RED Retools Scarlet camera

One of the cooler products of last year’s NAB has been thrown back into the kiln for a whole new design. So says RED Leader- Jim Jannard over at Scarletuser.net:

http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?t=1047

“We have changed everything about Scarlet because the market has changed and we have discovered a lot of things in the process. We have a new vision.

Wipe you minds of the past announced Scarlet. Forget the design and forget the price. It is all different now. We think you will be surprised. Glad we didn’t take any deposits…
Jim”

If I had to venture a personal guess, I would imagine the idea of launching a compact motion picture camera with a fixed lens in this particular market segment a year from now became the issue. Recently released cameras like the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS-5D offer somewhat compromised, but still quite usable movie modes that encroach on Scarlet’s turf a bit. This becomes especially evident when you see little cameras like the brand-new Panasonic micro four-thirds cameras which are tiny little non-SLR but interchangeable lens, digital still cameras that shoot HD:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/21/panasonic-unveils-video-capturing-lumix-g-prototype/

You look at RED’s DSMC and it’s not hard to see how that and Scarlet should be one. If nothing else this is a fascinating look at how industrial design and manufacture works and why the whole thing is like a giant game of poker. You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Let the games begin, again.

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