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Here is the latest from Jim Jannard regarding formats and the reasoning for the decisions regarding 720 and 1080 onboard recording support:

I hate to chime in....... but I will. We are going ahead, although it will take some time, to do two builds. One is 4K and 2K. The other will be 1080P and 720P. You can upload either one and change builds whenever you want.

But.

Mark is right. Once you really shoot 4K and see how easy it is to deliver 4K, 2K, 4K stills, 1080P and 720P from the 4K (and keep a 4K master for future proofing), you will just not want to bother shooting a smaller format. That footage will not be RAW. And it will likely be throw-away. You won't have the creative flexibility you have shooting a larger format and RAW. Shooting 1080P or 720P may save space while recording, but then is that the driver of why you are spending the time and money to shoot on a system like this?

I further agree with Mark that you may not believe it until you start shooting. You'll shoot 4K footage, be blown away, then shoot 720P and wonder what you were thinking.

We are doing two builds to show we are listening to our customers. If you are one of the people that absolutely needs, wants and will use the HD options, then we have done our job. But a year from now, I'm going to bet $5 (cash poor right now) that these boards will be talking about... "remember when RED was a scam? And remember when we all wanted 720P? What were we thinking?"

I'm not the smartest guy on the block, and we are going to deliver what you asked for, but my crystal ball is pretty clear on this one.

I am not here to discredit anyone's needs or wishes. This was a debate that raged on for weeks a couple of months ago. And I don't want to resurrect another one. This is just my very strong opinion. From personal experience.

I'm shooting today on an island in Washington. I LOVE this camera. I would have to shoot myself in the back of the head if I ever thought about shooting this camera in 720P. At any frame rate. This is a pro tool. And 720P will no longer be considered a pro recording format in the very near future...IMHO. (I can hear the grumbling now).

Now everyone relax. We will deliver what you think you want. But 4K will spoil you. I know that for a fact.

Jim