Group Buy: Budget CRI 95 LED Strip Lights

[Ces Peynetti]

Another one here appreciating the effort Brandon! The amount of evolution this GB has had from its inception I think has been for the best and I'm looking forward to the day these lights reach me, which I know will happen sooner or later. I'm not in desperate need of the lights, and if I were, I probably would have opted to play it safe and looked elsewhere. It's been my experience that the products run late in most Group Buys, at least the ones that I've been a part off.

Remember, Brandon is not running a light shop here, he's a fellow filmmaker who saw an opportunity that we all could benefit from and he shared it with us. As so, I don't expect him to fully drop his filmmaking duties to become a shop. That was pretty clear to me from the beginning and still decided to give him my money anyway.

 

[Michael Ou]

I was one of the few that elected to take early delivery of single color spools when Brandon offered that option. I'm very satisfied with them and am very excited to get the variable spools, and these cool custom controllers we all chimed in to "help" develop. Brandon has done his best in keeping us informed of the progress at every point. I would not misconstrue his momentum as anything but reflecting the demand and interest many of us has shown here.

 

[Poi Boy]

Thanks Brandon, can't wait to get these and will certainly get more stuff in August.
Aloha
A

 

[Michael Edo Keane]

Just want to chime in to say that Brandon has been nothing but courteous and helpful regarding this group buy, even taking the time to share what he likes to take on set. Frankly , I am amazed that he has the time to be as responsive as he has been while making his very ambitious feature - the advance materials look great by the way.

 

[John Brennick]

Hey Brandon, Thank you so much for including me in the second round of this group buy! It really means a lot. Very much appreciated!

 

[Antony Newman]

I am sure there are others other out there (besides myself) that are in awe at what Brandon has been meticulously creating for us in this group buy. I've actually limited my comments & emails primarily to minimise the additional load this puts on his time.

I am however very appreciative of this opportunity - and hope that I'll be able to give something back to this mini community

AJ

 

[Jack Allred]

I have worked my ass off on this group buy and, to be honest, I'm pretty insulted by your accusations. That said, I understand that you are angry. I have kept this thread updated semi-daily since the beginning. I have also totally changed the schedule for my film around in order to manage all of this. So much so it has required recasting a major character (she got pregnant) and extensive reshoots. I'm also taking 2 weeks off in the middle of the shoot to get these orders out to you guys.

My reputation means everything to me. I really am doing the best I can to try keep everyone happy and you will all get everything you ordered. Don't ever doubt that. We are a few weeks out from being done with this. The next group buy is in August long after everyone will get what they ordered.

My post earlier today was kind of lame, I admit. I apologize for the tone and I don't mean to seriously accuse you of wrongdoing. My concerns about the combination of delayed shipment, product changes, price increases, a "no refund or you're blacklisted" policy, are still of concern to me but are understandable on many levels considering the nature of a group buy. I have waited patiently like many others without bugging you, and have given you the benefit of all the doubts. I am excited for the products you are designing and planning to deliver, and I'm appreciative of the work I expect you are doing to make it happen. My tipping point is when these prior concerns combine with the idea that you are running 2nd group buys, or "off-thread bulk runs" before your 1st order is complete. I don't think you should do that, even an 'off-thread bulk run via PM' I think is unacceptable, unless you are a shop that does this professionally. You've already stated you are waiting to August for the 2nd group buy and aks runs, so thank you for that. But are you now taking orders and payments via private message for a new "bulk run"? Is that not essentially a 2nd group buy? Does it not create the same concerns among your first group buy funders?

Again, I apologize for the tone of my earlier post today.

 

[Mike Smith]

I am sure there are others other out there (besides myself) that are in awe at what Brandon has been meticulously creating for us in this group buy....

Yes, I'm one of them Antony. Brandon has been, and is, so generous with his time. To alter a movie schedule just for us is going way beyond. Many thanks Brandon.

I don't understand the fallout over being offered a chance to get in on a 2nd group buy before the originals are ready for delivery. No-one HAS to join the 2nd group buy. You can sit and wait for the first delivery. Or are you just afraid you'll miss out? I know that I now want more product than I originally signed up and paid for. To me, this is a rare second chance at what is turning into a great buying opportunity.

Look, this is a group buy of products some of which are still under development. If you want it now and/or want financial security, a group buy is not for you and, as Carey says, go buy retail. Let the rest of us here get on with this fantastic group buy.

