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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Red Accessories - Sexy vs. Crappy

Haskell said:
I am guessing RED's number one priority must be getting cameras out the door but at what cost?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that's totally fair. They want to make the best camera they possibly can, produce them in quanity, quickly AND have the quality right AND turn a profit. That's quite a mix. They're figuring it out.

I'm a little concerned about the top handle because you know that's going to get stressed hard. The cradle is built like a tank so cast or not I don't think there will be issues.

Since the bolts are mostly 1/4" course thread I "think" a trip down to the hardware store could get people whatever they prefer.
 
I agree 100% Joelnet, it is quite a mix for them to sort out...I am simply trying to sort out where to get my accessories. I am sure at the end of the day I will have a mix of both RED and 3rd party.

The more I think about it the more I realize I wont have my RED 1781 before NAB so might as well take the opportunity to get my hands on everything RED and 3rd party prior to finalizing my order.

For the record I have spoken with people receiving RED accessories now and they are satisfied with them and everything is fitting. :)
 
I, for one, am extremely disappointed with the quality built of the accessories. Therefore, I have made the decision not to purchase any RED cast accessories at all. Not even the cradle.

I will only buy the body, power system (charger plus 2 batteries), LCD, flash module and a simple battery plate ($175). This should be enough for shooting.

The rest (top mounts, top cheeseplate, 15mm bottom bridge plate etc) I will buy from Element Technica. Top handle etc - I will wait for other options or adapt some myself.

Sorry to say but while RED has superbly exceeded expectations with the camera itself, the accessories are a real let-down. I actually don't know how Jim can live with the current situation.
 
dont know what to think about red assecoires.

1. people say they have a low quality
2. the drives went from 900 to 1100 USD effectively

the gears are used for some weeks/months only and get broken
they should last for a couple of years imo.
 
I know.

When I said I don't know how Jim can live with the current situation, I meant him knowing that many of his customers are disappointed with his accessories. And I fully and honestly believe he wants to see them 110% happy.
 
I have held off commenting on this, but with shit breaking it should be discussed. I think that the design for the shoulder dove tail is bad. It doesn't matter how it's made the design is flawed. People have been making sliding dove tails for a long time, and as far as I know, no one ever used this goofy pin system. It seems to me that whomever did the design work on this stuff made it in a computer, spit it out onto a CNC mill, and had no actual machining/engineering back ground at all, they just wanted it to look cool. If that is not true, and they actually paid an engineer to design this stuff they should fire him.

Shoulder dovetail sucks.

Hand grips slip

I have seen photo's of lots of broken parts

Tolerances are way out of wack/vary depending on when you got them.

There is no shortage of world class machinists in the US. The prices are reasonable. If I go down to Eastern Plating where I get my parts anodized, there are boxes and boxes of parts made to much higher tolerances and standards than the Red AKS. How come the guy who makes RC car hubs in his garage can get it right, and the factory in Singapore can't ?

I am sure that the folks at Red are aware that there is a problem, I am sure they are trying to fix it. I just hope that in the rush, they can take a hard look at some of these designs, and realize they may need to rethink a few things.

When the AATON XTR firts came out the casting on the front where the rods screwed in was designed badly and it constantly broke off when you wacked the rods. So, they changed it.

I think the camera is superb, the images are just spectacular. But hire the guys at ET to make your AKS.

Nick
 
Arrinick,
Well said, especially the comparison to Aaton. Very rough going in the early days, but eventually they grew the system into the slickest and smartest 16mm choice. I for one am willing to be patient, as the Red Team has a lot on their plate. If we early adpoters have to bear the brunt of growing pains, so be it. Just everyone be aware of the (probably very remote) potential for catastophic failure of certain parts and BE CAREFUL when you pick up the camera with all the heavy stuff on it.
Red Team?
Cheers,
Harry
 
Don't Panic. This is the easy part. You are getting a 4k camera for cheap, it might take a little bit of cash and effort to kit it out with some choice AKS.

Element has some good solutions, as does Sim and probably others will soon.

Some people are very happy with the Red Aks - It depends on what you are used to and how much you are willing to spend. It may involve weeding out some defective stuff.

