$1,600 HVX...Why don't they learn?!

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Veteran
While at my college's film and television building, I ran into a fellow film student in the parking lot.

He stopped me and said, "Hey did you hear about the HVX price drop?"

I thought he must be talking about the included p2 card...

Turns out that one of our professors told his class (or maybe classes) that some online discount camera shop was selling the HVX at $1,600 or around that price.:huh: From what I was told he even gave the web address out in class. :eek:

I can't tell you how angry I instantly became.

So basically from what I can gather, a professor told a bunch of his college students where to get a very cheap HVX from what WILL turn out to be a shady, gray market, bait and switch con.

Even worse the student telling me all of this said he was going to try and purchase one. I told him how there was absolutely no way this was legit, I guaranteed him it was not an authorized us dealer, and told him not to do it.
Dvx100b's don't go that cheap.

How ridiculous and irresponsible of a professor in the film and television department to not know better. Since I've heard this recently and from one student, I'm going to contact the professor as soon as I can and check to see if this story is true. If so, I'm going to have to educate one of my educators. :lipsrseal

-ryan
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
While at my college's film and television building, I ran into a fellow film student in the parking lot.

He stopped me and said, "Hey did you hear about the HVX price drop?"

I thought he must be talking about the included p2 card...

Turns out that one of our professors told his class (or maybe classes) that some online discount camera shop was selling the HVX at $1,600 or around that price. From what I was told he even gave the web address out in class.

I can't tell you how angry I instantly became.

So basically from what I can gather, a professor told a bunch of his college students where to get a very cheap HVX from what WILL turn out to be a shady, gray market, bait and switch con.

Even worse the student telling me all of this said he was going to try and purchase one. I told him how there was absolutely no way this was legit, I guaranteed him it was not an authorized us dealer, and told him not to do it.
Dvx100b's don't go that cheap.

So so dumb and irresponsible of a professor in film and television to do such a thing. Since I've heard this from only one student, I'm going to contact the professor as soon as I can and politely see if he has jumped off the deep end.

-ryan
Click to expand...

The story is as old as society. If people are that dumb and greedy, they get what they deserve. Greed is as old as humanity so if people think that they can get something for nothing, I say nothing anymore. There is a Nigerian prince who needs their help with getting some checks cashed too, I am sure that he will be in touch with all of them.

There's a sucker born every minute - P.T. Barnum


Dan
 
Maybe the professor was trying to teach the lesson that "if it looks too good to be true it probably isn't" in a very expensive way. Better to get it out of the way early than later and more expensive.

/I'm not completely joking
/or am I?
 
Why I don't get is how some "credible" video mags include advertisements from some clearly not credible companies like you know who.
 
David S. said:
Why I don't get is how some "credible" video mags include advertisements from some clearly not credible companies like you know who.
Click to expand...

Because a magazine is a business like any other and as a business its #1 concern is to make money and they make most of theirs from sellings ad space to anyone that can afford it. Unfortunatly standards tend to drop when the price is right.
 
Wow, that's incredible that a professor would fall for that and NOT look into it. Anyone with any common sense (especially if they know electronics or video) would know there is something fishy about price. Hell, all you have to do is take what, 2-5 mins to look into it? That is one non-smart professor.
 
Goes to show that many of these Professors aren't smart enough to be teaching ANYTHING! :thumbsup:
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
I just emailed the professor to see if what his student said was true. If so, I'll have to give him a link to our thread about where to buy an HVX.



*Sigh*
Click to expand...

Hey Ryan,

You may even want to have him take a look at our FAQ which talks about this very thing in detail. Maybe his students will learn something... :)

https://www.spec-comm.com/hvx200faq.php

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
Academics GENERALLY aren't that well versed in the practical end of filmmaking. My prof. bought grey goods before and got burned, too.
 
Sounds like these professors aren't very "street smart" at all!
Great faq btw, Spec Comm
 
HEY lay off of Profs!
I am one. And I WARN against buying grey market and they do it anyway!!! INCLUDING full time pros.
by the way, those that teach do also. I am shooting my 2nd feature length movie this summer!
 
J.D. said:
HEY lay off of Profs!
I am one. And I WARN against buying grey market and they do it anyway!!! INCLUDING full time pros.
by the way, those that teach do also. I am shooting my 2nd feature length movie this summer!
Click to expand...

J.D.:

Notice I said "some"?

Including my sister who is working on her fifth degree, is in her late thirties and has always been poor, can't pay her bills, never had a real job and yet still is an "eternal student". She is very smart but not smart in a way to get her life together. She is in her late 30s yet lives the life of a 19 year old who is still being supported financially by mom and dad, except that mom and dad are not supporting her financially. To me, she is naive.

Some people prefer the insulation academia provides from the cruel realities of life, one of my Pharma clients recruits all they can from Ivy Leagues and there are many people working there who are in their 40 and 50s and have only had one job their entire life. To me, that seems a bit weird and naive. To graduate from college at 16 or 17, get your Ph.D. by 21 and to have held only one job. They are scientifically brilliant geniuses but as far as street smarts, nada! Working at this company, they work on a "campus" with green grass and tree lined paths, they still go to classes, they lecture and they make a lot of money. Nothing wrong with that, but when you socialize with them, sometimes their social skills or lack of them is amazing. They are the ultimate monomaniacs.

It's definitely not just profs, it's the eternal students, geniuses, PhD.s, all walks of life. OTOH, I know plenty of societally and socially sharp people who are academics too. I am sure you fall into the latter category ;-)

Wow, I am straying pretty far from topic here. Uhmm, yeah, there is a sucker born every minute!

Dan
 
the $650 pro enhancing filter they are offering, the $300 UV filter the price, the reviews of the store at resellerratings, the reviews here, they arent a listed authorized dealer, you get a free tripod and lens cleaning kit, when you call it will be out of stock or they'll say its just for the body or a million of other things... save yourself some headaches and buy authorized.
 
Yeah those scams are a headache.

The professor is good at what he does, and obviously HD cameras are not his specialty. I still have yet to hear back from him but if he did indeed suggest this, as I was told, he was probably just misinformed. Who knows. I'll keep you updated.
 
jdajda said:
the $650 pro enhancing filter they are offering, the $300 UV filter the price, the reviews of the store at resellerratings, the reviews here, they arent a listed authorized dealer, you get a free tripod and lens cleaning kit, when you call it will be out of stock or they'll say its just for the body or a million of other things... save yourself some headaches and buy authorized.
Click to expand...
Dang, that was fast - thanks. I asked because I've had a fair amount of experience buying still cameras, and found that if I was willing to hang with the hassle, sometimes it was possible to wring some water out of the dirtbag sellers. It was a forgone conclusion that the support would be nil and that the salesperson would be a jerk, but given a valid U.S. warranty and the prodigious cash savings, *sometimes* you could make it work. Thanks for the comments and the references though - I have no doubt this is one of those 'deals' this thread refers to.

Sadly, the point is moot since I don't have the jing to play with anyway, unless I were to get into selling some of my still camera stuff... hmmm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top