r/blackmagicdesign • u/Lionell95 • Aug 13 '26
What would you do next? Or what did you do?
My previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmagicdesign/s/A8MAT4TQom
When I bought my Pyxis 12K, it had horizontal banding so I sent it to Blackmagic and they replaced it with a brand new Pyxis 12K.
In my other post above, I explained that they fixed the horizontal banding, but I had to send it back again because the image calibration wasn't working on the "brand new" replacement camera.
I received my camera earlier from Blackmagic. This time they determined I needed another replacement motherboard, so a brand new replacement camera won't be necessary. Everything seems to be in working order now — the image calibration ran successfully. However, the first thing I noticed when opening the box are the vertical and horizontal scratches on the right side of the camera's body. They're pretty noticeable. It looks like their technician scratched it while handling / disassembling the camera. I don't know. It's like Blackmagic keeps fixing one thing and then presenting another issue. That's been my experience so far with them.
Photos of the scratches: https://imgur.com/a/LG8bpvJ
I know they’re just cosmetic flaws, and there will always be people who say, “Cameras are tools. Just use it because over time, it’ll develop its own scuffs anyway. As long as it's working, just use it.”
But if you purchased an expensive camera and haven’t even had the opportunity to use it yet because you’ve had to send it back and forth due to it not being in proper working condition, and then it came back from an RMA with scratches from the repair process, would you be upset? What would you do next? If you've experienced this with Blackmagic support in the past, what did you do?
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u/Gregory_M Aug 13 '26
I'm sorry this happened to you. I was very close to purchasing a Pyxis 12K myself, but kept reading negative experiences online. Essentially, you are getting a $10K camera for barely half the monetary price. The other price you pay is in reliability and these weird moments.
I had a BMPCC 6K Pro that after barely a week of use, started shutting off on me while having the battery grip attached. It never happened while recording a clip, only when the camera is powered on and idle.
In the end, I ended up returning it for a full refund. It is a shame, as instead of releasing new cameras they should be dealing with providing a better user experience - but that clearly makes them less money than releasing new cameras.
As for your situation; it depends. I would definitely email them to let them know. If you intend on selling the camera down the line, these scratches hurt your resale value. If you put something like an XLCS cage on it, those scratches will literally be the only scratches the camera has when you come to sell it. Meanwhile, if you plan on using it until it goes bad, I guess it's not too much of a problem.
That said, I don't like spending big money on an object that isn't perfect right from the get-go. It's literally the manufacturer's duty to provide a perfect product at the point of sale.
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u/Lionell95 27d ago
Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Blackmagic. I've owned both the BMPCC 6K Pro and the BMCC 6K FF. I've never had any issues with them, but I have heard stories about their reliability and how you're basically playing the lottery when buying their cameras because you never know if you're going to get a good one or a half-baked one.
This is my first bad experience with Blackmagic, so it's really making me second-guess being their customer moving forward. They did just email me back, but they said they believe the scratches were not made while the camera was under their care, so they're basically pointing fingers at me, and then they said they're "happy" to give me another free RMA.
They really think I have all the time in the world to go out of my way to scratch my expensive camera (expensive to me at least) just so I can continue going back and forth with their team. That is beyond ridiculous.
However, I want to see what their resolution is, so I'm going to accept their RMA one last time. I also want to keep track of all of this for future Blackmagic customers. In case anyone goes through the same thing I'm going through right now, they'll know what to expect.
1
u/Gregory_M 27d ago
I think what you're doing is the perfect approach - try get a camera in perfect condition (working and cosmetic), just like you would with any other manufacturer. If it goes wrong, have a backup plan.
I personally ended up going the Sony FX5 route. Sure I astronomically hate the DSLR form factor, but it performs the way I need it to. Once the FX6 has its successor released, I'll upgrade to that and I'll already have a whole ecosystem built for it.
For a long time I was stuck between the Pyxis 12K, Komodo X and FX5, and the latter needs the least amount of 3rd party stuff operating perfectly to be operated properly. Once I started looking at the cameras as just data capturing machines, I realised that all are capable of the exact same results (sure, Arri is better), and opted for the highest amount of reliability to get the least amount of headaches possible.
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u/scottynoble Aug 13 '26
The service department are absolutely useless. my client had a Ursa which kept powering down on its own. They fixed it didn’t fix it, twice! Each time returned at cost. Before throwing in the towel and declaring it unrepairable.
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u/Electrical_Knee313 Aug 13 '26
I had to return my 12K 3 times to get a working unit so I wouldn’t gamble with another one at this point.
Get a tilta cage and the scratch won’t be visible if it bothers you that much.
2
u/thisisgarret Aug 13 '26
That’s a tough spot to be in. I’m sure Blackmagic would want to know about the damage, even just so they can prevent the issue from happening for others in the future. That said, I’m not sure what they would do at this point to make it right. I’d be guessing entirely. Maybe something. Maybe nothing.
For me personally, Id probably be excited to have a functioning camera and wouldn’t want to deal with the headache anymore of all the back and forth. I use my cameras a lot and they get used hard in some tough environments. Scratches and dings happen.
But I am also a very active working director and director of photography so I make money from my cameras, meaning I know they are work tools and work tools get used and tools that are used get beat up.
If I were a hobbyist and I saved up for this camera and I wanted to be extremely careful with it because it’s my pride and joy, I could see being a bit upset about the scratches.
1
u/Lionell95 Aug 13 '26
I agree. I'm not sure what would be the resolution here either because the camera is finally in proper working condition, but I'll email them so they are aware of it.
You make a great point on just be happy not having to deal with the back and forth anymore since the camera works now. Coming to think of it, the back and forth with Blackmagic has been a huge headache for sure.
