BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Flip Ultra HD: We tested basically every pocket camcorder in existence, and this was the best one we found. It shoots 720p HD and is easy enough for your grandma to use. If you're buying a gift for someone looking to experiment on a budget or simply shoot vacation videos, this is a great little cam. $150 [Flip]

Clapboard: No, I'm serious. Though this might just look like a cheesy prom prop (and that's what it is), little has changed about the most recognized icon of the film industry. And for filmmakers, it's still extremely handy in tracking good takes, and syncing sound, if needed. The novelty ones are cheap (and many are probably more for show); but splurge on a fancy dry erase version if you really love the recipient. $2 to $30 [Prom Wishes ; B&H]

Vintage Hollywood Photographs from Life Magazine: Vintage posters are neat, but I'd contend that these Life prints feel a tad more heart-felt. From Kubrick working on 2001 to Marilyn Monroe doing her thing, there are many gems to be found in Life's archives. About $100 [2001 Series; More Life Photos]

Iron Man Arc Reactor: Most people's latent super powers are still off in hiding, but you never know when a nemesis will rip out your power core, forcing you to crawl across your home for a spare. Don't look at the Iron Man Arc Reactor as a superfluous purchase; see it as an investment your loved one's health. $150 [Museum Replicas]

Sony UWP-V1 Wireless Lavalier Mic: During my tenure in broadcast and commercial production, I found a good, wireless lavalier mic to be the most versatile tool in my bag. It can be hidden anywhere on a body/prop, and the pickup frequencies are surprisingly decent for foleying. Sony's entry level mic, the UWP-V1, should serve any young filmmaker well. $485 [B&H]

Kodak Five-Day Cinematography Workshop: Few of us will ever have the chance to shoot on real, 35mm film. But Kodak's boot camp will teach you the basics of 35mm cinematography and give you a chance to burn some 35mm stock while experts hold your hand. The tuition is by no means a non-factor, but come on, it's pretty much the coolest fantasy camp without Michael Jordan or spaceships. $2,000 [Kodak]

DON'T BUY Back to the Future 2 Hat: I know, it's neat you can buy this hat. But it looked dumb on Marty McFly and it will look even worse on whoever you give it to. [Amazon]

4K Red One Camera: Yes, the body itself starts at nor far under $20,000—without lenses, mounts, CF modules or pretty much anything you'll need to use it. Yes, this camera is just as hard to shoot with as any full-fledged film camera (if not even harder). But it's also the cheapest 4K camera you can acquire, and for the price of one extended 35mm camera rental, you'll have a system that's "free to use" again and again. Just make sure to gift those cinematography classes first. $17,500 and Up [Red]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite gift ideas for movie buffs in comments—include pic and pricing if possible.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

My favorite guilty pleasure moments? The opening fight scene (the best one, imho) and a moment when the protagonist's head goes through a crane game.

Don't get me wrong, Turbo manages to cram all of Hollywood's cheesiest motifs into one 20-minute flick. But everything from the visual effects to the cinematography to the fight choreography look pretty freaking good for such a low budget action short. And hey, the plot is still better than any Mortal Kombat and/or Street Fighter movie yet produced.

And if you really dig it, Wonder Woman screenwriter Brent Strickland is shopping around a feature-length screenplay now. [Turbo]

Is this what the future of publishing looks like? Well, I'd be pretty surprised if these techs became anywhere close to disposable anytime soon. Instead, we'll be seeing things like the Apple Tablet and Microsoft Courier coming along to load up stuff like this. But despite the packaging differences, the finished product loaded on these next-gen displays could be pretty similar to this. And it looks pretty badass. [Living Art Media]

It's technologically interesting since, with both the 3K and the 5K Red cameras, they're able to take video and strategically take out frames to use as stills. This makes it a lot easier on the photographer since he doesn't need to know, intuitively, when the best few seconds are to snap a stream of shots—he can just point the thing and tell Kate to be sexy.

