So it's been a hot minute since there was a really big camera change here at MKBHD Studios, whatever you want to call it. Like, this may be the longest I've ever used a single camera, but that's mostly because these cameras are incredible and there's almost no way I could need more camera for YouTube. But also, when you start getting around this type of cinema camera, a lot of them are very specialized. So when you get past the mirrorless cameras and DSLRs into the realm of dedicated video cameras and cinema cameras, a lot of these cameras are designed to be used by a crew of several people at once. Sometimes it's a big crew. Sometimes it's a small crew, maybe two or three, but that's different from a one-person camera. And as a YouTuber, as a creator, whatever you want to call it, I need one-person operation to be possible. So I really started getting into these RED cameras a couple years ago, mainly for the world-class image quality, but also because I could set them up to shoot by myself. You just start with the brain and then I'd collected the perfect set of accessories around it to shoot the way I like to. And then the rest of the workflow from there was pretty simple. And that style of modular camera was called DSMC2. It's been amazing. This, this new one is called DSMC3 and it's pretty intense. So RED actually has this sort of tick-tock cycle where they upgrade the sensors inside the cameras that they design, and then also the camera body itself, but not at the same time. So this camera body has the same massive 8K VistaVision sensor as DSMC2, but it's a new body style and it's a new computer inside. And that's what makes it DSMC3. I think DSMC stands for Digital Stills and Motion Camera, I believe. But either way you could sort of look at this as a next generation versus this one, but either way, it's the same huge sensor. Everything else is different.
Now, there are some advantages to a new camera body, but with the same sensor. For one, you get a very familiar image quality, but now there's a new computer inside. So you can get slightly better noise reduction out of the same sensor. And then of course, faster processing from a better computer allows for higher frame rates. So 8K at 120 frames per second, full frame, like I mentioned, which is ridiculous, but the new body is pretty nice to look at too. So it's like a sort of bigger version of the KOMODO. It's this boxy, cubish shape. And almost everything here is built-in instead of being attachable with optional modules. So there's a Canon RF Mount at the front that supports face detect auto-focus, and even added this ring lock, which is pretty nice. Plus the red record button in the corner and some pinhole mics. And then around the sides, there's a lot of ventilation. So up top there's a huge exhaust fan. And on both sides, we've got a lot of air flow. This is not a water resistant camera at all, but pretty similar to some other cinema cameras. This one's just smaller. Now on the left side, there is a single CFexpress Type B slot with this nice, high-quality, metal, spring-loaded door. Might be the nicest card door I've ever seen. And then on the right side, there is a 2 1/2-inch matte display. It's not a touchscreen, but it's surrounded by buttons for camera control. Then around the back, that's where all the business happens. There's your wifi antenna for connecting straight to your phone, or you've got a USB Type C port if you want to go straight into an iPad or something like that, two SDI ports, a headphone jack, power, timecode, and even one of the weirdest audio ports I've ever seen, five-pin audio. Plus, can't forget about this new micro V-Lock battery mount on the left. And then around the corner is the record button and a speaker for scratch audio playback and the power switch. And you also may have noticed an actual ton of mounting points. They're all over this thing, the top, the front, the back, the sides, even these handles, which are all metal. Also have a bunch of 1/4-20s, a bunch of mounting points on them. So it's very function over form. It's just a lot of things you can mount onto the side of this, including lights, mics, all kinds of stuff like that. But the number one thing you notice is how dense it is. This is a very dense camera. Even without a lens or a battery or monitor or anything, it's four pounds, which doesn't sound like much, but in your hand, that's a lot. And then you add all this stuff and it it's definitely heavier. So this is a dense, little brick of a camera. So a couple of thoughts on it. One, I really like the white and black accent type of design. This is the Stormtrooper one. So it's one of the earliest that they made. This is a limited edition. But also, as someone who shoots mostly dark and reflective surfaces, like gadgets and screens, a white camera, not the best idea. It tends to show up in reflections a lot, but that's on me, that's on me. But then too, I think how much I love this camera will end up coming down to what type of accessories I can get for it, what type of stuff comes out for it. Because DSMC2, like I said, you just got the brain and then you got to choose every, single, perfect accessory. I love this set up here with the side handle, with the record button, the top handle. I use it all the time. This monitor is very bright, swivels all the way around. I built this up to be perfect, exactly how I want it. Mostly with RED accessories, I got a GDU battery, but everything else is like made by RED and that ecosystem doesn't exist for this camera yet. So it's just a couple of the things that come with the package for it. And I'm actually impressed by how many different like, partnerships they've made for it. They actually partnered with Core for these batteries, and they partnered with Angelbird for the card and the card reader. And they partnered with Smallhd for an official monitor that's coming out later this year. I'm hoping that means other third-party stuff will start to get added and built by other manufacturers too, just because, I don't know, these handles, there's no easy way to hold this camera as a box. I'm like, this back record button is not easy to hit all the time. So it's not really meant for one-person shooting the way this was. Really hoping for a better set of handles, and definitely looking forward to seeing what other accessories can make this really good. But then the other, I guess, obvious downside to something like this, where everything is built-in, versus the previous version which is the modular setup, is you only get what RED gives you, which is built-in, or you'll have to adapt. So like, there's no edundant media recording, like many have noted in other RED cameras. It's just the one card at a time. There is no HDMI out, you might've noticed in this camera. There no XLR for audio. There's that one weird audio port.
