My Scarlet Dilemma..

[Nick Mercer]

I felt given the subject, it would be improper to use Epic in the title.

Alright, so my dilemma is that I am trying to decide on buying a Scarlet-X (actually also looking at RED Ones for the time being) new from RED or used. I get RED Educational prices so that makes the price difference pretty narrow in comparison between the new and used market.
Since I don't believe I can post RED Education prices on the forum, I will just ask the question:

Would you pay $500-$1000 more for a new Scarlet-X, Side SSD and AL Canon mount vs a used? And that price could get even lower if a used DSMC SSD Side Module (good luck though) and AL Canon Mount was purchased. Is the Mount and Side SSD Module important to be purchased new to anyone? The biggest thing that kills used Scarlet-X sales is the $500 transfer fee (other than Paypal fees), which is exactly how RED prefers to keep it.

I'm pretty sure everyone will just say yes, but I am just looking at it from a business perspective. (Difficult to do with RED goodies.)

Obviously the warranty would be the biggest advantage of buying new, but I would also like the piece of mind that someone didn't abuse their camera and is trying to sell it off now. Yes, even with those comments I am still trying to make an actual decision.

Are there any other real advantages to buying a new body from RED? Besides getting a unique serial..

Thanks.

Nick Mercer

 

[Phil Holland]

Are there any other real advantages to buying a new body from RED? Besides getting a unique serial.

One advantage I can think of off hand is the warrantee.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Scarlets and Red Ones have very high defect rates. If you found a used one with no problems that's worth more than a new one, as a new one may or may not be a lemon. TEST IN PERSON

 

[Phil Holland]

Scarlets and Red Ones have very high defect rates. If you found a used one with no problems that's worth more than a new one, as a new one may or may not be a lemon. TEST IN PERSON

Erm. I wouldn't say that. Red doesn't sell broken cameras and if there is an issue for any reason they take care of it, especially when new. I've been around my fair share of Scarlets and Red Ones, perhaps more than most. More so if there's any sort of "trust" issue with the seller that would be perhaps a concern on a used body.

I don't honestly know where you got that info Robert.

 

[Björn Benckert]

This might sound harsh, but if 500 Bucks saved or spent is an issue then the whole RED thing might be the wrong thing to buy into. Basically, these cameras kind of demand that you quite quickly start to spend and hopefully also make a lot more money on a daily basis than that.

So my advice is that you look at your needs, and then calculate how much you gain from buying the camera and when doing so you should not include possible rentouts and such. More like an evil calculation where you just weight the number of days that you would need to rent the gear compared to if you buy it and in that calculation you need to also add insurance and such. And when doing such calculation I would not estimate more than 1 or 2 years use of the camera, as if you where renting then you would probably get the latest and greatest on each and every occasion.

If that equation makes sense then you can buy the camera with no worries. It's when you start to add in all the "maybe" possibilities in there it starts to get dangerous.

Also one reason why there is so many used cameras out there is simply because so many people figured that buying a camera would really boast their carrier as filmmakers. For many that trick did not really work. And when you look at prices for used cameras you need to know that it's including tax and such which is not the case when buying new. So if you take that into consideration then the used prices are quite low, and the 500USD transfer fee is nothing compared to the tax you pay for buying a new camera, atleast not here in sweden where taxes are high.

 

[Troy Bakewell]

I'd buy new.

 

[Maik Müller]

+1 for new and what Björn said.
Be happy to be in the educational program.

If those numbers really making your head spinning, you might want to re-check what a fully outfitted Scarlet will cost you. There is nothing more frustrating than having a great basic camera-kit but running out of money before you also have all the accessories or even enough media-capacity and batteries. A basic kit might be good enough for starters, artists or hobbyists and people with patience, but if you're after a business, you'll have to buy more stuff.

 

[Elan Gunos]

Really? What are you smoking bro?

Scarlets and Red Ones have very high defect rates. If you found a used one with no problems that's worth more than a new one, as a new one may or may not be a lemon. TEST IN PERSON

 

[Nick Mercer]

I'm pretty sure if I asked any of you if you wanted $500-$1000, you would say yes. I understand the business part of it and that these cameras are professional tools that don't just stop at the body.

I was just wondering if you think that $500-$1000 is better spent somewhere else rather than on the warranty.

 

[Steve Das]

I'm pretty sure if I asked any of you if you wanted $500-$1000, you would say yes. I understand the business part of it and that these cameras are professional tools that don't just stop at the body.

I was just wondering if you think that $500-$1000 is better spent somewhere else rather than on the warranty.