It's too bad for Kate though, because in order to crown a new Sexiest Woman Alive next year, Esquire will have to have her put down. [Esquire]

We'll have to wait another month for another teaser as they pull the slow reveal. Still, not a bad way to show off the Epic's Mysterium-X sensor. [Esquire]

Oh, and I'm admittedly surprised by how well the GH1 appears to keep up with the Red One and 5D Mark II. Of course, at full resolution, it might be a different story. But if you were really torn between the Red One and GH1 for some reason, I guess your decision got a bit harder.

Click over to Vimeo to watch it in HD for the full impact. [Vimeo via via Imaging Insider via PDN Pulse via CrunchGear]

And here's one of the finished products:
[Alexx Henry]

Captured on the 4K RedOne (that's a frame resolution of 4096x2304, or 9.4 megapixels), the video-sourced cover image is thought to be a first in the magazine industry, challenging traditional SLR photography and the distinctions of photo vs video.

In other good news, there's a pile of leftover Megan Fox footage that's up at Esquire now. But in one of humanity's great travesties, the clips have been downrezzed for web streaming. [Esquire]

Rather than click and endless series of stills, photographer Greg Williams shot the cover with the 4K Red ONE video camera. Fox essentially acted out a scene for 10 minutes, the best moment of which will appear on the June 2009 cover. (Not to be wasteful of Megan Fox footage, the video will also be uploaded to Esquire's site, of course.)

It's fascinating that as digital cameras evolve, so will the roles of photographers, models and publications. I can't see traditional photography ever dying, but whether photos will always be captured in photographs is another question. [Esquire]

Jarred Land from RED says this is the first footage from the 2/3" Scarlet prototypes and that the frame above was pulled straight from the video. He also says this "heavily compressed" and "quick and dirty." We should all aspire to assemble things as quickly and dirtily as this. [RED Forums]

As a production, Sanctuary has taken a lot of risks—they were also the first TV show to go almost completely green-screened, depending on rendered backgrounds for many of their shots. Oddly enough, this technique allowed the RED to really shine.

The crew gushes over the RED One, speaking mostly about its ease of use and versatility, and hinting that its reasonable price allowed the cameramen to spend a bit more on cinema-grade lenses. The most important ability of the RED, as far as Sanctuary is concerned, is resolution. With digital chopping an manipulation the name of the game, it's vital that individual components of the video can be cut and integrated into a composite scene without losing clarity, something which the One's massive 4k sensor makes possible.

It's also interesting to note how using a camera like this changes the production dynamics of a show; reviewing and editing footage occurs almost instantly, rather than hours later as in a traditional film production. So interesting is the production scheme, in fact, that it's the most interesting thing about this entire show. Oh well! [Dvice]

1. Keep your RED ONE and shoot great images. Get continual free firmware upgrades.

2. Keep your RED ONE and upgrade your sensor to Mysterium-X for $4,500.

3. Trade your RED ONE in, and receive $17,500 credit, towards the purchase of an EPIC-X S35 Private Reserve package, which is only available to RED ONE customers.

4. Trade your RED ONE in, and receive $17,500 credit, towards the purchase of an EPIC FF35 Pro Cinema "Brain".

5. Trade your RED ONE in, and receive $17,500 credit, towards the purchase of an EPIC 645 Pro "Brain".

6. Trade your RED ONE in, and receive $17,500 credit, towards the purchase of an EPIC 617 Pro "Brain".

7. Keep your RED ONE and purchase a Scarlet System (one time only) with a 12% discount.

Remember that, if you have a Red One, a) you can only use one upgrade per camera—once you use it, the serial number is done; and b) we hate you.

Here is the price list:

Until we get our own, I will be playing with the one on loan at the Gizmodo Gallery. Come and check it out too. [Red User]

New announcement on Dec. 3rd. Everything has changed... just as we promised. :-)

:-)? :-)? What do your cryptic smilies mean, Jim?

