Please read my ethics statement here.
First off, let me state this…I love the Epic. It’s a wonderful camera. The best I have ever owned, also of course the most expensive. I love the image, the features, the look of the camera, the way it operated, the resolution. I spooned it every night.
I bought one this summer. It was fully mine. Not co-owned. My biggest investment since buying my house 17 years ago. I used it for 2 paid jobs and numerous personal ones. I stopped using it though for paid work as I was having some technical issues with it and it had let me down twice. RED were very supportive and helpful in trying to figure out what the issues were. I should mention that the Epic M is classed as a BETA camera by RED.
RED took my camera in for repair at the beginning of November, where they were trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera after shooting the short film “Host” which we had HUGE technical issues with. In the meantime they kindly supplied me with a loan camera, with that I shot a music video, the Homeless video for Turin Brakes and the Redneck Hippy. I had sound issues with the latter but the other two were fine. I had also shot with Eric Kessler’s Epic and had no issues on the two projects I shot with it.
So why don’t I have it anymore?
Well it comes down to a number of things…numbers 1 and 3 being the major ones, 2 being the irritant…
1: I was no longer comfortable with using the camera on paid jobs. I had the camera back but they could not find the fault, they did a full rebuild, but it would mean I would never know what the issues were and if they really had been fixed. I have never shot with a camera where I was so unsure of it to the point if I took it on a job would it work?
I had some incredibly unhelpful remarks from people (not RED) saying it was my fault for going on a paid job with no second EPIC as a backup. I am sorry but I am not rich. I can only afford one (barely as I had planned to pay it off over the next year) and if I went to client explaining what that extra £1000 per day on my quote was for (an extra rented EPIC as mine was unreliable) that would simply not wash with them.
2: I wrote a blog post, a very balanced blog post in my opinion, about why you should or shouldn’t get a RED Scarlet. It was for the most part very well received. Especially by current RED owners and for people sitting on the fence. I explained whilst it is a great camera make sure you are budgeted for the extras and are well aware of the method in which it records higher frame rates. I also said that I had one on pre-order and was looking forward to it! Whilst is was well received I was also subjected to a lot of abuse from, let me just call them fanboys, who did not like me saying anything negative about the camera. Ridiculous. This went past that though with an insane thread on REDUSER.NET which has mostly been cleaned up but at the time was completely out of order. It was offensive to me, rude, nasty and then it became libellous when some bright spark asked if I had been paid by Sony…yep that is what he said, to write the blog post. He was citing my recent competition I was involved in with Sony to win an FS100. For the record, again, I am not, will not and have never been paid by any camera manufacturer to give a public opinion, a review or anything close to that. The only time I have been paid by a camera company is to do the odd job for them at shows or like the FS100 competition. So, that comment on the thread crossed the line by and I had to act upon it.
3 I emailed someone very high up at RED complaining about this being on that thread. That person did act on it thankfully on reduser quickly and shut them up, but then he also subjected me to a LOT of emails which were more and more upsetting to me due to the words being used and what was being said. I had also literally just stepped off a transatlantic flight when I was getting them. Bad timing!
This person said me talking about the issues I had with the camera (completely ignoring all the wonderful complements I had given the camera too!) was against our “agreement”. He said when I got the camera early it was on the agreement that I would not talk about it’s issues. This was not the case. First off…I didn’t get the camera early, I got it when the Red.com website said “Buy today, shoot tomorrow”. The Epic M was in stock and it took 3 months for me to get my bits for it. Secondly… I have not and would never agree to be silent about any issues I personally had with a camera, especially one that ended up costing me close to $80k with accessories. I of course paid the full price for the camera. That is not who I am, I am open and honest about my experiences. My whole website, facebook and twitter is about sharing my experiences. How could I possibly do a blog post about a shoot, share the footage and NOT mention I had serious issues on the shoot? Sorry but that is not me. I had no written agreement. There was also no verbal agreement as I had never spoken to that person. There is no way I would not be honest on a product and if someone asked me to not to post negative issues then I would not get involved with said company.
As the emails went on that person DEMANDED to buy the camera back as they didn’t want me to have it anymore. I of course was utterly shocked. I tried to explain the value of me talking about the good AND the bad and how I got past the issues, I explained the value of having openeness about my experiences, after all RED have been great in helping me get it up and running each time and this was a huge positive!
I could not believe what I was reading. For me this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I put up with the issues as I loved the camera, for the most part I loved the support I had received from the community (owners not fanboys), some in particular were fantastic. They know who they are. But getting abuse from this high up when I should have had support was not on. I decided if I was to be treated like this by ANY company, I wanted nothing to do with them. Especially one that I had invested in so heavily. I accepted the offer, which also very generously I must add, included taking back any 3rd party accessories I had bought for the camera. At this point I was also banned from REDUSER permanently (considering the emails I was receiving I do not believe this was a “mistake” but a deliberate ban.) I was reinstated two days later without an apology. I have not posted there since.
This person did two days later apologise for his completely out of order actions and I accepted the apology. He also retracted the demand for the camera back, asking if I wanted to keep it but understood why I would not want it anymore. But I was done. I had dealt with too much. After all it was just a camera and no camera is worth the amount of grief (listed above). No camera. All I want is to shoot and create. Not deal with this nonsense.
I have a lot of respect for RED, the camera, Jim Jannard and what they have achieved. I hope they understand why I had to write this and my name is not dirt now for them. I do hope to rent Epic’s again in the future and I hope things like this never happen to anyone. It certainly has made my time back home since this happened on the 22nd of November very stressful and time at home with my family is precious even more so at this time of year. I wish I didn’t have to write this, but there was too much false information circulating and I certainly did not appreciate my integrity being questioned. It is everything to me.
At least I have my fond memories of the time with my Epic and of course the work I did with it. Host was rescued in post and will come out in January, please check out the teaser below. One music video is still to come out and the documentary I shot mostly with the Epic for Eric Kessler is currently in post.
I know I am going to get a lot more abuse from writing this but I need to put this to bed and draw a line under it and unless I do this it won’t go away.I just wanted to get the facts out there so I can close that door and move on. Of course I have cancelled my Scarlet too. I still have many other cameras to shoot on and after all, remember….it’s not the camera…it’s the person! But bloody hell will I miss it!
I appreciate the support in the comments but if we can refrain from RED bashing I would appreciate it!
EDIT: Big props to Jim Jannard who has made a public apology on REDuser. Be good to put this all behind us and move forward.
Great Wooden Boats: RED EPIC from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
Strongman: RED Epic from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
295 comments
I admire and respect you Philip! For your skills as a film maker as well as your demeanor in handling this situation. Good luck!
Hi Philip!
