Obsolescence Obsolete...

[Jannard]

The concept is a great one. Buy something and NEVER have it become obsolete. In a world of ever increasing, better-faster technology... it is a difficult trick to pull off.

When we conceived of the RED ONE, our thought was that sensors would be the primary area of advancement and the one thing that could "obsolete" a camera. So we made them upgradeable. And they are.

Then... as with all things, we had a better idea. After you do something once, there are always things you wish you could do over. Enter: Scarlet and EPIC.

So let's look at this for a moment. What are we comparing RED to?

I have bought MANY electronic items. I bought them, they went obsolete (sometimes in days), they dropped in value dramatically, had no upgrade path and I just had to go buy the newer model. I never got a call from the company. And I don't believe many of them really cared about my situation because they knew I had no other option. Quite frankly, it is my belief that some companies actually strategized to dole out product advancements in an orderly fashion to "keep me hooked" on a regular buying program. It worked, but I didn't like it.

So... what do we do? We actually care about our customers beyond the purchase.

The RED ONE has an upgradeable sensor program. Just as we promised. It cannot be upgraded as a Scarlet or EPIC can... so we have created a path for our RED ONE customers to get into the more comprehensive "Obsolescence Obsolete" system. And I think we got it completely right this time.

So you bought the RED ONE. What about you? Shoot your RED ONE as it is. It takes incredible images. Or upgrade your sensor. Upgrade to EPIC. Buy a Scarlet at a discount. Scarlet will not do all that the RED ONE will. Whatever you do, you are 1st in line.

Follow me here... how many other companies can you point to that have ever created a similar program, or even thought about considering their customers point of view to this extent? Just the fact the "Obsolescence Obsolete" is our goal breaks the traditional business model.

RED is a business. We cannot give everyone a free camera every time we come up with an advancement. What we can do is to be as fair as we possibly can to keep our customers advancing along the technology train with the least amount of discomfort as possible.

All of us at RED appreciate your support. We are working hard to deliver incredible surprises to our customers.

Jim

 

[C.H.Haskell]

Salute.

 

[Häakon]

I think we got it completely right this time.

I think you did too.

 

[Greg M]

I have bought MANY electronic items. I bought them, they went obsolete (sometimes in days), they dropped in value dramatically, had no upgrade path and I just had to go buy the newer model. I never got a call from the company. And I don't believe many of them really cared about my situation because they knew I had no other option. Quite frankly, it is my belief that some companies actually strategized to dole out product advancements in an orderly fashion to "keep me hooked" on a regular buying program. It worked, but I didn't like it.

so true. thanks for being a maverick Jim.

 

[Joe D'Arcym]

Jim, What you have achieved in such a small space of time is nothing less than brilliant. What you offer is incredibly generous and respectful. And as you know and you seem to forget at times, you can't please all the people all the time.

 

[M Hsu]

Jim, please feel the support of all of us who believe in your vision, even those of us who were slightly dismayed due to the misconception that scarlet was the red two and $10,000 cheaper and lighter to boot with sexy new accessories.

We are in the end all firm believers in the RED vision.

It's a hell of a second act Jim. You could have gone to the beach after oakley and sat around drinking margaritas, but you had to go and poke a stick in the eye of the film industry. How fun is that?

 

[Radoslav Karapetkov]

Regardless of all the spec brawls, RED is a phenomenon.

Can't be easy to lead this. My compliments.

(Just make the interchangeable 2/3" Scarlet for April\May, please? :devil

 

[C.H.Haskell]

Jim wait, when I bought my RED ONE a year ago it was worth 17,500...and now its only worth, oh...nevermind its still worth 17,500, and still trumps anything I could ever afford. Thanks Jim, carry on.

 

[Larry McKee]

I am incredibly happy as a customer. I don't think I have ever received the level of customer support I am getting from RED. I can't believe I get to use a RED One basically for free while you guys are building my Epic. When are you going to start making cars?

 

[SalaTar]

Here goes JIM into....
Crawfishing Time....

 

[Antoine Fabi]

The concept is a great one. Buy something and NEVER have it become obsolete. In a world of ever increasing, better-faster technology... it is a difficult trick to pull off...

