Eric Ulbrich
07-18-2009, 01:28 PM
I just wanted to share with everyone some of my problems with the service that RED has been offering as of late. Im just looking for help to resolve the issue quickly. Anyone who has any ideas please let me know. Im not trying to air out my dirty laundry, im just trying to solve the problem.
Keep in mind that my camera is less than a month old, its worked on only three jobs in total and is diligently serviced by myself when its either checked in or out.
We were on build 17 as well
Recently I shot a job up in Lake Tahoe, on the first day of shooting we noticed that the right 1/3 of the shots we were getting were oddly desaturated. When we viewed the .r3d files we noticed that the sensor was actually capturing this shift (not just in the viewfinder or monitor of the camera.) This issue presented itself while shooting 4k 2:1. We found it was not apparent in 3k or 2k, but only when we utilized the full sensor in either 4k 16:9 or 4k 2:1. We checked our whole set of lenses Arri standard speeds MKI as well as an angineiux 25-250 HP and found that the lenses all presented the same set of issues.
Here is a link to an .r3d file that illustrates the problem:
http://idisk.mac.com/ericulbrich-Public?view=web
I called RED:
Nate in the service department was more than helpful to me, we reset the camera to factory defaults re black shaded the camera. The issue disappeared. we felt we solved the issue.
Later in the day, (approx 6-8 hours later) the
issue re-presented itself again. We reset all factory defaults, re black shaded the camera (we went as far as installing build 20 and then rolling back to build 17 when the issue wasn't resolved) By then we felt that we had done all we can and got a new body out on the show (out of my pocket as the owner operator.) I lost about 500 dollars out of my rental for the show.
When I arrived back to LA I took the camera to RED.
When I got to the office I was told that I couldnt leave the lobby, I asked if I might be able to use the bathroom (2 cans of sweet tea and an hour drive dont agree well with the bladder.) I was told it was company policy that no one was allowed to use the restroom unless you were an employee and I was told to drive down the road to use the local coffee shop bathroom.
I waited for about 20-30 min before the techs came out and got my camera. They took it back and I waited again for another 20-30 min.
When Nate came out he was very nice, and Nate is a godsend at RED and assured me that he would work tirelessly to solve the issue
He brought out another tech who told me that he was worried because the issue was intermittent and wasn't presenting itself on the bench right now.
I asked if they had looked at the .R3d file and they assured me that all their techs had looked at it and in fact they had noticed the problem and were aware of it.
So I asked simply, what can you do to fix my camera?
They said that they were going to do everything they could to fix it, however, if they were not able to re-create the issue in the shop, then there was nothing that they could do for me and would send it back the same way it came in.
My response was simple. If the camera cannot be guaranteed to be fixed and the issue might present itself again weather it be tomorrow or 6 months later, the camera could be a lemon and I would like another body.
RED's response was simple "we cant do that"
I asked if they could then replace all the major components inside the camera if they couldnt give me a new body
RED's response was the same "we cant do that, we have to prove that the camera is defective"
I said: "well you guys have told me that you see a problem with how the camera shoots, you've seen the desautration problem appear in files that I have shot. You acknowledged that there is a problem with the camera. How does that not constitute a defective camera?"
RED's response was "we need to be able to replicate the problem at our shop under supervision."
So basically I said "if the camera could be bad, and you guys cannot fix it, Ive basically bought a camera which in the future could go down on me again, costing me more money out of my pocket, damaging my reputation as an owner operator and basically making it so when I rent my camera out, I have to tell people that I dont know if it will preform flawlessly."
RED had no answer...
I asked for a loner body while mine was in the shop.
RED's response "We cant do that, we have no loner bodies to give out"
There were 2 bodies in their store, on the showroom floor, why couldn't I have one of those???
RED "Those are not loner bodies to give out, they are showroom models only."
Upon this, I decided to let them get to work on the camera, they assured me that they would call me everyday with updates (something that so far Ive only gotten one phone call from Nate telling me that they still have not been able to find the problem.)
I left RED with not only a very full bladder but an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Were they actually going to be able to fix my camera or not?
Now I know Im a very small fish in a big pond, and I know that I'm no Soderberg or large production company shooting million dollar features, but does that mean that im any less important? I still paid the same amount as everyone else did for my camera, doesn't that still at the least entitle me to knowing that the company that sold me the camera has got my back?
It seems to me that when you spend this much money to buy a piece of gear your not just buying the gear, your buying into a company. Your showing them that you have faith in their product and want to be a part of their community. Don't get me wrong, I think RED is a fantastic innovation in the world of filmmaking, I just worry that the company I bought into wasn't what it said it was. If RED is a revolution in image capturing, shouldn't they also be a revolution in taking care of the people who work their camera?
For without us, the small owner operators who test tirelessly when beta builds come out. Who spend hours every day on REDUSER helping people with problems, discussing the camera and how to make beautiful images with it Without us, RED is just another camera company.
Without us the Revolution is just an idea, not a movement.
