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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 :)

EPIC is great...BUT....

M

Maz Mawlawi

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Alright I know my complain won't change anything but I'll feel better after I type this and I'll get over it...:sosp: :blush:
RED makes the best camera in the world. No complain about this. The Epic makes stunning images and you guys simply give us the best technology out there. For that I love you guys!...BUT...when it comes to having accessories available to us you guys simply fall short... Seriously..we have two Epic X but we cannot use the redvolts because the side handles are on back order and the battery module isn't shipping yet..... Yeah, yeah...I know we were warned about this but it is still frustrating. i remember clearly in the past that it was stated that this would not be a problem by the time the X are out and that there would plenty of available accessories... I Can only see the problem getting worse with the Scarlett release on nov 3rd. Every time there is a new item on the store, all of use have to scramble and compete against each other to order a part because we know it will be on backorder for ever after that. I am a little surprised that you have not anticipated the huge demand there would be for all your accessories (especially after delaying the camera for so long). we had the same problem back in the days of the RED one 4 years ago. yes your manufacturing process has gotten much better and your accessories are now top notch quality...but you still cannot seem to have a healthy amount of supply to meet demand... And this is RED's weakest link. It's the complain I hear the most on set...that it's impossible to get accessories for RED cameras...
alright I feel better...I am over it for now.... :hand:
 
It does suck, and I'm still waiting for a REDmote that was in my M package almost
90 days ago and a Canon mount I ordered before many others that still hasn't even made it to my email box.

BUT it comes with the territory.. And I complain my ass off to poor Chris and Michael my BOMB reps..

The fact is: RED is like your dream girl.. Almost impossible to get, but when you get her you forget how long it took..

Go shoot with what ya got, that's what I'm going to do…
 
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This is something I worry a lot about. For the most part Red has been catering to a pretty specialized small market. People that ordered REDmotes 4 months ago with Epic packages still don't have them. I'm curious if RED is planning to increase their accessories production line to keep up with the HORDE of scarlet orders that are going to be made on the 3rd? I feel like when I make my order on that date I shouldn't be expecting anything until spring or summer of next year....I don't know. I put my full faith in RED products and wouldn't want any quality to be diminished by increasing production, but I can't help but want my scarlet up and running by the time it finally gets to me. Nothing would be worse than having a working scarlet in front of me that I can't use because I don't have a red handle or a redmote or the touch screen. I know Jarred is a smart dude and I'm sure they have put a ton of thought into this. I just can't help but worry....
 
Joseph Coleman said:
This is something I worry a lot about. For the most part Red has been catering to a pretty specialized small market. People that ordered REDmotes 4 months ago with Epic packages still don't have them. I'm curious if RED is planning to increase their accessories production line to keep up with the HORDE of scarlet orders that are going to be made on the 3rd? I feel like when I make my order on that date I shouldn't be expecting anything until spring or summer of next year....I don't know. I put my full faith in RED products and wouldn't want any quality to be diminished by increasing production, but I can't help but want my scarlet up and running by the time it finally gets to me. Nothing would be worse than having a working scarlet in front of me that I can't use because I don't have a red handle or a redmote or the touch screen. I know Jarred is a smart dude and I'm sure they have put a ton of thought into this. I just can't help but worry....
Click to expand...

The announcements on November 3rd should address your concerns per what we have been told by The Mad Scientist himself.
 
Justin, your comment about "dream girl" is so true. Otherwise, Maz is completely on track. I don't know why Red is always backordered on things. Speaking as a business owner for 14 years, a certain phenomenon comes to mind that often plagues my business activities. Sometimes, in small businesses (Red possibly included), there is only a very small set of people actually making big decisions. Sometimes the same set of people are also heavily involved in the design of those decisions, too. As things grow, this small set of people are stretched very thin, and can only focus on "what's absolutely necessary and vital" to the company. The accessories, while clearly vital to YOU AND ME, are not vital to Red's survival. They need great cameras, everything comes after that. that "small set of people" is focusing on some very big problems, and the backorder issue is probably a lower priority for them (believe it or not). In larger organizations they tend to hand-off those roles to another department, which can work exclusively on that. But that's also where you see terrible design, the clunkiness and the inefficiency of older systems. Ok I'm babbling at this point so shoot me. :-)
 
Maz, you have a legit concern given our track record. Check #4 in this post from Jim: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?64628-Why-to-not-like-RED...

And Jim even addresses demand after Nov 3: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?64533-3-weeks...&p=837674&viewfull=1#post837674

But by no means does that mean RED is not working feverishly on the production side. I can tell you the number of products on backorder now are a much smaller percentage that they were even a year ago at this time. Some products that had a backorder queue of months, now have weeks. Some that had weeks, now have days.

We want to get stuff into your hands as much as you want them there yourself. But with a new product release, sometimes we underestimate potential demand. So that first production batch may sell out pretty darn quick.

