Canon and Red lining up for the best seats in Hollywood on Nov 3rd

Its funny since my post on RED vs. Canon I thought maybe RED would get the hint and stop trying to compete with Canon so directly. This is because I like BOTH companies, I like their products, and I wish they wouldn't fight. More than this their cameras aren't the same at all so they shouldn't be treated as competition for each other. In my belief RED should take the 'high road' and act like a pro camera company instead of a consumer or prosumer camera company. But what is happening now is that Red and Canon are both poising themselves for the release of their next products though (in Canon's case) some sort of Hollywood filmmaker (or indy filmmaker?) promotional event on Nov 3rd along with (in RED's case) a simultaneous announcement for their new product(s)... on the same day as Canon's event.

Like I said, I still believe RED is making a mistake by not staying with the pro market and competing with companies like Alexa and Sony- and if they 'happen' to release a pro camera (like Scarlet) that cuts into Canon/Nikon/Pentax's market share then so be it. But, this battling between these companies is just irresponsible and unnecessary because RED is a very different kind of company which has had its own unique challenges. Canon was birthed from a very different time and place in history and as a consequence many of Canon's customers aren't even going to understand RED's philosophy of business... which is a somewhat new way of doing things. This being said, the product can appear to be very similar to an un-savvy buyer. It takes a true understanding of the finished product as a photographer or filmmaker to truly see the difference.

To many who may ask, the answer is "Yes, you can shoot a professional film with a RED camera" and many in Hollywood do just that. And, "Yes, you can shoot a professional product with a Canon DSLR and many have done that"... especially as an experiment or as a film student's first project. But, how these features happened to enter the Canon DSLR cameras was by a happy accident... so I would NOT consider these DSLR's professional film or movie cameras since they were not made for that purpose. If Canon announces a camera that is made for the purpose of shooting films that would be different... and RED is free game to be challenged. RED needs to understand that the game has changed but they can't lose their poker face- they must hold their cards tight and protect not just their customers but also protect what their customers perception of them is... as a pro camera company. In other words Canon has room to try and grow upwards into a pro line of cameras but these DSLR's are not them- they are pro SLR's with some high rez video capability. Red has created a niche market for less expensive pro cameras... but they should steer clear of making their product look like a fancy DSLR with video capability as an afterthought. They need to be RED... their own beast that cannot be compared to Canon. A pro camera that makes no apologies for their super high rez, Hollywood-approved professional camera... the next panavision. Panavision would never get bristled feathers about what Canon does- they are unique cameras that create different products.

To sum it up, if you are a producer who doesn't know the difference, you need to talk to some DP's who've done both and ask them the difference... don't make the decision on your film just because you can save a few thousand on using a few DSLR's instead of using a RED. Also, if you are RED or Canon, if you don't have the confidence in your product to just let it be what it is and to focus on those best qualities, you might get taken off of your game and start thinking this is just a battle of words or advertising dollars, it is not. It is a matter of the camera to suit the product and to suit the budget. I think Canons are perfect for the beginning filmmaker who wants to shoot short subject, shoot with no crew/a small crew or is doing film school work. It's not the best on action films though and the batteries can overheat, but the Red has had overheating issues as well. In contrast, I think Red is great for feature film shooting. It makes it possible for producers who are considering their thin budget and also not keen on compromising on their quality. So they represent for me, different stages in a filmmakers life and different tools for different projects. No more, no less. Who knows what will happen on Nov 3rd, but at the end of the day the one who will have the best seat in Hollywood won't get it because of their loud mouth, they will get it because they made a great product that delivers on what it preaches.