Oliver Daniel

My experience was from a Lacie failure and moving to the Hitachi enterprise drives in the G Techs.
 
Here is a sampling of reviews from Apple online store.
As an external storage device it does the job it is supposed to. It is relatively quiet but if you are doing any recording that n … More(Read full review)
Written by Michael H from New York   Mar 21, 2015 23 of 26 people found this useful
Was this useful?External DriveYes No Defective, right out of the box
1.0out of 5starsPlugged into my iMac 5K and the lousy drive made my Mac reboot continuously. I asked for any other drive besides LaCie and was ass …More(Read full review)
Written by Carleton J from OTTAWA   Mar 14, 2015 18 of 26 people found this useful
Was this useful?Defective, right out of the boxYes No Don't mistake this for an enterprise grade device
2.0out of 5starsBogus power supply within six months (which is a VERY common complaint if you search the Web). The service department responded qu … More(Rea
 
Bob
 

Thanks for the heads up. I did this with my previous model  That said, I get a 17% discount on the iMac. 

Doug Jensen has a series of training videos for the FS7 and a number of well done videos using the camera...
he has gone F3 F800 F55 FS7 and now shoots mainly with the F55 but uses the FS7. His setup videos help
nail color and exposure for pro shooters. Worth the price if you go FS7 ... and you have the option for RAW out of
that camera in the future with the CD Odyssey 7Q+.
Thunderbolt 2 Drive .... would caution against Lacie as they have had terrible failure rates.
The G Tech uses Enterprise class drives in its best RAID configurations ... highly recommended and at not
a huge premium in price.
 
Bob

it sounds like you everything really wired over there...nice!
the only thing I can add from here and watching the colorists and dps work..is that everyone really likes kodak film here..it's like how the human eye sees things.....very passionate and successful professionals ..
 
good luck to you again...

Cool.
We were debating in the office today how a small boutique like ourselves, who have a history of music video production but can also do corporate/commercial work just as good (we have examples), would approach this market? This is where we are at. We've obviously done our research and have a development plan in place, thought it would be interesting to ask your view? Everyone's answer is different.  

Got a call yesterday...this is the first thing he said: "Hi, I want to shoot my video on the RED Epic. Can you do that?" My reply was: "You need to tell me everything else first, like, what's your name?" This client turned out to be a bit of a moron really and I chose not to work with him. 
I have a feeling the URSA Mini 4.6k is going to be incredible. If I end up buying one, if anyone asks for RED, I'll reply with: "We shoot with the new kid on the block - the brand new, just released Blackmagic camera. It's incredibly cinematic. We don't need RED when we have this!" It's likely that 99% will soak that one up very nicely - it's just the way you say it!
 

I thought this could be an interesting topic inspired by another thread about buying gear for business. 
Personally, I believe in ideas and how they are executed - that's how I sell myself really. Most clients never really question the camera, and if they do, they are usually clients who can't see that a production is much more than a pretty camera. 
Let's just assume you know what you're doing, you have talent and have the money to spend on a RED package. You not only sell yourself on your ideas and current portfolio, but also the fact you shoot on RED. Because you are skilled, have talent and resources, the images you provide will quite likely look stellar. 
In your view, do you think this knowledge by the client that you shoot RED would create more business?
Certainly in my local arena of competition, you would have an additional, very distinct USP. But generally I do feel with current technology, that the camera is much less important than the people behind it. But having better image capabilities really does help. 
There's a lot of different people doing different things in different areas. What's your perspective? 

I really think it's worth saving more money for a better device. I've just got a Ronin-M and the build quality, plus operation is immense for the price. 

Yeah what you should do is rent an Epic and shoot something side by side with the URSA Mini. Keep it ready to show clients who are REALLY wanting RED.

Alot of hypotheticals going on. Let's hear some real world examples.

Yes, in a fair world, you'd never have to part with your T3i to get better business, as long as you know how to tell a story and create something visually interesting. But guess what? The world's a messed up place. If you can manage to get about without ever having to drop brands and people knowing or hearing of you, thats the best. But in a crowded and talented market, looking for new higher profile clients, you have to appeal somehow. And be it fair or not, having a RED lying around people won't assume you suck, because if they would, that would only make him or her suck in the most EPIC of ways. But the image that people will have is that someone with a RED probably has worked his or her way up from something smaller. Again, status... and 'status' is not just social standing, it's 'the situation at a particular time'. So if you have a RED you also give off that you have quite a bit of experience/are quite far along. And too be honest, they probably do have the talent and experience. Because I'm pretty sure you're going bankrupt in notime if you make those kind of investments, but can't see any return on that, because you are crap, lose clientele, never getting recommended and having a bad rep...
Anyways. Like I said. It can't hurt to have something saying you shoot on a RED. That doesn't mean that I would actually go and get one. Like Oliver says, for him it's hardly a topic when talking to clients, because he can sell his ideas. That's a great position to be in. And as long as that is the case and business is blooming, why not go with that URSA Mini 4.6K/Sony FS7? You need to smack a RED label somewhere? Ok. Sure. Who says you can't still do that? You can still mention clients can have their productions shot on a RED. Just rent one, if the demand is there, which in Olli's case is hardly so. You don't have to use it exclusively. Although I get owning one would make you super familliar with the RED system and workflow, allowing for smoother turnarounds.

I honestly think the A7RII will be disappointing for video. Got a feeling.
Most of us want Canon products, because they do create the best images. They absolutely do. I can't help but think if Canon just pulled out their finger a little on the specifications - they would blow the competition out the water.
A cinema DSLR (1DC) that doesn't have peaking, what on earth is all that about? No 4k on the C100 Mk II? No 60fps on the C300 Mk II? They just miss key stuff out. 
I think the reason why they get such a bashing on this website is because we do want Canon products, but we want them with the features that others are offering. Even basic ones. I know I do. 