For my needs, to make the camera perform the way I wanted it to I used mostly Elements gear and a few custom pieces. I'm used to film cameras and I wanted my Red to be as compatible, compact and durable as possible.

Different users have different objectives. Figure out what you want and build it out with that in mind. Many roads lead to the same place. There are not many wrong answers and if you end up with some gear you don't want or need put it up on ebay.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
CJ Roy said:
After a shoot last week we noticed that we were having a hard time sliding in the rods for the top mount on #511. We took a closer look and found the problem. This is a comparison to the top mounts that shipped with #96.

topmount_1.jpg

topmount_2.jpg


The cast top mount doesn't have enough thickness to prevent it from breaking. I'm not sure if that's a result from being machined initially or the anodizing process, but clearly it's unacceptable.
Click to expand...

Well, these images say it all I'm afraid. You can clearly see the differences in part thickness and consistency. In the the bottom plate images I've seen, it's the same deal. Not enough material at the obvious stress point, and you have a break. And how long have these parts been in use? Not years mind you. Weeks or months at the most. It's one thing to have a $200 dollar part fail this quickly. But a critical support component failure that could cost you a $20,000 - $65,000 lens or worse is clearly BS.
 
im sorry but the 4k camera for cheap argument doesnt wash with me, yes the camera is fantastic but thats simply no excuse for all that we're seeing here. Thanks btw CJRoy for your great snaps. I'm sure RED is onto it as WE KNOW that Jim and co simply woudnt be happy with customer reactions like this given the fantastic level of build and customer satisfaction we're used to with red so far im kinda surprised any of it was actually let out the door?

its one thing to have a finish that scratches more easily but cracking and not tightening / locking ion place etc is really something else!
 
when i received my camera last week, they were out of many parts (dovetail, baseplate, top mount)--mine are all back-ordered. with the exception of my RED drive, which has that powdery gray finish, all of the rest of the parts on the camera seem to be solid and of the black shiny finish. of course, i have not had time to torture test them yet, but they look good, not like the pictures that i'm seeing here.

so, based on this experience, i believe that they are listening and working on the finish problems. and holding up parts orders to do it, rather than shipping poorly finished products.

it might be helpful to get confirmation of this from RED, however.
 
just so you know... burgers on burger king ads.. or mc-dee's.. don't look like the ones you buy when you order em.

however, when the burgers are consumed "properly"... they really do get the job done... you might get diarrhea every now and then... but hey... its a cheap satisfying meal.
________
Vapor Lounge
 
planet e said:
so, based on this experience, i believe that they are listening and working on the finish problems. and holding up parts orders to do it, rather than shipping poorly finished products.

it might be helpful to get confirmation of this from RED, however.
Click to expand...

Finish concerns have been addressed and the vast majority of the accessories are coming in with the new finish. planet e is correct - some accessories were on backorder as we waited for them to arrive with the new finish.

As I stated in another thread, "if you think an accessory part does not have a finish that meets your expectations, please get us those parts at a convenient time that does not affect your shooting schedule. We will get the finish updated to our current coating specifications. Note, this process can take up to two weeks. If you think a part is out tolerance, please let us know. If it is, the part will be replaced. If you have any questions, please ask your sales rep or PM me."

You guys gave feedback on the finish, RED addressed it, and we all think the concerns over finish will be eliminated with this new finish.

Thanks, BC
 
Brent@RED said:
Finish concerns have been addressed and the vast majority of the accessories are coming in with the new finish. planet e is correct - some accessories were on backorder as we waited for them to arrive with the new finish.

As I stated in another thread, "if you think an accessory part does not have a finish that meets your expectations, please get us those parts at a convenient time that does not affect your shooting schedule. We will get the finish updated to our current coating specifications. Note, this process can take up to two weeks. If you think a part is out tolerance, please let us know. If it is, the part will be replaced. If you have any questions, please ask your sales rep or PM me."

You guys gave feedback on the finish, RED addressed it, and we all think the concerns over finish will be eliminated with this new finish.

Thanks, BC
Click to expand...

Our accessories that we just got, look beautiful, great quality with a great finish.
 
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