The once in a lifetime opportunity for Raven owners to upgrade to Dragon-X is planned for one week on February (11-15). The upgrade will be performed at RED store in Los Angeles and will cost $8500.

RED Raven owners who want to keep their camera updated and upgradeable, have the chance to join the DSMC2 new lineup by a unique upgrade option offered by RED’s president, Jarred Land. As posted by Jarred on RED Raven FB group: ”OK Raven owners. My back-of-the-RSH-store trade up to Dragon-X is ready but the renovation of RSH isn’t… so we are just going to go ahead anyway and do it out of one of the offices at the studio for the week Feb 11th to Feb 15th. This is not an official option and will not be extended past that week. Just as a reminder, its $8500 Raven brain to Dragon-X brain. Which means you will need to buy whatever mount you want to go with. You pay at time of the swap. Again.. not official. A Unicorn upgrade that will dissapear forever after Valentines Day. Email me at Jarred@red.com if you want to do it. Everyone else, carry on.”

Its $8500 Raven brain to Dragon-X brain. Which means you will need to buy whatever mount you want to go with. You pay at time of the swap Jarred Land

Does it worth it?

It depends. If you are happy with your Raven, then keep it. The upgrade is far from being cheap and thus is not for everyone. It’s for those that want the privilege of changeable mounts, in-camera IPP2, a bit more resolution, and slightly bigger sensor size.

There is no option to upgrade from Raven to Gemini. The only way to do it is to upgrade to Dragon-X and then from Dragon-X to Gemini.

One of the main advantages of the upgrade to Dragon-X is being able to enjoy from the optional upgrade paths, as the upgraded Raven will become a member of the DSMC2 unified family. For example, there is no option to upgrade from Raven to Gemini. The only way to do it is to upgrade to Dragon-X and then from Dragon-X to Gemini.

BTW, RED Raven is not available anymore on B&H store and is discontinued, which means there is a chance that the demand for Raven cameras can be even higher.

Is it a good deal for Raven owners? Let’s know what you think about this initiative in the comments section below.