RED Creates a Flare Guard to Fix V-RAPTOR’s Sensor Stitching Issue

Camera News

by Francesco AndreolaApril 7^th, 2022

A few days ago, RED released a new article on their support page for the RED V-RAPTOR offering a solution to address the camera’s sensor stitching line issue. This behind-the-lens hardware option consists of a flare guard that needs to be installed on the camera.

Back in December, we reported about a vertical line stitching issue that can potentially affect footage shot on RED’s new flagship camera, the V-RAPTOR. In fact, like almost every large-format camera currently on the market, the V-RAPTOR’s Vista Vision sensor is actually made up of two smaller sensors stitched together.

This design, which is similar to that of the ARRI ALEXA LF and Alexa 65, shouldn’t cause any issues during normal shooting scenarios. However, some specific combinations of lighting conditions and lenses can clearly reveal the vertical stitching line. RED’s CEO Jarred Land promised that his team would further investigate the problem. Now, it looks like they ultimately came up with a solution to address it. Let’s take a closer look.

RED V-RAPTOR sensor stitching issue: a flare guard

A few days ago, the company updated the support page of the camera with a specific article about the flare artifact. Results from RED’s research confirm that the line stitching issue is a mere optical phenomenon. In fact, the 8K Vista Vision sensor actually performs as intended.

Indeed, according to RED, what’s causing the issue are “certain types of stray light or flare within the camera’s sensor cavity”. Hence, the engineering team developed a dedicated flare guard that should help mitigate the problem.

Apparently, customers that often find themselves shooting in extreme conditions can forward a request to RED support in order to have this behind-the-lens hardware solution installed on their cameras. However, the cost of the operation is still unknown. 

RED’s recommendations

Along with information about the cause of the problem and the announcement of this new flare guard, RED also added a series of tips that you should follow in order to avoid the undesired vertical line.

These include common-sense practices, like using a lens hood or a matte box to prevent stray light or unwanted flares. Moreover, the use of high-quality lens adapters with proper internal light-trapping materials is highly recommended.

Finally, RED warns you about a potential risk that may occur in rare circumstances when using the new flare guard. Indeed, this new piece of hardware may project a small shadow onto the edge of the frame when working with extreme off-axis light sources.

Did you ever have any issue when shooting on the RED V-RAPTOR? Do you think this solution can put an end to the story? Share your thoughts in the comment section down below!