Canon announces their answer to Scarlet!

[Daniel Browning]

Canon USA has issued a press release announcing their answer to RED's forthcoming Scarlet. The new cameras are expected to become available towards the end of December for $4,000+.

RED is really going to have to dig deep in order to beat the features on this camera, just look:

• Three 1/3" 1440x1080 CCD sensors with desirable "deep DOF".
• Prism block adds desirable fringing artifacts and "unreal" color.
• 3 MB/s (25 Mbps) data rate is even faster than a floppy disk.
• Cutting-edge MPEG-2 8-bit 4:2:0 codec (better than MPEG-1).
• No OLPF gives images desirable artifacts like moire.
• 30 frames per second, for those important slow-motion shots.
• Frame-mode adds even more desirable aliasing/moire artifacts.
• Desirable "rugged" look as pieces break off due to cheap plastic.
• No firmware upgrades; you don't need any new features.
• Tape recording gives you hours to relax while tapes transfer.
• Protection from ever having direct contact with Canon (dangerous).

I'm sure RED has been scrambling to change their camera specifications in response to this bombshell from Canon. I've heard the rumors floating around that Scarlet will introduce revolutionary new features, but I find them very hard to believe.

The idea of a wavelet-based RAW codec is just preposterous. Everyone is already used to the wonderful macroblocking and mosquito artifacts of MPEG-2, taking that away is a big step backwards. The ability to change white balance, curves, saturation, sharpening, noise reduction, etc. in post-production takes away the photographer's ability to set the image in stone and opens all sorts of dangerous possibilities to improve the image in ways that the manufacturer never thought of, clearly a recipe for disaster.

Then there's the rumor about 36 MB/s (288 Mbps) data rates. No thank you. I can transfer and store 3 MB/s on 20-year old hard drives from the 1980's. I'd have to upgrade to hard drives from the early nineties, who's going to pay for that? And flash cards capable of that rate cost almost *double* the cheaper flash cards. Besides, 36 MB/s is over ten times faster than all the current cameras, such a jump in quality is too big of a shock.

What about a 2/3" sensor? That would make it even harder to get the deep DOF that is so highly admired in 1/3" cameras. Anyway, to put such a monster (with four times more area) in such an inexpensive machine is clearly against the basic laws of nature. Sony uses that size in cameras that cost over $150,000!

And 3K resolution? That would improve quality so much that the audience will start to forget they are watching a moving image. The viewer must be kept grounded in reality by showing them low-resolution images with lots of artifacts. Most cameras don't even record full 1080p, even with tricks like pixel shifting, and RED should follow suit.

Frame rate discussions are ridiculous. Thirty FPS is fast enough for *any* slow motion shot. Any faster than that and the image starts to lose all artistic merit. If 120 FPS were really any use at all, then it would make the big boys look as if they were handicapping their cameras to just 30-60 FPS.

There's talk that RED will get rid of our beloved image artifacts. Our cameras lack anti-alias filters for a reason: moire artifacts are beautiful! The rainbow-like fringing from prism blocks, aliases from pixel shifting, "Frame" mode, and other tricks all add to the romance of the image. Not only does RED want to get rid of all those, but also to give you a Bayer CFA with a color response that matches (get this!) the human eye. Nobody wants that. A prism system that gives much more unrealistic colors is what makes the image attractive.

All this talk about being in direct contact with the manufacturer is very dangerous. The big boys know what's best for us, and they've spent years building up many level of protection and careful insulation so that we'll never come into direct contact with them. To think that a regular human being could ever talk to someone at RED directly, let alone the CEO, would result in disaster.

Firmware upgrades have been brought up in the past. The big boys never add new features by a firmware update because everyone knows that it would transform the camera into an all new product. Giving away a new product for free is almost criminal, so the firmware upgrade is always released in the form of a new camera model, as it should be. If you found a bug that could be fixed in firmware, you're mistaken, it's actually a feature.

So RED is going to make a big announcement in less than 24 hours. Let's see if they can top even *one* of the features of this groundbreaking new camera from Canon.

RED, do you have what it takes to compete with the big boys?

[Graeme Nattress]

Laugh I nearly pissed myself. Daniel, you're too funny.

[Granty]

Joking aside Mr. Browning, I'll know when Canon release an answer to Scarlet, I'll smell it as you shit your pants in excitement while Red shit theirs in fear - the market will be something else in 12 months time.

[Perry Morris Jr.]

How can this camera beat Red's Scarlet when the new specs have not been released yet? Film @ eleven!

[NiTx]

At this point ("30 frames per second, for those important slow-motion shots.") I did piss my pants, Thanks dude I'm at work too! Lol

[David Rasberry]

Lets see if the big boys can even catch up in 12 months. When it comes to price/performance ratio, Red is way ahead.

[Isaac Brody]

Nice very nice.

[DaysofClark]

Fantastic, right up my sarcastic alley

[SilverScreenDreams]

I totally thought you were serious till about halfway through. Lmao.

Compared to Scarlet, that camera is a bad joke. Are there even any noticalbe diferences from the previous model? And the price...

[Kyle Presley]

Originally Posted by ProductBE

Joking aside Mr. Browning, I'll know when Canon release an answer to Scarlet, I'll smell it as you shit your pants in excitement while Red shit theirs in fear - the market will be something else in 12 months time.

It's called the 5D Mark II, and I don't think it even touches Scarlet.