Red Announces High End HD Camcorder for $17,500

Las Vegas, NAB, April 25, 2006 - Red, a new startup company that has been creating a lot of Internet buzz with their mysterious camcorder over the last 5 months, has unveiled, at NAB, the beginnings of their first product, the Red One camera. The Red One is said to record 11.4 Megapixel (4520x2540 pixel) high definition images at 4:4:4 color sampling. That resolution goes well beyond any HD camcorders available today and enters the realm of digital cinema cameras that are used to replace film.

The camera uses a new sensor dubbed the Mysterium™, which measures 24.4 x 13.7mm and has a dynamic range of greater than 66dB, specifications which are equivalent to 35mm motion picture film. The CMOS sensor size also permits the use of movie-industry standard 35mm PL mount lenses and super-16mm and B4 mount lenses. Use of 35mm lenses gives a depth of field equivalent to film that movie-goers have come to expect on the big screen. The RED-ONE has specifications that can only be seen on models whose price range is upwards of a quarter or half million dollars. That makes the $17,500 price tag quite surprising.

The Red Camera, on display at NAB.

According to Red, the camera can record at frame rates up to 60 fps, in 4K or 2K pixels, at 2540P, 1080P, and 720P, and up to 120 fps in 2K 720P. The camera also is 1080/720 lines at 50/60i field-rate selectable for worldwide use. Video can be recorded to internal flash (RED-FLASH), internal hard drive (RED-DRIVE) or external raid arrays. Red says they can keep the data stream within the capability of current storage media through the use of their REDCODE 10 bit variable-bitrate, wavelet codec for 2K 4:4:4 and 1080P/1080i/720P at 4:2:2. Using the RED-RAID external high speed serial interface, 2540P can be captured in RAW format.
The RED ONE camera housing is cast magnesium and weighs 7 lbs. without lens, battery, and external viewfinder. Red will be offering an F2.8, 300mm PL mount lens at a suggested price of $4750. Red also showed the NAB audience its prototype magnesium shoulder mount, called the RED-GUN, which is intended to give the videographer camcorder-like mobility using a shoulder-mounted articulating arm.

The Red Camera fitted with a plastic body.

Because Red is a new company that has never produced a camera, and the specs of this camcorder for $17,500 seem too good to be true, many will be watching as these products make their way to the market. No other camera manufacturer, including Sony, Panasonic or JVC, who have been making camcorders for decades, produces a model with these specifications at such a low price. Red has not announced delivery dates for its products, and cautions that specifications may change without notice. However, if this camera system is for you, you can reserve a place in line for $1000.

This shoulder mount was also on display.