I know I’ve been teasing it for some time, well it’s finally here!  Hot Rod Cameras is now offering the BEST WARRANTY on a 7D-PL.  2-full years of extended warranty service is NOW available on any new 7D-PL Kit purchased from Hot Rod Cameras or any authorized re-seller (i.e. Abel Cine Tech).  This warranty is good on new cameras and every 7D-PL Deluxe Kit purchased in the past 90-days!  This is double the length of the original warranty!  Perhaps best of all, if you have a problem you don’t have to ship the camera overseas for service, manufacturers defects are repaired in the USA.  The cost of the 2-year warranty service is $199.

The extended warranty also covers any fully functional client owned 7D that was purchased in the past 90-days, sent to, and modified by Hot Rod Cameras (within the same 90-days.)

I’ll be putting a way to order the warranty on the 7D-PL product pages in the next 24-hours.  I’ll also find a way for those who have already purchased a Hot Rod 7D-PL to be able to request the extended warranty on-line.  If you purchased a 7D-PL in the past 90-days that qualifies for the 2-year extended warranty, send a quick email and make sure that you type WARRANTY along with your contact information in the message box and someone will get back to you with instructions on how to provide proof of purchase and payment.  Click here to send that email.

All warranty repair work is handled by the expert technicians at Mack Camera.  Mack is one of the oldest, largest and most respected names in extended service warranty repair (they’ve been fixing cameras for 72-years!)  Just like the original warranty, the Hot Rod Extended Warranty is a limited warranty with some exclusions; basically, Mack won’t cover accidents (whoops, I dropped it down a flight of stairs) owner stupidity (Let’s take the camera out for a swim!), the parts Hot Rod Cameras removes, alters or throws away (like the mirror or the EF mount) or a manufacturers recall (These camera aren’t supposed to be black, they should be “midnight-charcoal”.) Questions about the warranty?? Give us a call or email.

Illya Friedman
President
Hot Rod Cameras

Working hard during the month of December.  I recently made major progress on multiple projects/products, all of which will be available in 2010, and are compatible with all the current Hot Rod kits available.

There have been 4x shop prototypes of the the S-grip, it’s now frightfully close to reality.  It has more features than I originally envisioned and I also figured out a way to build it for less money.  The direct result is that it’s now costs significantly less to produce, and the price will reflect that.

A new and improved website is in the works.  Fingers crossed it will launch before the end of 2009- larger pages, easier to navigate, better image gallery.  I think you guys will like it.

While I don’t understand those who don’t like the color green, if you want to customize your Hot Rod kit with a custom anodizing color, it is now possible direct from the factory.  Email on the contact page for full details – it takes about 14-days, custom color cost is $275 for a basic kit, and $325 for a Deluxe kit.  You have to send back your kit to the factory and the price includes return shipping in the USA; most colors are available.

I just wanted to answer a question that has come up a couple times- the Hot Rod Hand Held grips utilize a standard bicycle grip circumfrence with a slightly extended length, this means that nearly any standard sized open ended rubber, foam or leather bike hand grip is compatible with the Hot Rod Hand Held grips.  This was designed for easy customization on the part of the owner.  If you customize your Hot Rod with some cool grips please send me a photo at email@hotrodcameras.com.

Thanks,

I.

Illya Friedman

President

Hot Rod Cameras

HD Expo this weekend was really great. I ran into a lot of people, and I received some really great words of encouragement and feedback on all my many products in development. My prototype case was also a big hit.

There are a lot of freelance camera people not working right now and while that’s bad for their bank accounts, free shows like HD Expo get a nice influx of respectable and talented attendees browsing the show floor and socializing with others. The show felt smaller than in years past, but the crowd was definitely more upscale. While I was at HD Expo I saw a couple really cool things, and I’m going to post a lot more about them in the coming days.

So here’s where I start talking about the “something new” part of this post. I am getting requests to build all kinds of gizmos, and I really do appreciate it. It gives me valuable feedback as to what products are lacking/missing in the market. For example, on Thursday someone asked me to build a “better, higher quality version of Varizoom’s Zero Gravity head”. Usually I explain how, I’m not trying to be an ‘all things’ manufacturer, and how there’s already an alternative product that should be looked at (i.e. Cartoni’s excellent “Smart Head”). Hot Rod Cameras is quite specialized and really I’ve got plenty of design and build projects on my plate at the moment, I’m not going to be taking on anything radically different for a while. So while I keep blogging about the stuff I’ve got going on, and how it’s coming along, as of right now- I’m also going to start using this space to talk about some pretty damn awesome gear. Why is this new? Hot Rod Cameras has nothing to do with the design or the manufacturing of this “awesome gear.”

I bounced this idea of a friend and I’ve been officially warned that I’ll be violating a “business 101″ thing. Turns out, I’m not supposed to “dilute the message” or tell people to spend their money on products other than my own. I understand this advice, but I’m going to ignore it.

So why the heck would I do it anyway? About 2-months ago a friend of mine showed me a little invention, about a week ago he asked if he could sell it on my website when it’s available. The thing is awesome! Based on the prototype I’ll gladly recommend it, and if he isn’t selling it all over the world this time next year (in other words if he doesn’t need me), he can certainly sell it on my website. Other than me, he doesn’t have contacts in the equipment business, and if he tried to do it all himself, I think it’s likely his project would go un-noticed for several months. So I’ve decided that as soon as it’s ready, I’m going to start talking about it. And while I’m at it I’m also going to launch a new “store” on the Hot Rod Cameras site, that sells more than just products Hot Rod Cameras has a hand in.

