now, if thats the D3 then do it, you cant compare it to a camera that has not even been released yet and is subject to change every month.
 
If you want a camera, it's best to get one that exists. My personal opinion. I'm not sure the D3s is the best choice, but if that's best for you then go for it.
 
Do your research! The Nikon have some great capabilities but rolling shutter seems to be the worst of the SLRs - fast running wildlife is going to distort badly. Other than that a dSLR is a great choice becasue you probably don't really need all the other tech stuffed into "real" video camera bodies such as XRL inputs, decent audio etc. You can also just quickly change to a 400mm lens and resume shooting. Power options may be a limiting factor though. There's a lot to consider:

1) Power options (dSLR have small batteries that don't last long - perhaps a battery grip with a car charger?)
2) Limited shooting time - if you're waiting for a kill to happen and it's going really slow?
3) Rolling shutter - the REDs also have this but it's controlled a lot better.

Some of these might be a deal breaker so do your research, go test the camera and check vimeo for rolling shutter comparisons on all these cameras....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top