"My $900 Canon HV30 has more dynamic range."

Thanks for the laugh!

I believe what you're seeing are the benefits of that huge Red sensor and its ability to produce film-like depth-of-field. No more is there a need for an adapter, the camera just does it! :)

Sorry, but with all due respect, adapter or not, the sensor doesn't produce the DoF, it only captures it. The DoF is controlled by aperture & focal length. The lens is the key.

With all due respect as well. The sensor size is in fact very important to DoF. There is plenty of online discussion of this relative to full frame vs crop frame digital still cameras. dofmaster.com/dof_dslr.html for example.

I won't try to explain the optical geometry in detail here, but in short a larger image circle does result in tighter DoF control for a given FoV on a given lens.

Makes sense.

I guess my point was that the sensor is not the only factor in DoF. The RED camera hasn't cornered the market here. Shallow DoF is absolutely possible on a much smaller sensor: like the 1/3" sensors in a HVX200 or an XL2. (With adapters & proper lenses of course.)

I look at like this: you could have an 8" sensor, but if your lens's aperture won't get wide enough, the DoF will suffer. (Be virtually non-existent) However, even with a tiny sensor, some DoF is possible with the right lens setup. (Capable of a wide aperture.)

So I'll retract my statement that the sensor is irrelevant. But I feel the lenses are a larger factor in determining DoF.