Why are dslr rigs so unjustifiably expensive?

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Fellipe

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C'mon guys, I really want to buy a shoulder rig but to me, the costs are extremely high. I'm not talking about being able to afford it or not, but the prices are just injustifiably.
Take the zacuto double barrel as example. "$3857.00". In my opinion, there's no way it should cost that much.
It's just me or the rigs and accessories for dslr are really inflated?


Z-DDB.jpg
 
Is it that time of the month to do this thread again?

If you don't want to buy it, don't.

There are cheaper options out there, or build your own.
 
mcgeedigital said:
If you don't want to buy it, don't.

There are cheaper options out there, or build your own.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if I did not make myself clear.
But I'm not complaining whether they're affordable or not.
I'm actually making an observation about the discrepancy between manufacturing costs and the price they're actually sold.
 
Because everything sold to filmmakers, scientists, and the government is given a steep markup as standard operating practice?


Did I mention I sometimes work making films for government scientists? Why aren't I payed substantially more?
 
The problem is, when you buy the cheaper stuff, you understand why it's cheap. Right now I use parts from CPM Film Tools and Berkeley Systems and the quality is FANTASTIC. I've spent a lot of time talking with them both, and I can see why the costs get up there. The problem comes to volume in the end. The R&D, tooling, materials, shipping, etc is very expensive. If you are selling a smaller number of units because, let's face it, these are niche markets and there is a TON of competition, you've got to price your products so that you can survive. These companies have overhead and that is not cheap.

Granted, I find the cost of Zacuto parts to be at the higher end, and don't use them, from what I hear they are fantastic. Would you rather pay more and not be so worried about something breaking? If not, go with something like a Gini rig and be prepared to wait FOREVER for email correspondance. I was TRYING to build something with them and gave up after their answers didn't even really match my questions.

All that time I spent talking with CPM Film Tools and Berkeley Systems, that costs them money, and they bend over BACKWARDS to get me solutions. I value that.

After getting burned on an IndiSystem (early model) I've been VERY skeptical of lower cost. I now understand what it is I am paying for. There is SO MUCH more than materials and manufacturing that I take into account.
 
mcbob said:
Because everything sold to filmmakers, scientists, and the government is given a steep markup as standard operating practice?


Did I mention I sometimes work making films for government scientists? Why aren't I payed substantially more?
Click to expand...


LOOOOOOL! Quote of the week!

Fran
 
Honest answer? Because Filmmakers have the money to splash on such Gear!

Another thing is, that the market for gear like DSLR Rigs isn't that big!

Don't like the price, don't buy it!
 
Fellipe said:
I'm actually making an observation about the discrepancy between manufacturing costs and the price they're actually sold.
Click to expand...

Sigh...

As always with these numerous discussions, who is paying for the R&D, cost of setting up a manufacturing line, keeping the lights on, the branding and ad presence, the trade show booth, the service and support, the employee wages and things like health and dental insurance? All those have to be paid for before you even buy the raw material to make the product.
 
Don't forget customer service!

Some cheap companies don't have a good customer service!! (except Jag35).

Product breaks and you are F**ked!
 
zacuto. there is no substitute.

have you ever used a zacuto rig like that? solid as a brick chitter and infinitely adjustable.
its one of the few expensive toys ive owned that i truly felt justified its price. yes, there is a sticker shock. but once you get behind the wheel, you forget it pretty quickly.
 
Well yeah!

I don't own a Zacuto Rig, but look at their customer service! It is the best there is! There is no other company like it!
 
Indeed.

I totally fubared a piece of their gear (don't ask, ugly story), and they fedexed me a replacement at their cost.
 
IMHO, Good customer service/care is an obligation of any company and should not represent any extra on the price. But it seems that nowadays the company which offers at least the minimum of customer care worths gold.
Based on posts here, it seems those companies can keep on asking as much as they WANT, unfortunately.
 
The ebay " gini" rigs (from Korea) Are awesome, their up there with Redrock, (i own redrock, so this is coming from experience). I feel confident in saying, for the cost, their the best on the market. Edelkrone, is an amazing rig. I also can say from experience, their great. Those are my two favorite rigs for the price. Zacuto does make nice gear, and it's very expensive. In my opinion, it's a bit over priced. But then again, if it weren't Steve wouldn't have been able to afford the new re-model, of their headquaters.:). Though you cant blame zacuto, if people didn't pay, they would have to lower their prices. I'm not anti zacuto, I think Steve Weiss is a riot. He's a cool guy. And a hell of a business man. He's grown on me over the years after watching his webseries. I love critics. great show. I only wish they made them longer. Ok im rambling, must be past my bedtime. lol
 
I owned both Redrock and Zacuto rigs once (sold both of them now) - and I regret buying both (I truly prefer my $100 Manfrotto monopod to any shoulder rig) - the quality was good, but was simply not worth what I paid ($1200+). I've been using gear from CineCity as of late. Never had a problem. Good quality and well priced. Examples:

http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/product.php?productid=259&cat=296&page=1

http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/product.php?productid=264&cat=296&page=1


Xenogears also pointed out an awesome looking alternative (from Jag35) to the overpriced Redrock RunningMan on my post here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?256304-Alternatives-to-Redrock-RunningMan
 
I have spent well over $1k on my shoulder mount rig from Redrock and it is worth every penny. As mcgeedigital said, if you don't think it's fair, don't give them your money. Why are you wasting time even posting about it?
 
Fellipe said:
IMHO, Good customer service/care is an obligation of any company and should not represent any extra on the price. But it seems that nowadays the company which offers at least the minimum of customer care worths gold.
Based on posts here, it seems those companies can keep on asking as much as they WANT, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Yeah, man screw capitalism!

Manufacturers should make sell gear for cost!

Yeah!

(Bangs head on wall)
 
As others have said, these compainies still have to cover R & D, overheads, marketing, etc. Other cheaper options have no warranty support, less overheads because they are based in 3rd world countries, no R & D costs because they just copy the more expensive versions, and no marketing costs because they rely on their low prices to drive sales.

Keep in mind that before DSLR's, these sorts of systems were designed to support $6,000 cameras. Maybe their not exactly the same systems (as the DSLR's require a few extra's to make them more camcorder-ish), but for decades people have paid a lot of money for good matte-boxes, shoulder mounts, rails, etc, to use with cameras such as the DVX100, PD150 or XL2. These cameras costed much more than a DSLR, so the accessories seem a lot cheaper in comparison.

It's the same with tripods. A few years ago most videographers would drop $2000 on a tripod without blinking - because that $2000 piece of gear is responsible for holding up $10,000 worth of other stuff. Now newer videographers think it's outrageous to pay $700 for a tripod because that's more than their t2i cost.
 
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