10 Things to Know Before Using a RED Camera

The RED camera was developed by the RED Digital Cinema Camera Company under the leadership of Jim Jannard. With a sensor in 4K super 35 and the possibility to realize compressed digital files, it offers a major advantage: an affordable price that does not detract from its capacities and quality.

In this article, here are 10 things that any user of this camera should know.

1 - The Weight

This RED camera is quite heavy. Indeed, between the battery, the lens, the hard disk, the cables, the focus, etc., it easily reaches 11 to 18 kilos depending on its level of accessorization. For comfort, it may be worthwhile to provide a suitable support rather than having to protect the shoulder with a towel, for example.

2 - Start-up Time

This type of camera also requires a rather long startup time. About 90 seconds will be devoted to this one. And this time will be taken into consideration because even when shooting, if it is necessary to change the battery, it will still have to wait because it will be imperative to carry out a complete restart of the device. An element that can be both disruptive and frustrating.

3 - Technological Whims

While it is not always easy to manage manpower, it may also be the case that the equipment does its own. And the camera can sometimes have traits of character that must be tamed so as not to be surprised at an inappropriate moment. For example, some do not display information about the battery charge rate, other REDs reset to a mode without anyone touching it ... Knowing these features can help avoid some inconvenience.

4 - Data Management

The ideal way to manage the data recorded with the RED camera is to have a loading station to save the images. A day of filming can actually represent hundreds of Gigas and there is no question of keeping them on the memory of the device alone. It is also often advisable to have several hard disks in order to place several backups of the same sequence.

5 - The Development

Before using the RED camera, it is important to check the focus setting. If it is not properly calibrated, the risk is that it will end up with a device that can not focus properly. To check this calibration on a RED, simply place a focusing lens, such as a 50 mm, to position a focusing graph at approximately 3 meters from the camera, then 2, then 1. The mark The indicator must not be switched off, otherwise a setting must be made.

6 - Loss of Images

Another detail to which it is crucial to pay attention on the LCD or EVF, the indicator of lost images. If it stays on 0, everything is fine. But as soon as it starts to display other data, it is better to immediately stop recording because you are losing images and every second can become a disaster for already recorded images by compromising all the files placed in memory. In this case, it is preferable to pause in order to change the memory medium.

7 - Reading of the dial

The various displays that the RED camera offers on its digital screen are also paramount and it is crucial to know how to read and interpret them. While it is easy to understand the percentage of the charge level of the battery, the amount of space remaining on the memory card is much more complex. As a user of the RED camera, you will need to be able to convert this percentage to duration (depending on the recording format, resolution ...) in order to be able to specify the shooting time still possible to who right.

8 - Metadata Settings

Recording images, especially in areas where brightness is particular, requires a number of settings. The RED camera is equipped with a metadata system that allows, for example, to play on the colorimetric settings and thus to obtain an ideal image. It is generally referred to as "color temperature" which has to be rebalanced when shooting the sequence or after shooting. These metadata can be applied as layers. The latter are even superimposable in order to obtain the final effect expected.

9 - The Speed of Shooting

The variation of the speed of shooting of the video is also among the assets of this camera RED. It can, in fact, propose the slow motion for very interesting filming effects. But this mode of recording has a counterpart, namely a lower resolution and compression, and therefore a lower image quality. It is recommended to switch to 2K resolution with 120 frames per second and a REDCODE to 28.

10 - A Camera Incorporating a Computer

Finally, the RED camera can be considered as a device integrating a real computer into it. Between circuit in large numbers, cooling fans, wiring bands ..., this camera relies on multiple wheels (reason why its start time and its weight are high). Like any computer, the camera can undergo overheating depending on the shooting conditions, it is interesting to predict what to cool (ice cakes for example).