Camera Shipping Update: 1/14

[Grant Petty]

Hi,

Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.

For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first.

I have been blown away seeing all the footage coming from people with their cameras around the world. It's been very exciting to watch the camera doing such fantastic creative work!


Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design

Thanks for the update!

Looking forward to receiving the MFT
A lot of us who placed early pre-orders changed our orders to MFT when it was announced
so really glad to hear that they are "ready to go"!

Indeed good news.
Thanks!

Very good news, Sir. I understand BMD getting those EF orders out first. Thanks for all the hard work, everyone.

Not necessarily what I want to hear (MFT), but definitely what I need to hear.

Thanks.

Thanks for the update Grant!

I would appreciate, as many on the site would, some kind of estimate of when you think you'll have filled most of the EF pre-orders. Barring any unforeseen issues, by the end of Jan? End of Feb? That kind of thing. I know exact dates are impossible, but a rough timeline would be greatly appreciated.

Could you please provide that?

Thanks
sean

Thank you for the update Grant! Just keep up the good work!

Thanks for the update Grant!

I would appreciate, as many on the site would, some kind of estimate of when you think you'll have filled most of the EF pre-orders. Barring any unforeseen issues, by the end of Jan? End of Feb? That kind of thing. I know exact dates are impossible, but a rough timeline would be greatly appreciated.

Could you please provide that?

Thanks
sean

Sean, I doubt he will provide such information, but we can use some basic detective work to help you out:

Most of the cameras shipping today appear to be going to people who reserved in April/ early May (depending on the retailer you purchased from).

You have to believe the first bulk of the pre-orders happened in the first 2 months of the announcement, the second bulk around July/ August when footage began to appear, and September/October for the MFT announcement.

Taking that into account, if they are able to fulfill most of the "first wave bulk" pre-orders buy mid Febuary, I would assume most EF pre-orders should be done by mid March if production ramps up to full speed. It's just a guess, so please don't assume ANY truth in this, haha.

Thanks for the update, good to hear that!


Concerning these timeframe-questions: I'd love to hear some predictions as well, but does any regular reader here believe that BMC will ever again say soemthing which could vaguely be interpreted as a timeframe??

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

Yes I do, or I wouldn't have asked.

In the past, BM really couldn't give an estimate because they didn't know. They were at the mercy of their sensor supplier really. However, just before Christmas Grant said they've got it sorted out and production was starting.

We are in the New Year. (no delays due to holidays) Grant has stated production is running well, albeit not at what he would call full, 100%...but he's happy with the flow.

So now BM knows the number of sensors they're getting, they know what their production capacity is and of course, they know their order numbers. I don't expect them to divulge any of that information specifically, but using that information, Grant can provide a rough estimate of when they "hope" to get caught up.

I'm not looking for any promises or guarantees, just an estimate, and now, Grant has the information too provide one.

Please ship MFT sooner.

Many MFT customers pre-ordered in April, then changed order to early pre-order of MFT. We've been waiting as long as the customers you're shipping to now.

(Of course, if you're preparing to ship an *active* MFT mount, take your time and get it right.)

Thanks for the update.

Please ship MFT sooner.

Many MFT customers pre-ordered in April, then changed order to early pre-order of MFT. We've been waiting as long as the customers you're shipping to now.

(Of course, if you're preparing to ship an *active* MFT mount, take your time and get it right.)

Thanks for the update.

+1

I understand the situation, but please take care of us the MFT that were EF.

what a coincidence

today is my birthday

maybe I 'll get my cam in 3 or 4 months then

maybe when it comes, firmware update will solve all major essential missing features,

maybe when it comes, firmware update will make it work with my sigma lenses and others,

maybe when it comes, someone else comes with a solution for indoor-prohibitive-shooting with 2.3 crop factor

I've just checked, still appears as back-ordered in BH site

cheers

what a coincidence

today is my birthday

maybe I 'll get my cam in 3 or 4 months then

maybe when it comes, firmware update will solve all major essential missing features,

maybe when it comes, firmware update will make it work with my sigma lenses and others,

maybe when it comes, someone else comes with a solution for indoor-prohibitive-shooting with 2.3 crop factor

I've just checked, still appears as back-ordered in BH site

cheers

No one's forcing you to buy this camera, lol. Happy Birthday though!

