I always thought the Sony was an insult to ergonomics, but now the handle is relocatable I could see working with one.
Slap a TVLogic EVF on the front, & you've got a proper, yet compact, package.
Bern,
Have you worked Scarlet for a month? Just kidding . . . well sort of.
You know at first I loathed the fs100 and the buttons drove me nuts until I realized they all had a purpose. Also some are redundant but act as quick keys.
The second thing that bugged me about the fs series was the highlights would blow, but setting the screen to bright, slightly underexposing fix that.
The third thing I didn't like about the Sony is the avchd wrapper. It's h264 which is a derivative of mpg4 so why not just make it that and save us some time in post?
Anyway,
During our last shoot and prior and later in testing I've tested the Scarlet, RED 1 and FS100 next to each other in exact circumstances and regardless of the numbers, mps, 4:4:4 vs 4:2:0 what ever, I don't see a 10% difference in the files from the REd to the Sony, probably not 5%.
I know at RED user net i'd be stoned to death for that remark, but that's what I see whether I grade in Di-Vinci, Apple Color, and it shows me that I can hold highlights, hold mid-tones, have clean blacks and move the tile around.
Let me repeat though that you have to work the file in post, though I've never met an image that didn't require some post production, still or motion.
I know all RED's feels like a military grade instrument and that I can really appreciate, where the Sony has that plastic video cam feel, but the two things I deeply care about are stability, usability and price.
I've beat the heck out of the Sony and it keeps on tickin", where the RED's always pull something on me I don't expect.
When it comes to video or motion cameras or whatever the term is it's the black hole of money and time. You can take a 5d3 and kit it out, minus lenses and get to 12 grand so fast your head will spin, not including the cost of color grading suites and as unless someone knows a magic potion, we always color grade.
Then you get to sound. If you think your the world's greatest image maker, do a series of dialog videos and clean sound is the 600 lb gorilla in the room. Maybe 100lbs.
Now the only thing I wish with the new Sony is it had a little higher build quality and some less sensitive side controls, but for all it does the standard 2k version of the fs series is one heck of a deal.
The only thing I wish will all the digital video I own is if 1. They would should a prorezz file to go straight to the editorial suite for cutting as a proxy and/or the ability to match the viewer screen and the evf that color calibrated to match the computer output.
I can understand why europe is ga-ga over the arri, because it produces a file ready to begin editing, but the downside is it's in Lamborghini territory, minus the floor mattes. The upside is is if your a brand junkie the Arri is an Arri.
Oh and I also wish continuous lighting didn't cost a gazzion dollars a watt, but at east hmi's have become smaller and more usable. LED's are a good price but the light output is small and they sometimes color cast on flesh tones, but if your moving 14 cases of stuff around europe, and you see those overage charges gone ding, ding, ding, you learn to love LED's.
Bottom line is I still love my R-1, (wish they had image stabilization), but I dg the cameras. Knowing that, there is nothing I've shot in two years that I could not have shot with the Sony and I wait for the 4k version, though will not plop down the money until the 4k module is out and fully tested.
Also Sony needs to up the level of their e mount lenses, like some T(F) stop constant zooms. 17 to 35. 35 to 70, 70 to 200. That'll do it, other than the new mirror adapter which loses 1/3 to 1/2 of a stop (I can live with that) but limits all lenses to 3.5 at their most open aperture.
The Scarlet the jury is still out on. The lcd is a love hate with that glossy screen, the autofocus even with the latest firmware is an easter egg hunt and that constant fan, even at 25% can be heard. I know RED will fix most of this (someday in RED's don't ask time frame), but they'll fix it.
I know there is a module for the back that allows RED's mini xlr inputs (only two and we need 4), but it's a $3,500 tbd piece so I won't hold my breath. To me the Scarlet kind of sets there waiting for the updates and it may be the only camera I will sell, I mean I still have my original 1ds, so I'm not an e-bay type of guy.
IMO
BC
P.S. I've said this before and not to get onto RED's bad or good side (I doubt they know I exist), but I do know they've pushed the market forward like no other maker in either stills or motion. I also wish them more than well if they would just do one thing . . . get rid of those silly damn waiting lists and be clear of where you stand and when stuff will be out.