Early Adopters...

[Häakon]

It's amazing how much has happened since 2007. Even though it was only 6 years ago, it feels like an eternity as far as technology is concerned. I was a lowly college kid straddled with a mountain of student loan debt in 2006 when Jim first made his announcement, but I knew that if RED could do even half of what they were musing about, they would blow the doors off of anything else that existed. Turns out they leapfrogged what even they knew was possible and giving them my $1000 vote of confidence was the best decision I ever made.

When I look back at this entire journey and what RED has accomplished, one word that comes to mind is "attitude." RED had the attitude to never settle. The attitude to defy conventions and make change for the better. That's what makes them different and in my opinion, that's what made them successful. As customers, it's easy to forget how much RED has enabled us, but the attitude thing works for us too. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities that RED has shown those of us who believed from the beginning when the rest of the world laughed and wrote them off as a joke. It feels good to know we haven't been forgotten. But whether you are customer #1 or #10,000, you have at your disposal the best imaging capture device on the planet. To me, that's the biggest "reward" of all.

 

[Clint Johnson]

This is a trip down memory lane. Almost seven years... oddly I can't really make up my mind on whether it seems way longer or way shorter than that? I also can't count the number of great people I have met because of this camera. Unfortunately, I can't make NAB this year and will miss out on the revealy goodness.

 

[Ergin Ozturk]

Hi Brent
my RedOne serial number was around 1057 (?) . so am i within the group? how can i be sure?

 

[Eirik Tyrihjel]

I love this company!

#476 standing by!

I treasure my titanium "R", and my beloved Red One MX with SSD is still in regular service and highly regarded!

 

[Yaque Silva-Doyle]

Sold my dream car to buy Red One number 1332. And than upgraded to Epic 459.

 

[Paul Kalbach]

NAB 2007: after seeing PJ's film I picked my jaw up off the floor of the Red booth screening room and staggered out; "Now I understand....here's my money....where do I sign?" I received my first Red exactly one year later the day after I returned from NAB 2008. Now I have two Red Ones (both upgraded to MX) and an Epic-X #263. It's been a great ride and only gets better. Thank you Red Team! See you at NAB.

 

[Elijah Kelley]

RED ONE 1866...May 07...by the hair of my chinny chin chin. Well, almost.

 

[Brian Ferguson]

This is the first "R" Jim signed at NAB 2006. I was the test for the credit card reader.
Jim signed it and carefully placed it in the box. Then pulled out one of his stainless steel cards and said something to effect of "Thanks for your trust in us, here is my card, call me any time I'll be there if you have any questions". I was a volunteer in the booth, and I know I was a test subject. But it was like a ceremony where I was welcomed to the family. I saw him do the same thing for everyone that placed a deposit while he was in the booth.

 

[Elsie N]

This seems a bit like another way to split the RED customers into 2 groups - the original real RED users and those who trailed them later. I guess I'll skip the RED booth since, as a second class user, I paid full price for an Epic M 18 months ago and have never enjoyed the free ride those "early adopters" have received in upgrades and perks. Looks like those amazing visionary customers will, again, enjoy some form of upgrade we M users will not receive. How much is enough for patting these guys on the back and handing out free stuff that is subsidized by those who paid full price? Is this fair? Does this exclusive club that others can never join really encourage brand growth?

Plenty of other things to do at NAB than to see these chosen ones get more praise and goodies it seems.

I thought the Epic M customers were the ones who got the "free ride" when they were able to buy Epics during the Japanese parts problem. Sure you paid more but at least you got a camera by jumping the line. Maybe a little less re-writing history?

 

[Raphael Varandas]

I am RED One MX 3303 and Epic M 812... considering that I am downstairs here in Brazil and my Epic's are the first one in South America.
I think I am Early Adopter too
Dont forget us !


Ps.: Scarlets 8x e 10x


Cheers from Brazil

 

[Vance Colvig]

#269.........and "I am curious Red"

 

[Michael Thornton]

I agree.

