GROUP BUY - Tilta Nucleus-M Wireless Follow Focus

[R. Gonzales]

I thought I'd put my two cents in on this conversation of dropping out. Communication ( for me) with Tilta, was good. I pressed them about payin by PaPal and not using my CC. I received one reply saying "we would look in to it". Days past and no other responses from Tilta was received, even after my continued prompting. I decided to send my Cc info with a redacted copy of my drivers licence. My licence only contained my pic and address. All other info was censored. Within 24 hours the communications with Tilta resumed and within a week I was billed and received my invoice. I checked my statement and it reflected the expected charge.

The point here is that Tilta is willing to accept personal info that has a reasonable amount redaction as to protect the owner. That's my interpretation at least.

Chris thanks for putting this group buy. Let's hope Tilta makes their delivery date promise.

 

[John Long]

I'm out as well, sent many emails never heard a peep back. Seemed shady with the DL and all that. When I saw the Tilta FB post about pre-order for only $100 more I decided best to wait and see if this product lives up to the hype. Saving $100 isn't worth all this.

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

I understand about people pulling out... Also if you don't need a follow focus system soon you are smart to wait. I am a bit fan of Tilta and I think I will get my system on about 3 weeks.


But I know people have been disappointed by Viewfactor and other companies before. So I think waiting is a good idea.

When a few of us get the Nucleus and run it through its paces then if it all is great we will tell you... But I will say right now Yang has been very faithful and the system will be great I believe.

 

[D Fuller]

When a few of us get the Nucleus and run it through its paces then if it all is great we will tell you... But I will say right now Yang has been very faithful and the system will be great I believe.

Peter, I have to say I was waffling on this because no sample units had made their way to anyone before the payment date rolled around, but your faith in Yang's capability in an earlier post gave me confidence enough to follow through.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Yea. It's actually great that Tilta held back pre-prod models (one of which I was supposed to get for testing) because they knew it had issues and they wanted to remedy those before they got them into people's hands.

They are hoping that all who paid for the GB will have their's within the month.

Almost half of the people didn't pay, which is crazy high for a group buy, so rather than creating a new list of those who did/didn't, just expect you'll jump up about half way to the front from where your spot is now.

 

[Brian Schmidt]

Quick update as of 7.17.2017 from Tilta, this is just a general questions I had for them on expected shipping and I did NOT mention anything about the group buy. I am sure there are many wanting updates. It will give you a good point of reference for those in the group buy.

Per TILTA: The nucleus-M ships out at the end of this month, however due to the high number of preorders, it will take some time before we have stock readily available. If you pre-order today, most likely you'd have your unit by mid September of this year!

Per TILTA: There are several advantages to preordering, such as priority shipping, and a guarantee of the price of $1199 for the base package, as its schedules to be increased to $1499 in the fall!

 

[C. Burkhart]

Per TILTA: There are several advantages to preordering, such as priority shipping, and a guarantee of the price of $1199 for the base package, as its schedules to be increased to $1499 in the fall!

This last phrase is disgusting.
They made a huge press for a $!200 product. It's on I don't know how many countless interviews for NAB.
With mention of a single unit and motor at an even less expensive pricepoint in the future.
At no point did they say they would be raising the price and that this was an introductory offer.
Half dropped out of this GB because of their really lousy response to a 600 strong GB and unprofessional payment options.
But this really seals it. Trying to recover lost members of this GB by threatening to raise the price through 3rd party communications...

TOTALLY REPREHENSIBLE.

 

[Abiodun Shote]

This last phrase is disgusting.
They made a huge press for a $!200 product. It's on I don't know how many countless interviews for NAB.
With mention of a single unit and motor at an even less expensive pricepoint in the future.
At no point did they say they would be raising the price and that this was an introductory offer.
Half dropped out of this GB because of their really lousy response to a 600 strong GB and unprofessional payment options.
But this really seals it. Trying to recover lost members of this GB by threatening to raise the price through 3rd party communication...

TOTALLY REPREHENSIBLE.

RED made RAVEN and did sell at a particular price point but increased the price after a while to cope with certain realities. Companies need to respond to market forces, and don't forget EVERY business exist to make profit. If a company decides to maximize profit after a product launch and the market can absorb the increment, then what do expect? Even as a DP or director, the more your talent gets demanded the more your rate increases. That's natural pecking, mate. On the otherside let's just hope their reason for price hike is to expand production base and ramp up supply before the competition catches up

Trying to recover lost members of this GB by threatening to raise the price through 3rd party communication...

