RUMOR only - Pocket 4K - is production halted ?

Sorry if that topic is disturbing anyone, but I heard from a trusted source, that the production of the Pocket 4K camera, may be halted at this time?

Is that true, and if so, will Blackmagic be able to produce more cameras at a later date (this year), or should I get my fully pre-paid money back?

* this info is rumor only - no facts!

So... Where is a link to an article saying that production is halted and why? I have seen no such news...

It is not a news to be seen as written. It comes from a vendor.

It must be internal information only, but now I am worried about my purchase, so I am asking Blackmagic rep to confirm or deny?

Thanks.

I don't think rumors should be posted here as fact. If someone can't provide substantiation it's a disservice to both users and Blackmagic.

Of course I am not posting this as a fact, but as a question.

If it was a fact, no questioning would be needed.

I'd hate to add to any speculation, but do you think the information pertains to a halt for Christmas or end of year vacation? Maybe facilities run all year long? I'd assume (just like with Adobe, Toyota and others) that end of year or beginning of year includes some downtime.

I wouldn't read anything into it. I see (and personally know) many that are receiving their 4K Pockets.

No-one from BMD will even react on this. You think if they even know. they can and would confirm this ??

Just wait it out and see. If there was even a brief stop in production this would be because of parts that are not been delivered on time to proceed production.

I mean the camera is working ok. So there is no need to stop production due too an error in hardware.
Also there is no need to stop production because of sales.. As there are still a lot of orders to fill.

But i highly doubt there is a production stop. I think this is rather some rumor from the person you talked too, to explain why it takes so long to get units delivered..

I am confident that your vendor is not being fully truthful to you or are mistaken. This rumor has been debunked on this forum by BMD staff already. BMD only rolls out a certain number of cameras in a given time and the orders are huge for this camera and will take time to fill.

Nikon d850 had huge orders that were backfilled for about a year and if I remember correctly Nikon still has problems keeping up with orders. Truth is that there is a bottleneck in production that isn't likely to be overcome by BMD in the near future because this camera is simply the craziest cinema camera deal I and most people can recall, which is why I pre-ordered the day it was announced.

If there is a problem with production I am sure that BMD would issue a release along with some news articles from other sources confirming that there was such a problem.

I mean this sincerely, just be patient. The camera is incredible despite it's "faults" and worth a wait.

It is not a news to be seen as written. It comes from a vendor.
It must be internal information only, but now I am worried about my purchase, so I am asking Blackmagic rep to confirm or deny?

Thanks.

and eventually he suggest to buy another camera? with different revenue to him?
i'm bit tired to deal with bad vendors that to avoid to sell bmd products with low revenue on it diffuse false notice or bad rumors on products.
every weeks on forum, on youtube, on every social you can see more pocket4k and more, and more... more products and more diffusion.
If bmd stop or reduce a production of most requested camera of their history they would be a suicide facility, i think they speed up it, i can see that on faster way that they can solve problems on faulty camera (see on forum). If they had problems to produce cameras, they would have also problems to replace parts.

the explanation is simple, they think to sell 1000, people pre order 100.000 and they need to run to produce all, but cannot produce all at same time, they are not sony, panasonic or similar bigger brand, they not have so big production power.

anyway, asking to bmd is not a thread on bmd forum, you must check with your vendor the ticket order number, and contact directly bmd distribution, by email / form from website not from forum, forum is on website bmd but is not directly the way to talk with bmd people. Just to avoid you to waste time.

Would be more credible if the vendor provided a reason for a presumably temporary halt. Here’s one scenario: religious or national holidays may have caused a shortage of key components. Another: due to the roaring success, some suppliers may have needed time to step up their component production or found a fault in any of their components that needed time to address. Lastly: it’s less than three months to NAB 2019 and since we all complain about how long we wait for new products to ship, maybe a production line or two have been switched over from the BMPCC4K to produce new or updated products so BMD can once again announce at NAB “now shipping.”


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Good one Rick, I needed a good laugh...
Cheers

Well Rick is right on the money!!
We all know new products are coming. And if they do it like last 2 years there will be a livestream in about 2 weeks announcing the new products. (last 2 years the livestream was 1 week before the ISE* Amsterdam ** Integrated Systems Europe ) Were BMD also stand with a big booth.

So i guess any day now we get an website announcement telling the date of the livestream.
Last year it came about 4 days before the livestream. So i guess in about 14 days we will know.
And the livestream was at 2-2-2018 with the following products:

We have just announced some new products and I would like to update you on what’s new. We have been working hard to help solve some problems for broadcasters and we think these new products will help.

We have announced:

Blackmagic URSA Broadcast camera
Blackmagic Fiber Converters for SMPTE fiber
ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switcher
ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel
Free upgrade for ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switchers
ATEM Camera Control Panel

And shortage of parts wont help either.. Also there is a huge problem going on in the electronic component market right now. SMD capacitors are harder to get. As the base material of those components is getting depleted, components are harder to get.
And also keep in check that Chinese new year is just around the corner..

Thanks for all replys!

I dont want to hurt BM in any way, its just rumors at this time.

I asked the vendor for more information, and they told me, that one of the parts manufacturer has stopped to produce that part. Of course they cant tell which manufacturer / part that is, but either way, that is disturbing. If true, BMD must find a replacement factory and that cant be a very fast process...

They may as well announce a new "Pocket 8K" at the next NAB, with new part manufacturers all over

Thanks for the additional feedback. Looks like it could be a few factors involved but the causes (if indeed there is a temporary halt) will likely not be shared in any detail, nor will we know when production is back on track. Starting to look forward to what future announcements are coming soon.


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...
I asked the vendor for more information, and they told me, that one of the parts manufacturer has stopped to produce that part. Of course they cant tell which manufacturer / part that is, but either way, that is disturbing...

Maybe the battery door supplier...?

My supplier in London hasn’t revived any stock for quite a while. They were getting 4/5 per week previously...

There is no way that a vendor knows this kinda information. How could he? Does he work for BMD lol .. Only people working at BMD can know this stuff.