Craft Camera is coming!

[Jonesy Jones]

Just got this email. Looks like its going to be a busy Monday.

"Greetings!

Yes, we actually exist and have a voice. We are incredibly grateful and humbled by all the support. And because of that, we are only sharing the following email to you—our early adopter email list. We have looked forward to sending this email for months. You should know that we will not publish this anywhere else. That means you are the first to know.

I bet many of you have wondered, “What’s the deal with Craft?" There has been an outpouring of interest for Craft from all over the world and from all walks of life—from Hollywood, indies, corporate marketing departments, agencies, and amateurs. They have reached out by the thousands trying to figure out what we are working on. For over a year, we have been developing the Craft Camera—a new system that we believe will help users tell better stories. 

On April 18th around 12pm EST, we will announce Craft Camera on craftcamera.com. This announcement will include initial information, a first glimpse of the Craft Camera, and we will start taking initial reservations. Since Craft Camera is still in development, we won’t be releasing every single detail because we hope to get feedback from reservation holders before we publish final details.

A reservation will require a $500 deposit, your name, email, and phone number. Reservations will only be available on craftcamea.com and will be 100% refundable. Your deposit will be deducted from the total price once you place an order at a later date. As a reservation holder, you will also receive a 10% discount off your final order along with some additional perks like first looks, priority reservations on future products and a few other surprises. Please note we are offering a limited number of reservations which is why we wanted you to know about this first. This means when we hit our limit we will stop taking reservations. No exceptions. The reservations are first come first serve and when the cameras ship, we will do so in the order that the reservation was placed. 

The Craft Camera comes in 2 models. There are 4K and HD models with a price range between $699 and $2899 depending on the configuration. Initial units will ship late 2016.

I will leave you with this—we believe there is a huge need for Craft Camera. We believe it is a revolutionary product that will give production alums a great tool to do things they couldn’t do before while opening up storytelling through motion pictures to a whole new generation. With that said, we understand Craft Camera might not be for you and...we are fine with that! We will still treat you with respect and we hope the same from you.

I am truly humbled by all the support, and I hope you become a part of the Craft family.

Keep telling beautiful stories.

Scott Bragg
Founder of Craft Digital Systems Inc. "

[Don Kotlos]

Isn't it a bit shady the fact that they give you more details about the money they want than the specs of the camera? 

[tugela]

Is this "craft camera" a cardboard box with a pinhole in it? What kind of fool is going to give them $500 for a "reservation" to get something that they know absolutely nothing about?? Good luck getting that money back.

[gsenroc]

It looks they will announce the camera first with some specs, and opens the preorder for it, doesn't sound too crazy, but indeed shady.

I'm curious to see what they will bring out.

[Jonesy Jones]

Did you guys read the post? They will release more info on Monday and the $500 deposit is 100% refundable. I'm not saying you should do it, but I don't get why that's shady. Wait until Monday, see if you like the specs, if you do put down a deposit, and if later it's not looking good get your money back. Easy peezy.

I'm just happy to see new players enter the field because the competition means great things for us. 

[enny]

Lets see camera spec then first used in the field and then some, before asking for money

For 29.99 you guys can have this bad boy

[Oliver Daniel]

45 minutes ago, Jonesy Jones said:

Just got this email. Looks like its going to be a busy Monday.

"Greetings!

Yes, we actually exist and have a voice. We are incredibly grateful and humbled by all the support. And because of that, we are only sharing the following email to you—our early adopter email list. We have looked forward to sending this email for months. You should know that we will not publish this anywhere else. That means you are the first to know.

I bet many of you have wondered, “What’s the deal with Craft?" There has been an outpouring of interest for Craft from all over the world and from all walks of life—from Hollywood, indies, corporate marketing departments, agencies, and amateurs. They have reached out by the thousands trying to figure out what we are working on. For over a year, we have been developing the Craft Camera—a new system that we believe will help users tell better stories. 

On April 18th around 12pm EST, we will announce Craft Camera on craftcamera.com. This announcement will include initial information, a first glimpse of the Craft Camera, and we will start taking initial reservations. Since Craft Camera is still in development, we won’t be releasing every single detail because we hope to get feedback from reservation holders before we publish final details.

A reservation will require a $500 deposit, your name, email, and phone number. Reservations will only be available on craftcamea.com and will be 100% refundable. Your deposit will be deducted from the total price once you place an order at a later date. As a reservation holder, you will also receive a 10% discount off your final order along with some additional perks like first looks, priority reservations on future products and a few other surprises. Please note we are offering a limited number of reservations which is why we wanted you to know about this first. This means when we hit our limit we will stop taking reservations. No exceptions. The reservations are first come first serve and when the cameras ship, we will do so in the order that the reservation was placed. 

The Craft Camera comes in 2 models. There are 4K and HD models with a price range between $699 and $2899 depending on the configuration. Initial units will ship late 2016.