TOTALLY REPREHENSIBLE.

I doubt that's the case, perhaps they just want to maximize their profit in the larger market

 

[Chris McKechnie]

This last phrase is disgusting.
They made a huge press for a $!200 product. It's on I don't know how many countless interviews for NAB.
With mention of a single unit and motor at an even less expensive pricepoint in the future.
At no point did they say they would be raising the price and that this was an introductory offer.
Half dropped out of this GB because of their really lousy response to a 600 strong GB and unprofessional payment options.
But this really seals it. Trying to recover lost members of this GB by threatening to raise the price through 3rd party communications...

TOTALLY REPREHENSIBLE.

They aren't trying to recoup group buy members threatening price increase. They are advertising it as an introductory offer (they are selling these outside of the GB and are taking pre-orders).

 

[Alexander Thomson]

It's not like Tilta is going to be irreparably damaged from this. They're selling a great product. It was very satisfactory at Cinegear.

Simply, they seriously underestimated how strong the demand would be at the $1,100 mark on the price curve. It isn't reasonable to expect that they'd undervalue their product for eternity. If anything, the response to the GB only confirmed that their product is worth much more money than they're charging for it. Cost is only an issue in the absence of value. Even at $1,500, you're getting a massive amount of kit for your money.

-A

 

[C. Burkhart]

They aren't trying to recoup group buy members threatening price increase. They are advertising it as an introductory offer (they are selling these outside of the GB and are taking pre-orders).

Gimme me a break.
At what point in this interview below or any of the countless others they gave do they say that the $1200 price tag is only an introductory offer ?

https://www.cinema5d.com/tilta-nucleusm-complete-wireless-lens-control-system-1200/

If it is indeed going to be higher, then there is a special kind of dishonesty that has gone on here in this interview.

Oh and by the way, just how do you feel about the fact that they have asked people to put their data at risk with a totally insecure method of CC payment ?
Does this actually bother you at all ? I have seen no expression of concern on your part.

From an ethical point of view I know that I would have a lot of trouble with that. But that's just me.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Gimme me a break.
At what point in this interview below or any of the countless others do they say that the $1200 price tag is only an introductory offer ?

https://www.cinema5d.com/tilta-nucleusm-complete-wireless-lens-control-system-1200/

If it is indeed going to be higher, then there is a special kind of dishonesty that has gone on here in this interview.

Oh and by the way, just how do you feel about the fact that they have asked people to put their data at risk with a totally insecure method of CC payment ?
Does this actually bother you at all ? I have seen no expression of concern on your part.

From an ethical point of view I know that I would have a lot of trouble with that. But that's just me.

That is why they offered multiple payment methods. No one forced you to participate. It's not mandated. If you didn't like the terms, you could get off the list. Complaining isn't going to change things. So you can bicker all you want about how much you hated this GB, but everyone made a "free" choice.

And yea, they totally underestimated the demand for this product and realized it was WAY under-priced for what they were offering. Major companies increase prices after an initial price advertisement.

 

[Daniel Stilling]

Gimme me a break.
At what point in this interview below or any of the countless others do they say that the $1200 price tag is only an introductory offer ?

https://www.cinema5d.com/tilta-nucleusm-complete-wireless-lens-control-system-1200/

Oh and by the way, just how do you feel about the fact that they have asked people to put their data at risk with a totally insecure method of CC payment ?
Does this actually bother you at all ?

Dude, Chill. Chris got this and many other group buys together and spends a ton of his own time managing them, and the last thing he deserves is to hear insults like this. The payment process is Tiltas issue, not Chris'.
And besides, If you don't like the CC method, you can do a wire transfer, so it's not like that the CC is the only payment method available. If you don't like what you see, just walk away. If you want Tilta to act in a professional manner, you gotta start with doing that yourself.

Edit: Chris beat me to it...

 

[Paul Kalbach]

I wasn't comfortable with the process that Tilta had set up, so I set up a virtual account number that was time-limited for a specified amount. Very easy to do online using the Shop Safe feature from Bank of America. I'm sure that other banks have similar features. I blurred out all info on my ID except name and address. Order completed. No problem.

 

[Kazu Okuda]

i've been on multiple group buys and many others have asked me for id like CoreSWX, Inovativ, etc. this is a small community and it's fundamentally built on trust too. Like Chris says, this is a commitment by choice. And the price increase doesn't shock me either. The alexa mini had like a 5k+ increase too.

