May Update... The month of Raven

[Ketch Rossi]

RAVEN is a hell of a little camera...

Thinking of actually making the RAVEN the BTS camera system of choice for all our 8kVentuR E D... Fashion... And Film projects in the works...

 

[Scot Yount]

Indeed. This is the only group so far that has gotten no good news since fulfilments began.

THIS...... FWIW, I ordered a Scarlet-W V-Lock i/o package on December 10. I then ordered a Raven just before NAB to take advantage of the price before the hike. So I am at the front of the Scarlet-W line, and the back of the Raven line. Neither one gets me a camera anytime soon. I guess I will keep cranking with my MX.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

THIS...... FWIW, I ordered a Scarlet-W V-Lock i/o package on December 10. I then ordered a Raven just before NAB to take advantage of the price before the hike. So I am at the front of the Scarlet-W line, and the back of the Raven line. Neither one gets me a camera anytime soon. I guess I will keep cranking with my MX.

I don't have the "keep cranking" option really, since this is going to be my first Red. Though it's starting to feel like a re-run of my experience the first time I pre-ordered a Black Magic camera, which is a major downer.
:toetap05:

 

[Norbert Niederacher]

Thanks for the update, Brent. I hope you re-open the Weapon-Lines in June...

 

[Brent Carter]

Hello Brent. I have a shoot coming up in July. Can I expect the loaners going out today are due back within weeks of being sent out so that it is still possible to request one in July? Or is it what goes out stays out.

You are talking July, this loaner program is not an open-ended thing. Once we get through May and begin cranking at SCARLET-W and WEAPON again, it is back to “business as normal”, meaning no loaners while you wait. I would assume that we will stop new loaners going out in June then…

This almost sounds like people who switched to Scarlet-W after NAB were still given priority over outright Scarlet-W orders. Was that the case?

As one of the guys who ordered the Scarlet-W outright: PLEASE tell me you're not still doing RAVEN-to-Scarlet honoring of timestamps. As in, someone who has an October RAVEN order decides today "ah, I'll upgrade to Scarlet-W" and gets bumped to the front of the Scarlet-W queue. That would mean even a slow trickle of switchers constantly pushing us back in the queue.

I figured getting my order placed in the first two hours was a sure-fire way to get one right away. I was excited to switch over to RED from Sony and now this has just been months of being bummed out. Thousands of dollars in accessories just sitting on my desk, waiting for a camera...

The people who were switching from RAVEN to SCARLET-W has pretty much dried up so somewhat a moot point here.

Thanks for the update, Brent. I hope you re-open the Weapon-Lines in June...

That is the current plan!

 

[Kristopher Colavecchio]

I don't have the "keep cranking" option really, since this is going to be my first Red. Though it's starting to feel like a re-run of my experience the first time I pre-ordered a Black Magic camera, which is a major downer.
:toetap05:

As someone who's also dealt with both RED and BMD, I'm waiting on my allocation as well and I can 100% say this is no where near anything similar to BMD. Not shitting on that company as I've given them a lot of money as well and never personally had any real issues with their products. But there is absolutely zero transparency or manufacturer/customer relationships compared to what RED provides. I appreciate the bad news just as much as I appreciate the good news, because IMHO it sure as shit beats the mystery of not knowing what's going on.

 

[Josh Becker]

I don't have the "keep cranking" option really, since this is going to be my first Red. Though it's starting to feel like a re-run of my experience the first time I pre-ordered a Black Magic camera, which is a major downer.
:toetap05:

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. They've obviously been FAR better at communication than BlackMagic, though. And the URSA 4.6K stuff dragged on for nearly a year.

I was just really excited to switch over to RED, I'd seen a lot of great customer service stuff in the past. But now I feel like that's been a bit tainted for me. It's crazy too, because I have to imagine there were fewer Scarlet-D upgraders than there were Raven-Scarlet Switchers, yet I don't know of any of them that have received their Scarlet-W packages. THOSE are supposed to be the customers that get special treatment. The ones who had previously invested thousands (tens of thousands, even) into past RED cameras. Instead, it has looked like the only way to get a camera at this point is to have some affiliation with the RAVEN preorder. If you didn't get in on RAVEN, you're basically SOL until June.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. They've obviously been FAR better at communication than BlackMagic, though. And the URSA 4.6K stuff dragged on for nearly a year.

I was just really excited to switch over to RED, I'd seen a lot of great customer service stuff in the past. But now I feel like that's been a bit tainted for me. It's crazy too, because I have to imagine there were fewer Scarlet-D upgraders than there were Raven-Scarlet Switchers, yet I don't know of any of them that have received their Scarlet-W packages. THOSE are supposed to be the customers that get special treatment. The ones who had previously invested thousands (tens of thousands, even) into past RED cameras. Instead, it has looked like the only way to get a camera at this point is to have some affiliation with the RAVEN preorder. If you didn't get in on RAVEN, you're basically SOL until June.

More like July or August, in light of how long it's taken them to not even get started on pre-order customers.

 

[Matthew Riggieri]

Hey Brent

I literally just sent my camera (RED EPIC DRAGON) in yesterday morning to get upgraded. It had been allocated and I got the RMA number early last week. Should i recall the shipment? I have a few shoots lined up this month, and but this was a good time for me. If my camera is going to sit there for some time, then I should get it back so i can keep it shooting and making money.

