Origo - heres the deal...

[C.H.Haskell]

Thanks Curt,

after all testing and checking I still think that Origo is the best accessory on my RED1.

Hah, you took the words out of my mouth. Hang in there Curt. This news is of course unsettling but I feel quite confident after using the Origo since day one (and intensively for the last 2 weeks) my camera is still in good shape.

Good luck getting to the bottom of this Curt.

[Mitch Gross]

Just a note on this. After reading Jarred's thread on this on the weekend I decided to check some VFS cables in Abel's inventory. All of the Sales cables appeared fine but I did discover so far one cable with connectors that did not have LEMO engraved on them. When we informed Curt he seemed genuinely surprised that they had gotten out to us and immediately offered to replace them. Please note that these connectors and all our of Origos are working just fine with no problems. The shells do not rotate 180 degrees and there appears to be absolutely nothing wrong with them other than that they are not actually Lemo brand. For prudence sake we will send them back to View Factor for replacement.

[James Brundige]

It now seems like you did receive up to 100 sets of knockoff Lemos and Jarred did warn you a couple of months ago that you had a cable issue and you didn't bother check or to mention that when you had all the info. Then you denied it in the other thread. And you still didn't bring it up when Red was asked to pay for the repairs. This is not a confidence builder.

It's not clear that it was known to be a cable issue at that time. It is clear that problems were happening and warnings ignored. Let's keep in mind how we all (I assume) want this to end up. Viewfactor is making gear we like and need, so I hope they (he??) can stay in business, having learned a lesson in listening skills.

This is a new business model - direct sales without dealers and wholesalers. So feedback has to happen in a new way, since the traditional channels are not there. Red has taken this to a new level. They are big enough, with enough capitalization, to have people who answer the phone. They really seem to listen to the direct and web based feedback.

This is the challenge for the smaller vendors embarking on the direct sales approach, ViewFactor, ET, RedRock, etc. How to really listen with limited staff and budget. This has been the challenge for me in dealing with these vendors - occasional web based notice with little human interaction. Note that Curt finally got it when he heard from directly from Abel.

So who's responsible for the fried boards? Clearly not Red, though I have never liked many of the connectors they have chosen. In this case, a cable that can not be reversed would be far better (hint for Epic). Can Viewfactor afford to fix some number of cameras and stay in business? It's a whole new model, and we, the Red community, will have considerable influence on how it works out.

[Steve Freebairn]

Our Origo has been awesome! If you've got an issue with Curt, then send him a PM, and please whatever you do, don't blame RED for issues with 3rd party accessories, they've been really open to letting people develop cool accessories for their cameras, if they get blamed all the time for little issues, then they might stop.

I feel bad for the people who've plugged in the cable the wrong way, but honestly, a $500 repair is more inconvenient than it is expensive if you're using your camera all the time. Expect maintenance and you won't be disappointed.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

we are taking every single bad part in our shop and boxing them up and putting them in my storage - far from where we assemble production parts.

Thank you for addressing this matter, Curt. I haven't got around to checking my cables yet this morning, but will do so sometime today.

As for the above comment from you, take my advice on this... Destroy or dispose of them. Don't store something you should never use.

[Ken Willinger]

My Origo is great and it is an awesome addition to the Mantis. Mine has worked fine from day one.

[Douglas Underdahl]

Of course I'm going to check my Origo but I think that it works great - I was going to make one myself but then I saw the beep on, beep-beep off in the Origo and the super low price and bought it. The audible on/off makes the cam work just that much better. A required accessory for me.

[luis bustamante]

No problems at all with our origos either. Keep it up Curt!

[Matt Uhry]

Of course I'm going to check my Origo but I think that it works great - I was going to make one myself but then I saw the beep on, beep-beep off in the Origo and the super low price and bought it. The audible on/off makes the cam work just that much better. A required accessory for me.

Absolutely agree ! we just call it "the Beep Beep" it's very valuable as a battery gauge too.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

[Paolo Tinari]

My 4 Lemos in my two VF cables are fine. No problem since day 1.
The fake Lemos with the brand stamped on is a good idea, but why dont add value to the thing stamping on a bigger mark up name like, i'm just brainstorming here, Bulgari, Tiffany, Ferrari