Austin Film Tools . Film and Video Gear Rentals . Red One Digital Cinema Camera . Specifications

*Delivery formats provided by REDCine™ application software
Sensor		12 Megapixel Mysterium™
Physical Size		24.4mm x 13.7mm (Super35mm)
Active Pixel Array		4520 (h) x 2540 (v)
Full Pixel Array		4900 (h) x 2580 (v)
Dynamic Range		> 66dB
Depth of Field		Equivalent to 35mm Cine Lenses (S16mm with windowed sensor)
Acqusition Formats		4.5K (2.40:1) 4K (16:9, 2:1, anamorphic) 3K (16:9, 2:1, anamorphic) 2K (16:9, 2:1, anamorphic)
Delivery Formats		4.5K RGB 4K RGB 3K RGB (75% window) 2K RGB (50% window) 1080p 1920×1080 progressive, RGB or 4:2:2 * 720p 1280×720 progressive, RGB or 4:2:2 * SD
Project Frame Rates		23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30 fps 4K plus 50, 59.94 and 60 fps 3K (windowed) plus 75 and 120 fps 2K (windowed)
Video Preview		HD-SDI and HDMI 1280×720 progressive, 4:2:2
Digital Media		FireWire 800/400, USB-2 and e-SATA interfaces RED One DRIVE (RAID)™ hard disk drive (320GB) RED OneFLASH™ flash memory drive (64 GB) (CF) Compact Flash Module
RED CODE™		12 bit RAW 4.5K, 4K, 3K and 2K 4.5K 1 – 30 fps 4K 1 – 30 fps 3K 1 – 60 fps 2K 1 – 120 fps
Audio		4 channel uncompressed, 24 bit, 48KHz
Monitoring Options		RED One-LCD™ High Resolution Monitor RED One-EVF™ High Resolution Viewfinder HD-SDI HDMI
Body Weight		Around 10 lbs
Construction		Aluminum alloy

Available Video formats	Using lens formats
Available Video formats	S35mm	35mm	S16mm	B4 ¹
4K.5 RED CODE Frame Rate Max fps	YES Variable 30 fps
4K RED CODE Frame Rate Max fps	YES Variable 30 fps	YES Variable 30 fps
3K RED CODE (75% window) Frame Rate Max fps	YES Variable 72 fps	YES Variable 72 fps
2K RED CODE (50% (window) Frame Rate Max fps	YES Variable 120 fps ²	YES Variable 120 fps ²	YES Variable 120 fps	YES Variable 120 fps
1 - B4 requires optional B4 to P/L mount adaptor 2 - Larger format lenses may be used, limited to the indicated optical format coverage. Project frame rates include 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60 fps All formats recorded as 10-bit compressed RAW

FAQ

How is the footage recorded and stored?

RED One records to on-board Compact Flash cards (4-12min each) and RAID hard drives (2-3 hours each.) On-camera format times are almost instantaneous for CF card and 30-seconds for the 320gb hard drive.

What is 4K?

RED One’s Mysterium sensor recording area is 4096x2304 pixels;

over four times that of the ARRI D21, Panavision Genesis, and Thompson Viper;
over six times that of the Sony Cinealta 1080p camera, and;
over thirteen times that of the Panasonic Varicam 720p camera.

RED One also records in 3K (a 75% window) and 2K (a 50% window) equivalent to Super 16mm.

Digital camera comparison:

* many HD cameras don't actually record the full horizontal resolution of their format

What is RAW?

RAW is the unprocessed data coming directly off the image sensor. If you have shot still photographs with a digital SLR in RAW mode, you may be familiar with RED CODE RAW format. Recording RAW provides for a much wider dynamic range and latitude - approaching that of film - without imposing a "look" in-camera. The 12-bit RED CODE RAW format has sufficient room for post-production coloring and grading, just like film scanned for a digital finish.

How do I monitor on set?

RED One features the best color viewfinder in the industry and a highly-regarded on-board LCD monitor. HD-SDI and HDMI outputs deliver HD REC-709 video for director monitors. These outputs are a rough-and-ready transcode of the RAW sensor and should be regarded much like film camera video taps. For absolute accuracy, on-set DIT workstations can deliver a calibrated and on-light graded image. Off-board down-converters can deliver SD video to SD monitors.

RED One has two compression schemes - RED CODE 28 (~27.5MB/sec) and RED CODE 36 (~35.5MB/sec.) In reality, RED One's wavelet compression codec is variable depending on the image complexity. Here is an example of a narrative feature film data footprint:

How should I archive RED One footage?

Your project's DIT can coordinate with post facilities to assure your data pipeline works smoothly and securely. Presently, there is no standard amongst post-production facilities but LTO-3A is considered a viable archival tape format. If LTO-3A isn't a viable choice for your project, two or more copies of RED One footage on multiple hard drives shipped to multiple destinations is the best course.

Can I play back RED One footage on-set?

Shots and sound can be reviewed on-camera. Footage may also be reviewed off-camera with a sufficiently powerful DIT workstation on set.

Why do I need 4K for commercials or broadcast television?