...RED is a business. We cannot give everyone a free camera every time we come up with an advancement. What we can do is to be as fair as we possibly can to keep our customers advancing along the technology train with the least amount of discomfort as possible.


Jim

True, no doubt, last year was speaking by itself. It's incredible really.

Now, Jim, for the future, do you think most of our accessories can be used with the EPIC ?

I mean LCD, viewfinder, batteries, carbon rods etc... ?

Oh, another question...

Does it make sense to upgrade my RED ONE's sensor (at a cost of course) until the EPIC is available ? I mean the EPIC FF45 or 645.

thanks

Antoine

 

[Dj Joofa]

When are you going to start making cars?

Nope, Red should pay more attention to audio.

 

[SalaTar]

How about the ability for me to just bypass Redcode...
Give me the real time dual HDSDI ports and let me decide how to process it.
Raw port option would be cool too

 

[Leo Ticheli]

What is it that renders obsolescence obsolete? It's Red's operating philosophy, not any particular piece of hardware.

Is my Red One obsolete? Not by a long shot.

Will it be obsolete in a year? No. I can either upgrade it by physically modifying it or trading it in. I can even continue shooting it as it is and continue to make beautiful pictures.

What about my EVF and LCD? Will they be made obsolete by new and improved offerings? No. I'm very happy with them and see no compelling reason to toss them in the bin.

There should be no argument about my PL mount lenses. They'll happily soldier on with whatever Red I buy.

Will a larger than S35MM sensor make our cameras obsolete? Absolutely not. The depth of field on an S35 sensor is just right for most cinematic looks.

The modular approach is terrific, but still not immune from obsolescence. I'm pretty sure that any storage device will be rather quickly surpassed. The I/O may outlast six-legged creatures, but even that is not certain. The beauty of Red is that the whole ball of wax need not be discarded with each new generation of technology and Red has made it affordable to stay in the game.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

 

[Paula DiSante]

>>Quite frankly, it is my belief that some companies actually strategized to dole out product advancements in an orderly fashion to "keep me hooked" on a regular buying program.

Absolutely. I agree that some companies certainly do this. It's "built-in obsolescence," in order to sell more product down the line--and it's very frustrating!

 

[david farland]

Quite frankly, it is my belief that some companies actually strategized to dole out product advancements in an orderly fashion to "keep me hooked" on a regular buying program. It worked, but I didn't like it. Jim

......:whistling:

 

[Steve Murray]

Damn

Damn

Jim, I think that you must be a member of the Guild (Dune) and are folding time & space by making these cameras years before anyone else would have - if ever.

It blows my mind that you even have to explain how amazing what you are planning is.... And that fact that you are even doing trade-in's.... and chip upgrades... DAMN!

I cannot figure out how anyone can complain. This is so amazing. I had to pay $500.00 just for one minor software upgrade for my Varicam. No one else offers to trade-in old cameras for a new one. And for full price. DAMN!

I admit to being a fan boy but yesterday made me into a Super fan boy. I cannot wait. Thank you for doing such amazing things. And thank you for designing such an amazing modular camera line up.

Thanks to everyone at RED. DAMN!

 

[Tom Lowe]

Scarlet will not do all that the RED ONE will.

And this is GOOD thing? :huh:

 

[Mathew Mackereth]

I first shot with a RED one on build 13... and was excited, even then about the flexibility of the raw format. Like many others, i've since been putting $$$ into the hands of Red One owners by renting and recommending the camera.

whether or not they choose to upgrade the sensor, or to take advantage of these amazing trade in offers - it would be hard to understand why any red owner who will have had a year to 18 months use or rental of the camera could possibly feel that Red is somehow "letting them down" by releasing even better equipment, and offering full value trade in on an Epic System...

The Red One is an amazing camera today, will continue to sell well i'm sure, and I'm sure i'll be using it to work with the same, fantastic images well into the future no matter what is around the corner...

 

[Bruce Allen]

Scarlet will not do all that the RED ONE will.

And this is GOOD thing? :huh:

Yeah because it makes it smaller and lighter.

You don't need as gigantic a tripod and it's easier to haul it around on trains, in parks etc while being pursued by the Tokyo police (cough, hypothetically speaking of course

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com