I will leave you with this—we believe there is a huge need for Craft Camera. We believe it is a revolutionary product that will give production alums a great tool to do things they couldn’t do before while opening up storytelling through motion pictures to a whole new generation. With that said, we understand Craft Camera might not be for you and...we are fine with that! We will still treat you with respect and we hope the same from you.

I am truly humbled by all the support, and I hope you become a part of the Craft family.

Keep telling beautiful stories.

Scott Bragg
Founder of Craft Digital Systems Inc. "

Yep, I got the email too. 

Curious to see what new players come up with, although their very secretive and vague approach is a bit odd. Maybe they haven't got the patent for the technology and need to protect it, who knows. 

The camera announcement of the year has to be the Kinefinity Terra so far. I hope this Craft Camera sends a few waves too! 

[Jonesy Jones]

1 minute ago, Oliver Daniel said:

Yep, I got the email too. 

Curious to see what new players come up with, although their very secretive and vague approach is a bit odd. Maybe they haven't got the patent for the technology and need to protect it, who knows. 

The camera announcement of the year has to be the Kinefinity Terra so far. I hope this Craft Camera sends a few waves too! 

Maybe I'm just too naive, but I assumed the secretive aspect was a marketing strategy. I know I'll be dialed in on Monday at noon EST. 

I think the rest of the spec release schedule could be patent issues and perhaps they don't want to blow it like BM's global shutter snafu. Or maybe we should just take them at their word that they really do want to hear from their customers. 

Regardless, I feel so blessed to be a filmmaker this day.

[gsenroc]

1 hour ago, Jonesy Jones said:

Maybe I'm just too naive, but I assumed the secretive aspect was a marketing strategy. I know I'll be dialed in on Monday at noon EST. 

I think the rest of the spec release schedule could be patent issues and perhaps they don't want to blow it like BM's global shutter snafu. Or maybe we should just take them at their word that they really do want to hear from their customers. 

Regardless, I feel so blessed to be a filmmaker this day.

I guess there are some specs which can still be changed or they're not fully determined yet, but the major specs will probably be available at the time the reservation opens. I don't like the global shutter issue with BM either and Craft seems to be cautious, not a bad thing.

[jax_rox]

2 hours ago, Jonesy Jones said:

Maybe I'm just too naive, but I assumed the secretive aspect was a marketing strategy. I know I'll be dialed in on Monday at noon EST. 

I believe so too. It's reminiscent of RED (kinda).

It just feels wrong to ask for money first, or I guess advertise the cost, before really announcing anything other than that it's a camera and there'll be an HD and 4k version.

The pricing is pretty damn cheap, but who knows? It could have an EF mount, a PL mount, it could have an obscure mount we've never heard of. It could be raw, it could be a 2/3" sensor, it could be anything.

Advertising the price first just feels wrong, and feels kinda shady. But we'll see Monday I guess! Will they be at NAB?

[Jonesy Jones]

I don't think so. This'll be an announcement from the interwebs.

[M Carter]

37 minutes ago, jax_rox said:

I believe so too. It's reminiscent of RED (kinda).

It just feels wrong to ask for money first, or I guess advertise the cost, before really announcing anything other than that it's a camera and there'll be an HD and 4k version.

The pricing is pretty damn cheap, but who knows? It could have an EF mount, a PL mount, it could have an obscure mount we've never heard of. It could be raw, it could be a 2/3" sensor, it could be anything.

Advertising the price first just feels wrong, and feels kinda shady. But we'll see Monday I guess! Will they be at NAB?

Ahhh, I dunno. We're in this kickstarter age where traditional funding has been thrown for a loop and nobody knows what the formula is ($30k to make a sandwich??) (then again, that cooler with the blender motor and wheels and bluetooth music player made a fortune - a fantastic idea that was pulled off well and excellently promoted on kickstarter). Everyone's throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. What we do know is a fairly revolutionary product or a "wish I'd thought of that" will do well, and some consumers like the "got in on the ground floor" feeling. I'd guess these guys developed the idea for a camera, decided to go for it, planned to crowdsource or at least use new channels for funding and sales, and their plans included $500 down. I imagine when the specs come out, it will still be $500 down. 

Plenty of folks have gotten burned on Kickstarter (that espresso machine looked pretty badass, didn't it - got a lot of press as "a product that should have made it"), and we all know that's the risk for that realm. Some folks are optimists and some folks have a huge need to differentiate themselves (see the Mamiya lenses on a mirrorless cam thread here. Hell, that's a big reason I still make prints in a darkroom). Being an early adopter in the hopes they'll be first on the block with something really new and groundbreaking - whether a cooler or a camera - is up that alley. We'll see how it all plays out though.

