RED hikes Scarlet price by $1,000 to add HDR video
updated 10:45 am EDT, Fri October 1, 2010
RED Scarlet climbs in cost for HDRx support
RED today said it was raising the price of the Scarlet pro video camera by $1,000 to add in a high dynamic range feature, HDRx. The new feature needs a new ASIC chip and extra development but would turn out "incredible" results according to founder Jim Jannard. It would invoke a slight delay but was partly the result of user voting in favor of the upgrade.
HDRx has already been tested on the higher-end EPIC and has an added effect beyond providing more details in highlights and shadows. The technique provides as many as 18 stops of dynamic range but also has a new Magic Motion feature that can use HDR to produce a more natural motion blur effect than with a regular video camera.
The increase should start Scarlet pricing at $3,750 for a body-only version, with a version carrying an 8X zoom fixed lens costing $5,750. With the exception of the high-end, $8,000 S35, most versions should shoot 3K resolution video at up to a continuous 120FPS. They use a 2.8-inch touchscreen LCD and CF cards for storage by default, but a modular design allows it to work as a DSLR-style body, add wireless video sharing and otherwise transform much of the camera's functionality to serve a particular task.
