Zacuto products

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steadicamsteel

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Don't get me wrong here, as the guys at Zacuto make some fantastic products of which I own several of them but I've just seen the price of there Zwing away adaptor.....$395 (US) WTF.

I know there's research and development costs but come on $395 (US) for an adaptor. I thought we were heading for a Global Recession here?

I'm going to have to re-think my investment portfolio. If Zacuto ever float, I'm buying shares.

Have they been to the same school of "crazy talk costs" as the team behind the new Zeiss Compact Lenses? $40K for a set of pumped up SLR Lenses, what is this world coming too?
 
Their prices do seem outrages
but then you have to take into consideration, it's not only that zacuto makes amazing products and has superb costumer service, but the biggest thing is

life time warranty, which gives it outstanding re-sale value.


So when ever you buy something from zacuto, you know that it is so amazing that ever by the slightest chance something goes wrong, they have your back forever.


Plus when you buy something you get a free hat.:beer:
 
And aside from the best warranty the customer service and response time is crazy fantastic! And as an owner of the Zwing-Away - its pretty impressive for a little hinge. Flawless in design and execution. And its nice and lightweight and small. Would much rather have this and a small non swinging mattebox than the giant hinge structure that RedRock is using.
 
Its also just economics. Everything produced in the USA by union machinists. Those guys don't work for 2.50 per hour. They make beautiful stuff but the price has kept me from buying any.


I think a lot of the crazy price has to do with the costs of production

Just my 2 cents.
 
Alright... being the number one Zacuto fanboy (ask Steve... it's official)... I thought I'd chime in.

What's important to realize is the limited supply and demand for some of their products. Take the Microforce adapter, rod couplers, or the Z-handle for example.

They truly take the user's requests to heart. The Z-balance, Z-lite, their new Z-crank knob... are all things I asked for... and they certainly delivered. They designed and prototyped their Zipgears for a guy on a shoot in under two weeks! Their level of customer care as well as engineering thought it fabulous.

The lifetime warranty does rock too!

If you ever have Zacuto questions, or want a discount, let me know!

______________________________________________


I'd also be remiss if I didn't correct some assumptions about the Zeiss Compact PL prime lenses. These aren't just Zeiss ZF lenses rehoused. That's the biggest error people are making when talking about these lenses. They take the optics of the ZF lenses... and put it into a Cinema quality lens. If you want a rehoused ZF... P&S Technik rehoused Zeiss ZF's. They declicked the aperture rings and added 0.8 film pitch gearing. In doing so, they doubled the price. I can declick on my own and slap a zip-gear on my ZFs anytime I want to. P&S didn't even go to the trouble of making them focus in the proper cine direction.


Zeiss Compact PL primes are all equal length and diameter... this means minimal/no rod adjustment.

They all have ~360 ° of throw for focus pulling ... you get more accuracy and precision.

They feature dual sided focus scales... helpful when using a dual sided FF.

They also have internal lens focusing... which means your lens isn't going to travel.

They have a 14 blade iris that behaves like a proper cinema iris should.

Basically... they're entirely new beasts.


Are they worth $40,000? Probably not. But most people will be buying a set of 4-5 anyway.

There are 3 economy PL lens prime sets coming out at NAB. This is just one of them. So maybe something in the $20-25,000 range will surface.
 
Joseph Stunzi said:
I'd also be remiss if I didn't correct some assumptions about the Zeiss Compact PL prime lenses. These aren't just Zeiss ZF lenses rehoused. That's the biggest error people are making when talking about these lenses. They take the optics of the ZF lenses... and put it into a Cinema quality lens. If you want a rehoused ZF... P&S Technik rehoused Zeiss ZF's. They declicked the aperture rings and added 0.8 film pitch gearing. In doing so, they doubled the price. I can declick on my own and slap a zip-gear on my ZFs anytime I want to. P&S didn't even go to the trouble of making them focus in the proper cine direction.


Zeiss Compact PL primes are all equal length and diameter... this means minimal/no rod adjustment.

They all have ~360 ° of throw for focus pulling ... you get more accuracy and precision.

They feature dual sided focus scales... helpful when using a dual sided FF.

They also have internal lens focusing... which means your lens isn't going to travel.

They have a 14 blade iris that behaves like a proper cinema iris should.

Basically... they're entirely new beasts.


Are they worth $40,000? Probably not. But most people will be buying a set of 4-5 anyway.

There are 3 economy PL lens prime sets coming out at NAB. This is just one of them. So maybe something in the $20-25,000 range will surface.
Click to expand...

I never said they were JUST re-housed ZF Lenses, I said they were "based on" Nikon ZF's. They source better RAW Optical Glass and yes they have Cine housing but $40K for a bunch of lenses that aren't matched (T Stop wise) really is Crazy Talk. I can buy a 28mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm Arri Ultra Prime Set for $42,000 (US) and that's before negotiating a discount and they're all T1.9.

I was saying in another forum, Zeiss have missed a trick here. Who in there right mind would buy these lenses? Agreed if they were around $20K they may well have filled a gap in the market but $40K. I'd rather spend that kind of money on half a dozen adaptors from Zacuto.....
 
ryvac said:
ohhhh, another thread about the Zacuto prices...
Click to expand...

That was worthy of the time and contribution to this thread. Thank You.

Just for the record. When doing a search on this forum using the key words "Zacuto Cost" I only found 2 threaded titles pointing to the subject search and digging a little deeper out of the list (2 pages) found 3 threads that had any relevance.

You obviously think this has been discussed many times in this forum. Feel free to get in touch with the administrator and maybe you could start a whole new dedicated Category to "Zacuto, are there products worth the cost?". That way, I wouldn't waste your time and you mine.

What I would say is that it's not just me (a tight Scotsman) that thinks the prices are inflated for what your getting. If I was looking at buying a $400 (US) Zwing Away Bracket after shipping and import duties it's actually going to cost me over $600 (US).....Now thats worth it....NOT.
 
ryvac said:
ohhhh, another thread about the Zacuto prices...
Click to expand...

They alternate with the P2 price rants! :)

That being said, I agree Zacuto has the highest prices of any support gear for the smaller format cameras in our industry, but it is my feeling that they provide the hollywood-level of quality, support, and service that maybe some indy film makers aren't used to paying for.
 
Damn, didn't realize that there was a $200.00 import duty on it.

That is ridiculous.

Sounds like the Scots need to have an American-style tax revolt.
 
mcgeedigital said:
Damn, didn't realize that there was a $200.00 import duty on it.

That is ridiculous.

Sounds like the Scots need to have an American-style tax revolt.
Click to expand...

We tried that a few hundred years ago...it didn't work then.

Also it's not $200 for import duties. You do have shipping costs to come out of that. But at $600 I'll put up with the inconvenience of a non swing away Matte Box.
 
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Joseph Stunzi said:
Show me an Ultra Prime set for 42k! I've never heard of such a thing.
Click to expand...

Have you ever done a search or asked the appropriate companies?

Creative Video in the UK are the only people who have a price list published on their website and according to my calculations you can purchase 4 Brand New Arri Ultra Primes for the same price as the Zeiss Compacts.

I've had a chat with Arri Media here in the UK and they can guarantee the 4 Primes for under $40K.
 
.... I must say, I love zacuto products.... BUT, their products have the most zobnoxious znames.

-zmatt
 
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