You don’t know me, but you met some of my collegaes @ Reducation in London. I have wanted to chat with you about your issues since I first read about them, but that didn’t happen. I do a bit of cameras and workflows at Norwegian Broadcast corp and other places, and have been following you on and off (I have to admit) since you popped up as the phenomen you have become. Even though I am not really in total agreement with you at all times, I really like your approach to what you do and think you are very representative for a huge camera userbase.
And you do wonderfull images.
1st
I am sorry for the outcome of all this, and glad for JJ’s comment over at reduser. It’s most unfortunate all in all.
2nd
Your post on reduser back when, grabbed my attention because I was experiencing something very similar randomly on 2 different Epic M’s at that very time. It would be easy for me t say that you hadn’t tested the workflow in advance, but we had, and everything had ben working, and then this happened. And didn’t happen. On and off over a couple of days. It was a nightmare.
3rd
In our case we found a solution, and it wasn’t the Epic but the lockit boxes we used combined with genlock. When genlock was turned off, everything went on smoothly, and still has… (this is a 112 shootingdays 2x Epic production)
Or… It wasn’t the Epic. We have turned genlock off on all the RED productions I have been in charge of at an early stage for a variety of reasons… Not the same as this, but radiointerference and general weirdities.
4th
Now. This is NOT to say that this was the case in your situation.
We never got in touch, so I have no way to know, but the symptoms described were very similar and of course not acceptable…
5th
I am very sory that you are off the RED bandwagon, as I think you focus on a kind of use that all in al is more relevant to the average Scarlet/Epic user than the Peret Jackson/James Cameron kind of user… 🙂
I, too – cannot (privately when doing what I do myself) bring a spare Epic body. As you pont out, it is a lot of cash for a private person.
But I’d have loved to see how you coped with the Scarlet in particular. Sorry to see that not happening. Really.
Cause as you say: These cameras are capable of some of the best images available.
6th
Have you shot F65?
I will be in january alongside Epic.
Care to join? 🙂
Cheers!
Gunleik
One more thing:
As to the “keeping a spare” stories on the R1, I think they date back to pre august 2008. The last couple of years I have overseen/worked on 4 R1 episodicals on 1 & 2 cameras with more than 100 shootingdays on each + a feature and lots of smaller gigs, and we never had the R1 go down on us.
The Epic has been rock solid throughout my 2 months of testing before going into shooting, we had to return 1 for “powerspike” which was a known issue on early M’s, but to claim that the cameras have been generally unreliable would be a more than slight exaggeration IMHO.
That said, the early release of R1 and Epic still in beta (which I do applaud BTW, as long as the user accepts the beta state of the cam and doesn’t sell it as anything but beta) has seriously hurt REDS rep as a stabile camera, which it has been in my experience.
NOT refering to Philips issue here. The Epic was out of beta when this happened.
Cheers
G
It would be sad if anyone had to put up with such mistreatment, let alone someone who has given so much of his own time, asking nothing in return, to this community.
I think everyone has said anything i was going to say. The comments alone show how much support you have, they’ll probably be a great reminder of why you help us, when you get your trolls and to why you speak so honestly and freely. I’m sure everyone would like a upgrade or the next fancy camera but you prove that it is all about the operator, booths and bodies proves it.
I can’t wait for the relaunch of you site with a new forum that’s squeaky clean and not junk mail hell. Will be a great little hub for the bloom family, that doesn’t really care who shoots or edits on what (except to know how someone achieved something). Which is what film making is for me, if it looks good then who care what monkey bike you rode to get there.
Keep it up philip!
You’re a good guy Philip Bloom.
and that post you wrote on to “buy or not to buy” helped me make out my mind (among many other things of course) and eventually order a Scarlet.
it prepared me for a rough ride, but at the same time showed your passion for the camera and the footage it creates.
and it had a very realistic approach.
sad to read this story.
in your words
“If you are a production company, I can see a lot of value in this… as a freelance DP, I would not recommend it for all. Renting is far better…”
I’ve used this quote of yours few times in past weeks.
maybe you’re right… sometimes we’re blind to our own good advices.
happens to me all the time.
hope you’re not too bummed about all this
Hector Berrebi
PrePost consulting
I’ve just created an account so that I could say a huge thank you for all your hard work in bringing us up-to-date news and honest opinions relating to video cameras, software, etc.
I’m sure there are many more people who would like to say the same.
I believe that you have been fair to all sides – please keep up the good work.
I just sat here and read through all these comments — and I think my comment above has been proven correct.
Here’s my proposal for an article/series from you — a kind of poor man’s Red Epic. How about a comparison/evaluation of external recorders and the performance of their files in post?
For example, I expect that an FS100 plugged into a NanoFlash (that automatically removes pulldown — meaning true progressive recordings) at a higher bitrate isn’t as far away from Red “raw” as people might assume and/or expect. Or, perhaps your F3 plugged into that Cinedeck (I think that’s what it’s called) with true uncompressed holds up to an Epic or F65 or Alexa?
The heart of this proposal — how can the rest of us — with budget restraints — push the limits? And, of course, how sometimes what we already have is better than uncompressed.
Anyway — my thought is that the above is of more interest to your readers than Red anything.
And — I’m glad to see the happy ending — the one where everyone says how much we like Phil and “boo” to rudeness from arrogant Americans — like me.
Hi
Ireally like the F3 in log-mode, but to say that it keeps up with Alexa or EPiC, is more than a slight exaggeration.
Yes. I use all the three of them and like them all.
As to th F65, I will know in January/February. Not many people know how that cam performs for real right now…
The F3 is a beautifull cam and I look foreward to push the C300 through its paces, and cannot really comment on that except from the webvideos I have seen, and that wouldn’t really be fair…
Hi Phil,
I’m sorry to read about the RED saga, and also sorry that we’ll miss hearing more about your experiences with the camera.
This situation brings back memories from my heady days in Hi End Audio. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Pro tape recorders ruled the roost – NAGRA, STELLAVOX, STUDER…and there was a similar “war” between NAGRA-Philes and STELLAVOX-philes [which I’m one]. Sadly, by the end of the 80’s, tape recorders had become obsolete, Stellavox was bankrupt, NAGRA survived because the son of Kudelski [the owner], happened to develop a billion-dollar TV satellite encryption system. So we know who won that war.
Jannard, despite his ego, has to be applauded for making possible for real filmmaking today, what was thought impossible only a few years ago.
Lucky for us, he’s wealthy enough that we don’t have to worry that he’ll go broke from your comments [and believe me, companies HAVE gone broke from negative comments and controversies!]. What “WE” [collectively] have to worry about is that he’ll become sick of dealing with the real world [YOU and ME] and just go back to enjoying his life. Let SONY/NIKON/CANON etc run the roost again.