He goes on to say that the new announcement will make November 13th seem 'insignificant', which is, let's be honest here, quite a claim to accompany such a vague pre-announcement. [RedUser —Thanks, Øyvind]

The Red One camera was never really interested in capturing HD video (1920x1080). Instead, the system's Super 35mm-sized Mysterium sensor captures footage at 4K (3626x2664) in precious RAW format. The camera starts at only $17,000, but once you get it fully loaded, the system can approach $80,000. Sound like a lot of money? It is. But seeing as it doesn't require purchasing or developing costly film and it still manages to nip the heels of 35mm quality, the Red One represents the democratization of an ever-opening Hollywood system.

The Red One will be at Gizmodo Gallery this December 4th-7th, in NYC.

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery
Reed Annex
151 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002

Gizmodo Gallery Reader Meetup
The reader meetup takes place across the street from the Gallery, at a place called The Annex (not to be confused with REED ANNEX where the gallery is hosted.) The address is 152 Orchard Street and we'll be there at 9 PM SHARP on Friday December 5th.

Gallery Dates:
December 4th-7th

Times:
12/4 Thursday
12-8

12/5 Friday
12-8

12/6 Saturday
11-8

12/7 Sunday
11-4

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

The core of the new line is made up of the new 'Mysterium' brains, pictured in the gallery above and detailed in the gallery below. These boxy sensors can be built up into 5D-esque DSLRs, compact prosumer camcoders, full-fledged professional video cameras or even a 3D unit with a new line of lenses, flash storage, frames, mounts and other add-ons, outlined with the new sensors below. In addition to their own lenses, the new cameras mercifully support gear built for Nikon and Canon standards with mount adapters, so you don't have to re-buy all of your optics. In spring, when the first of the new units are intended to ship, RED One users won't be left out in the cold — they'll get purchase credit towards new cameras, or if they'd just like to throw one of the new sensors into their existing rig, credit towards that. I guess this is what Jannard meant when he said RED had a 'new vision'.

For the full release, click here. Warning — comically giant JPEG. [RED]

Owners of any number of popular DSLRs will notice some familiar controls in these renders, but what does that mean? It seems obvious that Jannard's lovable breathlessness is for his new RED DSLR (or DSMC, I guess), and that his enthusiasm hasn't been diminished in light of the stunning video performance of Canon's 5D DSLR. RED certainly has a track record of innovation, but could Canon have beat them to the DSLR HD video punch? [RedUser via Crunchgear]

While (insert code name) is not a replacement for Epic or Scarlet, it is strategically targeted at the DSLR space. As Nikon and Canon release their 720P and 1080P, respectively, DSLRs with video capture... RED has a more advanced view of the future.

My personal reading on this is that the company is aiming for 4K capture. They also dropped this other tidbit, in case you aren't excited enough:

I won't comment on any specifics until the 1st of the year. But "revolution" applies more to this than the RED ONE did to cinema.

They'll hear from us January 1st. [Red User via Engadget]

Click To Play

[WonderHowTo]

This video is only 1/4 the resolution, so you'll probably only be 1/4 as impressed as people were when they saw it live. – Jason Chen

RedUser [via Crunchgear]

We had a chance to see three working Red One cameras in the company booth. One was connected to a 720p monitor to show the live output. The other two had working LCD viewfinders as well as film-style video eyepiece finders that potential fan boys could get all touchy-feely with, and there were plenty of those wonks getting their mitts on the camera.

With all the talk of 4K, we were very surprised the live video was only being shown on a 720p monitor. The response? There aren't any 4K monitors to show the full output. [Ed.- What about those Sony 4k Projectors below?]

According to Schilowitz the first batch of cameras that go out may indeed be lacking certain features and functions, but he wouldn't comment on what features those might be.

