Mike Kushner
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So...like many people I bought the Quick Release Dovetail and 15mm Studio bracket only to find out that it is a "centered" format that is basically useless with all my already owned 15mm Studio accessories, like mattebox and lens support. (Photo attached)
I watched the product demo more than once before purchasing and not once does the presenter mention that this 15mm system won't fit existing 15mm studio accessories. The dovetail came with no instructions or any documents at all on their use.
I had to snap the items together during prep to figure out that they did not line up to lens center. (I've been a working cameraman for about 20 years and have owned three Arriflex packages, Varicams, Betacams, a Red One and six other professional camera packages and have never heard of a "centered" 15mm studio system...I think it might have been invented by Red...or was that the old Panavision Elaine system?...anyway in my experience 15mm Studio has always been the same format and yes, slightly offset to center)
So...when RED sells an item called 15mm Studio, in my opinion, it's misrepresented. All that is no big deal, until...
I go to return the system and am told that because I snapped together the painted metal on metal parts (under the weight of the camera) it left the tiniest bit of cosmetic wear and now the $800 in parts i purchased are subject to a $240 re-stocking fee. I don't think it's possible to click those metal parts together without showing some slight wear...it's metal on metal...of course it shows wear.
I can understand the need to have some re-stocking fees, but after an industry standard height and spacing is arbitrarily re-tooled and that's not mentioned in the product video and the parts come without documents or instructions, doesn't the company have some responsibility to accept a return without a gouging re-stocking fee?
In my opinion, yes. I bet I'm not the only one.
I watched the product demo more than once before purchasing and not once does the presenter mention that this 15mm system won't fit existing 15mm studio accessories. The dovetail came with no instructions or any documents at all on their use.
I had to snap the items together during prep to figure out that they did not line up to lens center. (I've been a working cameraman for about 20 years and have owned three Arriflex packages, Varicams, Betacams, a Red One and six other professional camera packages and have never heard of a "centered" 15mm studio system...I think it might have been invented by Red...or was that the old Panavision Elaine system?...anyway in my experience 15mm Studio has always been the same format and yes, slightly offset to center)
So...when RED sells an item called 15mm Studio, in my opinion, it's misrepresented. All that is no big deal, until...
I go to return the system and am told that because I snapped together the painted metal on metal parts (under the weight of the camera) it left the tiniest bit of cosmetic wear and now the $800 in parts i purchased are subject to a $240 re-stocking fee. I don't think it's possible to click those metal parts together without showing some slight wear...it's metal on metal...of course it shows wear.
I can understand the need to have some re-stocking fees, but after an industry standard height and spacing is arbitrarily re-tooled and that's not mentioned in the product video and the parts come without documents or instructions, doesn't the company have some responsibility to accept a return without a gouging re-stocking fee?
In my opinion, yes. I bet I'm not the only one.
