Heard of high definition camcorders? Get ready for an ultra high definition camcorder at a price ($17,500) that won’t put it out of reach of free-spending photographers who've ever toyed with the idea of entering the high-high-end video market. Called the Red One, the new digital cinema camera from Oakley sunglasses founder Jim Jannard officially started shipping at the end of August after almost two years of hype. If the Red One does what its designers say it will, it could open up the digital cinema landscape to a whole new group of filmmakers.

According to Ted Schilowitz of Red, the first 25 Red One cameras have been delivered to filmmakers whose names were on a reservation list. The reservation list, which began in October 2006, required prospective buyers to put down a $1,000 deposit. The next 25 cameras are slated to begin shipping to the next reservations in early September, Schilowitz added.

Meanwhile, director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) has already shot a ten-minute film entitled Crossing the Line with a Red One prototype and Stephen Soderburgh (Ocean's Eleven) is currently shooting a feature-length film with a Red One camera.

With the help of its mysteriously dubbed "Mysterium" sensor, the Red One can capture video at 4K resolution which is more than twice that of High Definition. The Mysterium sensor is able to do this by delivering 12MP at up to 60 frames per second which is sort of like using a pro-level digital SLR to shoot an entire movie in ultra high-speed mode. Since most digital projectors can't even handle 4K video, you can dial back the resolution with Red One to capture 2K footage at up to 120 frames per second.

The Super 35mm cine sized (24.4 x 13.7mm) sensor also boasts an impressive signal-to-noise ratio of 66db, which means digital noise will be kept to a minimum. At the same time, color will be extremely accurate at lossless 4:4:4 sampling.

If $17,500 still sounds like a lot for a camcorder, consider that most comparable 4K digital cinema cameras sell for over $100,000.

The nine-pound Red One’s camera body’s modular design lets you add on the Red-Cage attachment for mounting a range of accessories to configure it for your shoulder, a tripod, or even a crane.

Best of all for style buffs, the Red One looks totally rad, borrowing some of its rough-and-tumble futuristic design elements from Oakley sunglasses themselves. Or as one online blogger put it, "(The Red One) looks like something the Predator would use on a family vacation."

Price: $17,500
Further information: www.red.com

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