When asked if 4K works, he said yes, but didn't know if 4K would be available in the first cameras. [Ed.- As above, I stand by Stephen's statement and reporting 100%. But Ted now promises 4k Support out the gate. Minor miscommunication aside, this is exciting confirmation.][UPDATE: We apologize for confusing Ted's words — His two statements, one on 4k and one on what features would ship, were separate, not serially linked. ]

Will early adopters be screwed? Schilowitz did say that when the camera starts shipping, owners can follow two option paths; take the camera as-is and get a free upgrade when all of the features have been enabled, or simply wait until the features are ready and pick up the camera then. If they can upgrade a camera from non 4k to 4k for free, more power to em.

When asked when the camera would ship, Schilowitz emphasized the company's spin on shipping. In his words, Red is an engineering company that would rather rely on "target dates" than ship dates. When asked the "target date," he responded the Red One camera has a target range between the end of April and the middle part of May of 2007.

Even if the company makes this target, those eager to purchase one may still have to wait as the company has been able to convince 1500 individuals and companies to plunk down a hefty down payment to reserve one of these beauties.

In an effort to put to rest the doubt that this camera is actually working or simply a pyramid scheme to bilk old ladies from their fortune, Jim Jannard ushered visitors into a small movie theatre to show them an 11-minute film shot entirely with two Red One alpha prototypes he named "Boris" and "Natasha".

Sure anyone can crank out 11 minutes of beauty shots and call it a film, but it is an entirely different matter when that 11-minute film is an original narrative piece, written and directed by Peter Jackson. Yes, that Peter Jackson. Jackson invited the Red crew to Masterton, New Zealand for a two day shoot to capture a WWI story involving a doughboy on the ground, an ace pilot, a picture of a loved one, a teddy bear, and those accursed Nazis.

We were able to learn the two cameras only had Run/Stop triggers, 180-degree shutters running at 24fps, recorded to a Red Drive at 27Mbps and encoded in Red Raw. Not a lot of fancy schmancy at all. The short was projected using Sony's 4K projector, but as previously announced, Red is working on its own line of 4K projectors and monitors. Jackson decided to skip using the Red lenses in favor of the Cooke S4 24-90mm lenses with which he was more familiar.

This film was full of action and drama as only Jackson can deliver, and throughout the piece, we watched closely for telltale signs of artifacting, blown highlights, or false colors. While a lot of the story takes place on bare dirt, scenes in the air presented a full range of colors that proved this camera can capture some very dynamic images.

We noticed some jumpiness during some of the high-action fast-moving shots, but didn't know if that was a fault of the camera, the digital projection, or our hypersensitivity to digital projection. Regardless, those instances were very few, and after, we had a chance to talk for a moment with two cinematographers sitting next to us who were accustomed to shooting on Viper and Genesis cameras. They were both impressed with the results and had no complaints with the technology.

So for now, the Red One camera has moved from vaporware to reality, but with the "target date" still a month off and the long line for delivery, you aren't going to be able to pick one up anytime soon, let alone at the local Best Buy. But good tech always trickles down, and we're moving in the right direction with these cameras.– Stephen Schleicher

Getting our hands on the camera, we noticed it's not as heavy as we thought it would be due to the carbon fiber construction of its rail mounting system. It's small, about the size of a normal prosumer video camera with a fixed lens. Hang a lens up front on the Red One, and it's a bit bigger, but still surprisingly small. The grips were quite knarly, like off-road tires or hand grips on a BMX bike. It's extremely configurable.

Speaking of lenses, Red will offer a 5-lens prime kit for $19,975 available in Fall 2007, consisting of 15mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses, and all have an f/1.9 aperture except for that 15mm lens, which will be f/2.8. There will also be an $6500 18mm - 50mm f/2.8, available this summer, according to Red. Finally, there's an f/2.8 300mm for $4950. There's more. Don't miss our visual evaluation of the camera's output, and an interview with Red's Ted Schilowitz. – Charlie White

Red at NAB [Studio Daily]

To learn more about this 4k resolution super camcorder by the founder of Oakley glasses, read here.

