Tone it down, peoples... Or this will be a historic announcement on DVXuser: The one that got shut down before page 20.
The better question (to me) is: why would you drop a ton of cash on ANYTHING unless you had huge money-making jobs right now?
I don't understand Red's business model. Announcing upgrades before you've even delivered the product that you're announcing an upgrade for, seems backwards to me. Maybe those who are potential Red customers are reassured by the notion that whatever they buy today will not be obsoleted tomorrow? Others may respond like you are -- why buy an outdated product now when the replacement's already been announced... as for slowing sales, that's called getting Kaypro'd (look up the Kaypro II if you don't know the reference). Does it happen nowadays in our hyper-short-attention-span society? Probably. As to what will happen with Red, well, it's their business, and it's run by a guy who's a thousand times smarter than most of us, so whether I can understand the logic or not, I presume that he knows what he's doing and that it's working for them.
That's always how I understood it. Pre-NAB 2011, the official word was that the Epic would not have sensor upgrades like the Red One did to the MX sensor - that the Monstro line of sensors would each have their own brain - not quite having to buy a whole new camera, but still more painful than a sensor upgrade. The announcement of the Dragon upgrade, I think, was meant to make Epic buyers feel that much more secure in their purchase, and possibly to entice some of those who were "holding out" for the Monstro cameras (even without the slightest inclination as to their release timelines).
(it's a bit grainy but that's why there's "neat video")Jim Jannard did say that Scarlets would probably be upgradeable, but that there would be an additional cost for new circuit boards necessary to run Dragon.
