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No mystery, no hidden message, RED is simply the color that represents strength, power and passion, in addition to being chosen as a favorite color by a high percentage of the population. When researching the color Red, one learns that Red "grabs attention", gets people to "take action" and suggests "speed combined with confidence and perhaps even a dash of danger", all apropos for the RED ideology.
Because the RED ONE is a digital cinema camera (and not an HD video camera), the list of competitors is a short one. Cinema, or film based, cameras offer resolution rated a little over 3K. The RED ONE, at 4K, provides approximately 3.2+K resolution, based on the slight hit of an optical low pass filter (OLPF) used to reduce the effect of aliasing. It is RED's considered opinion that, going forward, a system must have at least 3K resolution to meet the demand of 4K projection technologies, now being promised by many of the major projector manufacturers. Digital cameras offered by many of RED's "competitors", such as Sony, Arri and others, only provide, at best, 2K, and most, only High Definition, which is just not enough information to be scaled to 4K projection.
It is safe to say that RED's biggest competition comes from film, and as the sensor technology continues to improve, while film's days of progress are numbered, the promise of digital acquisition will be realized. The advantage film has currently is one of dynamic range. With each generation of RED sensor development, the gap becomes narrower and narrower.
The man behind RED is Jim Jannard, founder and previous owner of Oakley, a multi-billion dollar sunglass and sports apparel manufacturer. It was Jim's passion for imaging technology and the search for his ultimate camera that led him to starting a company that could build the camera he couldn't buy. It was Jim's plan to challenge the conventions of planned obsolescence in today's technology, building a camera for tomorrow. RED was created by the perfect storm of Passion, Resources and Technological Advance.
All design and engineering for the RED ONE is located in Southern California, USA. Manufacturing and assembly of RED ONE took place in Singapore until recently. Currently, RED ONE M-X assembly is done in our Irvine facility.
The RED ONE body is cast aluminum. No plastics are used in the manufacture of the RED ONE body.
The RED ONE body is roughly the size of a bread box. To those too young to know what a bread box is, or the reference, 12.02" tip to tip, 6.34" tall and 5.2" wide.
RED can provide CAD drawings on request and on an individual basis, based on authorization from our design department.
This information, as well as a content-rich selection of other useful data, can be found in the RED ONE Owner's Manual. This manual can be downloaded off of our SUPPORT page.
The tripod screw threads of the camera are 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 X2, while the Base Plate, Top Mounts and Side Handles attach with 1/4-20 Hex screws.
In the early years of Digital Cinema, this question actually got asked more than you'd suspect. The RED ONE is a camera that records information, digitally, to a file-based recording media, hard drive or flash-based. There is a provision on the RED ONE for a side-mounted CF card reader/writer (CF Module) or a side-mounted REDMAG 1.8" SSD module, which is the favored and most recommended solution for recording. All files are recorded directly to Compact Flash internally in the camera, with no external drive required. An 8GB card is the equivalent of a 400' film reel, providing approximately 4-5 minutes of recording time, depending on compression and frame rate. With the advent of 16GB cards that time is doubled and more than a half hour continuous recording is possible with a 64GB card. REDMAG capacities range from 64GB to 512GB.
The RED ONE records a RAW signal off of the sensor, so all color, or lack of it, can be adjusted in post production. The RED ONE offers the ability to remove color in-camera as well, through tagged metadata, so that when the files are brought into post, the image appears in black and white. It is important to note that the REDCODE® file is captured as RAW data and untouched by any color or gain settings made in camera.
High Definition video cameras come in many flavors, recording anywhere from 720P resolution to as high as 1080P, using anything from a standard resolution sensor with pixel shifting to a true 1920 x 1080 pixel sensor, and using a variety of different compression and processing algorithms. In the very highest quality HD cams, those costing well into six figures, the RGB signal is not sub-sampled, offering the best HD quality at 4:4:4 (HDCAM SR). Typically, the chroma is sub-sampled at 4:2:2 RGB (DVCPRO HD) and 4:2:0 (HDV). Effectively, where HD tops out, resolution-wise, the RED ONE begins, offering 2K (2048 x 1152), 3K (3072 x 1728), 4K (4096 x 2304) and 4.5K (4480 x 1920)recording options.
RED uses a sensor measured at 4520 x 2540 pixels, more than 5 times the number of pixels of the very best HD camera and, most importantly, records the signal as RAW, similar to a DSLR, with no color sub-sampling. All information travels in a single channel, as opposed to three separate RGB paths. Where a video camera requires the "baking in" of white balance, color and gain before recording, these are adjustments that can be made after the fact with a RED ONE, thus making the process of capture all the easier and more fool-proof. These attributes, plus the large S35 film-sized sensor, which provides the beauty of selective depth of field, both contribute to the enormous success of the RED ONE.
Given the basic definition of video being a SD (640 x 480) or HD (720/1080) RGB recording technology, the RED ONE clearly doesn't fit the category. Described as a digital cinema camera, the RED ONE more resembles a RAW file based still DSLR, offering a frame rate of 1-30 fps at 4K and up to 120 fps at 2K. The RED ONE can, however, output converted RGB video to its EVF, LCD, HD-SDI and HDMI monitor outputs.
The RED ONE does not natively record SD or HD footage. The beauty of the higher resolution R3D file that the RED ONE records is that, regardless of the acquisition resolution, the clips can be scaled down to 1080P, 720P or even SD in the editing process, while maintaining the selective depth of field control offered by the larger sensor.
The weight of a RED ONE body is 10 pounds. The standard 17-50 RED Zoom lens is an additional 3.2 pounds. Fully configured in a basic operating mode with battery pack, media recorder, matte box, rail system, et al, the RED ONE package tips the scales at about 30 pounds.
4K refers to the horizontal measurement of the Mysterium®; sensor, which is 4520 pixels wide, so the sensor is actually a 4.52K sensor. When the user sets the aspect ratio of the project, the vertical and horizontal number of pixels change. For example, a 2:1 aspect ratio would select 4096 x 2048 pixels, a 16:9 format would use 4096 x 2304 pixels. 4K HD, or a file perfectly divisible by 1920 x 1080 would be 3840 x 2160 or exactly (4) 1920 x 1080 panels. Multiplying these horizontal by vertical values describes the megapixel value of the area used to capture the image. So, with a 4K, 16:9 setting, every frame would be over 9MP.
It is generally agreed that the scannable resolution of film lies somewhere just over 3K, so given that the post de-bayer resolution of 4K from the RED ONE camera is 3.2+K, the comparison is quite favorable. It has always been the mission statement of RED to offer a digital alternative to film, a product that could pick up the torch, and with the help of Moore's law, take imaging to a level that film could never reach. Today, the majority of film outs, having gone through DI at 2K, are only one quarter the resolution of a 4K original, with only extremely high content VFX work being scanned at 4K. Viewers, seeing projected RED 4K for the first time, describe it as looking like 65mm film or "grainless 35". And in a more pragmatic vein, it is the elimination of the cost of film and processing that makes the RED ONE so economically attractive, in addition to maintaining the high performance of film.
We are in the midst of a revolution, with a half dozen manufacturers competing for the dominant position of 4K projection leader. Thousands of 4K projectors are finding their way into theaters across the world and as of this writing, manufacturers are demonstrating 4K LCD flat screen technology for the home. RED said from the very beginning that this was the next step, and sure enough, the momentum is building daily. With the advent of REDRAY™, RED's next BIG THING, an affordable player technology will be available for home and theater. Today, the thousands of RED 4K films are seen on 2K digital projection and 2K film outs, but 4K viewing for the masses is just around the corner.