[jax_rox]

11 minutes ago, M Carter said:

Ahhh, I dunno. We're in this kickstarter age where traditional funding has been thrown for a loop and nobody knows what the formula is ($30k to make a sandwich??) (then again, that cooler with the blender motor and wheels and bluetooth music player made a fortune - a fantastic idea that was pulled off well and excellently promoted on kickstarter). Everyone's throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. What we do know is a fairly revolutionary product or a "wish I'd thought of that" will do well, and some consumers like the "got in on the ground floor" feeling. I'd guess these guys developed the idea for a camera, decided to go for it, planned to crowdsource or at least use new channels for funding and sales, and their plans included $500 down. I imagine when the specs come out, it will still be $500 down. 

Plenty of folks have gotten burned on Kickstarter (that espresso machine looked pretty badass, didn't it - got a lot of press as "a product that should have made it"), and we all know that's the risk for that realm. Some folks are optimists and some folks have a huge need to differentiate themselves (see the Mamiya lenses on a mirrorless cam thread here. Hell, that's a big reason I still make prints in a darkroom). Being an early adopter in the hopes they'll be first on the block with something really new and groundbreaking - whether a cooler or a camera - is up that alley. We'll see how it all plays out though.

I kinda agree, but then Kickstarter always has pitch videos, specs etc. 

A Kickstarter that came out and said 'we're making a cinema camera' and had perks of $500 selectable between HD and 4k isn't going anywhere. Even a Kickstarter that had a story about the company and the people and why they wanted to make a new camera and what they felt was needed and blah blah blah would still go somewhere, even without specs.

One page saying 'CRAFT cinema camera: Coming soon. $500 down'

That Kickstarter campaign ain't gettin off the ground.

[Jonesy Jones]

5 minutes ago, jax_rox said:

One page saying 'CRAFT cinema camera: Coming soon. $500 down'

Where are you seeing this?

[jax_rox]

3 minutes ago, Jonesy Jones said:

Where are you seeing this?

Nowhere.. Just saying hypothetically (and referring to their earlier Facebook ads) - yes, you can say that it's a 'new age' of funding, but even the successful Kickstarter campaigns give you something other than just a price.

A Kickstarter campaign that says 'Smart watch: $100' is going to be significantly less successful than one that has everything laid out in advance.

[Jonesy Jones]

Dude, as will they. Monday. At 12pm EST. Are you not seeing that in the email?

[jax_rox]

1 minute ago, Jonesy Jones said:

Dude, as will they. Monday. At 12pm EST. Are you not seeing that in the email?

Yes. I am. I'm speaking generally about the whole way they've gone about their campaign so far.

[M Carter]

32 minutes ago, jax_rox said:

I kinda agree, but then Kickstarter always has pitch videos, specs etc. 

A Kickstarter that came out and said 'we're making a cinema camera' and had perks of $500 selectable between HD and 4k isn't going anywhere. Even a Kickstarter that had a story about the company and the people and why they wanted to make a new camera and what they felt was needed and blah blah blah would still go somewhere, even without specs.

One page saying 'CRAFT cinema camera: Coming soon. $500 down'

That Kickstarter campaign ain't gettin off the ground.

If I were doing a kickstarter/etc type of campaign and had a teaser and a release date, for about a half dozen reasons I'd have the $$ down there from the first launch, as long as there was an announce date. (For what it's worth, I've got 30 years of writing marketing plans and all the consumer psych crap. Still applies in the new era, but you have to "apply" it in new ways.) 

[jax_rox]

16 minutes ago, M Carter said:

If I were doing a kickstarter/etc type of campaign and had a teaser and a release date, for about a half dozen reasons I'd have the $$ down there from the first launch, as long as there was an announce date. (For what it's worth, I've got 30 years of writing marketing plans and all the consumer psych crap. Still applies in the new era, but you have to "apply" it in new ways.) 

I think you underestimate people - many don't buy on price alone, and in fact low-cost can infer low-quality, so I don't know that I would lead with it.

Getting people engaged in your story is more important than the price tag - that's why commercials with great stories work much better than ones that yell the price at you over and over.

[jcs]

Craft Camera - cardboard and Arduino? http://petapixel.com/2013/02/25/craft-camera-a-diy-digital-camera-made-with-cardboard-and-arduino/

Cardboard is lighter than magnesium or carbon fiber... Take that BM and Red!

On a serious note, cameras are now computers with sensors and lens mounts. In the future it will be very easy to buy modular components to build any kind of camera one desires, similar to the way we can build custom PCs today. With computational photography there won't be as much need to change lenses- DOF, 3D etc. can be computed from the multiple sensors.

Compare to what happened in the audio world. Analog was thought to be never be matchable with digital by many purists (especially tube amps). Now just about everything is available as a plugin, simulating all major amps, preamps, and effects (even microphones to some extent). Some of it needs more work, but a lot of it is good enough to make even die-hard purists happy. Check out the Axe Fx for guitarists: http://www.fractalaudio.com/p-axe-fx-ii-preamp-fx-processor.php amazing sound!