Should You Buy A RED Camera?

[@TheOriginalGregToo]

Fantastic content, as always. I really appreciate your communication style. You pack a ton of information into a very articulate and succinct presentation. I also love your thoroughness. I find too many content creators get caught up in the latest buzz and just kind of regurgitate the same marketing points, but when I watch your videos I know I'm going to get a detailed and well thought out breakdown of a topic. Well done!

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thank you so much for the kind words and for watching!

[@RoydenWakefield]

My OG arrives tomorrow ❤

[@anthonyrock5039]

Whatever camera inspires you to actually shoot something and you ACTUALLY get up and shoot it AND it works when you set it up to do just that in any case YOU need it to. That is the best camera for you.

[@carlosq00]

Great video Josh. There is a lot to say about using tools that inspire, no doubt. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks Carlos! I agree about finding tools that inspire you and that also get you a better end result.

[@cameranerdsmedia]

Thanks for you insights! I love shooting on my RED Komodo. It has been 2 years now and I’ve never been so happy with a camera purchase in my life. Some of my favorite projects I’ve worked on in my career are always shot on the RED.

[@Josh_Sattin]

You’re welcome. Glad you have been enjoying your Komodo. Thanks for watching!

[@JonathanPalfrey]

I keep being so close to buying a Red however the sensible part of my brain reminds me the issues it would cause for the type of work we do for a small gain in perceived image quality.

[@mattcarlson12]

SAME!

[@florinbalaican7419]

Yes, thank u very much.

[@nightdonutstudio]

My friend has two fx3. He still bought komodo x this year. I asked his reason behind. He said it might give him potetional higher paid job and can lead to that film crew community.

[@jockslifeatliftvideoproduc8528]

Lets be honest... he bought the RED because he wanted the RED

[@nightdonutstudio]

@@jockslifeatliftvideoproduc8528 He is not rich. I know that is a lot of money for him. That's why I was very curious about his purchase.

[@caffeinatedcameras]

Red is overkill for quite literally everything I make, but I love it. It’s my favorite image and my favorite camera to shoot on. Great video Bud.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks Brandon!

[@Barnabas87]

@@Josh_Sattin why is red being so hyped? I have a fx30 and a ninja 5 I can change the white balance and iso I understand red is 16 bit

[@d_FLDE]

@@Barnabas87 .. because fx30 is for wedding photographers. Sony colours are not really cinematic.

[@Dillydakiddd]

@@d_FLDEthat completely false Sony colors are on par with Alexa now with there Venice and cinema line fx30 fx3 fx6 fx9 which all have colors as good as the Venice

[@TylerEdwards]

Great video and great points made here Josh.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks Tyler!

[@MikeCerberGEO]

You're absolutely right! But... I used to have BMPCC4k for years and now I have 2 Sony A7IV, I mean, I have everything for pretty good quality video, but soon I'm gonna buy RED KX, so NYC will have another "REDMAN" (or NIKONMAN :D ) Thanks to You! Cause I love that feeling "It feels different" you've mentioned

[@LOMISFILM]

Dead on with the elitism. The die-hard RED fanboys can be insufferable, as evident in a lot of the forums & FB groups. I find it very difficult to engage with those communities sometimes, but it's certainly not everyone, and there are very welcoming and helpful people in there... just harder to find sometimes. Great video, all extremely accurate points.

[@BrandonTalbot]

I love my RED cameras, but GD the forums can be a spiteful place. Makes it really hard to wanna ask questions when everyone in there thinks they're better than you...

[@LOMISFILM]

@@BrandonTalbot Yeah, it's not everyone though... but certainly most. Not sure why that is, as the Sony forums & groups aren't nearly as bad. And god forbid you ever criticize RED in any way, they will attack you like a virus.

[@projaredjr6322]

I own a KX, I both love and hate it. I work heavily in Doc, the size and weight helps, the R3D makes life easy in post, but I absolutely dislike the boot up time. I understand Doc need to be on the go, but now I plan as much as I can now.

[@anthonyrock5039]

I hear you! Although I do not find the 30 seconds it takes to boot up an issue considering how long it can take to load cards, lens choice, subject matter choice etc. I did( for the sake of curiosity), set the pre-roll record time and wow that makes a massive difference as well. Something that people overlook as well is the massive difference having a barebones cam like the red Komodo(og/x) is the uptime without overheating. It is really fine to just turn on the camera ahead of time and then it will be as ready as any other camera. Unless we are talking super/ultra gorilla type shooting styles where you have your camera on your shoulder already and want to be able to hit record button to capture the elusive cartel as they spring out or nowhere or magical squirrel that pokes their head out and back in a magic hole I have been stalking. In those cases, a mobile phone will capture that better than any proper rig. Also having the presets can help streamline set up so that your never more than a few clicks away from capturing what ever needs to be recorded within that 29 seconds.