To be clear, I’m not going to do any sort of “Amazon store” filled with mass-market consumer products that you can order through me. I don’t like those things, it’s not my style, and maybe it’s just me, but when I find them on other people’s websites I consider it a turn-off.

I’m still figuring out how the whole thing will work, but what I envision is that the Hot Rod Cameras “store” will only feature items entirely hand picked by me, Illya Friedman. I’m only going to (attempt) to represent products that I think are genuinely the best “bang for the buck” and most useful, these products will all have some direct relation to HDSLR filmmaking.

So how would this work? My plan is to attempt to convince some select manufacturers, to allow me to sell it as an official dealer, and if I can I will. If not, I’m still going to recommend that anyone considering something like “it” to go purchase the product through the most appropriate place, or the vendor I like the best. I’m not looking to represent ENTIRE product lines either, that’s not my business and I think there’s plenty of other places you can go on-line for that sort of thing.

I’m also NOT going to recommend any products that I consider poor value or poor build quality, to me those are ALWAYS deal-breakers.

So why would you ever want to buy ‘other peoples stuff’ from Hot Rod Cameras? Well, any product I’m allowed to sell (made by other companies), I’m only putting on my website because I TRULY THINK THEY ARE GREAT, really I’ll be evangelizing products that I have used already, or after long and careful evaluation would gladly use if the situation calls for it.

Something to keep in mind- Hot Rod Cameras business model has never, ever, been built around selling other peoples stuff. So where/when I can I’ll pass dealer discounts on to my clients, and I’ll make the prices less than anywhere else, if possible (look out B&H). If I am allowed to post the lowest price on-line, I will. I want other companies doing innovative work to continue! Because if they do- we all benefit as users of that technology.

Having worked professionally in the entertainment industry for the past 16-years (8 of those spent dealing directly with camera and production equipment manufacturers as a consultant) I’ve found that some companies make great stuff at one level, and terrible products (comparatively) at another. Very few large manufacturers have truly excellent products across the entire range.

One exception would be a company like Cartoni, they make great stuff- absolutely my favorite tripods and heads at every price point, although over the years they definitely have made some products that I can’t get behind, like the “Action Pro“. Granted it’s the cheapest fluid head they make- and not to put to fine a point on it- it’s plain lousy-simple as that. Other than the price, I have nothing good to say about it. I’d probably rather shoot with a monopod.

So where do I get off judging Cartoni, let alone so harshly? I’m using Cartoni as an example, of all the products that I plan/hope to have in my “store”, I’ll also disclose my personal history (if any, or lack there of) with that company. So for example- I’ve either directly purchased, or made the recommendation to purchase well over $200K worth of Cartoni products over the years. These purchases have been for both owner-operators and rental facilities. I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of Cartoni and which of their products are winners (to be fair- it is nearly everything.) Cartoni also has excellent service and warranty (most products are 5-years!) Cartoni also makes the “Focus” which to me is easily the winner in that price point- sorry Manfrotto, sorry Miller, sorry Sachtler. I’ll post more details about my exact reasoning about why the Focus “wins” in the next few weeks, that lightweight (perfect for HDSLRs) fluid head is fantastic!

I’m not familiar with any on-line company in this business disclosing lengthy and direct manufacturer information/history. I know that I have a greater comfort level spending thousands of dollars based on something more than what a so-called expert at CNET or Amazon says.

I probably am getting 4 or 5 equipment recommendation requests a week from friends and clients anyway, so I figure I might as well write it all down in one place, and if it’s easy for someone to shop based on my recommendations, great. I just saved them time. My clients and (non-clients) can now all benefit from my experience, 24-hours a day, without having to call me on Sunday morning at 1:30AM (you know I’m talking about you, Ron!)

I think it’s a win-win. Lot’s more updates to look forward too…. Including the Hot Rod Cameras website V2.0!

I.

Illya Friedman
President
Hot Rod Cameras

I’ve gotten a couple emails lately about monitoring with the GH1. In the 25-35 hours of data recorded on REJOUER, something we did probably 6-7 times was to shoot a quick test shot and play back via a HDMI-mini adapter to HDMI to DVI cable, and hook that cable up to a decent DVI PC monitor and we would get a fair understanding of what the 8-bit 4:2:0 YUV is looking like straight from the camera. I would not use this to judge critically, but you definitely get an idea of your ballpark. After a while, you’ll start to learn how the camera will respond- like a film stock. The on-board LCD of VF (plus the histogram both Y and RGB) should give you a good idea of what the shot will look like.

Hope this helps,

I.

BTW, I’ve had really good luck with the products from Monoprice, and the orders usually arrive at my door (in California) the next day with standard shipping- really impressive!

1 ) Engineered for a specific purpose – Proper hand held and tripod shooting with an HDSLR.
2 ) Elegant and lightweight, work can be done properly with an economy of parts.
3 ) Solid build quality, aviation grade materials, built by master craftsman in the USA.
4 ) Expandable and future proof for any forthcoming HDSLR Cameras.
5 ) Compatible with industry standard accessory 15mm lightweight rods, 1/4″ and 3/8″ mounting points. This means that my system will work with professional level accessories from top tier manufacturers like Arri and Chrosziel.
6 ) The only system compatible with the forthcoming S-grip, which is the best top handle I’ve ever used in my 16-years in this business.
7 ) Designed with input from more than a dozen working professionals.
8 ) The ability to change batteries, and access all ports and slots without dismounting a GH1, Canon 5dmk2, Canon 7D or Nikon D90.
9 ) 100% tool-less operation.
10 ) Available as a rental item from top tier camera rental facilities in Hollywood and New York (unlike 99% of products reporting to perform a similar function.) Which means you can rent another if you add a second, third or forth camera.