RED Camera

Guide Note

The RED Digital Cinema Camera Company was born in 2005, started by Jim Jannard, the founder of sunglasses and clothing company, Oakley (est. 1975). RED's debut (and only currently available) product is the RED One, a 4k camera that competes with cameras costing ten times its $17,500 price tag. Also announced at the 2008 NAB Convention were RED Epic, a 5k camera, RED Scarlet, a 3k camera, and RED Ray, a playback "deck," all of which promise to be released in "early 2009."

Fast Facts

1. Founder: Jim Jannard
2. Headquarters: Lake Forest, California
3. RED One: 4k sensor, $17,500
4. RED Scarlet: 3k sensor, $3,000
5. RED Epic: 5k sensor, $30,000
6. First RED One shipped: August, 2007
7. "Mysterium": CMOS sensor chips used in RED cameras
8. All RED cameras are based on a CMOS sensor technology
9. Peter Jackson's short Crossing the Line shot with very first RED One camera.
10. Steven Soderbergh is shooting Guerrilla using only the RED One

Independent Filmmakers

The RED One and the upcoming Epic and Scarlet cameras promise to further open the door and lower the barrier-to-entry for independent filmmakers, providing outstanding high resolution imaging at a before unheard of price.

Challenging the Status Quo

RED has received much attention (and some controversy) by challenging long-standing paradigms of entrenched film and video technology mainstays. They have heavily involved end-users in the design and planning of their products and have a fiercely loyal following, with thousands of orders for the RED One camera taken before the first camera was even produced.

Advocates

Even less than one year after its release, the RED One had already found favor with such well-known directors as Peter Jackson, Steven Soderbergh, and Doug Liman.