Make sense to buy Epic before nab ?

[Ian D]

Hi, sorry if this has featured already but what are your thoughts on buying a new Epic before NAB. Does any one think there could be a significant curve ball announcement at nab that could make a purchase now seem silly? I have no idea what kind of announcement it could be but just wanted to gauge expectation.

 

[Harcharan Singh]

Makes sense

Makes sense

Hi,

If EPIC is your choice for camera then it does makes sense to buy before NAB..because it will be upgradable to DRAGON (at a price not yet declared )and you will be ahead in line for the upgrade as I assume that DRAGON upgrade will be based on serial numbers of the camera/date of delivery.

I hope it helps

Harcharan

 

[ericyoung]

It's pure speculation either way.

Red will certainly have big announcements, new toys at NAB, but whether they will affect your purchase of a new Epic or not, no one but Red knows for sure.

If you don't absolutely need an Epic right now for paying work I would personally wait.

 

[Isaac Marchionna]

Also consider that just because something is announced doesn't mean it'll be out this year *cough* Meizler *cough*

Hopefully RED can announce concrete data on the Dragon upgrades, and we go from there. But if it makes you feel better waiting 3'ish weeks, cool, but I don't think Epic is approaching end of life anytime soon.

 

[Sid Idris]

be wary. I remember a time when folks where lining up "early" to pay 28k for a camera that would soon be 19k. It's probably best to make your decisions based on your workload rather than nab or dragon.

 

[Eythanmaidhof]

Here's a question that I don't know if it has been answered or not. I haven't read all the threads. What if you purchased your Epic package and spent over 50K when they still had the comes with free upgrade to Dragon sensor deal. Is that still honored?

 

[Ian D]

Thanks for the info gentlemen, all very interesting points. I'll take them all on board.

 

[Dustin Shepard]

Well I just bought mine knowing that NAB is coming but it's not like anything that comes out that will be better than the epic I could afford I'm sure :/ lol I had just enough to get LE basic set up for the epic and love it don't ever really want another camera unless one day I get super big gig and could afford a phantom like nothing hahah lol. And yes it also depends on your work. I definitely have enough work etc and opportunities to make my money back. But fuck it either way it has been done lol. I was afraid of NAB for a bit but Sony just put out all their new shit, Panasonic I dont feel like anything on the epic level will be shown who knows money is a bitch it stresses you out when you have it and when you don't hahah. YOLO

 

[Patrick Kendall]

Whatever is announced most likely it will take a while to impliment... nothing is guaranteed and it could take months to get whatever is newer or cheaper... Red sends stuff on their own timetable, not yours.. if your kit is for personal use right now and you don't have $25K burning a hole in your pocket, I guess you can wait. there might be some new accessories from 3rd party companies that might make it worthwhile.. I know I'm interested in what VF might have..

 

[Marc Wielage]

I wouldn't buy anything this close to NAB. If you have to shoot now, rent what you need. I suspect Red and many other companies will have some major announcements in the next 4 weeks.

 

[Jason Comparetto]

Whenever I've tried to "time" the purchase of a camera its been a little bit like trying to "time" the stock market. Yea, sometimes I get it right, but most of the time there are so many twists and turns and curve balls and wild cards that its an illusion at best. Of course there will be announcements at NAB, before NAB, and even after NAB. But if something amazing is about to come out, they'll be a long waiting list anyway and you may not have your hands on it for 6 months (or more). If you have a project coming up that calls for an Epic, calculate the risk of buying one and then having to sell it in 3-4 months. I think everytime I've done that it comes out about even or a net savings over renting. And as far as Red's track record, I don't think I've ever purchased a RED product that I ended up regretting, or saying to myself "Man, If only I had waited until after NAB, man did I get ripped off. I should have waited". LOL

IN fact, I think you may notice many of the folks on this forum will say the opposite. "Man i should have bought that the day it was announced. If only I had been a little faster in putting in my order.

 

[Mike P.]

Honestly, it sounds like such a hypothetical that there is no rush, so I'd wait (or rent). RED may not announce anything new (or drop their prices in half again...) but 2013 is going to be mainstream/cheap 4k (and potentially raw) - last year the floodgates were opened, this year the wave/water is going to be crashing through. Panny has yet to enter the arena, Canon will probably have a C150 and/or C350 along with updated DSLRs, Sony probably won't have too much (unless F5/55 tech makes it way to DSLRs), whatever Chinese manufacturers are doing, BlackMagic, GoPro, who knows... The entire show is a wild card; it's not that you'd be disappointed with an Epic as-is, but if you can get something better than a current Epic for a similar price, you'd resent/regret the purchase this close to show-time.

 

[Ian D]

Point and Fact, at this point it will not hurt to hold back and see what happens. Thanks again gentlemen.