RED S35 V-RAPTOR “RHINO” Launched – 8K120p, Same Camera Body, Different Sensor

Camera News

by Jeff LochNovember 8^th, 2022

Jarred Land, CEO of RED, has just announced a new version of its flagship cinema camera: the RED S35 V-RAPTOR. As its name suggests, this new version of the V-RAPTOR features a Super35 image sensor capable of shooting in 8K at up to 120 frames per second. All of this while keeping its original compact and lightweight camera body. So let’s take a closer look at it!

The RED V-RAPTOR was first announced back in September 2021. This camera features an 8K Vista Vision sensor capable of shooting 120fps in 8K, 240fps in 4K, and 480fps in 2K when using the 17:9 mode. We recently did a complete Lab Test of the RED V-Raptor, the first DSMC3 camera, and found a solid nine stops of exposure latitude and around 14.9 stops of dynamic range at SNR = 1. This is far from the company’s claimed 16.5 stops of dynamic range, but still very solid considering it is half the cost of an ARRI ALEXA 35 or Sony VENICE 2.

RED is well-known for making product announcements on the REDUser forum or directly on Jarred Land’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. The new S35 V-RAPTOR launch is no different, and here is everything we know so far about the new “RHINO” camera.

RED S35 V-RAPTOR image sensor

Let’s focus on the main point of this new RED camera: the Super35 image sensor. This sensor is 26.21 mm x 13.82mm, a bit larger than the standard S35 format. To give you an idea, the ALEXA 35 image sensor is 27.99 x 19.22mm. Interestingly, this new S35 V-RAPTOR sensor is smaller than the 27.03 mm x 14.26mm S35 sensor found in the Komodo.

RED V-Raptor S35 Recording Modes

The S35 V-RAPTOR can record internally onto CFExpress cards in various REDCODE RAW HQ/MQ/LQ flavors. Here are all the resolutions, formats, and framerates available:

• 120 fps at 8K 17:9 (8192 x 4320). REDCODE HQ, MQ, and LQ at 8K 17:9 (8192 x 4320) up to 60 fps. REDCODE LQ at 8K 17:9 (8192 x 4320) up to 120 fps.
• 150 fps at 8K 2.4:1 (8192 x 3456)
• 140 fps at 7K 17:9 (7168 x 3780)
• 175 fps at 7K 2.4:1 (7168 x 3024)
• 160 fps at 6K 17:9 (6144 x 3240). REDCODE HQ, MQ, and LQ at 6K 17:9 (6144 x 3240) up to 96 fps. REDCODE MQ and LQ at 6K 17:9 (6144 x 3240) up to 160 fps.
• 200 fps at 6K 2.4:1 (6144 x 2592)
• 192 fps at 5K 17:9 (5120 x 2700)
• 240 fps at 5K 2.4:1 (5120 x 2160)
• 240 fps at 4K 17:9 (4096 x 2160). REDCODE HQ, MQ, and LQ at 4K 17:9 (4096 x 2160) up to 240 fps.
• 300 fps at 4K 2.4:1 (4096 x 1728)
• 320 fps at 3K 17:9 (3072 x 1620)
• 400 fps at 3K 2.4:1 (3072 x 1296)
• 480 fps at 2K 17:9 (2048 x 1080). REDCODE HQ, MQ and LQ at 2K 17:9 (2048 x 1080) up to 480 fps
• 600 fps at 2K 2.4:1 (2048 x 864)

As you can tell, all these REDCODE RAW maximum resolution/settings/framerates are pretty similar to the original V-RAPTOR. However, there is no word about anamorphic shooting modes yet.

We will be adding the RED V-Raptor S35 Recording Modes to our CineD Camera Database as soon as we get our hands on a unit. The RED V-Raptor (Full Frame version) has over 4,000 different resolution/frame rate/codec combinations, all of which you can check out in the CineD Camera Database. We will of course also perform a Lab Test of the V-Raptor S35.

Same camera body

The RED S35 V-RAPTOR comes painted in a special Wildlife Society of Filmmakers “Rhino Grey” version. According to Jarred Land, a portion of sales goes to various wildlife charities.

The camera body, physical dimensions, input and output ports, lens mount, and so on are identical to the original V-RAPTOR. I won’t go too deep into all these specifications, as you can find all the information in our V-RAPTOR launch article here.

Price and availability

The S35 V-RAPTOR is available for order now for $19,500, which is $5,000 less than the original V-RAPTOR.

For more information, we hope there’s be more on RED’s website soon. In the meantime, you can drool over Jarred Land’s Facebook and Instagram posts.

What do you think about this new Super35 version of the V-RAPTOR? Do you still prefer the original V-RAPTOR over this new one? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!