[@Vidas666]

It's so close looks like my first cam Kiev which I bought in 1977 in the CCCP, the Red cam will be in my consideration. What is video compression for D850 I think is 8bit ha?

[@matthewTobrien]

Great info and perspective here, Josh. I'm gonna stick with my original Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and my Flip camera 🤣Those will impress my clients, right? RIGHT???

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thanks Matthew! It depends on who your clients are.

[@TylerEdwards]

Here for the comments

[@anthonyrock5039]

😅😂

[@SportFlow]

Very good points. I would like to add that some argue that RED is more like a "software" "engineer" camera whereas ARRI is more a camera made for cinematographers with more organic less technicall picture. Apart from some reliability issues. Some reporting camera rebooting with no reason in the middle of a shoot. Maybe its a thing of the past.

[@javierensenat7392]

You’re one of my favorite channels brother.

[@Josh_Sattin]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@mr.zeitmaschine6878]

Red is like showing up in a Bentley and Arri is like pulling up in a Rolls. You’re a down to earth Bentley owner. Most Bentley (red) owners feel like they have wings. It has incredible image for sure and I’m going to have one soon even though I’m not a pro nor I make anything but home videos but I want one. After doing so much digging on it, I feel like a good lense on an FX3 will give you the same results if you are good on Davinci. I am starting to see that the lense matters as much and even more then the camera. For sure it’s designed and simplicity makes it worth buying one.

[@akcine]

Why have a RED? Well .. build quality is superb, service is superb (RED Support), the image quality is superb and unique (personal preference), workflow is FUN! shooting is FUN! Do I need it? Heck no. Do I want it and have it and enjoy it? YES! Its a tool. I agree, use what you love if you can afford it, get in debt for it? NO! also agree.

[@TheRonellCross]

I was a fan until the Mini-mag fiasco, and learning about them patent-trolling compressed RAW. Still, the cameras have always produced great images, and I only used a Dragon.

[@bakoenanakin9400]

Fuck it! I'm still going to buy my RED Komodo X! Every camera has its downfall.

[@ZToT]

According to cined the Komodo has 12.5 stop DR while a7siii 12.4 and the c70 has 12.8 (snr2). I think that is not acceptable for a price like that. For me r5c > komodo. But the new fullframe Raptor is amazing!

[@mkflavvideo]

i just gotta do it. im buy it once i hit my revenue goal but all my life i wanted a RED and the Red Komodo is so affordable plus it just looks so damn cool. ima be posting pictures with it everyday lol

[@dream-bits]

Hi Josh, I would like to see a video where you describe how to record in 4k on the FX3, without shooting raw or doing any kind of post production activites. Just run the camera, shoot in 4k, have great results and not deal with post production, adding luts etc. Yes we all know that shooting in raw will give the best dynamic range. But to be honest: Not everyone is a professional youtuber and needs to have the best dynamic range. Sometimes you just want to get your FX3 or any other 4k camera and start recording videos, without too much efforts in post prodution. It does not always need to be 100% perfect, sometimes "good" or "very good" is fully enough.

[@Josh_Sattin]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHOxgKqLlrR4bpY

[@dream-bits]

@@Josh_Sattin thank you Josh, exactly what I needed. SLOG3 ruined the fun in my video editing experience. And I think we need more content about S-Cinetone and easy editing, without spending hours in post work. As I wrote above: Most people dont need the SLOG3 dynamic range and quality and 95% of people probably cant even tell the difference on first sight between S-Cinetone and SLOG3.

[@scottievee330]

Very logical. I don't think anyone could push back on what you said here.

[@stories.stream]

I want to buy RED since day 1 almost 20 years ago. This brand inspired me to quite my Lawyer job and pursue career of filmmaking. With every project I told myself this is it now I'll buy it bur every time I needed the money to be invested either in business or for family. RED image inspired me to learn color grading and try to get similar results with C70 and FX3 and yet I still find RED image more Cinematic right off the camera. I was about to buy it this month and tap into my savings but your line "don't buy it if it will put you in debt" just got me thinking more rationally. Thank you so much for that. Back to chasing a dream :)

[@RafalGendarz]

I want to get the used red og, but does it have dramatically better iq than black magic 6k?

