The RED camera is a next generation video format which is well known among video enthusiasts for it’s stunning clarity and amazingly high definition. The 4096 by 2304 pixel resolution is still out of reach of all but the pro videographers and so underwater footage using the RED format camera is still very rare. You can therefore understand our excitement when we heard that a RED was being taken for a dive in the Maldives and the video above is a testament to a promising future of extra high definition underwater videography. The Maldives in RED video may be only 720p but when 2300 pixels are down-converted to 720, there is a still a kind of definition that your iPhone 3Gs or Flip Mimo could only dream of. Particularly noteworthy in this video is the range of reef fish behavior which can be seen in some of the short clips, including a Chaetodon lineolatus butterflyfish waiting for the proper time to take a nip of a ritteri anemone and a Nigripes clownfish quickly chasing it away. With a starting price of $17K+, it’ll be a long time until such high definition underwater films are commonplace but in the meantime, we’ll cherish this little snippet and look forward to watching more underwater videos in 4K definition. Maldives in RED video by Howard Hall.