Thanks for the update, Grant! Cheers on the productivity increase. I'm looking forward to owning a M43 BMCC very soon, indeed! Happy new year.

Grant, please reconsider your stance on MFT and perhaps put some into production - many people that pre-ordered the MFT also pre-ordered the EF and then switched - I think these people deserve to get their cameras at the same time as EF only pre-orderers. The distributors know who these people are - please reconsider

Thank you

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

To clarify, we're not holding onto assembled MFT cameras that are ready to be shipped out. As Grant mentioned in his update, we're building cameras as fast as we're receiving sensors.

No one's forcing you to buy this camera, lol. Happy Birthday though!

thanks, I ordered mine months ago, I am expecting to receive it before christmas, lol

why in the name of G.. they never ever say anything conclusive, why is so unbelievable hard to say:

"ok dear customers, we have about 2800 orders in our row and last week we could send 15 cameras, but its not our full capacity, we can triple this value if we receive enough components to work with"

why they always say "good news is: there in no bad news, that all folks"

why?

Thanks for the update. It sounds like things are smoothing out.

Those of you wanting predictability, consider this: What you are looking at is caution on the part of Grant in predicting shipments, due to some real questions about what kind of sensor shipments they may in fact get in the next several weeks. If things ramp up really nicely, you get one set of numbers, if they do not, or there is some new snag, you get very different numbers. In any case, the forecast is under the control of the sensor company, not BMD.

Also, most all companies are in the habit of not releasing hard numbers about their shipments and projected shipments. It is competitive information.

My take on this is Grant is trying to be as transparent as he can, with no opinion or spin, and hold to the limits of what he has confidence is likely to happen, without setting up too high of expectations when he himself is not really sure what the numbers will be. He is well aware that we are hanging on his every word. More than that, there are thousands of shooters around the world waiting in the wings for this camera to actually hit the streets, not just the handful who choose to express themselves on this forum, for good or for ill. The only thing that fixes everyone's itch is delivery of goods. You can bet your last dollar that everyone involved at BMD, not just the top spokesperson, is thoroughly aware of that fact.

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

To clarify, we're not holding onto assembled MFT cameras that are ready to be shipped out. As Grant mentioned in his update, we're building cameras as fast as we're receiving sensors.

Thanks so much Christine. I'll explain why I asked the question the way I did. Back in December when Grant said the following about the MFT version, "As for the micro four thirds model, it's ready to go, however the problem is I feel until we are shipping a whole bunch of EF model cameras, there is little point building any of the MFT model. So we will ship as many as we can and then perhaps see where we are mid Jan and do a few MFT models then." It gave the impression that MFT just wasn't priority right now and got pushed aside. So here we are in mid January and again the impression was given that they will get pushed back to the sidelines one more time. "They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first." I hope that all who've waited patiently since last April get their camera quickly.

I'm not going to ask for dates, that'd be silly, however is there any possibility in inquiring whether or not "before summer" "before April (NAB again)" and so on to get a ball park on the MFT?

If not cheers to everything you're doing and God bless you all on making such an amazing product. When the active MFT version comes, you bet I'll order that too.

i have mixed feeling about this update , first i am very happy to hear production is going well, but since i ordered in start of may and switched to MFT
i have also a bad feeling that dates of the mft version shipment remain unknown

since blackmagic design declared at IBC and i quote "We will be working with our dealers to help people change their orders if they want"
my feeling is that you should keep your promise and help us (switchers) get our camera too
we are waiting the same amount of time as the early EF guys 9-10 months - BECAUSE WE SIMPLY CHOOSE TO SWITCH

and also if im guessing right, and the percentage of people who switched to MFT version are low , why not ( if the body is allready ready ) not Throw the MFT ver in a less of a volume in the mix , and get everyone happy ??

