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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 :)

Origo - heres the deal...

C

CVB

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I read a post a few minutes ago suggesting that we were manufacturing counterfeit connectors and stamping the Lemo name on them. That is ridiculous. We have spent over $50K with lemo over the past several months and even had them manufacture the first 400 cables that we shipped with Origo. While it is true that we were contemplating using a non-lemo connector for Origo we never went through with it. We received a couple samples that were amazing but upon receipt of $14K woth of production non-lemo connectors we quickly found that they were total garbage. We scrapped the entire plan.

When it came time to pick connectors for Inclino and Impero we again decided to see if there were any alternatives to the Lemo connectors and received about 100 plugs and 50 receptacles from a company here in the states selling "lemo-compatible" connectors. We assembled about 50 cables using these connectors as they seemed to be fine but upon having several of our preliminary testers on Inclino test the units we received the news that those connectors were also not quite up to the cinema standard - thery weren't necessarily unusable but they were difficult to use and unreliable. We put the cables on the shelf amongst dozens of other scrap parts.

I received a call this afternoon from Abel where they in fact had received cables from us that had these non-lemo connectors on them. In the end it looks like some of those cables may have slipped into the production cables for origo. All I can say is we messed up. We have three people working full time on the assembly, testing, and technical aspects of Origo, Inclino and Impero in tight quarters. I cant be on the shop floor 24/7 and everyone in the shop is not aware of the ins and outs of the parts on the shelves.

I can promise that we are changing the way things are done... we are taking every single bad part in our shop and boxing them up and putting them in my storage - far from where we assemble production parts. As for any of you that find a cable with these non-lemo connectors... email us at info@viewfactor.net and we will arrange to have them replaced. You can identify the connectors because they do not say "LEMO" on them.

Once again, I apologize profusely for this problem and we are taking measures that we never have this happen again.
 
Thanks Curt,

after all testing and checking I still think that Origo is the best accessory on my RED1.
 
Our Origo has worked perfectly from the day we received it many months ago. Indispensable product. Many thanks.
 
Good to know. I wonder how many of the failures are with non lemo cables? Any thoughts on how many third party cables shipped?

I have to reiterate my support for ya. My Origo works flawlessly, and is my favorite Red add on. Getting a complex product to market isn't easy. A lot of people on this forum have never had the chance to watch products come to market by developing in front of their eyes. And I think a lot aren't use to it. Keep your head up.

Also thanks for initiating that customer survey. Hopefully those results will be handy in figuring this out.
 
Hey Curt - got your survey. Read the other thread and I think some of the accusations shot at you are pretty unfair.

My Origo and cables have worked 100% from day one. I'm sure this will blow over soon enough and many of us on here know you're working your arse off to get your products out there the best you can.

Cam
 
Pictures to identify?

Pictures to identify?

CVB said:
I read a post a few minutes ago suggesting that we were manufacturing counterfeit connectors and stamping the Lemo name on them. That is ridiculous. We have spent over $50K with lemo over the past several months and even had them manufacture the first 400 cables that we shipped with Origo. While it is true that we were contemplating using a non-lemo connector for Origo we never went through with it. We received a couple samples that were amazing but upon receipt of $14K woth of production non-lemo connectors we quickly found that they were total garbage. We scrapped the entire plan.

When it came time to pick connectors for Inclino and Impero we again decided to see if there were any alternatives to the Lemo connectors and received about 100 plugs and 50 receptacles from a company here in the states selling "lemo-compatible" connectors. We assembled about 50 cables using these connectors as they seemed to be fine but upon having several of our preliminary testers on Inclino test the units we received the news that those connectors were also not quite up to the cinema standard - thery weren't necessarily unusable but they were difficult to use and unreliable. We put the cables on the shelf amongst dozens of other scrap parts.

I received a call this afternoon from Abel where they in fact had received cables from us that had these non-lemo connectors on them. In the end it looks like some of those cables may have slipped into the production cables for origo. All I can say is we messed up. We have three people working full time on the assembly, testing, and technical aspects of Origo, Inclino and Impero in tight quarters. I cant be on the shop floor 24/7 and everyone in the shop is not aware of the ins and outs of the parts on the shelves.

I can promise that we are changing the way things are done... we are taking every single bad part in our shop and boxing them up and putting them in my storage - far from where we assemble production parts. As for any of you that find a cable with these non-lemo connectors... email us at info@viewfactor.net and we will arrange to have them replaced. You can identify the connectors because they do not say "LEMO" on them.

Once again, I apologize profusely for this problem and we are taking measures that we never have this happen again.
Click to expand...

Is it possible for you to post some snaps for us to find whether the cable shipped with connectors is lemo or not?
 
Thanks for the explanation, Curt. Will be checking all cables. Origo is an important accessory for me. Before considering other purchases, I'd like to hear your reaction to this statement:

QUOTE FROM JARRED: uggh. We ( at RED ) jumped up and down, waved the RED flag, and screamed to Curt months ago that there was a serious issue and that many customers were affected. For whatever reason, those multiple warnings were met with denial and/or fell on deaf ears. And some how in the end, RED still gets blamed for the problem. end QUOTE

BTW I think its absurd that people are suggesting that Red pay for any damages connected to this.
 