Have we "solved" the backorder situation? Of course not. Have we gotten a lot better? Yes. Will we get even better? Absolutely.

BC
 
Jason Comparetto said:
Justin, your comment about "dream girl" is so true. Otherwise, Maz is completely on track. I don't know why Red is always backordered on things. Speaking as a business owner for 14 years, a certain phenomenon comes to mind that often plagues my business activities. Sometimes, in small businesses (Red possibly included), there is only a very small set of people actually making big decisions. Sometimes the same set of people are also heavily involved in the design of those decisions, too. As things grow, this small set of people are stretched very thin, and can only focus on "what's absolutely necessary and vital" to the company. The accessories, while clearly vital to YOU AND ME, are not vital to Red's survival. They need great cameras, everything comes after that. that "small set of people" is focusing on some very big problems, and the backorder issue is probably a lower priority for them (believe it or not). In larger organizations they tend to hand-off those roles to another department, which can work exclusively on that. But that's also where you see terrible design, the clunkiness and the inefficiency of older systems. Ok I'm babbling at this point so shoot me. :-)
Click to expand...

Although I don't disagree with you... I think that RED had outsourced a lot of it's manufacturing to other companies who specialize in this type of work for companies like RED, Apple, etc. in the early days of the Company. Obviously they had a lot of troubles from these companies in terms of quality control, tooling, training, etc... look at ViewFactor Studios as an example as to how things went horribly wrong for them with outsourcing--massive QC troubles, tooling woes, etc (Though I am a BIG fan of Curt's and they are rebounding in a big way and plan on taking care of ALL of their customers).

RED said they will solve this and are in the process of doing so by designing, testing and manufacturing as much as possible here in the USA so that the new crew hired by Jim can ramp things up exponentially. We are seeing this now with the massive hirings/training programs that they have implemented and the fact that the Epic X is being massed produced in Irvine. We will see HUGE strides in the coming days....

Having been to RED Studios Hollywood, I can say for a fact that RED never sleeps and they are very much on top of getting this resolved. They really want the same for us and are working very hard to meet all of our expectations. Nobody is tougher on RED than the hard working men and women that work at RED… I also feel that with Jim's recent announcement,"Nov. 3rd will be very telling. It is all about the customer. We'll see who serves the customer best on Nov. 3rd." tells us that RED is about to roll out a new program that will greatly benefit ALL of her Customers. It's that next step in their evolution... I have a a strong feeling what it is but I do not want to spoil RED's fun. We will ALL greatly benefit from their hard work.

I also hope that everyone who reads this understands that this is said with respect to everyone here...

Cheers-- Andrew


PS- I posted this without seeing Brent's response...Brent is a true Rock Star and one of the many RED employees/Rock Stars who spent a few of their precious minutes working with me and discussing all things RED in person. They didn't have to do any of that... But I am sure glad that Brent, Dan Baum, Madeline, Brian, Bre, Nate H., Dan D., Jarred, Matt, Ted, Travis and Sean R. did... Their time, insight and knowledge was and is always greatly appreciated. Unfortunately none of the other major Camera Companies EVER did this in any way shape or form for me even when I worked for very known broadcasters/commercial houses.
 
Justin Marx said:
It does suck, and I'm still waiting for a REDmote that was in my M package almost 120 days ago and a Canon mount I ordered before many others that still hasn't even made it to my email box.

BUT it comes with the territory.. And I complain my ass off to poor Chris and Michael my BOMB reps..

The fact is: RED is like your dream girl.. Almost impossible to get, but when you get her you forget how long it took..

Go shoot with what ya got, that's what I'm going to do…
Click to expand...

120 days!!! Wow. Thats sad. I've seen X's with REDMOTES on them... I would have through all the M guys (paid more) would have been sorted by now.

You do have to wonder why a CANON mount, RED mote, Bom EVF or a plastic side grip takes longer to make than a whole EPIC camera... which seem to be flying out the doors.

I hope you guys get it soon.. I just ordered anothr big batch of stuff over the last few days and ordered extras of everything hoping that my back orders will beat my EPIC deliveries... lets hope the RED boys are getting on top of it.
It's the only thing driving customers nuts at the moment...

I'm sure they are trying there best... :)
 
Mark Toia said:
120 days!!! Wow. Thats sad. I've seen X's with REDMOTES on them... I would have through all the M guys (paid more) would have sorted by now.

You do have to wonder why a CANON mount, RED mote, Bom EVF or a plastic side grip takes longer to make than a whole EPIC camera... which seem to be flying out the doors.

I hope you guys get it soon.. I just ordered anothr big batch of stuff over the last few days and ordered extras of everything hoping that my back orders will beat my EPIC deliveries... lets hope the RED boys are getting on top of it.
It's the only thing driving customers nuts at the moment... I wish them luck, I hope they get on top of there production problems.
Click to expand...