[@Josh_Sattin]

I really like the image quality out of the Pocket 6Ks but I personally prefer the image out of the OG Komodo.

[@RafalGendarz]

@@Josh_Sattin Thanks Josh, did you get the OG or X?

[@Josh_Sattin]

I currently have the OG.

[@RafalGendarz]

@@Josh_Sattin thanks, hope the comparison videos are coming

[@RubenStuveling]

That is subjective but the RED has a much faster readout speed and very nice OLPF’s. Then there is the color science, which I personally really like.

[@konstantinosstag6436]

I agree on most of what you said but for the very same reasons i am sceptical about the brand even though i love both the images and the design. A very important factor in decidingbto own a Red which you omitted is that a) Red has inconsistent and often bad reputation regarding reliability and service and b) Red stops servicing their older models . Dsmc1 is unserviceable and very soon Dsmc2 is going out the door. Given how much some of these cameras cost i think that this is problematic and conducive of their overall outlook. Great work though on this as always!

[@bunnyhallow]

Not mentioned: if you just purchased a Komodo or any cine cam that has a single media slot and plan on using it on a paid shoot, rent an external recorder for recording redundancy. I've met a brilliant Indian DIT and Data recovery engineer who showed me a cabinet full of dead storage medias (that includes Cfasts and a Codex) and told me a harrowing story on why you should never trust a camera setup that has a single media slot.

[@SanjitT]

Some black magic 12K camera videos would be legit!!

[@rogue0192]

Just waiting for Blackmagic to make a camera built like the Komodo lol

[@anthonyrock5039]

maybe one day. The pixy camera looks good but still more like the pocket6k than a Komodo. In the end of the day, there are many great solutions depending on what is most important to you regarding output and your use case.

[@ScottBalkum]

A point: the REDMags weren’t off the shelf originally. Over the years the storage industry caught up to the performance requirements of RED and they started using current off the shelf tech and they started lowering the price. Eventually they changed. And its great now. But it was required before.

[@Miniaminism]

😂😂😂 You rewriting the truth. Yeah Tech made improvement, but the "lower price" was still 850$ for 128gb with a sub 30$ off the shelf SSD . And they lowered their price once they were exposed by Jinnimag, last prices were 1500$ for 480gb, 2350$ for 960gb. And I don't count Mini Mag Side module scam etc etc.

[@ScottBalkum]

@@Miniaminism No, I am telling the truth. I know the facts of the entire thing. You claim the SSD was $30 but you’re attempting to use today’s pricing for something even 5 years ago. Also, good luck getting a “today’s price” $30 SSD to sustain the speeds even DSMC1 required. RED lowered the price 2 times. Each time they explained why they did it. The 2nd price drop was after the Jinni guy came out with his video. Exposed is such a Jinni term. No reasonable person in the world believed RED was designing and manufacturing their own storage. But they did have to test 100’s of options from manufacturers. That costs tons of money. There was even a post by RED about choices they could make and why they made them. They chose to make the camera more affordable and recoup the R&D in the storage, accessories, monitors etc. The professionals in the world understood and had no issues with it all. REDs were much cheaper than anything else. Do you honestly think that Arri manufacturers their own media? No, they got CODEX to do it and they charge 2X as much as the most expensive RED card ever was. They charge so much because of the R&D. Do you think Sony manufactures their media? Nope. And their SXS cards were 3X as much as any RED card ever was. Again R&D.

[@POVwithRC]

I think buying a Red before you are ready could well make you a worse Filmmaker. Much to get lost in if you haven't even got the basics you could do with any camera down pat.

[@cornellouis]

The fact that camera companies opt not to license the raw patent from red is kind of the definition of it being too expensive.

[@yosoyeddierios]

Nikon just acquired 100% of RED 😳

[@invisibleadversary]

If it were really about anything other than the RED brand, people would buy Z CAM or Kinefinity instead. It's mostly just the branding though any camera that makes you want to go out and shoot is a good camera so that aspect shouldn't be discounted entirely. It's really not worth how cumbersome it is in a world where Sony, Canon, and others are making cameras that are cheaper, more versatile and practical while also producing images that most consumers and even most creators cant distinguish from an Alexa image.

[@BrandonTalbot]

Cumbersome??? That’s the last thing I would call my Komodo X. And do you really think the Raw Codecs offered by Zam and Kinefinity are as good as RED’s R3D?

