Advice before buying a used Epic

[Christoffer Glans]

I might be able to buy a used Epic very soon but I have some questions before.

Is there a certain running hours limit where you should be careful about buying used? Is the Epic to Dragon upgrade going to end or will everyone be able to upgrade to Dragon if they have an Epic, even later (like, next year)? Does the camera need to be sent to Red for inspection when buying and if that is the case, how much does it cost?

 

[Tom Greenberg]

I might be able to buy a used Epic very soon but I have some questions before.

Is there a certain running hours limit where you should be careful about buying used? Is the Epic to Dragon upgrade going to end or will everyone be able to upgrade to Dragon if they have an Epic, even later (like, next year)? Does the camera need to be sent to Red for inspection when buying and if that is the case, how much does it cost?

I'll address your points in order...

1) Hours - I don't think hours are an indicator of much except overall use the camera got. There are really no moving parts in an Epic, so it's not like there are mechanical things that will break from overuse. I do think that hours can serve to give you an idea of what the camera might have been exposed to. High hours indicates a camera that saw a lot of use, probably in a lot of different situations, and might have been exposed more to dust, extreme temps, vibration, and the other things that sophisticated electronics don't like. Low hours indicate to me a camera that has led a more sheltered life. These are gross generalizations, and each individual situation will differ. But in general, I'd say a low hour camera is a tiny bit more desirable.

2) Dragon Upgrade - No one (except RED) knows the answer to this. I assume that the upgrade will be in place for a while because they still have a lot of cameras that are waiting to be upgraded. But it could end at any point.

3) When you purchase a used RED (at least in this country…might be slightly different in EU), there is a $500 US ownership transfer fee. That entitles the new owner to receive firmware updates (which happen regularly). At the same time that you transfer ownership, you have the option of returning your camera to RED and paying a $100 inspection fee. They inspect the camera brain, make sure it is all in proper working order, and give you a 90 warranty on it. This is well worth it on a used camera where you don't know it's entire history. As a buyer, it is a great way to ensure that your transaction is legitimate. The camera goes back to RED; RED verifies that the current owner is the registered owner and actually has the right to sell you the camera; RED gets all your contact information so that you get all the privileges of being an owner going forward; the camera gets inspected for working properly; and you get a 90 day warranty…pretty great deal for $600 US + shipping.

Hope that helps...

 

[Christoffer Glans]

I'll address your points in order...

1) Hours - I don't think hours are an indicator of much except overall use the camera got. There are really no moving parts in an Epic, so it's not like there are mechanical things that will break from overuse. I do think that hours can serve to give you an idea of what the camera might have been exposed to. High hours indicates a camera that saw a lot of use, probably in a lot of different situations, and might have been exposed more to dust, extreme temps, vibration, and the other things that sophisticated electronics don't like. Low hours indicate to me a camera that has led a more sheltered life. These are gross generalizations, and each individual situation will differ. But in general, I'd say a low hour camera is a tiny bit more desirable.

2) Dragon Upgrade - No one (except RED) knows the answer to this. I assume that the upgrade will be in place for a while because they still have a lot of cameras that are waiting to be upgraded. But it could end at any point.

3) When you purchase a used RED (at least in this country…might be slightly different in EU), there is a $500 US ownership transfer fee. That entitles the new owner to receive firmware updates (which happen regularly). At the same time that you transfer ownership, you have the option of returning your camera to RED and paying a $100 inspection fee. They inspect the camera brain, make sure it is all in proper working order, and give you a 90 warranty on it. This is well worth it on a used camera where you don't know it's entire history. As a buyer, it is a great way to ensure that your transaction is legitimate. The camera goes back to RED; RED verifies that the current owner is the registered owner and actually has the right to sell you the camera; RED gets all your contact information so that you get all the privileges of being an owner going forward; the camera gets inspected for working properly; and you get a 90 day warranty…pretty great deal for $600 US + shipping.

Hope that helps...

Thank you!
I know that this camera has been used a lot for studio work, but has also been rented out. So as I understand it, even though it could have a high running count, it might not be such a big deal? The one thing I'm concerned about is that I think that sensors degrade over time of usage. I'm not hundred percent sure about this, but my DSLR's all got worn down over the years, their sensors showing more dead pixels and such. But let's say I do an upgrade to Dragon next year, that wouldn't be an issue cause I'm replacing the sensor with a totally new one.

Is it possible to buy the red armor for a used Epic while doing the Red inspection? Or if I do a Dragon upgrade, will there be a red armor available to buy for an Epic upgraded to Dragon?

Also, is the inspection available to be done in UK? It's much easier for me to send it to UK than US.

 

[Tom Greenberg]

I would say that I've seen Epics with hour counts in the high hundreds that perform flawlessly. I really wouldn't worry about the hours too much. And the inspection will tell you if there is anything that doesn't meet the proper specs. If that were to happen, (assuming you made passing the inspection a condition of completing the sale) it would be the current owner's responsibility to get it fixed, and you could renegotiate your purchase price and/or arrangements.

Yes, you can purchase Upgrade Armor ($1500 US) at the time of inspection. That increases your warranty from 90 days to 1 year on your Epic MX. And if you get a Dragon Upgrade, you can also purchase RED Armor for the Dragon.

I don't know if RED UK can perform an ownership transfer inspection, you would have to contact them directly to find out. I do know that only RED HQ in California is performing Dragon upgrades. However, you can send your camera to RED UK, who will take care of shipping it to and from California for you.

 

[Jordan Buck]

Red UK can do transfer of ownership and have done this for me it cost around £350 and was very quick and smooth.
I purchased my Epic second hand with 500 hours on it, and Its been great, the only issue I have had was to do with power distribution and nothing to do with the hours or age of the camera.

I feel that most people are fairly transparent when it comes to what there camera has been exposed to, its always good to ask what the camera has been on, also have a look into what kind of production they do, a surf and snowboard filmers camera would have been subject to much more extreme situations than someone who say has a 600 hour camera that shoots in a studio all day long.

Take your time and dont rush, I have been extremely happy with my purchase.