Under the arrangement, Band Pro will sell the coveted 5K RED EPIC cameras bundled with the Leica Summilux-C lenses. The kit will include a set of 5 Leica primes in prespecified focal lengths.
“We will provide our customers with the ability to purchase a beyond-4K camera equipped with beyond-4K lenses,” said Amnon Band, president of Band Pro. “I take my hat off to Jim Jannard and his rebel crew at RED for putting this deal together with us. RED has never allowed anyone else to sell their cameras in the U.S. before, so that’s a first, and we feel honored and challenged. We bring traditional experience to the RED sales and marketing machine. RED brings us into the rebellion, into tomorrow.”
“RED is thrilled with Band Pro’s commitment to true high resolution cinematography,” said Ted Schilowitz of RED Digital Cinema. “Band Pro’s bundled package of the RED EPIC camera and a special matched set of Leica Prime lenses will be the killer package for lensing big budget movies, 3D movies, high-end TV commercials, and everything else that is looking for the best possible image quality from the high-res sensor, to the lens and onto the screen.
“RED has used these new Leicas on EPICs and RED ONEs, and just like the rest of the top end of the movie and TV industry, we couldn’t be more pleased with the quality, the resolution and coverage they are able to capture from our 5K sensor, and their look on the really big movie screen. Not to mention their light weight, all matched physical sizes through the set, and small form factor, they make the perfect combination to use in tandem with the EPIC,” he added.
The Leica Summilux-C lenses are PL mount primes designed to deliver ultra-high optical performance for film and digital capture. These T1.4 close focus primes employ a unique multi-aspheric design and high-precision cine lens mechanics to provide unmatched flat field illumination across the entire 35mm frame and suppression of color fringing in the farthest corners of the frame with no discernible breathing. “These lenses are superior to any lenses Band Pro’s team of experts has yet seen,” said Band.
The RED EPIC has been a highly anticipated addition to the RED family. It is one third the size of a RED ONE, features a 5K Mysterium-X sensor and a 27 layer advanced ASIC processor, enabling EPIC to capture up to 120 frames per second, each frame at full 14MP resolution.
RED EPIC and Leica packages will be sold from all four Band Pro offices in Burbank, California; New York, NY; Munich, Germany; and Tel Aviv, Israel. The camera and lens packages from Band Pro will not interfere with deliveries of RED EPIC’s to those customers who have them on backorder.