My origo is working fine since day one too. I have a very early SN (#OR0062). I also checked both cables (long one and short one) and they are fine.

I am sorry for all this trouble Curt is going through because I still believe they have manufactured very good quality products at very good prices.
 
gbalaji said:
Is it possible for you to post some snaps for us to find whether the cable shipped with connectors is lemo or not?
Click to expand...

The last part of his post said that the suspect connectors do NOT have LEMO stamped on them.
 
I had some custom work done a few years back on my Steadicam that incorporated Jupiter (Lemo-compatible) right-angle connectors. They live in a connected state on the rig and at least one if not more of them are able to be rotated a certain amount and always have been. I should probably have changed them out right away but they are simple two-conductor power cables and I just moved on. However it did convince me that expensive as they are, true Lemos are the only way to go (I own many thousands of dollars worth of Steadicam and Preston power cables and the Lemo connectors are simply bulletproof).
 
Sanjin Jukic said:
Thanks Curt,

after all testing and checking I still think that Origo is the best accessory on my RED1.
Click to expand...

Hah, you took the words out of my mouth. Hang in there Curt. This news is of course unsettling but I feel quite confident after using the Origo since day one (and intensively for the last 2 weeks) my camera is still in good shape.

Good luck getting to the bottom of this Curt.
 
Just a note on this. After reading Jarred's thread on this on the weekend I decided to check some VFS cables in Abel's inventory. All of the Sales cables appeared fine but I did discover so far one cable with connectors that did not have LEMO engraved on them. When we informed Curt he seemed genuinely surprised that they had gotten out to us and immediately offered to replace them. Please note that these connectors and all our of Origos are working just fine with no problems. The shells do not rotate 180 degrees and there appears to be absolutely nothing wrong with them other than that they are not actually Lemo brand. For prudence sake we will send them back to View Factor for replacement.
 
Phil Jordan said:
It now seems like you did receive up to 100 sets of knockoff Lemos and Jarred did warn you a couple of months ago that you had a cable issue and you didn't bother check or to mention that when you had all the info. Then you denied it in the other thread. And you still didn't bring it up when Red was asked to pay for the repairs. This is not a confidence builder.
Click to expand...

It's not clear that it was known to be a cable issue at that time. It is clear that problems were happening and warnings ignored. Let's keep in mind how we all (I assume) want this to end up. Viewfactor is making gear we like and need, so I hope they (he??) can stay in business, having learned a lesson in listening skills.

This is a new business model - direct sales without dealers and wholesalers. So feedback has to happen in a new way, since the traditional channels are not there. Red has taken this to a new level. They are big enough, with enough capitalization, to have people who answer the phone. They really seem to listen to the direct and web based feedback.

This is the challenge for the smaller vendors embarking on the direct sales approach, ViewFactor, ET, RedRock, etc. How to really listen with limited staff and budget. This has been the challenge for me in dealing with these vendors - occasional web based notice with little human interaction. Note that Curt finally got it when he heard from directly from Abel.

So who's responsible for the fried boards? Clearly not Red, though I have never liked many of the connectors they have chosen. In this case, a cable that can not be reversed would be far better (hint for Epic). Can Viewfactor afford to fix some number of cameras and stay in business? It's a whole new model, and we, the Red community, will have considerable influence on how it works out.
 
Our Origo has been awesome! If you've got an issue with Curt, then send him a PM, and please whatever you do, don't blame RED for issues with 3rd party accessories, they've been really open to letting people develop cool accessories for their cameras, if they get blamed all the time for little issues, then they might stop.

I feel bad for the people who've plugged in the cable the wrong way, but honestly, a $500 repair is more inconvenient than it is expensive if you're using your camera all the time. Expect maintenance and you won't be disappointed.
 
CVB said:
we are taking every single bad part in our shop and boxing them up and putting them in my storage - far from where we assemble production parts.
Click to expand...

Thank you for addressing this matter, Curt. I haven't got around to checking my cables yet this morning, but will do so sometime today.

As for the above comment from you, take my advice on this... Destroy or dispose of them. Don't store something you should never use.
 
Of course I'm going to check my Origo but I think that it works great - I was going to make one myself but then I saw the beep on, beep-beep off in the Origo and the super low price and bought it. The audible on/off makes the cam work just that much better. A required accessory for me.
 
Douglas Underdahl said:
Of course I'm going to check my Origo but I think that it works great - I was going to make one myself but then I saw the beep on, beep-beep off in the Origo and the super low price and bought it. The audible on/off makes the cam work just that much better. A required accessory for me.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree ! we just call it "the Beep Beep" it's very valuable as a battery gauge too.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
My 4 Lemos in my two VF cables are fine. No problem since day 1.
The fake Lemos with the brand stamped on is a good idea, but why dont add value to the thing stamping on a bigger mark up name like, i'm just brainstorming here, Bulgari, Tiffany, Ferrari
 
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