When I started in the industry in 2007, the Panasonic VariCam, was the system of choice.
Fifteen years later, RED has that crown.
Cameras are a contentious subject, there are many polarizing opinions.
So let me add some fuel to the fire.
Why is RED the go-to camera for Natural History Productions?
Here are six reasons why I think RED has earned this crown.
RED's first camera, the Red One, launched in 2007 and was the first digital camera to offer 4K resolution and a modular design philosophy.
Since then RED has continued to innovate at a relentless pace with their latest offering, the Raptor X, being the 33rd iteration of the camera brain.
While they have struggled to deliver on their original "Obsolescence Obsolete", that ethic remains and their desire to bring greater and greater performance at the same price point is admirable.
They also significantly lowered the price for a full-functioning cinema system, making it more realistic for cinematographers to own their own cameras.
RED were ahead of the curve in terms of bringing 4K digital resolution to the game right from the outset with the RED One.
Resolution helps massively in natural history.
If you acquire in 6K or 8K, you can crop in closer to enhance character shots.
The resolution also helps immensely with stabilization in post.
As natural history filmmakers we are not constrained by needing to record audio with video.
This opens up endless possibilities to shoot off speed.
RED cameras have always allowed you to shoot at any frame rate between 1fps and 120fps.
This makes their systems ideal for natural history filmmaking.
RED were the first to offer RAW recording in-camera.
REDCODE RAW is a wavelet-based compression codec.
It enables phenomenal image quality and lossless image fidelity with manageable file sizes.
The ability to pre-record, or continuously cache five to ten seconds of real-time footage, which is kept AFTER you press record.
RED have offered this since the REDONE.
This is a big deal in Natural History filmmaking.
Netflix created a list of approved cameras which had to be used to create 90% of any show they commissioned for the platform
This list initially disallowed many of the top camera systems such as Arri, as they were not yet shooting in 4K.
All of the RED cameras were on the list
Love them or hate them, RED are the current MMA champions of the Natural History Camera Octogon for the above reasons.
If you are getting into natural history filmmaking, investing in a RED would be an optimal decision.
I own three RED cameras and they have given me years of heavy use with almost zero issues (maybe because I am the only one who uses them).
Very grateful to all at RED for doing what they do
lease keep disrupting the industry, it's good for everyone.