*that being said , i have great appreciation for you updating us personally and for all the hard work you guys must have did to get things back up and running well

"Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world"

Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design

Funny, I just got off the phone with B&H (who I paid, in full for my EF model first week in May) a few hours ago and they said they've only received and shipped out about 10 total units. hmmmm....


--YES, you read that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ correctly. I paid for my BMCC EF in full, (no card hold or down payment) to B&H Photo Video early May 2012 and I haven't gotten this camera yet!!! RAGE!!!! RAGE!!!

Glad things are going well at BM Headquarters. Hope to have our EF BMCC on-hand soon!

what to believe? I still wait!

well there is nothing new for me in this update.

For what is worth on the MFT front-after lots and lots of talking with B&H, and wording the question in a way that they could answer without forcing them to reveal pre-order numbers, quantity of BMCC-EF coming in, or where in line I personally stand, they were able to estimate I would get mine in two months from the date I asked (which was 1/10). I ordered my MFT on 9/20, about 10 days after the MFT pre-oders were available.

The question was something like: If they were to start shipping MFT today in the quantities they are currently shipping EFs, given my place in the queue, when would be a reasonable estimate of shipping?

Lots of pondering that question and they came back two months from now, given some undisclosed information they must have on hand as to when to expect MFTs to start shipping, and expected quantities. The rep said they were quite certain it was a reasonable estimate that could be relied on. Of course there is no way to handicap the quality of this estimate, but I asked the question in several different ways, and they conferred with lots of different department reps to come up with that estimate.

I did double check the that their two month estimate was from the date I asked the question, and not the date they start shipping MFT-even though my question was based on MFT launch date, so I suspect they have some NDA info about when to expect the MFT to start shipping, based on BMD's own internal estimates. I didn't really care to know all the details-it ships when it ships. I just wanted to know when to transfer money from my savings account and when to keep a close eye to make sure the checking never goes below 3K.

Just one way to parse information not available. Maybe it means MFT ships end of the month and will have all the switch orders and early MFT orders by early February? Who knows.

Good news. No hiccups, just producing and delivering cameras. Exactly what I wanted to hear. Not much longer now.

Things must be getting better, just found out you can rent one in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada.

I didn't ask when they ordered but their price is $375 a day.

I'm sorry Grant, but specifics is what people need at this point. It's wonderful that production is gaining momentum but thousands of cameras are back ordered. And more to come. You're announcement may do more harm than good. Meaning, buyers that have been holding back, now flood with more back orders. So how about this...in ball park figures...you must know how many cameras you have on back order. YOU DO KNOW HOW MANY YOU'RE PRODUCING and shipping out. So throw us a bone. Will ya. And we can do the math for ourselves. Otherwise, it's a little unfair, to be Jack McGregor in Lubbock Texas, "We're getting closer to your order. We really are!! Just how close I can't tell you."

No one's forcing you to buy this camera, lol. Happy Birthday though!

thanks, I ordered mine months ago, I am expecting to receive it before christmas, lol

why in the name of G.. they never ever say anything conclusive, why is so unbelievable hard to say:

"ok dear customers, we have about 2800 orders in our row and last week we could send 15 cameras, but its not our full capacity, we can triple this value if we receive enough components to work with"

why they always say "good news is: there in no bad news, that all folks"

why?

Could not agree with you more,

Personally, I would rather have them come up front and say " If you ordered (x) month, then your camera will arrive (x) date with the current number of cameras we are shipping (which may be months away)" or something along those lines...So I dont just sit here hoping I get a call from my retailer, the next day, or the next week or the next month...

I understand I have made the choice to order the camera, knowing of this sensor issue. but this should not give BMD the right to NOT let me know when I will get mine.