 

[C. Burkhart]

That is why they offered multiple payment methods. No one forced you to participate. It's not mandated. If you didn't like the terms, you could get off the list. Complaining isn't going to change things. So you can bicker all you want about how much you hated this GB, but everyone made a "free" choice.

And yea, they totally underestimated the demand for this product and realized it was WAY under-priced for what they were offering. Major companies increase prices after an initial price advertisement.

No. The answer is not "if you don't like it leave".
The answer is "I hear what you are saying, I represent a group of 600 potential buyers and I have an ethical responsibility to look out for their interests as much as the company involved".

You STILL have not shown the least amount of concern that the company whom you have interacted with is asking members to put their most sensitive data at risk in a manner which has been totally disavowed by every internet security company today.

Does this matter to you ?

Further, almost TWO THIRDS of your GB voted with their feet. That is a pretty strong indictment of some part of this process. What could that be ? I really think both you and Tilta need to take a long hard look at this and adopt a different attitude to the points I am raising here.

 

[Alexander Thomson]

I wasn't comfortable with the process that Tilta had set up, so I set up a virtual account number that was time-limited for a specified amount. Very easy to do online using the Shop Safe feature from Bank of America. I'm sure that other banks have similar features. I blurred out all info on my ID except name and address. Order completed. No problem.

Did this same exact thing.

 

[Tom Dowler]

meanwhile, DJI have announced the Ronin 2 at a crazy high price, then will probably dramatically drop it after a bunch of people have paid a higher price.....


...and people will complain about that too.

The entitlement just blows my mind. If you like something at a certain price and understanding time scales for delivery, buy it. If you don't, don't. Just please pipe down about it.

 

[B Kanegson]

From my own post in this thread 6 weeks ago, repeating here: " If the M meets expectations, no guarantee the price of today will be the price of tomorrow. I feel we are being granted VIP entry at a temporary price point as early adopters. Adopters who will put the gear out there and establish its worth. Also, we are buying direct from the manufacturer, and not paying a retailer's markup. That is something that could also eventually change. My .02...."

Any perceived awkwardness in the transaction stems from the reality that we are buying direct from a designer/ manufacturer, which is not specifically oriented toward or singularly skilled at being a middle man retailer. A retailer passes additional cost, (and hopefully convenience) on to the final customer, which cost we are saving. That said, my own payment experience via transfer has been perfectly seamless.

Further, and please correct me if i've misunderstood B Schmidt's post, there is an announced pre-order window which absolutely does honor prior announced pricing, AFTER which prices will rise in accordance with market forces. So Tilta is in line their initial pricing announcement.

Been through other GB's with Chris and with Tilta before, always with 100% good result. Am buying with confidence, thank you Chris and Yang.

Also, I should add that Yang has personally answered multiple queries from me in email, which gives me confidence about customer support going forward, especially compared to other, larger Asian companies.

 

[Brian Schmidt]

You are correct, they are still honoring the 1,199.00 price at this time for those that decided not to do the group buy, unaware of it or too late. My line of thought, this is a very good deal. I trust this will be a high quality product that will meet my needs. I entered this group buy for a number of reasons. The price was great. It will arrive in time for my shoot (very important). Most wireless lens control systems start around 650.00 on the low end and go up from there for a single motor and controller. Tilta is offering 2 motors and three controllers. That is already below market even for lower quality systems. The final element that really sold me on this system, the great form factor. That alone is worth a premium. Tilta already has experience with these systems and I trust they will get all the bugs worked out before they ship. I also expect to see some software updates just like Sound Devices has done with some of their hardware releases, for example the Mix-Pre6. That unit is already better from when if first shipped.

Best of luck to those early adopters (myself included) and to the industry experts leading the way testing these out in every environment. As the first to use a new product there will be some learning and waiting for software updates.

Finally if you decided to wait (as I have for some products) to see the in depth reviews, the cost is only 100.00 more compared to the group buy. A small insurance policy and a slightly longer wait for peace of mind, not a bad trade. No personal information concerns either.

I shared that information on the expected price increase so those interested but undecided until reviews come out, do not sit on the sidelines too long if this fills a need. Even at that new price later in the year, it is still a good value. Chris and others here are doing us a favor and when working directly with a manufacture in another country expect a few bumps and be ready to drop if you don't like the deal.