The RED One is a viable replacement for 35mm film, using professional 35mm optics and delivering 35mm depth of field. A 4K image down-rezed to smaller formats delivers a clean, smooth image that rivals film and is superior to the artificial sharpening algorithms of 2/3" ENG cameras.

You can add a depth of field adapter to pro-sumer and professional ENG cameras, but at a loss of 2-3 stops of exposure. DoF adapters are slow, cumbersome, and require 2-8 times the amount of light to expose the frame.

Use a 4K frame for re-frames and punch-ins. Save time on the set by eliminating setups and performance discontinuities. While D.P.'s prefer to re-light and reframe closer to the axis on close-ups as well as compose backgrounds more out of focus, when schedules are tight or a shot was missed, 4K can save the shoot.

What is RED One's real resolution?

RED One's 4K Mysterium sensor employs a Bayer pattern of pixels to record red, green, blue. It has been independently measured at approximately 3.2K of resolving power.

Can I record HD and Standard Definition?

You can downconvert with the companion REDAlert and REDCine software to any resolution you wish - 2K, 1080p, 720p, SMPTE, PAL, web-video...

How is sound recorded?

RED One has four channels of uncompressed, 24 bit, 48kHz audio synced to the picture. Each channel may be individually deactivated to save on file space. The RED One can jam-sync to industry standard timecode gear.

What size is the camera?

The body, weighing in at 10 pounds without lenses or accessories is 12.02” long, 5.20” wide and 6.34” tall.

What frame rates can I shoot?

What lenses can I use on the RED One camera?

The mounts swap with a torx wrench and back-focus may be adjusted with a micro-fine pitched flange screw - no brass shims needed.

What is the ISO of the RED One?

RED One's daylight-balanced chip has been rated at 320-500ISO. Of course, your own tests will determine how you wish to rate it. The camera has been pushed to 2000ISO with favorable results. Such aggressive under-exposure would best be used with low-contrast scenes.

What is the dynamic range of the RED One?

The RED One has been technically measured at 11-1/3 stops. Independent, real-world measurements have placed it at around 9 stops. Your own tests will reveal how you wish to rate it.

In brief, protect your highlights and fill your shadows to keep them within your tested latitude and above the noise floor (if that is your aesthetic.) Light meters and your eye always serve you well. The camera's histograms, zebras, false-color exposure display, and spot meter are also excellent evaluation tools. Off-camera scopes are also useful.

Be wary of making critical exposure and color decisions solely with the live picture of the RED One. These displays are derived from a rough-and-ready decode of the RAW data coming off the sensor. As such, color reproduction can be off under certain circumstances. Be sure to perform tests in pre-production and reviews on set with a DIT/colorist and a calibrated workstation for absolute assurance. That said, you will find RED One to be very forgiving and, as you get to know its capabilities and constraints, will find yourself shooting with fewer reviews.

How do I edit RED One footage?

RED One RAW data currently works natively in Final Cut Pro and Scratch. AVID, Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, Cineform, and other vendors are poised to add native RED RAW workflows once the development kit is released.

Quicktime proxies allow lower-rez, off-line editorial in Final Cut Pro that may be conformed back to REDCine for full-rez rendering to other file formats or simply rendered straight from the FCP timeline if you don't need the full de-bayering processing that REDCine provides.

RED RAW data may be converted to Quicktime, DPX, TIFF, Cineon, etc. with the companion REDAlert and REDCine software.

What is the optimum workflow for post-production?

As with any new acquisition format, post houses are scrambling to develop tools and techniques for the RED One RAW format. Fortunately, RED Digital Cinema makes it pretty easy to get started and your DIT can coordinate with post production personnel to determine the best possible workflow for your project. The bottom line is, thousands of individuals and facilities are working with RED One footage right now with little stress. And, third party providers are already delivering tools to automate common post-production tasks.

What crew members are needed when using RED One?

Quotes

“It looks like film. However, if you finish and screen at 4K, the result is like shooting in 65mm, like the old epics used to do. It’s pretty exciting, and will have a major impact on indie filming – but we could see no reason why you couldn't use these cameras for any type of movie. I'm seriously considering using RED One for The Lovely Bones.”

“I have had the opportunity to test the RED One camera over the past few weeks, including a direct comparison to the same film I shoot on 24. All I can say is that I am totally amazed. Revolutionary might not be a strong enough word to describe what RED One is doing.”

“We're shooting RED One side by side film. We scanned the film 4k and took both into the Baselight, compared them and then did a filmout of both. When we screened side by side, we literally could not tell the difference. In fact, most people picked the RED One footage as film because of a greater dynamic range in the highlights than in the 5218 [a low grain, high sensitivity Kodak film stock]. It's not enough to say it is the best digital image out there. The fact is, finally, we can intercut digital with film. It looked remarkably better than the filmed images. I thought I would never be able to say that.

“Shooting with RED One is like hearing The Beatles for the first time. RED One sees the way I see. Someday I hope to find out exactly how Jim and his team made something so technologically advanced seem so organic, so beautifully attuned to that most natural of phenomena, light.”