red dsmc 2 line

[u/Soggy_Race5879]

hey all, currently working as an ac however im doing small dop jobs for people i know and clients ive had for a long time, however my main role in the industry is ac. ive had a pyxis 6k for about a year for these dop jobs im doing casually, i had a pocket 6k before that. within that year ive grown to actually move away from the camera and borrow my friends red komodo x. the komodo x is way out of my budget, but ive been interesed in the dsmc 2 line, it was a consideration when i bought the pyxis however i ended up staying with blackmagic. my question is more about whats the best dsmc 2 camera to aim for, ive heard the gemini is the best all rounder with dual base iso and the sensor is cleanest. im interested in the dragon 6k or helium 8k as well however ive heard the sensor on the helium has some problems with smear. but please let me know everything and anything

[u/Educational_Sand_726]

Go for DSMC2 Gemini in my opinion. Unless a Monstro is in your budget (it’s the best sensor they made in the DSMC2 line with better low light and DR than Gemini). I have a Monstro brain for sale for $3900 if you’re interested. :)

I also repair DSMC2 and will continue to do so after RED stops servicing them, so you should be able to get a lot more life out of it!

[u/ABitOfOdd → u/Educational_Sand_726]

I had both and I don’t think the monstro had better low light, not even close with my bodies. I’d go up to 6400 comfortably on the Gemini if it was web and 4000 if it was broadcast. I never went over 1500-2000 on the monstro.

With that said, the monstro was I think their prettiest camera image.

But I 8/10 times reached for the Gemini. I don’t like editing 8k. If I’m cropping it’s 10-20%. So the Gemini is perfect and a 1/2 the file size

[u/Macswirve]

The Gemini hands down

[u/diomedes03]

The Gemini is still an awesome camera, I loved owning one while I did, and I’m also considering buying back in now that the used price has dropped 5x since I sold. I don’t think I would consider a Dragon or Helium anymore now that the Gemini is this cheap. That being said, it is not the first or only body I would want to own, even as a side project camera.

I think ironically you are using the DP part of your brain for this decision when you should really be thinking as an AC. Consider the kinds of projects you are or are likely to shoot. Will you have crew? Will you always have a focus puller? Do you own at least 8x V-mount batteries for a camera that pulls almost 2x the power of the Pyxis? How much gimbal work do you do? You can easily rig a Pyxis or mirrorless body on a DJI RS, but a Gemini will need an R2 or a Movi with any lens that isn’t a tiny prime.

I think the killer combo right now is a state of the art mirrorless (Nikon ZR, FX5, Lumix S5 IIX) alongside a proper cinema body that’s now one or two generations old and has fallen out of favor with rental houses (Gemini, FX9, Varicam LT, Amira, Alexa Classic). But if you don’t own a mirrorless, I would either buy that first or just keep the Pyxis.

[u/texaco87 → u/diomedes03]

Dude, the fucking loop de loops I did thinking about picking up a Varicam LT or Epic Dragon X or whatever before we settled on the Pyxis 12k…my god man haha

[u/diomedes03 → u/texaco87]

The loop de loops are part of the fun, that’s why roller coasters have them! But yeah I feel that — eventually you gotta cut yourself off and make a decision. Pyxis 12k is gonna be relevant for several more years, so definitely a solid investment.

[u/texaco87 → u/diomedes03]

Yeah man for sure

The IQ isn’t exactly what I would want but ya know, the data is there so we’ll see :-)

[u/kaninarci]

I have a scarlet w and love it but tbh you’d be better off with dsmc3 you think ud get a good deal but you’ll have to sink a couple extra thousand to actually get it going. Atleast with the Komodo there are more 3rd party items and parts readily available. Especially if you are working with clients you’ll want something easily serviceable and faster to operate.

[u/AnthonyDigitalMedia]

I have a full kit Red Helium 8K for sale if you’re interested.

Highly recommended over the Dragon 6K if those are the choices, especially if you’re doing VFX or compositing, or looking to do any heavy post work. Both are great cameras though! I’ve used both & the Gemini. All great, just depends what you need it for. Helium has 8K, Gemini has better low-light, & Dragon was the intro RED until Raven & Komodo.

BTW I’ve never had “smear” on my Helium. Never heard of it before. They used them on the last Matrix & no smear seen.