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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

RED failed me again

Is somewhere around here a thread with a statistic which the % of failure from all the already sold Red body´s is (counted &) posted?
Would give a better overview.
Marc
 
as far as i know if the camera problem is under warranty Red pays for shipping ...
if not under warranty then Red doesn't pay ...
most camera's are under warranty to the orginal buyer ... the Reds that have been sold by originla buyer to another party may not be under warranty ...
 
The upside of RED's camera servicing policy:

They will turn it around in 24 hours, which is a killer, killer turnaround time. They have an excellent system for diagnostics and for curing your camera.

The downside of RED's camera servicing policy: Even with 24 hour turnaround, with 2 days shipping on each end, it can cost thousands in lost time and opportunity if you don't have a back-up, and, if you're on a tight schedule, those kind of missed days can ultimately be a project-killer.

Double or triple your expectations for not having a functional camera if you are shipping to the service center from overseas, because customs issues can be heinous.

I had a camera locked in French customs for 16 -- yes, that is right, 16 -- days. I can't begin to tell you how stressful that was. I think I hold the RED record for customs nightmares.

You should also be aware that back-up bodies supplied by RED are in short supply, so don't expect this...when they only had a few cameras in the field, they were able to supply these, but with the number approaching thousands, they just can't do it.

The upside of RED's customer service: They will go to war for you, to get your camera operational.

The downside of RED's customer service: They are dealing with so many issues and so many moving parts right now, it can be hard to get them activated about yours.

It's not about them trying hard enough or working hard enough -- they work their tails off -- but they are in the middle of enormous growth and shipping a ton of cameras and electronic parts, and it is a huge balancing act.

My three bits of advice that I have learned from a tough experience:

1) A back-up body is a good idea. Even if you don't own one, you should have somewhere in your contract about a back-up camera plan, including rental rates which will kick in and be picked up by the client, in the event that the original camera goes down. They may never have to use this, but you both, you and the client, will have peace of mind, if you make this a standard procedure in every job that you do.

2) RED has a guy named Big Jon who will help you, when the other channels are too clogged. He promised that if you contact him before posting your problems here, that he would get you the help you need. And his word is tight.

3) Even a well-tested camera can go down. In another thread, some dude hinted at his suspicion that these problems were caused by operator error. That's BS. This is a new technology, there are bugs. I had a motherboard that had to be replaced, and a friend of mine, another local RED owner, had a motherboard replaced as well. That's 2 out of the 7 cameras in my area, and I don't know if others have had issues.

I'm not posting this to slag RED in any way...but to offer a reality check to new users, who may be operating on the hope that *their* camera will be perfect in every way, when, with some relatively simple planning and communication, you can work with reality instead of hope.

Even if you don't have a 2nd body, you need a back-up plan and you need to spell that plan out to your customers and make sure that they understand and agree to it. It's not that hard to do, and it will save grief all around.

It helps and may save you and your clients' money, to make friends with other local users who will agree to exchange services as back-ups to each others' cameras.
 
I'm thinking if the cameras passed a quality test before first being shipped... who is to say that they won't ship from RED after being repaired with the same issues? The codec errors seems to me to be a general problem. How can quality testing prevent something that seems to be allowed in the matrix. I got RED #1888 with a vertical line in the middle of most clips and codec errors on the first few minutes of testing in my backyard (Build 15). Luckily those 2 problems haven't popped up in Build 16 so far. I also haven't had any bootup issues... knock on wood. I would gladly purchase a backup body... but as you can see our two extra bodies are way down the line on the waiting list and used prices are ridiculous.
 
When our camera went down early on Red gave us a temporary replacement (not sure if they still do this sort of thing?). The replacement was with us within a couple of days of reporting the fault while the faulty camera was fixed and shipped back to us within a week. You can't really say fairer than that!

Anyone that doesn't have a back-up body on stand-by should at least investigate other renters/owners in their area that they can call on in an emergency. At worst if you're really unlucky you'll have to cross-hire another camera in and take the hit for either a couple of days until a replacement can be shipped (if Red are still doing this??) or at worst for a week until your own camera is fixed and shipped back. No, it's not ideal but like other people have said any camera can fail (including mechanical ones) and if you're an owner/operator you'd be lucky to get a similar response to Red's from your local Sony/Panasonic/Canon service centre.
 
when you read all this here you can have the impression that every red had / has / will have a failure and has to be sent back.

all those i know didn´t have an issue yet, so i ask why are there so dramatic differences. is it really a quality thing of a small percentage of a huge amount of cameras, or a wrong usement of them...?
 
use

hehe, sorry:tongue:
 
i mixed use and treatment - so a new word is born usement. you like it?:blush:
 
"hot swap" misconception

"hot swap" misconception

"You should also be aware that back-up bodies supplied by RED are in short supply, so don't expect this...when they only had a few cameras in the field, they were able to supply these, but with the number approaching thousands, they just can't do it."