I feel that people who have shown faith and put forth effort to helping promote the idea of RED should be shown the same faith back from RED regarding customer service.
Thanks for reading.
Keep in mind that my camera is less than a month old, its worked on only three jobs in total and is diligently serviced by myself when its either checked in or out.
We were on build 17 as well
Recently I shot a job up in Lake Tahoe, on the first day of shooting we noticed that the right 1/3 of the shots we were getting were oddly desaturated. When we viewed the .r3d files we noticed that the sensor was actually capturing this shift (not just in the viewfinder or monitor of the camera.) This issue presented itself while shooting 4k 2:1. We found it was not apparent in 3k or 2k, but only when we utilized the full sensor in either 4k 16:9 or 4k 2:1. We checked our whole set of lenses Arri standard speeds MKI as well as an angineiux 25-250 HP and found that the lenses all presented the same set of issues.
Here is a link to an .r3d file that illustrates the problem:
http://idisk.mac.com/ericulbrich-Public?view=web
I called RED:
Nate in the service department was more than helpful to me, we reset the camera to factory defaults re black shaded the camera. The issue disappeared. we felt we solved the issue.
Later in the day, (approx 6-8 hours later) the
issue re-presented itself again. We reset all factory defaults, re black shaded the camera (we went as far as installing build 20 and then rolling back to build 17 when the issue wasn't resolved) By then we felt that we had done all we can and got a new body out on the show (out of my pocket as the owner operator.) I lost about 500 dollars out of my rental for the show.
When I arrived back to LA I took the camera to RED.
When I got to the office I was told that I couldnt leave the lobby, I asked if I might be able to use the bathroom (2 cans of sweet tea and an hour drive dont agree well with the bladder.) I was told it was company policy that no one was allowed to use the restroom unless you were an employee and I was told to drive down the road to use the local coffee shop bathroom.
I waited for about 20-30 min before the techs came out and got my camera. They took it back and I waited again for another 20-30 min.
When Nate came out he was very nice, and Nate is a godsend at RED and assured me that he would work tirelessly to solve the issue
He brought out another tech who told me that he was worried because the issue was intermittent and wasn't presenting itself on the bench right now.
I asked if they had looked at the .R3d file and they assured me that all their techs had looked at it and in fact they had noticed the problem and were aware of it.
So I asked simply, what can you do to fix my camera?
They said that they were going to do everything they could to fix it, however, if they were not able to re-create the issue in the shop, then there was nothing that they could do for me and would send it back the same way it came in.
My response was simple. If the camera cannot be guaranteed to be fixed and the issue might present itself again weather it be tomorrow or 6 months later, the camera could be a lemon and I would like another body.
RED's response was simple "we cant do that"
I asked if they could then replace all the major components inside the camera if they couldnt give me a new body
RED's response was the same "we cant do that, we have to prove that the camera is defective"
I said: "well you guys have told me that you see a problem with how the camera shoots, you've seen the desautration problem appear in files that I have shot. You acknowledged that there is a problem with the camera. How does that not constitute a defective camera?"
RED's response was "we need to be able to replicate the problem at our shop under supervision."
So basically I said "if the camera could be bad, and you guys cannot fix it, Ive basically bought a camera which in the future could go down on me again, costing me more money out of my pocket, damaging my reputation as an owner operator and basically making it so when I rent my camera out, I have to tell people that I dont know if it will preform flawlessly."
RED had no answer...
I asked for a loner body while mine was in the shop.
RED's response "We cant do that, we have no loner bodies to give out"
There were 2 bodies in their store, on the showroom floor, why couldn't I have one of those???
RED "Those are not loner bodies to give out, they are showroom models only."
Upon this, I decided to let them get to work on the camera, they assured me that they would call me everyday with updates (something that so far Ive only gotten one phone call from Nate telling me that they still have not been able to find the problem.)
I left RED with not only a very full bladder but an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Were they actually going to be able to fix my camera or not?
Now I know Im a very small fish in a big pond, and I know that I'm no Soderberg or large production company shooting million dollar features, but does that mean that im any less important? I still paid the same amount as everyone else did for my camera, doesn't that still at the least entitle me to knowing that the company that sold me the camera has got my back?
It seems to me that when you spend this much money to buy a piece of gear your not just buying the gear, your buying into a company. Your showing them that you have faith in their product and want to be a part of their community. Don't get me wrong, I think RED is a fantastic innovation in the world of filmmaking, I just worry that the company I bought into wasn't what it said it was. If RED is a revolution in image capturing, shouldn't they also be a revolution in taking care of the people who work their camera?
For without us, the small owner operators who test tirelessly when beta builds come out. Who spend hours every day on REDUSER helping people with problems, discussing the camera and how to make beautiful images with it Without us, RED is just another camera company.
Without us the Revolution is just an idea, not a movement.
I feel that people who have shown faith and put forth effort to helping promote the idea of RED should be shown the same faith back from RED regarding customer service.
Thanks for reading.