Sony F3 Almost as Much as RED!

Since the pricing on Sony’s new PMW-F3 came out  – €20,700, or around US$28,000, with three lenses – the cry heard around the internet has been “but that’s almost as much as a RED One!”

But is it?

When RED came to the market a few years ago their pricing was completely crazy, and still is much lower than many competitors. If you ask some interested person how much a RED One costs they will probably say “about $20,000″ – which is just about right. The original RED One was $17,500 and the improved RED One MX currently costs $25,000. But that’s the bare body – we’re not comparing apples to apples, so how much does RED One cost?

If we take the basic spec of the PMW-F3K – camera, three lenses, viewfinder and LCD – how much will it cost to get the same basic features from RED?

• RED One MX Body – $25,000
• RED Prime 35mm – $4,250
• RED Prime 50mm – $4,250
• RED Prime 85mm – $4,250
• RED LCD (5.6″) – $1,700
• RED Bomb Viewfinder – $3,200
• RED Quickplate (battery mount) – $500
• RED Power Pack (2x battery and charger) – $1,450
• RED CF Module – $500
• RED Bottom Plate – $600
• RED Steel Rail (18″ x2) – $110

That’s a very basic kit. And it costs $45,810 – nearly twice what the PMW-F3K is expected to cost. However we can be a little generous here and remove the RED Bomb, as the F3′s viewfinder isn’t very impressive and people will probably rely on the LCD, so that’s only $42,610

For what you get in the box and what you have to spend to get going – the Sony F3 is nowhere near the price of a RED. It’s a lot more expensive than Panasonic’s AF100, but a lot less than any other camera of it’s type (large-sensor HD or greater-than-HD video camera).