[@invisibleadversary]

@@BrandonTalbot My point is that we live in a moment where there are just so many good options that it seems difficult to justify spending so much on a RED. Wouldn’t you say that a camera like the FX6 has more utility and is a more practical/functional camera than the KX overall? A great ND system, superior autofocus, just generally much more utility out of the box. And to most people consuming these images, the difference between well exposed and properly graded FX6 and RED images, is often negligible if discernible at all. Also, given a more experienced shooter, the FX6 may even render a more attractive image.

[@BrandonTalbot]

Let’s be clear the original point you tried to make was people only buy RED because of name recognition which isn’t true. To your second point, I wouldn’t agree that the FX6 has more utility than a KX. I’d say they’re honestly pretty even, perhaps a more accurate description is better value, but it really depends on the type of shooting and the environment that you’re shooting in because there are trade offs for each camera. And then it becomes a subjective thing when we start picking and choosing what particular things we would chose over the other... When it comes to the consumer, of course they can't tell what image came from what camera, but they're not the end all be all in what has value. We are the ones that can tell and we are the ones shooting, so why wouldn't we pick what looks and feels best to us? Lastly any camera in a "more experienced shooter"'s hands will render a better image than a more expensive camera in a less experienced shooters hands...@@invisibleadversary

[@baijunatarajan]

I think Z cam was the first company to make a box-style camera. and everyone copied that

[@waynosfotoscameras]

Unless you are shooting in teams with gaffers, pro lighring, etc, i would never buy a red. Images coming out of most of the canon, sony, nikon, etc. produce amazing images, and most content is consumed on phones or over compressed broadband. As far as I am aware, the Red tops out at 3200 ISO, just not usable for my use application.

[@Thaddeuspryor]

Your rite but it's not a DSLR / Mirrorless camera.......the exposing of the RED Cinema cameras are different. I take you know that. RITE - tool for the RITE job.

[@JoATTech]

No you shouldn't in 99% of cases. Get better light and light shaping tools first :D.

[@unclejezza]

I have bought and sold 2 of them. Usability, cost and ROI are the biggest reasons I have abandoned RED forever.

[@SportFlow]

what's the problem with usability? tks

[@invisibleadversary]

"No"

[@benjhaisch]

RED: the LEICA of filmmaking ;)

[@Josh_Sattin]

Great comment from you Benj! I've thought this before too!

[@cugan83]

16-bit linear RAW is the same as 12-bit Log RAW

[@RubenStuveling]

Yes I think it’s more important what the on sensor A/D converters are doing. In case of RED they are also 16 bit.

[@kingkrukgaming]

You absolutely should… raptor xl x

[@santosovideo]

The phone will start ringing if you show off your RED on social media (along with the possible news that you won the lottery), but for all the wrong reasons...

[@kiddyace]

Red stifles innovative just for their profit, I’m not supporting a company that uses backdoor techniques to blackball the whole industry and filmmakers too, the in camera raw recording patent leaves a bad taste in my mouth and the history of the company is filled with controversy. I’ll support other companies. RED IS OVERHYPED

[@caffeinatedcameras]

Limitations are the engine for innovation. RED has very publicly stated that they license to whomever wants it.

[@RubenStuveling]

You do know every camera company has patents, right? Do you also think Arri / OnSemi should drop their DGO patent which has given them superior DR for years?

[@moviedcrea]

@@caffeinatedcamerasyes licence other brands but for how much? Buying a licence from Red for a product will raise the final price by a lot and make it a bad competitor Red camera are nice but Red IS killing innovation and i cant wait for this stupid patent to expire

[@cinnabun1046]

⁠@@moviedcreathat’s such a silly argument. Every major camera company is a much larger company than Red. And most of them already sell cheaper cameras than Red’s. They can afford to pay for the things they wanna use.

[@moviedcrea]

@@cinnabun1046 Red is in competition with Arri and high end Sony. Red has forced to remove raw features or sued companies like Kinefinty, Zcam (wich are even smaller companies) or nikon

[@avx111]

I don't think Red's patent is gonna hold much longer, 2024 is gonna be the year I think.

[@acedia4453]

In a world where FX3 type cameras produce superior and more easily acquire images, these red cameras no longer make sense.

[@joaquinperalba1624]

Have you ever tried a RED and managed its RAW code? Clearly not.

[@Thaddeuspryor]

rite lol.......@@joaquinperalba1624

[@anthonyrock5039]

if only.

[@abmstudio3678]

Me out here watching this video while trying to save money to buy an aps-c camera.

[@RayValdezPhotography]

nope