One other thing. The film world and TV doco world are SOOOOOO different…Coming from the Factual biz, it was only a matter of time before you stepped in some ego-doggy poopoo…
rgds
Kostas
Phillip,
Your credibility with me has just gone way up… as in through the roof. This could have easily denigrated into a war. Thank you for being a professional in the way you handled this situation.
The sad thing, as you have said, is that RED cameras do produce wonderful images. But the ethos and arrogance they’ve created within the company and on REDUSER will eventually kill it if they don’t change the abusive way they treat people who are publicly honest about the frustrations they have with the system. Hopefully Jim’s apology is the start of doing just that.
You asked for us to not bash RED. So I’ll say nothing, apart from, I think it’s a disgusting situation.
Thanks for your integrity and honesty. I’m a reader of your blog because I get real and true feedback from a power user. To bad there are angry fan boys out there. They often forget that the technology is just a tool, not a religion.
Don’t worry Mr. Philip, I always have your back!
I’ve been following Phil Bloom’s site for a while now but have registered only now, with the sole purpose of contributing to this thread.
Phil – you won that public apology solely on your integrity and on the backs of your supporters. If you were any other regular Epic owner, Red’s mantra of ‘We reserve the right not to serve anyone with a bad attitude’ would’ve applied and you would’ve been left out in the cold.
Ownership of a billion dollars, a Carribean island, and one of ‘hottest’ cameras on the planet in recent years cannot buy respect.
You have our support and kudos to you for standing up.
What a difference 72 hours can make (just logged in after my own weekend of builder fun!). That took a lot of guts to write and considering the emotions and stress I know that had been running high, it was done with utter professionalism and integrity.
I’m not going to go over my views on Red or their actions as no point in re-inventing the wheel but I really am so delighted that you can finally put this to rest, go out and play with the C300 this week and then you guys can enjoy a great Christmas – you truly deserve it.
I think it’s easy for people to get caught up in the ‘celebrity’ of it all and forget that you are Phil, a genuinely nice guy with a not unending budget who works bloody hard for a living and shares his very open thoughts for the benefit of one and all.
These comments above are testament to what you have created and you should be hugely proud of what you have done. Don’t ever change.
Have fun with the C300 🙂
thank you Guy!
I know Philip a little bit. I’m glad to see this has all settled down a bit, as I think it’s best for both sides to be able to move on.
Reading through some of these posts though, I do have some concerns that many people have bad information about RED cameras, and that they have lumped many professionals like myself who frequent REDUSER into a group of fanboys, haters, etc.
Having worked on many a set with many different cameras on Hollywood films, commercials, corporate, etc. I can say with absolute certainty that cameras go down, and they go down at the worst times. I’ve seen it with Arri, Sony, Panasonic, and yes – RED. It’s life. Like many professionals, Philip had a backup plan when his camera went down and he got through the job.
Remember that for every bad experience reported on the web, there are many good experiences that never get reported. So we have to try our best to look at these things objectively. What happened between RED and Philip is between them. I’d encourage everyone here to base your judgements of a company on how YOUR experience is with that company. Philip and I have had different experiences with RED, the company. Doesn’t make either of our experiences right or wrong. What’s important is that we judge it on a first hand basis. I’m not sure I see that kind of vibe from some of these posts. Saying RED’s don’t work, or throwing out generalizations that don’t really hold water is not that productive. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Philip’s message or intent. He likes the camera, it just wasn’t a good fit for him at this time based on some of the issues he was having.
Anyway, my goal is not to necessarily defend RED, but I do think the perception of REDuser is a bit extreme. I think many of us welcomed Philip with open arms when he first came aboard there. And I think many of us act professional and respectful with our posts. Of course, there are those who don’t and that’s to be expected. When they cross the line, mods usually jump in. Yes, it is RED biased over there. But it’s a RED forum, that’s kind of a given. 🙂
So, hopefully the slate gets wiped clean and everyone can approach many of these forums as good resources for exchanging information, helping each other understand cameras and technology, and living in harmony whether you are a DSLR user, a RED user, camera agnostic, whatever the case may be. In the end, we are all involved with this hopefully because we love making images and telling stories. Hopefully we’re not in this for web soap operas, and trashing each other. Healthy debate is good. Expressing opinions is fine. Even criticism when constructive can be very beneficial. It’s all how present ourselves and understanding that the web can be a lot different than a conversation in person. Sometimes greater care is needed when posting to make sure the tone of the message is clear.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to weigh in on this.
@ Steve S,
You’re right in that some of us have unintentionally lumped good professional users like yourself into the fanboy elitism that is prevalent on REDuser. There is a lot of good information and support to be found there.
However, a couple of people at the very top of the company itself have fostered an environment where any criticism is taken as a personal attack on them personally. That has found it’s way into the culture of REDuser. It’s a strange mix of “we want your feedback” to “how dare you publicly expose our faults”.
That’s why is was refreshing to see Phillip handle this in a professional manner without going on a major rant against RED… And why it is encouraging to see JJ come out and publicly acknowledge his role in it.
I hope we can all just use these amazing tools to create stories that make this world a more enriching place to live. And try to respect each other in the process.
Good solid words. Thanks Gregory. That last sentence is how things should be and a change in culture is needed.
You haven’t arrived until you’ve been banned from Reduser at least once. 🙂
There is a lot of support for you outside the Red community … but also from within it. If you’re feeling creative while in New York City, and want to roll the Red dice again, our Epic-X and Scarlet-X are yours to use free of charge.
appreciate in Petet!
Sorry to hear this Philip! But I am not surprised at all: I once saw JJ telling somebody in his forum ( which is run by the same guy who runs dvxuser btw.)
“you just went to the back of the line” and his signature tells it all: ” We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone with a bad attitude”.
Well I am cancelling my scarlet order this very day….
I have a feeling there are a lot of order cancellations happening right now.
Oh wow.
The horror stories I have heard, the attitude and arrogance seen on you tube interviews with JJ. And the abuse read at the forum has made me feel un easy with my scarlet order, then I read Tom Guilmette’s post and decided it was the right thing to do not only to stand behind Phil, a man who I trust for his honesty and sincerely , caring help but for my own personal sanity.
I refuse to spend my hard earn money on 2 scarlets (1 for My Sister in NYC the other for my studio in FL.) when the “MAN” himself is the abuser of character…
Waiting for a reply on my canceled orders.
I thank you for your humbleness and honesty Phil unfortunelty I didn’t think JJ was very sincere in his apology. Especially with his ”
“Everything in life changes… including our camera specs and delivery dates…”
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone with a bad attitude.”