I honestly think the A7RII will be disappointing for video. Got a feeling.
Most of us want Canon products, because they do create the best images. They absolutely do. I can't help but think if Canon just pulled out their finger a little on the specifications - they would blow the competition out the water.
A cinema DSLR (1DC) that doesn't have peaking, what on earth is all that about? No 4k on the C100 Mk II? No 60fps on the C300 Mk II? They just miss key stuff out. 
I think the reason why they get such a bashing on this website is because we do want Canon products, but we want them with the features that others are offering. Even basic ones. I know I do. 

Very interesting topic. I have no experience with cameras in this aspect, but have a personal experience with another piece of equipment.
Quite a while back I made my living as a director and had my own small production business, where I produced mostly commercials and corporate image stof.  I didn't invested in any kind of production gear at all. I rented the gear we needed for each project, as these often needed quite different setups, - 35mm or S16mm or video, different amount/quality  of light and sound, maybe/maybe not dolly/crane and so on. I also hired all the people needed from job to job.
Quite a few of my customers were advertising agencies. At a time I had tried a few times to get projects from one specific - a big one - agency. Had a few meetings with them and got a few smaller projects, but the day I showed up to meeting with a brand new Mac T-Book, all the doors opened up to the bigger projects. I got one of the first T-Books in my country and it was extremely expensive. This really impressed the good people at the agency. The T-Book sent the message that I was very trendy, (an important aspect in the advertising/commercials world), and was a succesfull director/business owner (otherwise I would not have the financial strength to buy this thing). The truth was I took a chance with my last savings. 
To me the moral of this is, that you probably won't get better business by showing up with a new/better camera. These can still be rented and this might easily be cheeper in the long run than buying "the latest camera on the block" too often. In my experience it is more valuable to "know" the way your clients acts and thinks. By that I don't mean you should crawl on your knees. Of course you need to stay the person you are. 
 

I have a friend who runs a small production company with a RED Scarlet. I just emailed him to ask his opinion.

Someone can drive to the office in a Tesla Model S, a very respectable car and an eco-friendly choice.
Or someone can show up tire screaching, engine reviing, rims spinning in some fancy ass exotic car.
Unfortunately people are likely to be more wow-ed by the latter. They might even ask if they can join in for a ride. Also, putting up that kind of display is a kind of status symbol. It says 'hi, I do well for myself, I can afford such equipment, I run a business that is successful, it is because I'm awesome at what I do, so you can trust me to deliver'. It might also be less likely that people will dare to nitpick. If you show up with a GH3 and shoot your thing, they'll find some things that dissappoints them (even if there's not really). Shoot with a RED and they aren't looking for reasons to fault it.
I like this kid's mentality though:
But you know, running a business is something else, and taking it to the next level will include marketing yourself. You can't just take your own perspective anymore. You'll have to see things from a client's stance. It's not what you'd be happy with, it's what they'd be happy with. And unfortunately the world is superficial enough that people will look at what you camera shoot with, because it's in their interest to have the best. Now... better and more expensive might not make up for lack of creativity, but it's what trumps lack of creativity in combination with lesser stuff. So then again we get to the fact that gear reflects status. Would someone who doesn't know what he or she is doing really shoot a RED? Or would they still be shooting with a GH3? Sure people will look at your showreel, but I also think they'll compare you to others... just on plain paper. And maybe someone got tasked with selecting a few production companies and then present the options to the person is charge. Maybe the shots caller only gets to see the comparison on paper and decides to go with however shoots the fanciest camera... unless you do not need to market yourself, because you already have the status, reputation and word of mouth going for you, I think having a very expensive camera business-wise can't be a bad thing. Creatively and practically... that's a whole other thing.

The kind of client that would ask specifically for RED would also probably scoff at a Scarlet, even though the Scarlet dragon looks the business. You also have to consider the OLPF situation, the skintone OLPF is pretty shocking in low light (even 1600).. As you always light your work, that might not be a concern.

Someone needs to make a RED shell that houses other cameras. Most clients wouldnt know the difference but would be STOKED.

Have you thought about a Scarlet Dragon?

You can rotate it and flip it down so it's right in front of your eyes in a shoulder configuration. You can also tilt it back if you're doing low shots. Not sure how easy it is to change the whole configuration, though.

Seriously the 'sharpness' of the NX1 is NOT an advantage.
4K should be soft.
There I said it...
Otherwise it just looks digital and WAY too harsh for any kind of human being in front of the lens.

Check also this one out:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/External-Drive/OWC/ThunderBay-4-RAID5
Europe reseller:
http://macupgrade.eu/catalog/external-hd-thunderbay-raid-edition-c-3_288.html
Reviews:
https://larryjordan.com/articles/product-review-owc-thunderbay-4-raid/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6616/owc-thunderbay-iv-raid-5-edition-external-storage-drive-review/index.html

I have a couple of Scorpion lights in the mail. Can't wait to try them out.

​The 120fps is 720p... but then the Canon C100 doesn't do that either. Product segmentation. 
Have you seen this? ...Great short!! (nice footage too). 
https://www.youtube.com/embed/mhw_LGfvigc

Totally agree. 
I see some of these "characteristics" an issue in a lot of these new consumer 4k cameras. Images so brittle and oversharpened that they look hyper-real and thin. A lot of electronic lenses are the same. You see a huge difference when shooting raw where images have color depth, tonality, organic motion cadence, and high dynamic range. 
Nearly every single camera out right now has a "video look". The best way around it is to shoot raw and use cinema lenses. Then become bankrupt.