A. Clint Litton
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2007
- Messages
- 750
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Website
- www.clintlitton.com
I tried posting this in the Weapon forum but couldn't start a new thread...mods, feel free to move as you see fit.
There's obviously been a lot of talk about the upgrade options, the pricing, etc. I have some thoughts on the differences between the Mg and CF Weapon offerings that I'll make elsewhere. For now, I wanted to try to wrap my brain around the lack of a Stage 2 option for those upgrading from Epic Dragon to Weapon, and see if there were any thoughts people wanted to throw into the mix.
I know Jarred had previously said that there would be no Stage 2 style upgrade option, though I don't fully understand why. In the days of R1 to Epic transition, they wanted to give people an option to jump into the new form factor while doing their best to stick to the "Obsolencense Obsolete" mantra, and valuing the R1 at it's original $17.5 was an incredibly generous way to honor that company belief. The Stage 2 option was sort of an icing on the cake deal that made a lot of sense for folks who could shell out a little more money in order to get into the Epic game. But it also saved Red from at least some portion of the logistical trouble of having to go through checking cameras, assessing trade-in values, etc. It also saved owners from having a ton of accessories that wouldn't really transition over to the new form factor. It allowed owners with decently kitted R1 packages to keep them as complete packages.
So now that we're looking at a new body style, but Red has stated that it is keeping the Epic and Scarlet in the lineup, doesn't it make sense to keep those Epics out in the wild? I know they may just turn around and sell them as Battle Tested, but isn't it still a lot of logistical mess and effort to deal with taking in trades, evaluating the cameras, only to then turn around and sell them again, without making much profit given all the work involved? By offering a Stage 2 option where Epic owners keep their cameras, those owners could either keep the body in its current configuration as a B body, or sell the complete package to someone else looking to jump up to the next level (Dragon being no slouch) without having to go through configuring the camera all over again (as would be the case via a BT purchase). In other words, current Epic Dragon owners wanting to move to Weapon can do so more cleanly, and if they're eventually going to sell their Epic packages to people coming up in the gear ownership game, there's a further spread of Red ownership out there.
Some will likely say that there is an option for people wanting to keep their Epics, which would be flat-out buying a new Mg or CF Weapon, but let's face it…the price jump is already greater than most anticipated (not undeservingly, but it's still a stretch for a lot of owners), and without the bundled add-on's and additional credit, it's just that much harder to pull the trigger. Not really a no brainer, and it'd be great to say it's a no brainer, and get the Weapon out there on more sets, where we can further spread the good word.
My $.02, for what little it may be worth.
All that said, it looks like there have been a lot of significant improvements in the Weapon platform that should aid in getting Red a little more love on the sets where everyone wants to talk trash. Anyone who's been on the ride from the beginning (hell, even people who just jumped in with Dragon) knows that sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. I personally have always felt that the good far outweighed the bad, and while there were some directions Red has gone in the past that I wasn't keen on (think module offerings or lackings, proxies, port placement, etc), it's clear they've tried to incorporate a lot of feedback into this new design, which is promising, and frankly reassuring to someone who would like to stay with them as the camera company of choice. The pricing makes it a tougher decision for someone in my tier of work, but as a sign of where the company wants to go, I'm happy to see what they've pulled off. So hats off to you guys...Jarred, Jim, Brent, all you crazy dreamers who keep pushing the boundaries. I hope you understand that a lot of the discontented folks over the past few days has been due to issues of communication and clarity, as well as fear of not being able to keep up with where you're going (at least on the high end level where Weapon is aimed).
Cheers,
Clint
R1 #2842
Epic-X/Dragon #699
There's obviously been a lot of talk about the upgrade options, the pricing, etc. I have some thoughts on the differences between the Mg and CF Weapon offerings that I'll make elsewhere. For now, I wanted to try to wrap my brain around the lack of a Stage 2 option for those upgrading from Epic Dragon to Weapon, and see if there were any thoughts people wanted to throw into the mix.
I know Jarred had previously said that there would be no Stage 2 style upgrade option, though I don't fully understand why. In the days of R1 to Epic transition, they wanted to give people an option to jump into the new form factor while doing their best to stick to the "Obsolencense Obsolete" mantra, and valuing the R1 at it's original $17.5 was an incredibly generous way to honor that company belief. The Stage 2 option was sort of an icing on the cake deal that made a lot of sense for folks who could shell out a little more money in order to get into the Epic game. But it also saved Red from at least some portion of the logistical trouble of having to go through checking cameras, assessing trade-in values, etc. It also saved owners from having a ton of accessories that wouldn't really transition over to the new form factor. It allowed owners with decently kitted R1 packages to keep them as complete packages.
So now that we're looking at a new body style, but Red has stated that it is keeping the Epic and Scarlet in the lineup, doesn't it make sense to keep those Epics out in the wild? I know they may just turn around and sell them as Battle Tested, but isn't it still a lot of logistical mess and effort to deal with taking in trades, evaluating the cameras, only to then turn around and sell them again, without making much profit given all the work involved? By offering a Stage 2 option where Epic owners keep their cameras, those owners could either keep the body in its current configuration as a B body, or sell the complete package to someone else looking to jump up to the next level (Dragon being no slouch) without having to go through configuring the camera all over again (as would be the case via a BT purchase). In other words, current Epic Dragon owners wanting to move to Weapon can do so more cleanly, and if they're eventually going to sell their Epic packages to people coming up in the gear ownership game, there's a further spread of Red ownership out there.
Some will likely say that there is an option for people wanting to keep their Epics, which would be flat-out buying a new Mg or CF Weapon, but let's face it…the price jump is already greater than most anticipated (not undeservingly, but it's still a stretch for a lot of owners), and without the bundled add-on's and additional credit, it's just that much harder to pull the trigger. Not really a no brainer, and it'd be great to say it's a no brainer, and get the Weapon out there on more sets, where we can further spread the good word.
My $.02, for what little it may be worth.
All that said, it looks like there have been a lot of significant improvements in the Weapon platform that should aid in getting Red a little more love on the sets where everyone wants to talk trash. Anyone who's been on the ride from the beginning (hell, even people who just jumped in with Dragon) knows that sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. I personally have always felt that the good far outweighed the bad, and while there were some directions Red has gone in the past that I wasn't keen on (think module offerings or lackings, proxies, port placement, etc), it's clear they've tried to incorporate a lot of feedback into this new design, which is promising, and frankly reassuring to someone who would like to stay with them as the camera company of choice. The pricing makes it a tougher decision for someone in my tier of work, but as a sign of where the company wants to go, I'm happy to see what they've pulled off. So hats off to you guys...Jarred, Jim, Brent, all you crazy dreamers who keep pushing the boundaries. I hope you understand that a lot of the discontented folks over the past few days has been due to issues of communication and clarity, as well as fear of not being able to keep up with where you're going (at least on the high end level where Weapon is aimed).
Cheers,
Clint
R1 #2842
Epic-X/Dragon #699