 

[Frank Weeks]

I have been involved in at least a dozen group buys and I believe this could be one of the best. It allows for great creativity at a bargain basement price. What people do with these lights will be highly entertaining. Can't wait to see the results!

Great work Brandon!

 

[Nick Gardner]

Yo Brandon, Don't take it too personal, but also understand the frustration. It's a shit sandwich. I wish I had my lights, I'm glad you did this whole deal, I realize it's a big pain in the ass, and it probably turned into more work than you initially thought.

Settle the shit you have going on before you put effort into more. Just saying that you are committed to getting the first thing done first will settle a lot of minds.

Thanks for the whole deal,

Nick

 

[Jean Déraps]

Can anyone remember how many amps the LED strips draw, or at least point me to the post where it's located... this thread is getting loooooong and hard to search. Many thanks!

 

[Jamon Lewis]

Can anyone remember how many amps the LED strips draw, or at least point me to the post where it's located... this thread is getting loooooong and hard to search. Many thanks!

Around 8 amps per roll, I use a 10 amp power supply to be sure.

 

[Jamon Lewis]

I'm pretty vested in this GB. ALL of my strips except the few I got to play with/ get ideas from and go through the learning curve with are variable which means i'm on of the ones waiting.

I will first say that i've often wondered how Brandon has the capacity to do this group buy and shoot his film and what ever else he's doing, like others we (he and I) have a long email thread where he changed my order multiple times, advise me on parts of my purchase and even kicked around a few idea and shared excitement about parts of the GB and the GB on a whole.

If you check my posts i've def been on the side of things

I need these lights like 6 weeks ago. :willy_nilly:

I have so many ideas for these lights & these are gonna be the foundation of my smaller set ups & again I don't have any of the ones i've (like everybody else) been waiting for so I understand the frustration, actually I understand both sides but in the same breath I think that both side have to understand the other side in that,

Brandon: people have plans for these lights and have had plans for months now.

Everybody with an issue (as already stated) you bought into a GB with someone who is shooting a film and is sharing his personal and would imagine professional priority with fulfillment of this GB.

Personally I don't see what one GB has to do with another. Brandon asked everyone did they want their lights before he left, he asked if people with mostly variable rolls did they want to take shipment of them before he left or when the controllers were done. I opted to wait but now regret it because i could have been building my various fixtures and set ups, but back to the point, I've never felt Brandon was shady, if anything i've felt like he was probably juggling JUST a little too much because of how much attention the GB would need in respect to answering questions, updates and order adjustments.

I'm frustrated but when i back up I'm more so grateful for him doing the Gb and what the GB will afford me and all of us who bought in.
THANKS Brandon,

I need these lights like 6 weeks ago. :willy_nilly:

:emote_hippie:

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I really appreciate all the support, guys. Thank you.

Again, here's the situation: We need to find buyers for 73 more controllers. Too many people cut their controller orders in half when upgrading.

Our options:

1) Let the people on the waiting list buy them, which means we need more lights. A quick run of lights will take 2 weeks and slow down nothing. In fact it guarantees no more delays because we can quickly find buyers for the controllers. It also lets us use a simplified private web shop (saving me a ton of time), we can get tubes and other accessories now instead of later, and we all may get cheaper shipping.

2) I email everyone on the original group buy and say we need to find buyers for 73 more controllers now or will might delay things more. (I guarantee you I get angry emails then.)

3) I buy them myself, which I can't afford.

What would you choose?

Option 1 made the most sense to me. In hindsight, I wish I made a post like this one to start things off.

Ironically, more people in the group buy wrote me privately upset about having to wait on tubes and additional lights than complained here about doing another run.

Regarding the controllers, I was just told they will send me a finished unit to sign off on next week. That means we are on target to ship everything out the week of the 25th.

So, about those 73 units...

 

[Brad Crawford]

Sent you an email or two a while back but never got an answer regarding controllers. Let me know if you ever got it, might have been lost in that whole domain thing you were having trouble with. I can re-send if you need. Anyways, i'm interested in one controller for sure, I might be able to sell at least one more... what is the final price of the controllers?

 

[Jean Déraps]

I'm going to grab 3 or 4 of the controllers Brandon... I just sent you a question by before I finalize my order... thanks.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Sent you an email or two a while back but never got an answer regarding controllers. Let me know if you ever got it, might have been lost in that whole domain thing you were having trouble with. I can re-send if you need. Anyways, i'm interested in one controller for sure, I might be able to sell at least one more... what is the final price of the controllers?

Please resend it, Brad. I guess I missed it when I had the domain/email problems. The price is $127.92.

