RED is neither crazy, expensive, nor high-end. It's a piece of professional equipment, and pretty competitively priced as such, though on the low end of quality and capability. Most big-name movies of the last few years that were shot digitally were shot on Arri Alexa.
It's a different world out there. Doing film production well is an unbelievably expensive game, and the camera rental is not even that significant.
While true that Alexa gained traction, don't forget the nature of this business. Every time a new shiny toy comes out, suddenly the older one "is crap". Alexa has a nice tonal range, especially the skin. However, Red cameras are very very much in use, both in Hollywood and outside (in fact I have delivered one from post-production just yesterday for a Monday premiere on a festival). Sony's F-65 seems to be the only one that didn't get much traction so far.
What people outside don't understand is that camera is only a part of an equation. That's why you see lots of amateurs buying their own Scarlet, Epic, whatevers and thinking that's what they need to shoot a film. I'd rather have a slightly worse camera and good lens than vice versa. Then there's grip, light, people that know how to use all of that and have experience...
Regarding cameras, there's still a lot of space to improve on and if one could either source good CMOS sensors or make their own - this could easily be a space for a startup to thrive at.
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What ARRI did right, apart from tonal range (which isn't an issue with Red and a good colorist) is that they have tons of experience how to do the hardware right that plays well with grip.
making your own CMOS sensors - sounds like a pretty money intensive plan for a startup! Who would your market be?
Sony owns the market for mobile/dSLR sensors, RED make their own with TowerJazz (and their R&D cost must have been monumental, hence the high prices) and blackmagic uses CMOSIS sensors, which I'm sure is half the reason they can price the cameras the way they do
Same market as Red/ARRI at first. But I haven't thought about it since I think it's a rather daunting task (CMOS).
Each has weaknesses. For example, Red's build quality isn't all that great and their lack of awareness for what cameramen need on set is lacking. ARRI has a price issue, as well as resolution and raw left to be desired. Especially their AMIRA camera, which could be a first target for a startup - a good documentary camera. Blackmagic is usually all talk - their software is abysmal and hardware has a cheap taste to it. Sony lives in their own world (their professional market division is a bit out of touch with reality).
In my opinion, there's a great space to be filled (at first, but there are others) in documentary and/or ENG camera space. Making a good ENG camera paired with a lightweight version of codex at a reasonable price would be a killer combo. Two main (of many) issues are CMOS design and production and either custom lens manufacturing or sourcing those.
I am not even sure where one would begin to implement their own CMOS. Everything silicon production seems like alien, otherworldly, tech to me once you start thinking of production. Design is on another area51 level as well.
How is BM abysmal? I understand that they are confidence men with release dates and what not, but Resolve is the cornerstone of any pro colorist suite in 2015.
Resolve is good, not great, good. Resolve was also not originally a BM product. Resolve is pretty decent though, I use it at home sometimes because it's free. There are better tools though, for example Baselight, Lustre (in combo with Flame - this is what we use at and for work), and Pablo. But you can't beat free in price dept. You can do most, if not all, in all four - difference is mostly in speed of working with them.
Back to original issue. Resolve and Fusion are not originally BM code. Resolve has got some issues since it got acquired (stability for one). BM cinema camera overheats and is barely usable in a production environment, pocket camera is a nice toy but lacks software features (for example - take a one picture only). I used both and will not use them again. I will have a look at URSA once it will be available in general. I was very interested in their scanner as well, but I am starting to think it's vapourware at this point.
Perhaps quality is subjective, but saying RED cameras are low end of quality is complete BS. It is a popular misconception though - a lot of people didn't get the workflow early on, and unfortunately the reputation stuck. People were used to cameras that destructively burnt in gamma curves, altered brightness, etc. and the raw RED footage that required a little massaging to bring out the image which confused people. The advantage is that it gives you massively more flexibility for altering the look in post. These days, great colour grading software like Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve and others is far more accessible and everybody wants raw now, so its not really much of a problem.
Arri make some great cameras too. Really, both have come so far that either can generally achieve most or all of what a talented DOP is going for.
I feel you may not have given much charity to my initial statement, but that's the internet so whatever.
It's economies of scale when it comes to cameras. RED family is most certainly on the higher end of cameras when it comes to all brackets of film production. Maybe Alexa is weapon of choice for most DPs, but some prefer the more buttery and filmic motion you get with an Epic Dragon (not me, I prefer the neutrality of the Alexa).
I'm betting my lunch that Ursa Mini (with a brand new, BM, custom built sensor) will do what the 5D did in 2008 for the indies. Test an Ursa original (old, factory 4k sensor) against a Dragon with the same glass and it's difficult for most to call out which is which. Given this will be a bigger and better sensor ... well south under 5k ... with all the fixed noise patterns rectified, I think it really could allow indies to flex.
It's a different world out there. Doing film production well is an unbelievably expensive game, and the camera rental is not even that significant.