Investing into RED

I've been looking to upgrade my T2i to a RED Scarlet .

The main reason for that is because right now in my country most of the movies are shot with BMCC or something similar .

I received a lot of offers to make music videos for big artists in my country but frankly I can't get top notch quality and the quality they expect me to provide with T2i. Moreover I got offers to shoot couple of short films and I am even talking about shooting a feature film as a DP .

Such camera will really make me stand out from the crowd and I believe I'll get my money back sooner or later .

Of course I don't have the money right now but I have won couple of film competitions so I got some money , I believe I can get some more .

I am wondering if I am just getting too excited ? Is it even worth it ?

Moreover ,how much it would cost me full RED Scarlett package with 2 lenses . Is it more than 30 thousand ?

What do you guys think ?
 
I read somewhere that you should only invest in gear you can pay off in 1.5 years with your current amount of business. Also camera gear keeps evolving so fast that the high end cameras of today will probably be similar to the mid level cameras of 3-5 years in the future. Most likely it won't be a good investment financially but it may end up opening you some doors and being worth it in the long run. Instead of buying an expensive camera body, how about buy a nice collection of lenses?

edited to add:

"I received a lot of offers to make music videos for big artists in my country but frankly I can't get top notch quality"

Are there any rental houses in Bulgaria? Here it costs 400 euros a day to rent a RED one. If they are actually big artists, than they should afford to pay you enough for that.
 
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Philip Bloom debated buying a Scarlet in 2011:

To buy a Scarlet or not to buy, that is the question…
http://philipbloom.net/2011/11/20/scarlet/

This is also an excellent article:

Why you MUST have 4K and raw and why you absolutely DON’T need it
http://philipbloom.net/2013/05/28/4kraw/

The above article also states this:

So when RED brought out the Scarlet many people saw this as their way out of DSLRs and into the big league. Now of course this is utter nonsense. As I said before, no camera will actually make you better. Some cameras will help you get work though. C300s for example are massively popular right now and owner operators are reaping the benefits of this. Most of the people I know who bought Scarlets were gutted when this massive investment from their T2i didn’t pay off. For some it did, but for most no. Why? A CAMERA DOESN’T MAKE YOU ANY BETTER! I may have mentioned that to you already


Moreover ,how much it would cost me full RED Scarlett package with 2 lenses . Is it more than 30 thousand ?

Don't forget the accessories too - some recommend spending $1k-$3k on memory cards alone!

This RED budget guide is very helpful...

A Guide to Building a RED Camera Package: An Accessory List for Every Budget Level
http://nofilmschool.com/2012/12/red-one-scarlet-epic-accessories-what-you-need/
 
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The body and cinema lenses are very expensive. You also have to buy RED cards, RED batteries, a RED battery charger, a RED rig, a RED video monitor (the body does not have a built in LCD screen), and a RED Mag Reader. All of that stuff cost thousands, and thousands of dollars. Not to mention, because of the high quality, you will need more space on your computer. You will need to buy some serious hard drives.

If you're going to upgrade, since you have some Canon lenses and more experience with Canon cameras, I'd go with a 5D Mark 2 or 3, or choose a camera from Canon's cinema line.
 
RED can get pretty expensive, though you should be able to get out of a Scarlet kit purchase with a lens or two for <$30k.

But, here's the thing - why would you? The Scarlet is getting on, the Dragon's out now and a plain old Scarlet will be out of date very quickly.
You say there's no market for RED, as everything is being shot on cameras like the BMCC. That's detrimental to your purchase plans. Do you have enough paid work lined up over the next year that will be able to pay off your camera and then some? No? Then don't buy it. If there's no market from the rest of t he area for RED, then you've bought something you can't even rent out to those around you, so you can't even make money that way.

If you're looking to 'stand out from the crowd' - hone your skills. Hone your lighting skills as a DP, and start getting friendly with colourists. Your skills as a DP will make you stand out from the crowd, not the camera you own.
 
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