 

[brett ogden]

I understand some people feel blindsided by Red with this move. We could argue all month about what Red should have done, but that won't change it. They're being accommodating with Epic Dragons.

Let's all remember, Red is being open with you about this. I didn't see BM or Arri doing this when they have a long wait list. Red could have made this change & just told us nothing. Let's remember not to bite the hand that feeds us.

 

[Daniel Stilling]

I can't imagine how hard it probably was to make this decision. Being a SD upgrader that put in my order within the first 15 minutes on Dec. 10, I was initially disappointed. But the loaner offer is unprecedented in this business. It's huge! Have you seen BM offer a camera loaner while you wait for the 4.6K? Neither have I.
I appreciate RED covering my camera needs until My SW is available. Epic Dragon is no slouch and will definitely cover my needs.
You guys definitely made a lose-lose situation become more of a win-win. Great news for the Raven crowd and at the same time covering the bases of the SW people with the loaners. I just wanted to give you guys a word of appreciation.

 

[Darius Lyles]

I get people are frustrated BUT imagine how the people feel that ordered in September and haven't switched? We have been waiting a LONG time, longer than those that didn't order a SW until December. We all have to wait and I believe the wait is worth it.

 

[Matthew Riggieri]

Yea I understand that red needs to get Raven's out. I just need to know today if I should have fedex bring my camera back to me.

 

[Josh Becker]

Also, Brent, Jarred and crew, I know I've been a bit critical of this whole thing, but everyone's totally right about the appreciation for doing a loaner program for this. I kind of brushed it off initially, more concerned with my personal disappointment, but it's really a pretty incredible offer for people who may have been in a pickle. Talking about BlackMagic made me realize that some of those guys went nearly a year, with no answers from the company, waiting for a camera that they were expecting to use as a tool for their livelihood and art. There are definitely people who are jumping with joy that you're offering loaner cameras. And it's certainly not an offer another camera company would extend so publicly.

So thank you for listening to us on these boards and being sympathetic to our situations.

 

[Jarred Land]

I understand some people feel blindsided by Red with this move. We could argue all month about what Red should have done, but that won't change it. They're being accommodating with Epic Dragons.

Let's all remember, Red is being open with you about this. I didn't see BM or Arri doing this when they have a long wait list. Red could have made this change & just told us nothing. Let's remember not to bite the hand that feeds us.

I know it sucks to feel like you just got fucked. But I really hope you all don't feel like you got trick-fucked. Our updates have been pretty accurate as we have gone along and this isn't a bait and switch.... we are obviously taking a huge hit here as well.

But we gotta be fair... or at least attempt to be fair.

Just like many of you Scarlet-W think you just got fucked out a month.... Raven customers kinda got fucked last month as we pushed them back to take care of almost all of the switchers from Raven to Scarlet-W. We were open about that and told everyone it was happening just like we are here... but it still stung a lot of Raven folks.

And remember... Raven was announced in September and Scarlet-W announced 4 months later in December, so they kinda deserve a little catch-up time.

 

[Samir Patel]

You are talking July, this loaner program is not an open-ended thing. Once we get through May and begin cranking at SCARLET-W and WEAPON again, it is back to “business as normal”, meaning no loaners while you wait. I would assume that we will stop new loaners going out in June then…

got it. Thanks Brent.

 

[jordan levy]

I know it sucks to feel like you just got fucked. But I really hope you all don't feel like you got trick-fucked. Our updates have been pretty accurate as we have gone along and this isn't a bait and switch.... we are obviously taking a huge hit here as well.

But we gotta be fair... or at least attempt to be fair.

Just like many of you Scarlet-W think you just got fucked out a month.... Raven customers kinda got fucked last month as we pushed them back to take care of almost all of the switchers from Raven to Scarlet-W. We were open about that and told everyone it was happening just like we are here... but it still stung a lot of Raven folks.

And remember... Raven was announced in September and Scarlet-W announced 4 months later in December, so they kinda deserve a little catch-up time.

Hear Hear!
Thank you for spreading the love!

 

[Darius Lyles]

Raven was announced in September and Scarlet-W announced 4 months later in December, so they kinda deserve a little catch-up time.

Exactly what I was trying to say

 

[Rakesh Malik]

I know it sucks to feel like you just got fucked. But I really hope you all don't feel like you got trick-fucked. Our updates have been pretty accurate as we have gone along and this isn't a bait and switch.... we are obviously taking a huge hit here as well.

But we gotta be fair... or at least attempt to be fair.

The part that sucks is that those of us who pre-ordered Scarlet-W directly haven't gotten any news except wait until we catch up with the switchers... and then we're told that we're being put on hold for a month, which based on the rate of order fulfilment means that we'll likely miss almost the entire busy season, which puts a major damper on our businesses as well, especially those of us who were hoping to use the Scarlet-W to help jump-start it.

 

[Brandon Shafto]

And remember... Raven was announced in September and Scarlet-W announced 4 months later in December, so they kinda deserve a little catch-up time.

Word.
That's fair all day long.