I’m not banning using RED in the future but they surely have lost $40,000 straight deposit instantly from me this time around as I know from many others as well, might not make a dent in their payroll but angrain of sand can cause an avalanche…
I agree,
I thought his apology was so very insincere. He also failed to mention all those people he banned from reduser for voicing their concern as well.
ooops,
that quote is a little out of content and easily misunderstood. it is not part of the apology. this is connected to his account and appears on every of his comments. i don´t know how this function ins called, but it is present in many forums. some use it for advertising, some quote something they like.
so please don´t misunderstand this as a part of the apology.
but yes, this can easly be misunderstood 🙂
Thanks for posting this.
It changes everything. I shoot with DSLRs and have been thinking about upgrading. Whatever I get will not break the bank so much that I can’t afford a backup.
I don’t need a new video camera. I need 2 of them.
I am really disappointed and angry with people who cross their line with those who really matter to me.
Philip sir, you for one matter more than others can imagine to all of us out here.
You definitely deserve a lot better.
We stand by your decision and yes an apology was certainly due that you received from Reduser heads.
You are completely neutral to red and are a voice of us but the way the so called “Red fans” keep defaming great folks as you, it looks like they will end up in trouble geting sued by someone or the other or even worse.
As far as i am concerned, not that it needs to be said but you are my and for a lot of us out here, a person who is a role model and
your integrity is unquestionable.
PS: No flattering, speaking the truth.
Hi Philip,
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Keep up the great work, and don’t worry about Fanboys… they’re easy to ignore. You deserve better!
I think with all that money coming back your way, you shoot / Direct your first feature and shoot it on a C300, or gain some interest on the money in your account or just hit a strip bar and be done with it. Ahh choices.
`An honest man is always in trouble.’ – Vernon Coleman
You’re right, it should never be about the gear…
I think stuff like that happens, when people get scared of competition from an experienced, skilled and creative guy like you, who dare to use any camera (expensive/inexpensive) to film beautiful stuff, with whatever gear is out there, as long as it does the job. Basically you dare to put your a.. on the line. As a person, thats one of the biggest strengths to have, in my opinion.
You can borrow my t3i and 24/70mm anytime.
..And yes, I have actually done pro/paid stuff with it, and no its far from grading friendly, and yes I would have loved to shoot 4:2:2 at least, but hey, it still went well.
Best regards,
jesper Colding
Denmark
Well, I’m not surprised a bit about your experience. I do work (work !) in the business in LA and RED camera issues are a constant pain. CONSTANT. Yes, other cameras might have issues too, but very very rarely. Plus, that ‘fanboy’ community that RED caters too is just annoying. Folks that talk a lot and have absolutely no clue because they don’t have a job.
A professional shoot with a RED without a back-up camera is a gamble. As you’ve experienced and it is a gamble that leaves you out in the cold. Producers do not understand technical things, they just think that you and your camera weren’t up to the job….
I have never had an Alexa fail, hell, I’ve never had a Sony or Panasonic camera fail. I’m sure that might happen, well, maybe once in a life time. The disclaimer by the RED company that their cameras are ‘beta’ cameras is total BS.
What RED is excellent in is marketing though. They’re really good at that.
My post is not there to throw dirt onto RED, but experience is experience. The only guys I know who swear on RED are those that bought into it. It’s hard to get out without losing a substantial amount of money.
Been reading for a long time, but I just registered to join the chorus and say I appreciate your work and the information you go out of your way to provide us with, Phillip. You’re an invaluable resource to a lot of filmmakers, and I always appreciate the honesty in your posts. Keep up the good work!
Wow. I was shocked to read Philip’s post over my morning coffee and after 3 years on his site, I couldn’t help but register and show some support:
I bought my first camera–the Sony EX3 with Letus adapter–on Philip’s advice a few years back, and as I’ve upgraded since then, I’ve been able to grow my advertising and production business (not to mention my equipment list, lenses and rates) thanks in large part to the careful, considerate advice that Philip has given us over the years. So thanks, Philip. I’ve found you to be an incredibly honest voice and an invaluable resource. Which was why I, too, ordered the Scarlet-X a few weeks back. And it’s why I, too, am now pondering whether I should cancel my order, as more than anything, I had looked forward to evolving my knowledge of this new camera and workflow with your assistance (and other friendly sites that, unlike reduser.net, I’ve found to be actually inviting, encouraging and non-pompous).
As an aside, I was fortunate enough to work with DP Jimmy Lindsey on a small commercial shoot a few weeks ago (he is known for his work as Robert Rodriguez’ DP on a number of movies and also for a photo with an early Canon 5D rig on a Bob Schneider music video shoot, which was widely disseminated on the web and posted by Philip here as well). During the shoot (in which Jimmy was using a 7D) we talked in passing about the current state of digital cameras and–while I won’t speak on behalf of Jimmy, as I’d only just met him, and moreover out of respect–I will say that perhaps there is a reason or two that he doesn’t shoot on RED. Instead, he uses a bunch of Canons for small gigs and owns two Arri Alexas for his movie work. Of course, everyone has their equipment preferences, but I do trust the camera choices of a DP who has been at the forefront of the digital filmmaking revolution from the beginning.
Keep up the good work, Philip. We’ll see you on a shoot some day.
It’s really disappointing that this happened, but I hope that it won’t change how you evaluate gear in the future, as it’s extremely helpful to many of us to get an honest look at this stuff from someone as trustworthy and experienced as you. It was great seeing you again in Austin last month at masters in motion! Please keep up the great work. 🙂
Bloom,
I have followed you for a year or so now, I respect you. I have been a working pro for many years, I have seen really talented people make beautiful stuff with crap equipment, and the rich La Jolla kids with their RED cameras run around like fools trying to be the next Quentin Tarantino. The bottom line is that you did everything right and were completely honest in your assessment of RED. Those cameras are in perpetual BETA in my opinion. I made a horrible choice and rented one for a shoot, luckily, I had my 5D MKII on hand so the shoot was actually saved, I delivered a beautiful product, and actually managed to make a small profit. I have worked at high levels of this business here in SoCal for years, although I have never met Jim, I have not once heard anything nice said about him, nor I have I heard any humility come from him. The “apology” was more PR damage control than anything. I was in news for 12 years, I seen it day in and day out, that was a fake apology. I won’t say NEVER, but until the market demands that I shoot 4K, I will stick with what is reliable, Canon and Sony. And when 4K IS mainstream, I think Canon will be right there, ready to deliver. How many of you reading this REALLY need a RED? Can you deliver a high end product without it? Yes, of course you can. Fanboys with lots of money are fine, God bless em, but don’t attack Bloom because he disagrees with you.
I completely agree with you on 4k.
While I think that 4k may become a standard with cinema eventually, everything points to HD being the standard.
The end of all films and the like is HOME viewing – which will be hd/2k for the foreseeable future. They don’t make 4k televisions or dvd players.
And it is doubtful that they ever will.
i don’t know…am sure we will have 4k at home, technology is inevitable!