Yes, they can.

By instituting a "hot swap" program they are constantly getting cameras back, once the replacement arrives. They ship out the replacement, and they receive the defective unit, fix it, and keep it ready to ship out on the next call.

They can also ship in special hard cases, which they receive back with the returned units. The instructions would be to just take the replacement out of the case, and put the defective unit in, and call Fedex. A pre-supplied shipping label can also be sent to the customer to more easily track the returns.
 
Perhaps they're planning on having enough bodies to do this effectively thanks to the credit-towards-EPIC Red ONE trade in program?
That should get them a few hundred bodies back. Either they'd refurbish them and sell them or refurbish them and use them as loaners.
 
mail4joeg said:
By instituting a "hot swap" program they are constantly getting cameras back, once the replacement arrives. They ship out the replacement, and they receive the defective unit, fix it, and keep it ready to ship out on the next call.

They can also ship in special hard cases, which they receive back with the returned units. The instructions would be to just take the replacement out of the case, and put the defective unit in, and call Fedex. A pre-supplied shipping label can also be sent to the customer to more easily track the returns.
Click to expand...


Just to point out:
You're going to constantly replace a 'defective' camera with a new one?
That means that when a defective camera is fixed your now going to ship someone a refurbished camera for their camera, and then what? They just keep the refurb? I don't know about you, but that idea doesn't thrill me at all. I'd rather have one camera that I get to know the quirks about, then be given a mystery camera every time there's a problem. Not really interested in getting a different cam....rather just fix the one I have.
Your system precludes that the 'defective' camera has a really big problem. If red can fix it quickly, you've then got to ship it out and ship the other one back. This is alot of shipping.
Your system precludes that Red has a mountain of backup bodies for whenever a camera goes down. Also a mountain of bodies to deal with this....you're talking a logistical headache here.
Seems like Red's turnaround on returned cameras is pretty quick. Overnight? Pretty decent...it's obviously a priority for them. Customs will be a hassle regardless.
 
Evolve,

I don't think it works like that, in my experience anyway. You get your original camera back, not some other camera. Generally it's pretty minor things that have gone wrong and needed replacing like fuses, circuit boards etc.

In terms of shipping Red take a big hit on this - in our case they paid for our camera to ship back to the US and then back to us, and then on top of this paid for shipping two replacement cameras to the UK & back to the States again...that's a lot of dough, and a pretty unbelievable service...once again try & get that from Sony/Panasonic/Canon.
 
davecw said:
In terms of shipping Red take a big hit on this - in our case they paid for our camera to ship back to the US and then back to us, and then on top of this paid for shipping two replacement cameras to the UK & back to the States again...that's a lot of dough
Click to expand...
Well maybe this will convince them to open a service center in Europe as soon as possible...
:whistling:
 
In most circumstances, it is very tough to criticize their 24 hour turnaround efforts. But 3 lost days can be a big challenge to many, if not most, schedules. That's where making friends with other users and making mutually beneficial arrangements can be a big help, at least if your problem is local.

International shipping can present its own set of problems, and I thoroughly agree that RED could use a European office, well versed in the arcane mysteries of local customs practices, to better serve those clients.

I didn't tell my story to be critical of RED. I told my story to help other users set their expectations and to offer a little advice on what can help them to *not* to have to go through what I did.

I have one camera that failed, and I have one that has operated perfectly since the day that I received it. I make no judgments about the failure rate. Sometimes cameras fail, and this is a new technology.

It's your responsibility to your client to either have back ups in place or to communicate the possibility of delays and the cures that you have put in place for them and to discuss how much they may cost. That was my take-away, anyway.

I had a very tough customer service issue and, while RED was not as initially responsive as I would have liked or expected, they stayed with me through the whole thing and took on problems with French customs that they did not even create. They will be in this with you for the long haul.
 
Europe service center soon...

Jim
 
davecw said:
Evolve,

I don't think it works like that, in my experience anyway. You get your original camera back, not some other camera. Generally it's pretty minor things that have gone wrong and needed replacing like fuses, circuit boards etc.

In terms of shipping Red take a big hit on this - in our case they paid for our camera to ship back to the US and then back to us, and then on top of this paid for shipping two replacement cameras to the UK & back to the States again...that's a lot of dough, and a pretty unbelievable service...once again try & get that from Sony/Panasonic/Canon.
Click to expand...

Dave,
I'm not suggesting it does. My post is merely a comment on someone's else's idea, which was to have Red supply backup cameras when a camera stopped functioning....
 
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