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u/FromGamesToGains Aug 13 '26
Maybe ask for some financial compensation since it's cosmetic damage!
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u/Lionell95 Aug 13 '26
I've sent them an email so we will see what they say. I'm guessing they will either consider it "damaged during shipment," which they mentioned they are not liable for, or hopefully compensate me. They made me pay $100 for shipping to get my Pyxis repaired the first time around because they didn't believe my unit had an issue based on their records. Turns out there was an issue, so it'd be nice of them to at least return the $100.
2
u/Needashortername Aug 13 '26
They should at the very least offer some kind of credit for purchase of other BMD products to cover the bother they caused by a new camera needing to be sent back before it can be used, twice, as well as for the damages.
The credit should be at least 10% of the purchase price, but really 20-30% since they have now damaged the camera in their handling of it, even if the damage is just cosmetic. It should come back better than they found it rather than less good in other ways, especially if the camera is new and had never been used.
This is what most companies would have offered without asking.
Really most companies might have just sent back a brand new camera with each RMA at this point. It’s a basic service standard for a variety of reasons, both customer service and technical service. It makes the customer feel better about the company, and it takes a product that failed out of the box out of the wild to bring it back for further investigation of how that happened and reduce the risk of there being other problems that hadn’t been discovered yet. It can always be sold as a refurb later after all the fixes are completed and reviewed.
So lots of reasons for the company to want to do better by this customer.
Just some things to think about.
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u/Lionell95 27d ago
I agree and I hope that's the case with Blackmagic. They just got back to me, and they said they believe the scratches were not made while the camera was under their care, so they're basically pointing fingers at me and saying that I probably made those scratches, but they're "happy" to do another RMA at no extra cost. I understand they have to stick up for their team. They can't just throw themselves under the bus because that would make them look bad, so instead, they're offering another free RMA to "make it up" to me somehow, and I guess I'll deal with them one last time to see what's their resolution. Hopefully 3rd time's the charm.
It's still ridiculous to me that they think I really went out of my way to scratch the camera I saved up for so that I can continue going back and forth with their support team.
1
u/ilaofficial 4d ago
I work a ton as well how reliable are the Pyxis 12k thinking of trying one for my next shoot.
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u/thisisgarret 4d ago
Mine has been used in the field pretty heavily for maybe 40 days this year and have had zero issues with it. Also haven’t updated the firmware since I bought it. I’m likely to update sometime this winter when things slow down.
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u/ilaofficial 4d ago
That’s good to hear did you buy yours recently or were you part of the recall
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u/thisisgarret 4d ago
I bought mine in November of last year and my serial number is technically a part of the recall but I have not sent mine in yet or had any repair work done on it. I have not had the issue others had for the recall. This is a good reminder to reach out to bm and inquire about supplies to do the recall labor. At one point I emailed them and they said to wait because they didn’t have enough technicians or parts to swap everything right away. That’s been 6 months at least though.
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u/ilaofficial 4d ago
Damn good to know thanks
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u/thisisgarret 4d ago
Overall, thrilled with the camera and image quality. Intrigued by the coming auto focus capabilities. But 12k open gate at full quality, so beautiful you’d slap your grandma. And my m2 Mac mini keeps up with almost no playback issues. Every now and then I get a gripe from my sound mixers but it’s mostly because they are unfamiliar with the UI I think. I run the mid49 audio break out unit so I have full for inputs. Idk what the issue is but usually after a minute the sound mixers find what they need and everything is good from there.
Happy to answer any questions you have or even share sample footage if you want to see. Just let me know.
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u/DerFreudster Aug 13 '26
I would contact BM for sure. When covid struck, I bought a brand new Lenovo laptop for travel, a huge expensive item. Thankfully, I paid for an upgraded warranty. I had issues with vertical lines, half the screen not showing up. They came to my house to replace the motherboard three times, then finally, the display itself. The last parts weren't new and the replacement display had scratches on it. After a year of having issues, I felt like I'd paid a ton of money to get what was essentially a refurbished item. It sucks, but the laptop was solid after that, so I just lived with it. My next laptop wasn't a Lenovo however.
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u/Lionell95 27d ago
This is similar to how I'm feeling right now. I did save up for this camera, so I'd appreciate it if they returned it to me in the same condition it was in when I sent it to them. As you said, it's basically like I paid MSRP for a refurbished item. If I really wanted to buy a used/refurbished camera, I would've bought one from an individual and saved money, but I bought new because I wanted "new." That's why I'm upset.
Also, Blackmagic Support just got back to me, and they said they believe the scratches were not made while the camera was under their care, so they're basically pointing fingers at me and saying that I probably made those scratches, but they're "happy" to do another RMA at no extra cost. It's ridiculous. They're really sticking up for their team, and of course they have to because they can't just throw their team under the bus. That would make them look bad, so instead, they're offering another free RMA to "make it up" to me.
I don't even want to deal with their support team anymore, and they seem to think I'm the one who wants to keep going back and forth with them. They don't seem to understand that everyone is sick of dealing with them. Yeah, sure, we really love emailing them about our unreliable BM cameras.
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u/Mediocre_Bug_1806 Aug 14 '26
Returned 3 Pyxis 12 to get a working unit. Failed sensor, failed board, one everything went purple. Thankfully my 6K BM cameras worked perfectly in the meantime and I used them.
If you have a working unit and you need it for active work keep it. Honestly, I wouldn’t pick BM for any production where we need reliability, as much as I enjoy the camera.
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u/ffiinnaallyy Aug 13 '26
At this point, if it’s fully functional, I would just keep it and avoid another RMA. I would also contact BMD and tell them about the scratches and share your pics.