True, but at what point do we need it? In 1980, a big television was 21 inches, in 1990 it was 36 inches. And while we do have 50-60 inches for under $1000, at what size will we need to move up to 4k resolution?
Blu-ray is future proofed in that it has the capability to have much higher Mbps and up to 100-200gigs of storage, so it should be okay (?). If someone could help me out, I don’t know how big 2 hours of 4k would be… Even so, for televisions – can we broadcast at 4k?
I see 4k becoming the standard for cinema sometime, but when? One of the big boys needs to come out with a non-beta camera – Canon, Panny, Sony, Arri, etc. Something that has no bugs. How far away is that?
The technology is there but I don’t see home use coming unless we start buying 150 inch televisions and at least 50% of films are made with 4k digital cameras. That may come when we all fly helicopters to work. Possible but not practical for the masses.
all i can say to that is youtube has 4k already and internet TV is the future way of distributing stuff…not over the air…although this is not tomorrow and will take quite a while to catch on….
Your comments are very well reasoned, Phil, and echo what I’ve heard from some others. I’ve always said that a digital camera is a lot more than just the sensor.
Dear Mr. Bloom:
Normally I like to remain a spectator behind the curtains, but I just registered just to tell you, on behalf of our humble Twisted Manga team, that you have been an invaluable adviser and influence to us for a while now even though you didn’t know it, and to show our support for your honesty and integrity. If something is good for you, hardware or software-wise, it is good enough for Twisted Manga. Furthermore, with this you have just engraved with titanium ink your integrity in our books.
Yours, most humbly
Peter Jackson isn’t shooting 3D on The Hobbit … he’s shooting backup.
Thank you Philip for getting this out into the open. Honest reviews of equipment are why I visit your site (and ProLost, LaForet’s etc). We need people like you – access to high end gear, high quality professional output & zero bias – so we can make informed choices.
Like many here I’d been contemplating the cheaper Scarlet as an entry into Red, but quite frankly if they can’t even treat a high profile customer with a very visible online following with a bit more tact & diplomacy … well, the rest of us haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting looked after should anything go wrong.
The best thing about Canon customer service is that I’ve never had to use it 🙂
I’ve shot with the RED One and graded the footage on several projects. I think RED has done alot to push the industry forward and the Epic looks like an amazing camera.
But with that said, I completely see where Philip is coming from. I’ve been on REDuser for a few years now and have constantly witnessed how insane it gets on there. I even stopped visiting the site until they added the feature that lets you skip directly to the RED employee post.
The minute RED posted something you had to sift through tons and tons of fanboy post saying how awesome they were, just to get to any important information. When your a working videographer and spend most of your time on shoots, you don’t really want to spend your down time dealing with all that just to find out what’s going on. Again, not saying they don’t deserve the praise, but it gets over the top real quick.
I’ve also seen Jim go off and threaten to ban people if they simply brought up an issue or said they liked a competitor’s camera. Which let’s face it, is a horrible way to treat possible customers.
From my perspective, the problem is the fanboys were promised a 3K camera for $3,000 a few years back. So they all started planning their projects around this amazing camera. But after a couple years of waiting Jim decided RED was a “Pro” company over a “Prosumer” company and Scarlet became an after thought. Which basically said to me that they would rather have the respect of Hollywood over making money. Which there is no problem with, other then the fact that RED became popular because they were supposed to be the company for the little guy.
Realistically most indie filmmakers can’t afford a camera like the Scarlet, let alone the EPIC. So after years of RED telling them every other camera out there was inferior, I don’t think they really know what to do now.
Keep up the good work Philip, I personally have learned alot from your site and consider it a reliable source of information. In my mind there is nothing better then someone giving their hands on experience.
I don’t know Bloom but years ago he voted me best editing and cinematography for my video in the First Bloom annual video contest, this may have been the last contest of its kind. But I did win and this is the first time I managed to use that comment somewhere.
But I don’t know him personally, not certain why I need to say that other than some people were saying something that effect.
So though I do not know Bloom, I know OF him and have enjoyed all his work and quips starting from the grand olde Sony Ex Letus adapter days.
And it’s obvious what a right sort he truly is.
At least obvious to any sane person, so yes I realize that there are some that cannot see this obvious nature of Bloom.
And those SOME may be insane or lacking the sum of all the needed parts.
But when Bloom sends a camera back, and I will quote my friend on his reaction.
“Holy Sh*t”
I cancelled my order this morning.
Why, well for obvious reasons.
If Bloom is having trouble, then it’s trouble I don’t want.
And if anyone treats Bloom in such a rude manner, then frankly how the hell am I going to be treated, many people rightly say that.
and finally, though I have never met Bloom, I support his candor, intelligence and humor! I love the humor, more humor please….
I support Bloom and cancelled my Scarlett, no he didn’t ask me to!
I’m just smart that way.
Cheers
Well said Jean Luc,
I too was due to get a scarlet in 2012 but I will no longer be making that order.
I hope you told RED exactly why.
Actually I called Red first to cancel and was asked why.
I explained calmly to the girl that I was terrified to own the camera, that after reading of Blooms poor treatment. It was evident that this was not the camera I should be investing in. I also added that a camera that is as unreliable as Red and obviously Scarlet, should either be fixed or have VERY good customer service.
In todays age of communication with the Internet. It’s just plain suicide to take an abusive stance against your customers and incredible stupid to be aggressive with such a high profile one.
Suicidal, aggressive and stupid?
Not the type of qualities I want to deal with ever.
Who has the time?
Seriously.
“unreliable as Red and obviously Scarlet”
where is the scarlet obviously unreliable? who did say that? please read the articles “To buy a Scarlet or not to buy, that is the question…” and “Why I love the RED Epic and why I don’t have one anymore” again. slow and careful.
i think philip wrote very careful and choose the title of this article very wisely. i don´t think, that it was his intention to cause the biggest possible amount of order cancels and i don´t think, that he wanted to show what a big man he is and that he deserves to be served as a king.
i don´t want to interrupt anyone´s attemt to crawl up his as, but consider to grow up, make your own decisions and take the articles as what they are: a reminder to people, that got lost in the techmagic, to think about there needs and abilities.
the hard thing writing this article surely was to avoid any sentence, that gives people the chance for misconception and the awareness, that some will force it anyhow.
I have no info that the Scarlet is not unreliable. Nor is the Epic. All I can talk about is my one.
People read what they want to read. Perception is reality and it’s unfortunate but such is our human nature.
Your better off with Canon C300 and Sony FS100, we also have been treated very rudely on reduser and no longer interested in doing business with such arrogance. We are sure you will find happiness with other camerasand much more reliable as well. Your work is great and you inspire us to be great filmakers, and yes its the operator not the camera, keep up the good work Philip! We support you all the way! =)
I love the fact you do speak your voice and let the community know the good and the bad of cameras. Ultimately it helps keep the companies manufacturing these superb cameras up to par. We trust in your comments and thank you for telling it as it should be, the truth. Thank you for being a proper English Gentleman.