I'm going to grab 3 or 4 of the controllers Brandon... I just sent you a question by before I finalize my order... thanks.

Great! I just saw your email. I'll get back to you in a couple minutes.

 

[Corey Jacques]

Hey guys, I just thought I'd say something as well. Not that I have much of a reputation on Reduser(Other than this one forum, but I have worked for a handful of "RedUsers" from this forum) But I got and still have one of the prototype dimmer(Controller). There was a few things that needed to change and Brandon also agreed. I'm sure it's frustrating not having something that you ordered last year. All I would like to say is I think it's definitely worth the initial wait, and the dimmer does exist! The way I see it is, once this controller comes out, and Brandon gets this group buy all finished up, then I'm sure it'll be much smoother sailing. I'm sure there will be other prototype products that will take time to get from idea to product, but at least after this one, everyone will have the basics covered. LED, Controller, Power Supply. These types of LEDs are great things to have. But if you want something that has been already made and tested, then I recommend buying LiteGear. But I think it's awesome being part of the whole process. Luckily I found out about this group buy at the last second, but it's come a long way, and I think it's only going to get better after this one. Especially after the basic components have been made.

And one last thing, I'm pretty sure Brandon did mention he was going over seas and gave an option to ship the strips before he left, or to wait till the controller is finished. So it's kind of harsh to say it's a scam, because I'm sure I'm not the only one that got the strips I ordered. Sure everyone expected the controllers to be done sooner, even I did. But there was some hickups.

I can't wait till there's some sort of online store. It'll be great to buy existing products and then being able to invest into new developments/ideas. I think if we need to get 73 more buyers for the dimmers, I totally think we should get a webstore idea going. I'm constantly working on new things with these LEDs, and I would love the idea of just buying product when I need it, rather than waiting for another group buy.

So needless to say, I am totally in for the private webstore idea! I also think those who bought the strips with a controller should get another chance to get their strips sent out and then pay extra shipping when the dimmers come available. Maybe even get a voucher system going for those who bought strips already but are waiting on their controller. So that way they have an option to can cash in their voucher and get their strips and pay the shipping on each thing separately.

 

[Nils Ruinet]

I'll have to chime in too here. Brandon has always responded very quickly, and has done a tremendous amount of work for this group buy.

So, sure, it has taken longer than initially expected (as do most of the group buys, by the way), but there are good reasons behind that. I'm sure these dimmers will be worth the wait.

A few days ago I received the 3 fixed strips I had ordered (I also ordered 12 variable strips, which I will get when the dimmers are ready, so I'm in the same boat as everybody here), and I've been playing with them, trying to build a first fixture that would be similar to a 2 feet kino.

This is just a first iteration, I'll certainly make some changes for future versions, but I'm already pretty happy with this first test.
It is extremely lightweight (less than 3 pounds, and the mount alone is nearly 1 pound, so the fixture in itself is around 2 pounds), and compact (smaller profile than a kinoflo).
The light quality is excellent, better than the already very good Cineroid LM400 I've been using for years.
And it can be powered on batteries.
In the future I will try to make this as modular as possible, I already have a few ideas that I wanna try. Pretty exciting.

Oh, and it costs a tenth of any similar fixture that you could buy anywhere else. Fantastic value. 100% worth the wait. And it's just the beginning.

So, thank you Brandon for going through all this trouble.

 

[Nils Ruinet]

I really appreciate all the support, guys. Thank you.

Again, here's the situation: We need to find buyers for 73 more controllers. Too many people cut their controller orders in half when upgrading.

Our options:

1) Let the people on the waiting list buy them, which means we need more lights. A quick run of lights will take 2 weeks and slow down nothing. In fact it guarantees no more delays because we can quickly find buyers for the controllers. It also lets us use a simplified private web shop (saving me a ton of time), we can get tubes and other accessories now instead of later, and we all may get cheaper shipping.

2) I email everyone on the original group buy and say we need to find buyers for 73 more controllers now or will might delay things more. (I guarantee you I get angry emails then.)

3) I buy them myself, which I can't afford.

What would you choose?

Option 1 made the most sense to me. In hindsight, I wish I made a post like this one to start things off.

Ironically, more people in the group buy wrote me privately upset about having to wait on tubes and additional lights than complained here about doing another run.

Regarding the controllers, I was just told they will send me a finished unit to sign off on next week. That means we are on target to ship everything out the week of the 25th.

So, about those 73 units...

And for what it's worth, my vote goes to option 1. Everybody wins.