Many of your favorite mountain bike and ski flicks are shot with Red cameras. These high-end boxes produce gorgeous footage, but for a high price. The company's Weapon, for example, sells for nearly $70,000.
In an effort to broaden its market a bit more, Red just released a more affordable version, dubbed the Raven, which costs $6,000 if you just buy the camera, no accessories included. This camera doesn't have the super-high resolution of Red's top-end offerings, but still delivers 4K video at up to 120 fps. With 16.5 stops of dynamic range, it can also produce stunning footage in variable light.
The camera body weighs just 3.5 pounds, making it ideal for run-and-gun adventure filmmakers, and petite enough for aerial drone work.
The Raven accepts virtually all of Canon’s still and cinema lenses, and you can get a full, ready-to-shoot rig, with handle and monitor, for about $10,000. That's certainly not cheap, but for amateurs looking to break into the pro photo ranks, it's a good deal more accessible than a normal Red.
$6,000, red.com