With regard to Red bashing, I think the company has done that for themselves. The whole issue is a bit comical really. Obviously it is not funny to spend $80k on a camera only to have the company that make it abuse you in this way. However it is worthy of a comedy, perhaps even a Python sketch that the company in question decided that you didn’t deserve to own one of their products and wanted to buy it back!
While Jim Jannard may well have issued an apology, the fact of the matter is that the damage is done and he has attempted to close the stable doors after the horses have bolted. He didn’t have a tight enough hold on his company to stop this from happening, which in my mind is unforgivable because it is so small an organisation. If the person at the top you refer to was in fact Jim himself, then that is absolutely unforgiveable. Can you imagine the outrage if Sony, Panasonic, JVC etc had behaved this way?
I’m just glad to be getting out of video.
This is getting better and better. Philip you’re on the homepage of Arri Alexa.
http://www.arri.de/camera/digital_cameras
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60965417@N07/6504906343/
Your also here
http://www.arri.com/camera/digital_cameras/quotes.html?quote=0&page=1&cHash=1b8060e15c58d9227a9e6285c3f34ce5
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60965417@N07/6504907035/
this has nothing to do with the case – not the slightest in any form. the statement was there when i checked the site for the first time about half a year ago.
I have ”red” (how ironic) your blog since …I can t remember. …I think it was september 2008. I was still a cinematography student and had more information about the digital world from your blog than from my teachers. Also most reliable, accurate, fast and complete reviews about the latest equipment on the market. I stood in the shadow because I had no things to say, your reviews are so accurate and one can see how pasionate you are only by reading them. But I want to say this beacuse I am sure there are more like me and it is time to thank you. So, thank you !
I always admired your dignity and your devotion to say everything that is good or bad…or shoud I better say, what You like and don t like about a product, the problems you had with it or the opposite. This is a big quality. Even if I share other opinions some times, I respect yours because they are yours and they are honest. And that is all that mattes. We are all so subjective and trying not to be is very difficult. …it looks not for you !
I am now working as a cinematographer and use all sort of cameras and we all know they have problems that can be solved and some that can t. People like you who share their sincere opinion about one product make the manufacturer improve the product. So, don t forget that.
I appreciate (also still don t know how you manage to do this, I find it almost impossible) the enormous amount of time you spend sharing this information, and I can tell you are not paid to do this because these cameras have the same problems in Romania as well. You were telling good things and bad things about all the products that you reviewd. You don t need to tell us this. It s like telling me water boils at 100 C.
We are close to you, understand you and hope you can leave this behind. Keep up the good work !
Philip,
We met in Miami.
I followed your review of the camera, as where I work we were considering purchasing one. As usual I though your review was fair. There was no doubt in my mind you loved that camera more than any other you’ve had.
The shortcomings and issues, not necessarily with the camera alone but RED as a company and the way they do business, have long been known.
Unfortunately when you reach a certain level of popularity and success doing what you love there are always going to be obstacles, resistance, just because what you have accomplished is massive by today’s independent standards.
The greater the accomplishment the stronger the resistance.
I believe you have handled it (the hate) just fine, and your position of neutrality is well described by your posts/comments.
In the end it seems that you have learned quite a bit, us along with you, but I certainly hope others have as well, cause no matter how great of a product one can make if in the end there is no one buying it its greatness becomes irrelevant.
Thanks for all your posts.
P
an interesting and reassuring review for those who have purchased the scarlet or are considering doing so:
http://tonacitran.com/red-scarlet-x-first-review-impressions
No intention whatsoever to stirs things up again. On the contrary, I think it is a good read to balance with Bloom’s Scarlet thread, which I thought was great btw. Conclusion: best way to move on in life is to avoid fanboys and haters alike (they all share the same dna).
take care everybody.
Perhaps ” Im ” or ” lm ” doesn’t know who Tonaci is !
This is the guy that hosted Teddy from red in his home for a live review of Epic in bare feet. That was not long ago when the Scarlet was used as a Red Carrot at about $6000 for the crowds. That was only one of Teddy’s international show and not tell about Scarlet. At that time he was championing the Scarlet at $6000. and then for long time after that.
This good read that we have the link for is proudly announcing that Tonaci got the first Scarlet. Worried rushed Scarlet buyers cannot get any comforting from this article because i guess even the famed arrogance of RED is not enough to send out the very first Scarlet in a questionable condition even to one of their own inner circulians like Tonaci.
This is not about Tonaci. I like the man very dearly.
I am not a hater of RED or Blue and i am not a DNA expert but i can sniff a fanboy in this ” Im ” or ” lm ” from a mile away.
I’m glad to see a contrasting experience. Just in my opinion, sounded more like a Red commercial than an honest assessment. No different than some of the testimonials taken of the C300. It happens.
I am sure plenty have had great experiences with Red. What I take from Mr. Bloom’s experience.
1. His Epic did not work properly – one is free to think that all Epics are bad or all Red cameras are bad or that in this particular case Mr. Bloom just got a lemon. It happens.
2. His experience with customer service was less than Epic or Epic if you like tragedies 🙂 – one is free to think that all customer service at Red is horrible or that the planets lined up, it was a bad day for both involved and things were said that should have not been said. Again it happens.
It is obvious that Red will suffer some loss in business and reputation how ever great or minuscule it may be.
At the end if the day we make informed decisions on the tools we invest in depending on our budget and need. And as Mr. Bloom has clearly stated, there is no perfect camera.
I think Phil is too intelligent and polite here. Red is the crappiest camera i have ever worked. Why ? Image – ok…or so- so , maybe too videoish.But the main thing is – you CAN’T trust this camera. I trust more my 100 year old 8mm and 16mm cameras or 7D. And if there is no trust between you and your tool…You just throw it away and… next please. Sounds like talkin about a woman …)
Cheerz, Phil
Hey Philip,
When a company, any company, does something like this, there is no excuse. If I go into a Ferrari dealership and spend upwards of 80k on one of their cars (prob. used but still), they will treat me like a king. And if something goes wrong with the car, if something breaks, you bet they will take care of it and do everything in their power to make me happy. And to think that you would somehow be able to single handedly take down RED with a blog post is absurd, and pssst.. RED-everyone knows about your cameras problems anyway! it’s no secret. Sorry, everyone knows about issues with DSLRs as well but we still want to shoot with them.
I hope RED can seriously re-examine their own way of dealing with their customers otherwise they will make a lot of enemies, and you know what they say..the worst person you can piss off is a filmmaker!
We will make a film using a RED, but just include all of the meltdowns!
(just kidding) 😉
saying that, I’m looking forward to the C300.
