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UNHAPPY with Used RED-ONE price drop ! :(

George D.

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I just want to say that I am VERY, VERY unhappy about how the resale value of Red-Ones has plummeted. Anyone selling their Red-Ones now will be losing a LOT of money. And, that, I personally, just cannot afford to do. I mean, the average price of a used "complete kit", with SSD modules, SSD Cards, and the works, is about $14,000.oo +/-. That is REALLY painful to see.

Since our Red-One is virtually new, with only about 30 minutes of footage shot with it, I was hoping to sell it, with only the lose of a few thousand dollars, to pay for a complete Scarlet-X set up. Especially since the original cost of the Red-One "body" is about the same as the entire cost of a Scarlet-X package.

We wanted the Scarlet for only two reasons; smaller and lighter. Because, for our type of cinematography, that makes it ideal. But, it does not look like we're going to be able to do this, because we are a VERY small production company of only two people, and just cannot afford the lose and financial outlay for yet another camera.

I was thinking the Red-One was more future-proof than it is, and am sorely disappointed to see that it is not.

If this keeps up, a year from now, you'll probably be able to pick up a "good" used Red-One package for about $5,000.oo :( I hope that's a severe over-exaggeration, but it just might not be.

I'm afraid it's a sign of the times, and a result of the technology race photography/cinematography equipment is in. It is only going to get worse. The greatest camera in the world now, will be obsolete a year from now. Sad, very sad.

This is meant as no offense to anyone or any product. I love Red, their cameras, their equipment, and the guys at Red Digital Cinema, but it looks like it's worse than buying a new car. The minute you drive it off the lot, the value drops like a rock. And, I'm afraid this is true of ALL photography equipment, of ALL makes, and ALL models, from ALL companies. Especially ones like Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, Canon, and others that can't come even close to matching the quality of Red products.

Oh well, life goes on.

***UPDATE***

As of today 12-18-11, there have been 56 responses to my thread. I want to thank you all for your input and insight into what I originally thought was a camera-resale problem. Well, I no longer think so.

After reading all your great comments, I have come to the conclusion that it was a GOOD thing after all that we did not do the swap for the Scarlet. The R1 does have good advantages over the Scarlet, like it can shoot at 120fps and it can pre-record, just to name two. And, it looks like there may be a surprise from Red for R1 owners.. maybe, maybe not, but either way, I'm happy with our camera and will continue to put it to good use.

And, you're all right. Only a 40-50% drop in value in almost 5 years is very good compared to other cameras. And, what really matters is not how much you can get for it when you sell, but what it can do for you when you're using it, and the Red-One does super-great in my book.

I'm happy, so thanks again to everyone, and have a GREAT XMAS.

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I'm sure you'll agree that your Red one still produces stunning images. I'm sure you also bought your gear for business. I don't see how dropping prices should effect anything, unless you are renting your gear out. I say keep your RED One and save up for the Scarlet. The RED One still has some features not available on the scarlet.
 
I have a $70,000 Digital Betacam that I would be lucky to sell for $1000...this is nothing new.
What is surprising is how long the Red Ones held their value, they are after all a 5 year old camera.
 
I have a $70,000 Digital Betacam that I would be lucky to sell for $1000...this is nothing new.
What is surprising is how long the Red Ones held their value, they are after all a 5 year old camera.

True, very true!!
 
You are at least somewhat right (probably VERY right) when you say "The greatest camera in the world now, will be obsolete a year from now." But that is the nature of technology.

Be thankful that RED has kept the RED ONE current for nearly 4 years now with it's upgrades to sensor and media. Now, the "obsoleted" cameras a year from now - if you were wise enough to buy Scarlet or Epic - will not be; because you can very probably upgrade your sensor (Dragon) and continue to use and your modules and accessories, upgrading those as you want to, when new things are offered. "Obsolescence is obsolete." :thumbup:
 
Yes your R1 will keep earning, but to be completely honest I think you should have seen the writing on the wall. You did factor in that the R1 was nearly a 5 y/o model with the next big thing on it's heels when you chose to buy the R1... Didn't you?
 
Don't forget that Jarred also announced on a thread that people selling their R1's will be sorry....what this means is anyone's guess....but could only mean that they have an upgrade path planned for R1....Can't imagine any other reason he would have said this....but that sure makes sense if i sold my R1 for $10k and next week they announce a new sensor and video board where i can shoot 4k or 5k at 200fps and as good of image as EPIC--that would make me very happy.
But i guess only time will tell....or, maybe it was merely talk...or he meant something completely different as it it would make a nice flower pot ?
 
Everyone knew this would happen. There's a photo on this board where some guy bought a Chevy Volt, what was he thinking? Your RED ONE is better than a Scarlet. Get some lights and some sticks and go make a movie. When your movie premieres you'll be able to buy an Epic-X at a low ball price.
 