The warranty is priceless for piece of mind it seems...having said that there really isn't too much you can buy for $500-1,000
After all that's what 2 big filters will cost you. Just get used to the prices and that warranty will look cheaper to you.
Really some good of advice below.

...This might sound harsh, but if 500 Bucks saved or spent is an issue then the whole RED thing might be the wrong thing to buy into. Basically, these cameras kind of demand that you quite quickly start to spend and hopefully also make a lot more money on a daily basis than that. ...

 

[Maik Müller]

I'm pretty sure if I asked any of you if you wanted $500-$1000, you would say yes..

Not if that means i have to give up the warranty and getting a used instead of new camera-brain, no way.

 

[Robino_J]

Really? What are you smoking bro? ///// Scarlets and Red Ones have very high defect rates. If you found a used one with no problems that's worth more than a new one, as a new one may or may not be a lemon. TEST IN PERSON

He's not smoking he's trolling - one of the best around. ... I got trolled too by replying, oh well...

To the topic - I would buy NEW the difference is not that much. Scarlets are rock solid. Of course anything can happen but RED takes care of business.

 

[david_winters]

I buy used cars, work trucks, motorcycles. Often I buy used camera support, grip and lighting gear. If a model camera has been on the market for 1+ years I look to buy used, if the price is right.

 

[Mark T Workman]

Erm. I wouldn't say that. Red doesn't sell broken cameras and if there is an issue for any reason they take care of it, especially when new. I've been around my fair share of Scarlets and Red Ones, perhaps more than most. More so if there's any sort of "trust" issue with the seller that would be perhaps a concern on a used body.

I don't honestly know where you got that info Robert.

+1 on this Phil. Have zero problems with the picture quality that's being recorded right now with my Scarlet and my only "scary" thing was an occasional to frequent NO RECORD that seems to have been solved as of late. That being said, there are no better advantages than the warranty price previously mentioned. NONE! Wish I could have had a warranty on my super computer build which failed horribly several times, each time taking weeks and weeks to fix...

 

[Nick Mercer]

Not if that means i have to give up the warranty and getting a used instead of new camera-brain, no way.

I wasn't referring to the new vs. used with this comment. I was just simply saying that someone wouldn't just pass up the opportunity to be handed $500-$1000. It isn't petty cash.

$500-$1000 isn't a lot of money, but we can all agree it is better to have an extra $1000 than not.

I am leaning towards a new camera if I don't go with a RED One.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I would actually consider to buy used, but I would make sure it was not a scam. in other words I would test it first, and pay after delivery / pickup.

These cameras work, we had zip zero issues with ours since we bought it, I also have a client that has left his redone running for over 3 years straight. Yes thats true he very rarely turn the camera off and he probably have a run time record on it but still no issues with his camera. So I would say that there is not so likely that these cameras goes sour even if you read about those thing here on the forum, but then also you have to consider that there is a quite wast number of cameras out there. And people with problems tend to scream more than others.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I would actually consider to buy used, but I would make sure it was not a scam. in other words I would test it first, and pay after delivery / pickup.

These cameras work, we had zip zero issues with ours since we bought it, I also have a client that has left his redone running for over 3 years straight. Yes thats true he very rarely turn the camera off and he probably have a run time record on it but still no issues with his camera. So I would say that there is not so likely that these cameras goes sour even if you read about those thing here on the forum, but then also you have to consider that there is a quite wast number of cameras out there. And people with problems tend to scream more than others.

 

[Tom Greenberg]

I also qualify for RED Educational pricing, but I opted to buy my Scarlet brain used. Even after paying the RED transfer and inspection fees, PayPal fees, shipping charges and buying the other essential accessories (SSD Module, Canon AL Mount) that I needed to make it operational (also purchased used), I saved considerably more than $1000. I spent a lot of time "stalking" the best deals I could find in the used market, and it took me a couple of months to complete the package, but I consider it time well spent, since I had to stretch my budget as much as possible.

 

[Daniel Pearson]

I think it comes down to the used camera in question. If you can guarantee it has been well looked after, everything is above board, reasonably low hours and a good deal - then that is probably worth $1000 to you (you might want to pay $1500 under retail, as then you can pay for owner transfer and get a 90 day warranty). But if the deal is only going to save you $500, I think a brand new cam from Red with 12 month warranty (and the opportunity to purchase Red Armor if that's your thing) is well worth the piece of mind.

And don't mind Rob's comment, there are just as many issues with Epics as Scarlets - it is overall a pretty rock solid camera. I've owned mine for a year and the only issue has been with the swivel on my 5" touch - and fixed under warranty with only about a 10 day turnaround, and that's shipping to and from Australia.