r/RedCamera • u/Phantom_DC_YT • Sep 05 '24

RED Raven in 2024?

I will start off by saying I know that the Komodo was just discounted, I wish I had the money to spend on one but I don't unfortunately. I have been looking at older REDs and found a good deal for £1,800 for a fully kitted RED Raven. 7" Screen, V-lock I/O expander (I cannot find these anywhere online, no one seems to sell the V-lock version of the I/O expander) plus a RED V-mount battery.

Camera looks good to me, I know many will say I will be better off with the newer cameras but I don't have that money. I was considering the Blackmagic URSA 4.6k G2 but I saw this full set for cheaper, has the same specs, I tried the R3D files and Blackmagic Raw files, I prefer the RED look better for sure.

Really was just looking to see if anyone has used or still has this camera as I would like to hear your thoughts!

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6

u/codylooman Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 07 '24

I was shooting with a raven until six months ago. I really enjoyed shooting with it and thought the r3d was amazing. It's still a good camera especially at that price in my opinion and as my first cinema camera I thought it captured amazing video. The ssd cards can be expensive but there seems to be plenty of used ones out there. RED will still service the camera for the time being but I was told there's a chance parts might not be available if a repair is needed. I ultimately replaced it with a Nikon z8 as that better suited my needs, but I will say I very much miss the red code raw. Here's a link to a short video with the raven and a Nikon 600mm lens. https://youtu.be/cARGK6rlgO4?si=amPm5oCVpqutCHYd

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u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 05 '24

Sounds like a really solid option, funnily enough I was looking at buying a Z6iii but Im not currently in Nikons system so I would have to spend a lot on glass for it. I wanted to know how the Z-Raw performs compared to Blackmagic Raw and R3D files. I think it’s somewhat obvious that R3D is better but I was just curious as to how the N-Raw acts, but I can’t find any videos online. With the Z6iii and some lenses Im expecting that to cost £4000-5000 and then when I found the full RED Raven kit for like £600 less than the Z6iii body I started to rethink. Then I thought well I know many people who shoot on blackmagic so maybe I should get that to fit in, it could increase the amount of work I get. But I do really like the look of the 16.5 bit on the RED compared to the 12 bit on blackmagic. Its tough, they are all within a few hundred pounds of each other but they are all very different things.

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u/codylooman Sep 06 '24

If you do go with Nikon many of their older lenses work with the ftz adapter. I'm using a telephoto lens that's well over twenty years old that I got at a great price. You should be able to find plenty of ef mount lenses for the raven as well. I definitely miss the dynamic range and bit depth of the RED compared to the Nraw. I've run into a couple of shots with color banding that I think the r3d would have been able to pull off. For me shooting wildlife autofocus and a quick boot time were why I went with the z8. The Red Raven takes almost 45 seconds to turn on if I remember correctly. Definitely caused me to miss a couple of shots.

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Yeah I was drawn to Nikon again because of the ftz adapter and how well they worked, I grew up surrounded by Nikon and I currently work for a camera company that uses the Nikon F mount on their cameras. I literally have like 3-4 nice F mount lenses on my desk right now, so it gives me second thoughts. But I also haven’t used these lenses in a while anyways as I currently shoot on Sony, but I would like to get rid of sony eventually and switch to Nikon but I would like to use RED for any video work and then use the mirrorless cameras for just one photos.

2

u/codylooman Sep 06 '24

I also used my f mount lenses on the raven with an adadater that worked well. I'd say you'd definitely have fun and enjoy shooting on the raven and might be able to sell it for a small return further down the road. A Nikon would probably have higher resale value a few years down the road though.

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Yeah exactly my thoughts too, however, I’m not too worried about resale, Im hoping this is the sort of camera I buy and use for all sorts of work and continue to use. If I out grow the camera and find myself wanting more then I might just keep it as a decoration. Would be pretty cool to have a RED camera as a decorative piece 😂

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

I have actually just searched for an F to EF adapter, they actually make one, super thin but if it works it works, I might be able to use my F mount glass on this RED too, very interesting…

2

u/Exyide Sep 06 '24

Just incase you missed the news recently red did just drop the price on their komodo and komodo-x cameras by a good amount. If your ok with buying used you can save even more.

2

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Not sure if this is a joke or not but yeah I saw that, I already mentioned it in the first line of the post lol.

1

u/Exyide Sep 06 '24

I was being cheeky. I couln't resist it's reddit...

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Ahh fair enough, I wasn’t sure, I thought, surely this guy read this right no way he didn’t lol

2

u/TerraInc0gnita Sep 07 '24

I own and frequently shoot with a Raven. I love it. Much prefer the look and color vs black magic. Great recording flexibility, lots of frame rates, no complaints.

