REDRAVEN
mic and headphone inputs. The card reader unit is securely bolted to the side and the Mini-Mag slots in securely. And a small handle bolts to the top plate, to help youmove the camera around. The handle is a bit short, though. It’s a minor gripe, as the RED is a joy to use because it’s one well-designed camera, rather than feeling like a camera with a load of bolt-on bits. The only niggle is that the screen can be a bit tough to see in bright sunlight and it tilts but does not fully articulate. If you want to see what you’re filming while stood to the side of the camera, you do need an external monitor. And if you want to rig it up for shoulder use, you either need an external EVF or you can buy a relatively cheap connector cable that allows you to move the screen from its position on top of the camera to somewhere more suitable. But of course you need some rigging to hold it in place. RED sells its own connector units tomove the screen around at typically RED- style prices. The reality is that this really is a cinema camera, not best suited for shoulder-mounted run-and-gun use. It can be rigged up and used that way, but the RED comes into its own as a high-quality cinema camera. You can tell that by the controls. Where many cameras have dozens of buttons and switches on the outside, so ENG-type users can simply flick a switch to change ISO ratings and dial in ND, the RED has just two user-assignable buttons as well as the Rec-On buttons. There’s none of the useful buttons like Push AF for a
filter, a set of ND screw-in filters in different strengths or a proper mattebox with slots for real cinema ND filters. So anything from a couple of hundred notes to a couple of grand or more, depending on how pro you want your set-up to be. So far, so not-so-good in terms of the actual cost of owning and running a RED. But let’s not forget, it’s the price that helps make RED such an aspirational bit of kit and keeps it out of the hands of the less well-heeled filmmaker. For many, owning a RED is a badge of honour that you’ve made it as a successful filmmaker, something that RED owners often use tomarket their services to clued-up clients. The lack of an ND filter option is the only real bugbear of using the Raven which is a beautifully-built unit that fits together with incredibly well thought-out components that RED’s rivals would do well to learn from. Many cinema cameras look like a tangled web of cables and bits of hardware bolted on. Cables to an external monitor hanging off the side, wires to hard drive recorders, cables linking an external grip, cables tomicrophones and to battery packs. All the bits bolted onto the camera with a menagerie of swivel joints, coldshoe mounts and Meccano-style rigs. By contrast, the RED is a model of sleek design and simplicity. The screen bolts directly to the top of the camera, with Allen key bolts holding it firmly in place while a hidden connector transfers the electronic data. Same for the expander unit with all the usual HDMI, SDI, power,
“Formany, owning a RED is a badge of honour that you’ve made it as filmmaker”
quick way tomake the lens focus on something, for example. You control everything via the touchscreen. Touchscreen is a joy This is where it’s obvious the interface has been designed by Californians who demand easy- to-use devices that just work, rather thanmenus designed by some faceless software engineer. Everything is very simple, with a row of major controls running along the very top of the screen. These are frame rate, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, resolution, compression and general menu. Just click on each of these very obvious andmost- used settings, and click on what you want. It’s simple, easy to use and you can see all your settings at once.
ABOVE The large touchscreen is the only way to change settings but everything is logical and easy to understand.
If you’re seriously thinking about dropping lots of cash on an expensive camera like a RED, then you’d want to spend more time testing it than a typical try-out at a dealer's can give you. That’s where renting can make a lot of GET YOUR HANDS ON A RED
sense, as it’s like an extended test and you can shoot things you’re comfortable with. Our camera, batteries and lens came courtesy of Hireacamera in London, which is a cost-effective way of getting your hands on some seriously expensive kit. As a try-out before a potential buy, it makes sense. Or you could just rent the camera for specific jobs as needed. Either way, every serious filmmaker should try to have a test with a RED to experience a very different sort of camera. www.hireacamera.com
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SPRING 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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