Using the RED Tools app even if you don’t use Apple products is now a reality. The recent update to the RED Tools app includes a version for Android, says RED.

RED Tools is a multipurpose toolkit designed for use by filmmakers and cinematographers with RED’s DSMC2 and DSMC cameras… and until now only those using an iOS device. That’s changing now, and RED users who use Android devices will also be able to download the free app from Google Play, and use its multiple functions.

The application outlines best practices in camera set-up for a variety of shooting situations.  Each tool is customizable based on RED camera and sensor type and standard film formats are also included for comparison. The functions included are:

• Crop Factor, giving users a preview of how a given focal length will appear depending on resolution setting and sensor type. Illustration depicts viewable area relative to a traditional 35 mm stills photography sensor by default, but other reference sensors are selectable within the drop-down menu.
• R3D Recording Time, to evaluate the video data rate and available recording time based on your RED camera settings. This can help you understand media requirements and production costs in advance of a shoot.

• Flicker Free Video, to help find a flicker-free shutter speed and frame rate combination when shooting under artificial lighting.

• Depth Of Field, a guide to better understand how various camera settings influence depth of field.

• Panning Speed, to estimate the panning speed where judder will likely become too pronounced. The goal is to provide a more accessible tool than the charts and tables commonly referenced in cinematography manuals. It uses the standard rule of thumb that camera panning should not cause objects to transit the entire horizontal extent of an image in any less than seven seconds.

• Exposure, a tool to assist with exposure when one camera setting has to change. Example usage scenarios include when a higher frame rate needs to be used for slow motion, when the T-stop has to change for depth of field, or when the shutter angle has to change to minimize flickering in artificial light.

Camera operators will also find the tool offers Light and Dark modes, for different shooting environments, and that the applications is offered in 11 languages, including English, Simplified Chinese, German, Japanese, French, Spanish, and more. If you’ve none of the OS – Android or iOS –  and still want to use the RED Tools, there is an online version which can be used from anywhere you have a computer and a connection to the Internet.