Best, Devin
You’re reviews have been a huge source for me in considering equipment. The reason is because you’re honest. When I read a review I don’t want to know what the manufacturer says about it. They only say how their products will perform under ideal conditions. You have told us how they perform in the real world. I know the Canon 7D isn’t as good as the 5D but with my budget I went with the 7D largely because of things you posted about it. I want to know the issues. I want to know the short comings before I buy. I knew I was getting rolling shutter. I knew I was not getting as good low-light performance. I knew about the moire issues. But those are cons I could live with and work around. And I wasn’t surprised by it when I went to work.
And no, I will most likely not get a Scarlet… yet. Since you’ve brought these issues to light I can only hope that RED and other manufacturers will actually listen to their customers and fix problems so no one else has to be embarrassed in front of their client because the $80,000 camera doesn’t work. If they fix the problems and restore a little more confidence then yeah, I’l get a Scarlet.
I say thank you for enduring the abuse. I hate that you had to go through that but you’ve made us all better film makers for it.
Hey Philip,
This is a real shame. I worry about the philosophy of the Red team. They quite often over promise and under deliver. For someone so senior there to react in that way is worrying to say the least. Whilst they have apologised mud does often stick and it’s sticking to Red if you ask me.
Lately the reduser site has become a hot bed of narrowly minded fan boys and it’s going to hurt the development of their camera systems.
Thanks for your on going work and communication with the world at large, you’re greatly respected.
Keep up the great work 🙂
Adam H!
mr. bloom,
i’m so sorry to hear this. I am a huge fan of red and plan to purchase the epic x when it is available to the public.
i found your blog about the camera very helpful and informative. i was not turned off or think you were being unfair. you were giving your honest opinion about the camera, and your opinion was you thought very highly of the camera!
i hope that in the future you will continue to write blogs about your workflows with the camera and any other news about the camera.
i feel like my two best friends got into a fight. =(
keep your head up and don’t let other people try to tear you down. I am thankful of your advice and opinions and your honesty.
still a fan of both you and red and not going to choose sides!
You are a true professional Philip. You have always inspired me. You information has always given me great guidance. I have contemplated getting a EPIC and a Scarlet, even knowing these have issues. But after visiting the REDUSER forums ( which kinda already turned me off with some the comments and people’s posts) your story has changed my mind. I thank you, because i was caught up in the hype and the grossly hyped image quality. You have brought me back to reality. Keep doing what you do best Philip.
I’ve only just registered with your site but have been reading it and loving your honest and very human opinions since the beginning, thank you for never letting companies persuade you to say something in their favour. Its a very strong and rare quality for a human being to have philip.
I believe everything is always perfect no matter what and your always exactly where your supposed to be.
So for what ever reason this has happened, it has happened for a reason you may never understand or know why.
Thats the beauty of life and is what I love about it. There is no good or bad, there just is.
I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say, Thanks again for everything you have given us, possibly more then you will ever know. 🙂 keep it up and never let anyone or thing change you.
Rome
It is a big big shame you went through this Philip. RED have a fantastic product, albeit having teething issues being new and still in Beta. RED or ANY other company do not have the right to treat a customer like that, you did nothing wrong. Especially a customer who is watched by a lot of people for his honest opinions and genuine experiences within the film and tv industry.
RED’s arrogance with this does them absolutely no favours, like a freelancer, you are as good as your last job and skill and reputation are what keeps you alive and working in the industry. It annoys me as I would have stumped up the $100k or so for the list I drew up for a great and very exciting Epic shooting kit inventory but situations like yours and others in the past when RED ONE came out would really make me hesitant.
I really find it hard to understand why they act in that way at times? Arri don’t and have way more reason to if they wanted to…
The founder of Red, Jim Jannard, sets the arrogant tone with his combative-themed language in taking on Canon and other major camera companies. He’s encourages it, that’s why there are so many rabid fanboys over at the Reduser forum. His arrogant tone and language draws them in.
Mr. Bloom just stated his experience and opinion, for what i am greatfull – this is the www, still a place to exchange exactly that: experience and opinion. It’s on us to decide what we do with the gathered information, so i do not understand why some got upset as many others post similar stuff about so many things (blogs, press, media, etc.)…
Hi Philip,
I think that THIS very post of yours certifies beyond a doubt your integrity,
at least in my book. Been reading your posts for a long time, and anyone having followed you and your EPIC trail, KNOW that your have been FAIR and written your honest opinion towards the EPIC…
That someone ‘high up at RED’ demanded to buy the camera back from you, not wanting you to have it anymore is in my book psychotic at best. But and that again in my book, does perfectly reflect their inbRED society. They’ve got nice products that I dont need and will never be purchasing…
That said, the marketing of Scientology is harmless compared to that of REDs…
reduser.net is not really a place to go unless you seek a brainwash !
Philip, nice to see someone standing up for freedom of speech and NOT bowing down to anyone !
Respect !!!
I was thinking the exact same thing about the high up guy wanting to buy the red back. Was he serious? That is very disturbing. I wanted to get the red scarlet but after reading Phil’s post, and following Phil for the past year now, I trust his word and will not patronize red at all.
Sometimes it’s just sticking to your ethics/morals/values etc. that pisses people off. But when it comes to something like investing in a product only to have the makers of that product attack you and demand the return of a product that you were only sharing your opinions about (no matter how much influence you have on the rest of the filmmakers who follow) then it is time to refuse to patronize a company such as that.
I am a nikon d3s shooter and I was debating between the red and the af100 but now since nikon rumors suggest a d4 at the bottom of the new year, it will be between nikon and the af100.
Don´t worry phil. Next year you will get the Alexa. 😉
4k is not an issue with the client’s I provide a service to. And I am in agreement with one of the other commenters when it comes to the need for such technology at this stage.
By the time television catches up to 4k another better, faster, more tweeked camera will be released anyway.
The sony work that I see on the site is incredible. The image is nice but more importantly the cinemaphotography is what makes the film in the first place. Not only the camera/lens. The creator of the work is the most important aspect of any assignment. And unless the art director knows exactly why he/she needs 4k and or other more high end cameras (I am not talking about television commercial spots only stuff that will be seen on line) then there is no need to run out and by the latest and greatest.
The marketing machine is ferocious. Keep the subject matter straight forward and slick and all the rest will fall into place.