Saying : "its not at full volume yet" or " they are slowly making their way out" should not be viewed as a update in anyway.
It literally has given no more information then It did in December..

While I do say this, im quite happy to see of this news..and I continue to hope for the best..

I believe I have lurked these forums enough to know the one thing we all want at the end of the day, is to just shoot some fantastic quality film/video from this feature packed beast the BMCC...( unless you already have one... )

I could be wrong.

Then again im only 15...

Best Regards

Schoolpost,

Thank you for the update.

I doubt that BMD will tell you guys exact numbers or what their output is because most companies do not share this information because it is useful to competition. Plus if there is another bump in the process that is beyond their control everyone is going to feel lied to.

Keep up the good work in solving the issues and I appreciate the consistent and timely updates. You guys have a passionate group of customers and we are all anxious.

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

Quite agree.
We were told there will be no panalty for switching and that BMD is working with dealers to make it happen.

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

To clarify, we're not holding onto assembled MFT cameras that are ready to be shipped out. As Grant mentioned in his update, we're building cameras as fast as we're receiving sensors.

So what you are saying is assembled MFT cameras are shipping as we speak?

[


Funny, I just got off the phone with B&H (who I paid, in full for my EF model first week in May) a few hours ago and they said they've only received and shipped out about 10 total units. hmmmm....


--YES, you read that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ correctly. I paid for my BMCC EF in full, (no card hold or down payment) to B&H Photo Video early May 2012 and I haven't gotten this camera yet!!! RAGE!!!! RAGE!!!

So Mr Taikonaut was right about 2 dozen worldwide afterall.

okay. I've sat back and listened.

I have a question.

Why.


Why will BMD not give out the number of cameras that have shipped?

'they will never give out specific numbers' is not a satisfactory answer. 'competitive information' is not satisfactory also.

Those numbers are not speculation. they are not a promise.
They are however, numbers that have been recorded, and give customers insight into how things are progressing. as well as peace of mind.


Why is this not ideal for BMD to do?

(the only case in which this is not ideal is if the numbers are so low, as to cause a loss of moral, and give people a reason to cancel their pre orders.... .... which does not affect how quickly the camera will come to market, nor how many will be sold)


By withholding this information they are causing a division, between customer and company. And I really can see why?

Please, someone enlighten me as to their reasoning.
I'm trying to see it from their point of view, but I'm coming up empty.

Pre Ordered on May15, any day now, I hope.

I have a question.

Why.


Why will BMD not give out the number of cameras that have shipped?

(the only case in which this is not ideal is if the numbers are so low, as to cause a loss of moral, and give people a reason to cancel their pre orders.... .... which does not affect how quickly the camera will come to market, nor how many will be sold).

You answered by yourself, my guess.

I have a question.

Why.

Knowing how many they have made and shipped is of little use without knowing how many have been ordered world wide, how many orders have been fulfilled world wide, how many orders are for stock vs pre-order. You also don't have any info on when each dealer placed their orders with the local agent.

If they told you they had shipped 10 000 units or 1000 units you would be no better off. You'd still be waiting until your dealer is able to fulfil your order.

Judging by the number of people I've seen on various forums there are a lot of people getting cameras. My guess is they are where they should have been in August when they first reported delays.

Relax... They are shipping. It's worth the wait.

[/quote] Relax... They are shipping. It's worth the wait.[/quote]


+1

Pre Ordered on May15, any day now, I hope.

I ordered on april 25th, at the current rate they are arriving at my reseller, it will be another 16 weeks until I get mine.

Unless your reseller is getting a disproportionate number of units at the moment, then I suspect you might be waiting a bit longer than any day now, more like in a few months.



2 A week to a major UK reseller is not very promising, so unless there is a huge delay between them shipping from BMD and them arriving at my reseller, I really hope there will be a BIG difference between the current rate of production and what Grant considers to be maximum output capacity.

Relax... They are shipping. It's worth the wait.