Now, I couldn't help but notice at the bottom of RED's site, they have this like, diagram looking thing. It's in plain sight. Like you could easily miss it if you didn't know what you're looking for. But it just says, V-Raptor XL coming in 2022, and then some diagrams of this larger looking DSMC3 camera. This one looks like it has way more IO, including more audio. So maybe that bigger one ends up being the one that works better in certain workflows, or you don't want to have to adapt as much. But the main headliner of V-Raptor in this new DSMC3 computer is in the title of this video, the new high frame rate, 8K at 120 frames per second, full frame. And if you know anything about RED cameras, that also means you can crop down to a smaller part of the sensor and shoot even higher frame rates, 600 frames per second at 2K 1080p. Are you serious? So full frame, 8K RAW at 120 frames per second, as you can imagine, takes a lot of data and a lot of computing power. So you'll need these fast cards to be able to write fast enough to shoot like that. And if you start shooting at those lower resolutions, like I said, it does crop in on the sensor, so you are zoomed in quite a bit. But that will unlock even higher frame rates, as high as 600 frames per second, which is absolutely nuts. Now, as someone who mostly shoots videos of things sitting still, I might not use that a ton, personally. But the one thing that immediately came to mind was actually showing the real difference between 120 hertz and 60 hertz in a 30 FPS video. So that should be, I guess, theoretically, twice as obvious as before, since DSMC2 maxed out at 8K at a mere 60 FPS. And so you know what we're going to do? We're going to dive right off into the deep end and shoot the iPhone 13 Pro review on the V-Raptor. Unless something goes horribly wrong, you can expect that entire video to be all image quality, shot from that camera, all the A-roll, all the B-roll, the intro as well, which is pretty exciting. Wish us luck. And I don't even have that many RF lenses. So I'll be actually adapting to EF to continue to use my favorites. I only have this one 660 gig memory card, which sounds like a lot, but like I said, shooting 8K RAW, I promise you, this fills up pretty quick. But let's see if we give it a shot. Let's see how it goes. And we'll really try some stuff, like I said. Like, we never really shoot much high frame rate, but we'll do that. I would absolutely avoid at all costs shooting over about 800 to a thousand ISO on these previous RED cameras. Same sensor, better computer, better noise reduction. Maybe we can get away with higher ISO on this camera. We'll try some of that too. We'll see if the battery life is any different. It's the same physical capacity battery. So that should be fun to see. All of that will be reported back. And if you haven't already subscribed to The Studio YouTube channel, that's where we'll be reporting also, a lot of these like, real-time findings as we shoot with it. See what our experiences are shooting V-Raptor. So definitely go subscribe to The Studio if you haven't already. And that's pretty much it for my first impression. Again, super dense, really interesting camera to shoot with. Can't wait for better handles and better accessories, but V-Raptor. Also, we don't know what the V stands for, I don't think. Do we, what do you, what do you think the V stands for? You can make up whatever you want basically. But that's basically it. If you had a camera like this, what would you shoot with it at 8K 120? Let me know in the comments. Either way, till the next one.
