Red one or Sony EX3 for feature film
 

I am shooting a feature film this spring with the hopes of getting it picked up by a major distributor. The end product will hopefully be shown on the screens in movie theaters. I am trying to decide on what cameras to use for the project. I have a budget of around 50k. I am either going to shoot with two red one cameras or five Sony EX3 cams. My question is will the sony at 1920x1080 look ok on a huge screen or do i need the 2 & 4k resolution that Red One can do?

Thanks

I suspect your answer will come when you do your budget. A RED One kit will cost a lot more to hire than an EX3 kit, plus you need to factor in the RAW workflow.

There are quite a few major feature films that have been shot using 1920x1080, so that isn't going to be an issue. You have to ensure that your budget will cover the cost of your on screen production values. For example, a name actor will do more to get you distribution than using the RED camera.

The shooting styles you're describing are very different, so I think you need to think about how these are going affect the way you tell the story. Using 5 cameras is very different to shooting with 2 cameras, plus you have different depths of fields and the need for a crew used to working with 35mm type kit. I think this is key to making a decision.

Personally, for a feature film, I'd go for the control of 2 cameras, but that's more my style.

Personally, I'd use the Red One and preferably, the new model with MX sensor. However, you might be able to find deals on renting the original R1 due to so many people owning them. My Abel Cine rep told me that in LA, Red's go for as low as $150 a day because so many have them. Maybe looking in NY might turn up a good deal.

On the other hand, the workflow for editing R3D is more difficult than XDCAM EX (including any vfx/compositing shots).

R3d might be a slightly more complicated workflow for editing than xdcam, but it's WAAAAY Bette for compositing than XDCAM. For a feature access to proper glass should be your primary consideration, and the Red One gives you that. Why you would need tonshoot with 5 cameras I have no idea. Especially as the cost of camera crew x 5 is on the EX shoot is going to make your budget a lot more than a 2 camera Red One shoot.

Red also demonstrate a lot more latitude in the grade which is key to a theatrical release.

But what's really key to a theatrical release is presales/having a distributor on board, so I would look to what's getting distributed regularly first.