I can understand that this update not works for many people, its cos they see lots of people getting their cameras (some that maybe ordered later than them) and they don´t have any info, more than the BM forum, and is so general info.

I want to believe that the first getting the camera will be the ones who ordered in april-may, whatever country they live. Sending proportional numbers to each part of the globe to fill (for example) in 1 month, all the orders between april-may around the globe... and well, even your seller is a big one or a small one, they should get cameras at the same time, maybe the small sellers not so many like the big ones. (thing that is not fair is that some sellers in one country could get 10 cameras and the others in the same country none till...know knows)

So, the hardest wait (speaking about time) is done (9 months!), the camera is real and is being shipped.

Now comes the worst wait: "why him, why not me?" Give it a turn and think "he got it, so im a bit closer"

Pre Ordered on May15, any day now, I hope.

I ordered on april 25th, at the current rate they are arriving at my reseller, it will be another 16 weeks until I get mine.

Unless your reseller is getting a disproportionate number of units at the moment, then I suspect you might be waiting a bit longer than any day now, more like in a few months.

2 A week to a major UK reseller is not very promising, so unless there is a huge delay between them shipping from BMD and them arriving at my reseller, I really hope there will be a BIG difference between the current rate of production and what Grant considers to be maximum output capacity.

I think that is more important when the seller made the order. I dont think that the sellers called BMD for every order, maybe they just waited to get a few or maybe, being autorized sellers, for example they have 10 (example) from the begining without make an order, or maybe when BMD anounced it, they asked for 50... Remember that they have products in stock, when the product is launched, they will get a few, just for being autorized sellers...

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

Quite agree.
We were told there will be no panalty for switching and that BMD is working with dealers to make it happen.

When they say "ready", I believe they mean the body, MFT lens mount and everything else EXCEPT the sensor. They are putting the first big batch of sensors in the EF units which were ordered earlier, then putting sensors as more become available into the MFTs which are "ready" to accept them.

If the MFT is ready to go I'm not understanding why you want to wait to get to the EF orders first why not just ship them now since they're ready?

Quite agree.
We were told there will be no panalty for switching and that BMD is working with dealers to make it happen.

When they say "ready", I believe they mean the body, MFT lens mount and everything else EXCEPT the sensor. They are putting the first big batch of sensors in the EF units which were ordered earlier, then putting sensors as more become available into the MFTs which are "ready" to accept them.

Exactly.

Hi,

Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.

For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first. 

I have been blown away seeing all the footage coming from people with their cameras around the world. It's been very exciting to watch the camera doing such fantastic creative work! 


Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design

Hi,

Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.

For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first. 

I have been blown away seeing all the footage coming from people with their cameras around the world. It's been very exciting to watch the camera doing such fantastic creative work! 


Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design

This is from BnH NY

Hi,

Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.

For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first. 

I have been blown away seeing all the footage coming from people with their cameras around the world. It's been very exciting to watch the camera doing such fantastic creative work! 


Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design

This is from BnH NY

No, it is from the first page of this very thread. B+H took from here, reposted it, and you have reposted it back here :-p

When they say "ready", I believe they mean the body, MFT lens mount and everything else EXCEPT the sensor. They are putting the first big batch of sensors in the EF units which were ordered earlier, then putting sensors as more become available into the MFTs which are "ready" to accept them.


Christine: Exactly.


Well that explains the MFT situation,
thanks for the confirmation Christine!

Just got some information from not an "official" reseller in Russia, Moscow, that they have 86 cameras waiting at the warehouse for customers to pick them up.

Is this some sort of scam or is this information true about Russian shipments, Christine?

I don't really want to be robbed or anything.

Just got some information from not an "official" reseller in Russia, Moscow, that they have 86 cameras waiting at the warehouse for customers to pick them up.

Is this some sort of scam or is this information true about Russian shipments, Christine?

I don't really want to be robbed or anything.

Hahaha, not an official reseller....
Well guys, mistery solved, all our Europe cameras are in Moscow. Shipping intercepted xD