I am missing the point of the last 1/3 of this conversation.
If you really want a pro rezz 422 file out of camera ready to cut, with no transcoding, then Arriflex has it.
If you want a raw file, then it's basically just the RED.
Don't think though that you won't do some color grading on the arriflex file or any baked in video because you will, everybody does, except the 11 pm news.
We cut primarily in FCP 7, might move to avid, doubt if we'll ever move to premier, though have hope for FCP X if Apple lights a fire under their _____ and makes it RED raw compatible and fixes a whole bunch of little things.
Anyway, we shoot raw for different reasons. First is the ability to grade and match multiple cameras, secondly is the ability to crop and third is you can pull some stills if needed out of the RED footage.
Actually, let me amend that, first is the look of the RED file. I personally love it, but I know it well . . . Anyway.
In regards to cropping, don't underestimate that need.
All of us view "content" differently than we did even 5 years ago. Watch a 5 year old movie or TV show and notice how slow it is compared to today.
Try to watch a old commercial or longer form web spot and you'll yawn most of the way through it. (yes I know there are exceptions to every rule).
Today viewers consume imagery in partial seconds, not minutes and we get bored very quickly.
Recently we finished a large project with 4-4 minute dialog videos. When we did the edit it was good, the client was happy, we followed the script, but honestly it was getting boring and redundant.
I could tell the response was "ok thanks, that's good" and I wanted a response of "Holy _____ that's great", so I cut a new style piece, gave it to our in house editor and we recut and styled all the videos.
They went from 4 minutes to 1, every image sequence moves, freezes, turns and crops, every title has meaning, everything is faster and the graphics much bolder.
It went from standard 3 point editing video to a multimedia piece and the result was the client went "Holy_____, that's great".
Doing that with standard 2k footage is much more difficult and I don't care how well you plan everything, when it comes to working in post everything is going to change, so though I don't advocate just shooting and cropping, it's nice to have that option . . . sometimes is mandatory to have that option.
As far as processing out RED files, I do think they are like processing out stills, especially in cine-x. It's easy, it's now stable, it's also easy to put out a prorezz file and a smaller h264 for web gallery view and do it all at once, but you'll need the RED rocket card if you going to work any volume of data.
I know it's 5 to 6 grand, but it's the best 5 to 6 grand you'll ever spend and you can run it portable in a box, or in almost any desktop mac and the machine doesn't slow it down, as the card is doing most of the heavy lifting.
If you decide you want to come in on an image you can quickly locate it, add your look and process out it out, drop it in the NLE and do it in minutes. It may not be elegant but it works.
I may be wrong about this, but IMO I don't think RED cares if you want a prorezz file out of camera or not. I think RED looks at the raw file like a negative, ready to go to telecine, first in one light, later in three light and that's the traditional way to work and honestly until you've done terabytes of footage and hundreds of hours of editing from RED files you won't understand it.
I also think we're just at the start of NLE's evolution, or better put revolution. FCP X is loathed by most traditional editors, but FCP X has the basis on what it takes to work in a modern world. It's not there yet, but it could be and if/when it gets there it will be just as revolutionary as the original Final Cut.
IMO
BC