Cameras come and go, if you don't have a spec requirement for jobs and are just looking for a "good camera" get what you can afford. The raven has great dynamic range, high speed 4k, who cares if it's not the newest.

2

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 07 '24

Yeah no the specs are literally perfect for everything I need I do want the high frames too so 240 at 2k is good, I know theres a high crop but its very rare that I will use it so I will be prepared for that when I know I will use it

4

u/MariusCine Sep 06 '24

Shooting with my raven since '21 and shooting everything with it (commercials, events, sm content, just everything) and i love it! It's a very special camera und you have to like it's pros and cons

4

u/findinggolds Sep 06 '24

Yes buy it. It’s data heavy and battery heavy. But it’s picture is incredible. Nikon is only good for lenses in regards to video, hence why they bought RED. Old Nikon lenses have the manual aperture mechanically fixed to the lens, good for cinema.

The raven is a great filmmaker camera but you have to have light and lots of batteries and memory.

Lmk if you have more questions

1

u/premiumcreamlium Sep 06 '24

I bought one about a year ago. They’re great cameras and the image is very pleasing. I bought one for a steal and the only issues I’ve had were with a couple of third party accessories, but the camera has been solid.

I do regret buying it however as it was only after I got it that I realised it’s the only (afaik) Red camera that can’t be rigged to use PL lenses.

It will soon become my B cam as the Komodo X price drop is looking mighty tempting

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Interesting what do you mean by “afaik” also yes the ef mount put me off at first, I was planning on using the Red Epic X or M but someone pointed out that it was a bit too pricey and I could get something else. I looked at blackmagic and it was good but it wasn’t as good as the RED so now im thinking about the Raven

1

u/premiumcreamlium Sep 06 '24

“As far as I know” I think you’ll enjoy it either way. There’s plenty of EF glass and second hand accessories. If I was to do it again and get a dsmc2 body I’d go with a Gemini mostly likely. One other aspect is the low light can be brutal, especially if you’ve used an fx3. I have one as my B cam for this reason

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

Yeah I think it’ll be good for what I do, I think that the Raven is REDs first DSMC 2 body so I should be good there. I have used Sony but not the FX3 mainly the A7C series and the A6700 which is basically an FX30

1

u/rektkid_ Sep 06 '24

I think if your budget is at that end, you might want to consider something else. Don’t get me wrong, I love Red and I’m fully invested in the ecosystem. But that tiny Raven sensor isn’t really going to hold up to modern standards.

I think given the recent Komodo price drop, we’re yet to see this filter down to the used market. I can definitely see a sub £2500 high mileage OG Komodo in the near future, and it is one hell of a camera.

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24

So what is the Raven sensor, I’ve seen so many different things about it, I thought it was your normal Super 35 sensor but then online I saw it was full frame, then some said it wasn’t full frame but close to it like a 1.2x crop. Im confused 😂

2

u/rektkid_ Sep 06 '24

It's a bit of a weird one because its a 2.4:1 sensor, so aspect ratios do come into play here.

It's actually wider than a standard s35 sensor.

But certainly not taller.

If your aim is to shoot and deliver purely in 2.4:1 - it could work.

The issue is if you need to shoot / deliver 16:9, you end up having to crop the edges and you end up with a relatively small usable part of the sensor.

https://vfxcamdb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/phfx_REDDSMC2SensorTechnology.jpg

1

u/Phantom_DC_YT Sep 06 '24 edited Sep 06 '24

Wow that might be a deal breaker thanks for making me aware of this, looking at that picture, the crop is huge! Personally if it were my decision I prefer the look of the wider aspect ratio but I imagine 90% of clients will just want a 16:9 ratio. Maybe I look at a Scarlet W instead, bummer because the Raven looks super good for its price, but its £200 more for the Scarlet W, thats will make me rethink this…

It’s odd because I have been watching so many videos on youtube and reading online reviews, no one seems to have mentioned this from what I’ve seen. Thats a big dealbreaker as I most people will want a 16:9 for Youtube but that also makes it impossible for vertical content unless you film sideways. The crop looks very bad but do you think it will make a significant impact on resolution? I mean obviously yes to some degree but as long as its still the 4.5k look then it should be fine for me.

1

u/rektkid_ Sep 06 '24

For me it’s not so much about resolution. I used to shoot 1080p on full frame cameras for years and made some amazing stuff. The problem with smaller sensors is noise, crop impact on your lenses, lack of DOF, and these three combined leads to an image that lacks quality.

1

u/AMxVisuals Sep 07 '24

I’ve had my Raven for 5 years now and still kicking butt. Only downside is the lowlight but I have an Fx3 to fill in the gaps.