The side handle is made of plastic? That's kind of a shock. I have one on order too.
 
Brent@RED said:
Maz, you have a legit concern given our track record. Check #4 in this post from Jim: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?64628-Why-to-not-like-RED...

And Jim even addresses demand after Nov 3: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?64533-3-weeks...&p=837674&viewfull=1#post837674

But by no means does that mean RED is not working feverishly on the production side. I can tell you the number of products on backorder now are a much smaller percentage that they were even a year ago at this time. Some products that had a backorder queue of months, now have weeks. Some that had weeks, now have days.

We want to get stuff into your hands as much as you want them there yourself. But with a new product release, sometimes we underestimate potential demand. So that first production batch may sell out pretty darn quick.

Have we "solved" the backorder situation? Of course not. Have we gotten a lot better? Yes. Will we get even better? Absolutely.

BC
Click to expand...

Thanks Brent. I know you guys are working hard and things will get better. I just needed to vent...it's hard having the coolest camera and not being able to fully use it. :blush:
 
Brent@RED said:
snip:

But with a new product release, sometimes we underestimate potential demand. So that first production batch may sell out pretty darn quick.

BC
Click to expand...

Not a big deal, I know you are working hard and we'll deal with it, BUT (in the spirit of the thread) part of the frustration is this isn't really new stuff - the Redmotes and Redvolt modules were always part of the X packages and 500 to a thousand of us put $5K deposits down - so there couldn't be much estimating to be done for Stage 2.
 
Mark Toia said:
120 days!!! Wow. Thats sad. I've seen X's with REDMOTES on them... I would have through all the M guys (paid more) would have been sorted by now.

You do have to wonder why a CANON mount, RED mote, Bom EVF or a plastic side grip takes longer to make than a whole EPIC camera... which seem to be flying out the doors.

I hope you guys get it soon.. I just ordered anothr big batch of stuff over the last few days and ordered extras of everything hoping that my back orders will beat my EPIC deliveries... lets hope the RED boys are getting on top of it.
It's the only thing driving customers nuts at the moment...

I'm sure they are trying there best... :)
Click to expand...

Mike I sure hope your wrong about people with X's already having REDMotes.. I've lost 2 jobs because I didn't have one and couldn't get one in time..
 
Justin Marx said:
Mike I sure hope your wrong about people with X's already having REDMotes.. I've lost 2 jobs because I didn't have one and couldn't get one in time..
Click to expand...

Justin, FYI, I have Epic-X #14 and I don't have a REDMote for it yet. But I do have a REDMote for my Epic-M (one of the earliest ones), so perhaps someone was mixing and matching and that's what Mark saw.

Also, I know another guy with a fairly early Epic-M and he just got his REDMote last week. So everything I've seen points to Red being spot on in terms of delivering things in proper order.
 
John Cordell said:
Justin, FYI, I have Epic-X #14 and I don't have a REDMote for it yet. But I do have a REDMote for my Epic-M (one of the earliest ones), so perhaps someone was mixing and matching and that's what Mark saw.

Also, I know another guy with a fairly early Epic-M and he just got his REDMote last week. So everything I've seen points to Red being spot on in terms of delivering things in proper order.
Click to expand...


I know, I know... I hope so! Hahaha..

This is the fist time I went out on a limb and spent a decent chunk of change on a great product with the hope I would be part of the elite few who "had it".. But I basically just had pieces of it..

Whatever, I just shot some cool shit tonight and love this fucking little thing..
 
Michael Hastings said:
Not a big deal, I know you are working hard and we'll deal with it, BUT (in the spirit of the thread) part of the frustration is this isn't really new stuff - the Redmotes and Redvolt modules were always part of the X packages and 500 to a thousand of us put $5K deposits down - so there couldn't be much estimating to be done for Stage 2.
Click to expand...

Here! Here! RED had considerable lead time to ramp production on core EPIC components in the X package. Why are we just seeing prototypes of the Quad battery module? Where's the I/O module? Haven't event seen a rendering or spec yet. And THAT's a critical piece of kit.

Even relatively simple products that were placed in the store months ago like he Assault Plate... These are just machined aluminum components - they don't require electronic components, molding, or third party parts. Outsource them. Buy more machines. We need these to use your QR system -- the whole benefit of the QR is being able to go from a LW HH rig to a studio rig quickly.

And why no simple V-Mount battery plate with a 1B battery cable when the REDVOLT module is delayed?

We're having to spend money on 3rd party parts that wont be viable when Red stuff finally ships. That gets expensive and wasteful..

OK. I'm done. :)

M
 
Does the existing battery plate work with EPIC ? I want to put red bricks behind and focus on redvolts....investing in things that i wont be using in 2-3 months doesnt sound reasonable...i might as well save some money for SSD drive. The V-Mount for EPIC is $1200
 
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