Philip, first of all, I value all information you post about cameras you use, their functionality, the pros and cons, and just all the information you present as a whole. I cannot understand why you would be put under that sort of scrutiny!?¿! And you produce such great work weather it is on an Epic, an FS100, or 5D Mark II. There are of course differences in the certain look each camera produces, but you do so well at creating quality. As an example, your documentary “Booths and Bodies” made me go out and buy a Sony-NEX5n… love the camera, it has great features, but you did talk about the over heating issues which I thought was important. There is nothing wrong with that. The point that should have been realized by others that were criticizing you is that you were showing work that you had done using their camera… nothing wrong with talking about problems you were having with it. I mean, I still bought a Sony-NEX5n, but also experience the over heating issue when filming a sequence for long periods of time. Don’t let this bring you down man. I, as well as MANY OTHERS hold you, your knowledge, opinions, and honest information on your experience with products with a lot of respect and value! Thanks for all your hard work, I have learned a lot from you by watching your videos and staying in touch with you through e-mail and your website.
-Darrin Smith
Philip,
Thank you for this insightful, honest, and uncensored posting. One of the most passionate, one of the best articles I have read from you, and that says a lot, because your postings are greatly appreciated.
As a member of Reduser, I followed the exchanges you are speaking of with utter horror (even Jim’s apology because I knew there was more), and felt embarrassed to be part of a community overpopulated by fanboy trolls, and peppered with arrogant governing corporate officers driven too much by emotion, which seems to cloud clear heads. It almost seems that a separate forum should exist for Red owners only.
Since then, I too have been attacked on several occasions on Reduser, and chose to either delete my posts, delete my threads entirely, but have been sure to report the offenders. There has been no action. I don’t fight back. I live a positive life, and have better things to do anyways. But it was still very upsetting and ruined my day(s).
I run a production company. You do not know me, but my company owns TONS of equipment, primarily Panasonic. Nothing Red, not yet. Have a Scarlet on order, not sure what to do now. Thinking of Red’s actions has made me a bit sick to my stomach. But at the same time, we want to open up this market segment and learn the products well through extensive hands-on use. A difficult decision. Still undecided.
But please know this… The other year, we were deciding on a new ENG camera purchase. The main resource that helped to pull the trigger… Your article and video where you were shooting by the ocean with the HPX370. We now own that. It’s paid for itself and more.
Thank you for everything.
Looking forward to more!
Philip,
How are ya sir? Happy New Year and hope your holidays were great! I’m a lil , I have been MIA and didn’t hear about this till a lil while ago. It is said that this happened. RED makes some cool things but they are not above making faulty products and the reg. people that go to bat for them need to sit back ask them selfs to I get paid to go to bat for them and treat others like _____! Hope ya NEW YEAR is wonderful and great can’t wait to see ya on the next NYC TRIP! Laters, The Video Freak!
Don’t dwell on it Phil. ‘These aren’t the droids you’re looking for, move along’..
EVERYONE!!!! Needs to stfu with your hate mail towards Philip Bloom. This man is amazing at what he does. And it pisses me off that most people who are sending “hate-mail/threats” to him would probably do the same thing. Let’s face the facts. I or any of you buy something for 80,000 dollars.. some people work very hard for that money and Philip did, if you spend 80,000 of YOUR hard earned money on a camera and it comes out faulty and keeps messing up your shoots are YOU going to just sit there and take it? If a kid walks up to you and starts beating your face in are you going to sit there and take it? NO! Your going to voice your opinion and say what you truly feel. As I read what Philip has said he mentioned a lot of the time how great the RED was, and how amazing the quality was, if it wasn’t for it breaking down on him none of this would happen. He even said how great their customer service was about repairing it but they couldn’t find what was wrong with it. My opinion is that I am glad Philip got his money back and spent it on a canon c300 so he can still pursue what he loves to do and thats making films! I would be grateful if I ever got to work with Philip. So everyone needs to get out of here with their hate and appreciate what he does! Especially when all you people who comment are hypocrites who would probably lash out at RED and be so rude and cuss them out if you bought the camera for 80k and it was breaking on you. Phil you handled this is a great way and a nice and respectful way. I hope one day to be as talented and amazing as you. I recently got a canon 550D to shoot more shorts. Hopefully one day I want to get the canon 1d mark 5 and the Canon c300. I would love life!
Sincerely,
Michael
Well written article. As the owner of a production company I will never shoot on RED after the camera going down on a commercial.
I know a camera operator who shot one of the first major features on RED back in 2007 and he said the support was terrible and that with any problems they should refer to the REDuser forum. Will never shoot on RED again. Thanks for the further insight.
All Red orders cancelled. Simply the worst equipment purchasing experience ever from the most arrogant camera company ever.
Hello Philip
sorry to hear you are having to deal with such a load of nonsense. Human nature is a strange thing. When you are working
your way up everyone is behind you but, when you hit the top of your chosen field (as you have) the attitude of some people
changes. It frequently manifests itself as “Right, now he’s got it coming” but is more commonly known as “The old green eye”
Thanks for everything you have done, and continue to do for so many people in the film making community, at all levels.
Best wishes
Joe
Hello Philip,
Just today, to my astonishment, I got an email from RED! That my ScarletX was on the move. In the coming week I can be an owner of a new video camera. 4k. Great, – and frightening! Did I choose the right one? Now is beyond the time of any feelings of uncertainty.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to get out on internet for trying to get some proof that I have made the correct choice. I stumbled on your web site, wrote “Scarlet” up in the search field, and saw: “Why I have not EPIC….”
This was more than three hours ago, and I havn´t done anything but kept reading.
And, I have always been puzzled over the fact that RED have a punch line saying “We reserv the right…”
I have blamed the fact that english is not my native language, that I missunderstands, and don´t get the subtle tones – but to me that sounded utterly strange, close to dictatorship, puting it lightly.
Now I understand.
Just in the same spirit as “we reserve the right…” is JJ:s handling and “apology” to you.
Needless to say, RED just lost another customer…
Good day Mr. Bloom,
I come here following a link at the HV20 forums.
To quote: “I have a lot of respect for RED…” and “I do hope to rent Epic’s again in the future…”
Mr. Bloom, you are a much more tolerant individual than I. Personally, I would never, ever, say something of this nature about a company that dealt me this type of treatment. Despite the fact that you were given a half ass apology, there is no excuse, whatsoever, for the treatment you received. I would make it a point to share my experience with anyone and everyone in your line of business and never give RED one cent of my monies ever again. I wouldn’t bad mouth them, but I would certainly share my truthful experience, which you have done here. I congratulate you on your ability to turn the other cheek despite the fact that you were treated this way. If it weren’t for this delusional “higher up” at RED, and the conceited, arrogant “fanboys” that plague their forums and proceeded to insult you, I could see considering doing business with them again. But alas, that isn’t the case. I would like to say that I’m not calling all RED users and owners “conceited and arrogant fanboys”, but their forum is filled with many that are.
Your name is name is highly recognized and opinions highly regarded in this particular industry. If they (RED) have tarnished your name and / or reputation in the least, I would personally consider legal action.
Canon C300 all the way… not only do Japanese companies make the best cameras (in my humble opinion) they never treat the customer as if they are in the wrong.