Yes your R1 will keep earning, but to be completely honest I think you should have seen the writing on the wall. You did factor in that the R1 was nearly a 5 y/o model with the next big thing on it's heels when you chose to buy the R1... Didn't you?

Exactly. Plus you have the option for new Epic - M for half the price of a new Epic - first time buyers. Did you not read the forum in Oct...when Canon announcement for Nov 3 then RED said something grand is happening too here.
 
I try to view all digital tools, whether computer, camera or software, as expendables. The tool itself may have less than ideal resale value, but as long as I can meet and/or exceed the needs of my production pipeline, then the tool holds great value to me and my team. It's very similar to how an illustrator could use a $1 pencil to draw illustrations that each sell for far more than the original cost of the pencil... The artist needs the pencil in order to CREATE value, and should be able to CONTINUE to make value for the remainder of the pencil's usable life... At which point, the hope is that the illustrator has made enough money in order to buy a whole bunch of new pencils...

Long example short, my Red One has made for for one heck of a great pencil...
 
I sold my Betacam 400a a couple of years ago for a song... and it, too, was *the* camera in it's day and it, too, cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $65k... without lens!
So to get an amazing camera like the Scarlet for what seems like a pittance for a professional camera is (to me anyway) amazing!

I also bought my first Avid for $35k... and it wasn't the media composer but it's lame little cousin... look how much Avid's sell for now! So ya, technology... the best thing is that it's all a write-off in the end while at the same time getting to use cutting edge technology. In some ways it's too bad that the barrier to entry has dropped as low as it has... but hey look at the camera you can buy for 15k!!!
 
It sounds like you needed to pay better attention to the market. It's still a better camera in a lot of ways. Ultimate, its value is what you get out of it. So, go shoot some incredible stuff and all these feelings of jealousy will disappear.
 
You are all correct. And, I did see the writing on the wall. But, there was NO exact release date for the Scarlet a year ago, and we needed to get shooting and could wait no longer.

Besides, knowing that two new cameras were coming is not the point. The point is, that the Red-One is NOT worth what it should be worth (in my opinion).

I hope Johnny Friday is right, and there IS a big upgrade surprise for us R1 owners. :)

And, please believe that I LOVE our Red-One, and it DOES have features that we most definitely like over the Scarlet. So, we are going to do what a couple of you suggested: get out there and shoot a movie. It IS an incredible tool, so why not. ;)

Thanks for the input everyone.

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I don't understand this logic at all... There is zero difference quality between the scarlet and red 4K. When you bought the redone originally, you made that camera work for your business. Now it's smaller and lighter (scarlet). At what point did the red become obsolete in this situation? It still works great! No other company beats it in terms of resolution/price ratio! Even for a camera that's 5 years old! Until displays at home hit 8K+ and my computer monitor is 8K+ would I consider the redone obsolete. Any camera that shoots 1080p now is on the verge of being obsolete in my opinion...RED is safe for a long time. Enjoy your camera!
 
I've got a beautiful Sony D600WS sitting on my shelf collecting dust... though that camera paid back very well. I wish there was a way to tap into the chip on that sucker. It always made great images. Red One will continue to make really great images for some time to come, unlike my poor D600.
 
I don't understand this logic at all... There is zero difference quality between the scarlet and red 4K. When you bought the redone originally, you made that camera work for your business. Now it's smaller and lighter (scarlet). At what point did the red become obsolete in this situation? It still works great! No other company beats it in terms of resolution/price ratio! Even for a camera that's 5 years old! Until displays at home hit 8K+ and my computer monitor is 8K+ would I consider the redone obsolete. Any camera that shoots 1080p now is on the verge of being obsolete in my opinion...RED is safe for a long time. Enjoy your camera!

Thanks Mike. You're right, and I will.

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Are there any reliable rumors about what the RED One surprise might be???

I'm very interested that, as well.

And I don't need any more potted plants.

:-)

Stephen
 
I just asked my Red One what it thought about its value dropping through the floor. He responded that he's booked for a few days and doesn't have time to be worried about that sort of thing.

I suppose if you are in the position where you need to sell an R1, sure it's a bit of an eye opener to see the great deals being offered, but on the other hand many people have made a lot of money with R1 over the past few years. I think it has held its own and continues to do so. RED has a 3 camera lineup, all very powerful. I say max out your R1s potential and ADD a Scarlet to your arsenal when money is available.
 
I think it's nuts that people are selling Red One MX's and exchanging them with Scarlets. Exchanging with Epic? Yeah, that makes sense. But Scarlet? No way, these $14K Red One MX packages are WAY, WAY, WAY better values than Scarlet, and shoot the same, beautiful footage.

Eventually, people will figure this out and the cost of used Red One MX kits will stop dropping.
 
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