I thought the Epic M customers were the ones who got the "free ride" when they were able to buy Epics during the Japanese parts problem. Sure you paid more but at least you got a camera by jumping the line. Maybe a little less re-writing history?

 

[Steve Gal]

Red #640 & 1636 still working and rented all the time.

 

[James Burgess]

I remember watching Peter Jackson's film and going home that night and telling my wife she had to come back to the Red Tent with me the next day.
She did. And I have the stainless steel card and #074 titanium R to prove it.

 

[Brian Ferguson]

I remember watching Peter Jackson's film and going home that night and telling my wife she had to come back to the Red Tent with me the next day.
She did. And I have the stainless steel card and #074 titanium R to prove it.

Don't mean to rain on your story but the Peter Jackson film was in 2007 not 2006 we were way over 100 reservations on the first day of NAB 2006. In 2006 there wasn't a camera to shoot with, just a plan to make one.

 

[James Burgess]

you're right.....! At my age things that long ago tend to blend together.
Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Shawn Bannon]

This is pretty exciting, I'm very curious. Halloween 2006. Made sense at the time when the deposit equaled roughly two 1000ft rolls of 35mm.

 

[Les Hillis]

I'd like to thank the early adopters too. Without them, RED could have failed as a business and been forced to call it quits (or aim at a different market maybe), and I would never have got to play with the technology myself later on when it became more affordable.

I could be wrong, but I'm not so sure RED would have continued making camera's regardless of how many they sold at the outset. I think the key players' passion for what they were doing could only have gotten them so far. Business is business and if people don't want to participate in what you're doing, you're done for. I think even with team RED's approach and products having what seem like obvious advantages to some, there was still no absolute guarantee that what RED was doing would prove to be viable and sustainable. And I think that's still true to a lesser extent. It was and still is a risky venture, and it makes sense to me that they'd be thankful for the support of those who have helped them along the way, especially earlier on.

I don't begrudge early adopters still remaining at the forefront of RED developments if they choose to be there. What irks me, if I think along those lines (and I generally don't), is the ongoing lack of appreciation shown towards RED from those who still refuse to support them or even acknowledge what they've done and are doing, while at the same time indirectly benefiting from the changes they've brought about in a wider sense. It's hard to quantify, but really, how different would things be in the digital film/cinema realm if RED weren't around?

Somebody asked me back in the early 90's how long it would be before I started using 'video' instead of film (Super-8 & 16mm Reversal). I looked at it and guessed, at the current rate, it would be about 15 to 20 years before the image-quality and affordability would be about right. It's crazy to me that even that was an over-optimistic estimation of where we'd be. And still, without RED, we wouldn't even be this close to it.

So yeah, thanks RED for putting it out there, and thanks to the early adopters for laying it down and paving the way for the rest of us. Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with next.

 

[Mark Warren]

Introduced to and sold on the RED camera concept by Craig Thomson, a lunatic former Oakley rep who still swears Jim fired him at least 3 times! Could have been 5 times. i was so amused by this I failed to enquire exactly how this was possible. Then again, Thommo is a pathological exaggerator, but his enthusiasm and grandiose statements about the camera pre prototype were hilariously infectious... and ironically, turned out to be true! One day hopefully Jim will confirm how many times exactly he fired Craig.

 

[Brian Ferguson]

Introduced to and sold on the RED camera concept by Craig Thomson, a lunatic former Oakley rep who still swears Jim fired him at least 3 times! Could have been 5 times. i was so amused by this I failed to enquire exactly how this was possible. Then again, Thommo is a pathological exaggerator, but his enthusiasm and grandiose statements about the camera pre prototype were hilariously infectious... and ironically, turned out to be true! One day hopefully Jim will confirm how many times exactly he fired Craig.

I just shot some off-road truck footage for a guy I know a few weeks ago, he was still saying the "Oakley Camera" I had to set him straight - it is RED totally separate company, but it still amuses me. I have worked with the Oakley Video dept. for 15 years, still do. But to your point, there are a lot of people who believe in Jim. It was a simple decision to stand in the RED booth in 2006 because I had been around Jim for 9 years and I knew he was not going to start something unless he was totally committed to its success.