And even though the pro cam is out of the range of most of our prices and needs, it can't hurt to take a look at the rad hardware designs.–Brian Lam

Red One Camcorder [Gizmodo]

In addition to that initial cost of entry, the company will also offer two different production packs, one for $1250 that includes such basic things as a shoulder pad, mounting brackets, handles and rods, and then there's the $2750 premium production pack with even more of the same. Then there's a lot more exorbitantly-priced choices, such as power packs, monitor options and memory cards. What gives?

The "pizza syndrome" prevails here (What? You want cheese with that?), where it looks like if you want a fully equipped camera it's going to cost you much more than $17,500.

We'll take a closer look at this camera and its snail's pace progress at NAB in April. Still missing from the Red Cinema vaporware site? A firm shipping date. – Charlie White

Update to commenter SenorPants: Thanks for that challenge. 4K resolution? Why, it's 4520 x 2540 as seen in the Red One (read my post about it here, or read the two-part interview I did at last year's NAB with one of the camera's makers here, or read the feature I wrote about the camera here). Or sometimes it's quoted as 4096 x 2160. You are very smart for asking that question, and we all admire you for it. Have a nice day. CW

One more update: Just to clarify why I mentioned the "snails pace" of the Red One's development, I noted that it's "still not shipping" because of a quote from Ted Schilowitz, Red's so-called "Leader of the Rebellion" who is in charge of the camera's development. He told me on April 25, 2006 in a face-to-face interview at NAB, of which I have an audio recording, that the company aimed to ship cameras by the end of 2006. Said Schilowitz, "Our goal is to have the first cameras shipping — how many we don't know yet — by the end of this calendar year. That's a target." Because this Gizmodo post was written on March 13, 2007, clearly that "target" date of December 31, 2006 had already passed without any cameras shipping. Read that full interview with Schilowitz here. CW

Red One Price List [Red Digital Cinema]

Well, apparently they've almost finished the prototype dubbed "Spike". The company released pictures of their new matte finished camera that's no longer glimmering like an American Chopper...a relief to gaffers everywhere. But then last night, they released shots of their matte black version, which is looking pretty good as well (pictures after the jump).

While I want nothing more than for this camera to be the second coming of the video world, I'm remaining a skeptic until a real production model is in someone's hands. Still, nice pictures.– Mark Wilson

Spike Silver
Spike Black
[via dvguru]

Our trained professional investigators have been able to recover much of what was taken in the break-in. We happily got our aluminum prototype back, a lens, some computers and drives that were mostly personal in nature, and some misc. stuff. What is still out there are computers that had most of the camera related development info.

We've met Jannard and his team, and we're starting to think this camera will actually come to market as advertised. Plus, if anyone thinks they can do a better job of building a $17.5K 4K camcorder before the Red One is released using data on the company's computers, they're nuts. – Charlie White

Recovery...Mostly [dvxuser, via CrunchGear]

It's a slow-downloading 100MB file, and it's just 1K resolution—hardly even high-def yet—but still, it's something. Looks like those burglars really didn't get their hands on the good stuff last week.

Anyway, if Red Digital Cinema can actually deliver this 4K camera for $17.5K, I'm pumped. – Charlie White

Product Page [Red Digital Cinema, via DV Guru]

"While items taken included many computers, drives, monitors, prototypes (including our shiny aluminum IBC prototype), ID files and our Scratch system... it appears that the thieves did NOT get any sensors, sensor information or our primary "Frankenstein" shooting camera. It took all the RED troops coming back in to put all the pieces together. We will resume shooting and testing tomorrow. This would be the easiest piece to identify as stolen."

Red Theivery Update: Prototypes Gone, Mysterium Sensors OK [CrunchGear]

Red One Ultra HD Camcorder Prototype Ripped Off