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CADCamerasPro2

Pre order new Matterport Pro2 Camera?4680

WGAN Forum
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DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Hi All,

A Member of the Forum wrote me this morning (31 May 2017):

Dan, I purchased a camera in December 2016. I asked when purchasing my camera if there is any chance of an upgrade in the next six months. I was told only upgrades to the software. I am at a disadvantage if other providers start in my area. I haven't re-cooped the cost of my the original investment yet. I feel cheated by this move unless, Matterport offers a nominal fee to upgrade. Thank you
[name redacted]

--

I replied, did you get that Matterport answer in writing? Or by phone from a sales person?

Dan
Post 51 IP   flag post
Frisco, Texas
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user
@DanSmigrod - The 'in writing' part was my first question too. There's a chance that the person at Matterport in sales was fully unaware of the Pro2 Camera at the time.

No matter what, it's best to be kind, polite, patient and to persevere. If your camera doesn't quality, just be the best person you can be, contact multiple people in tech support / sales / etc. -- explain your situation, ask questions, and try again and again.

If Matterport offered a 12 month buy back guarantee, there would be quite a few people at 13 months trying to get an upgrade too - so it does make sense for them to establish a formal limit. I don't know, of course as it's the morning of the reveal, if Matterport will honor anyone even a DAY over the limit -- but I would like to believe that they would make exceptions within a certain range.
Post 52 IP   flag post
PeterMcCready private msg quote post Address this user
I can't complain too much in that I've just received an email from Matterport confirming my eligibility for a £2,175 discount (up to, emphasis on!) when my nearly new (end of March, '17) Pro1 is returned directly to the US of A (why can't I return this to the UK from where it was originally purchased, the reason for my purchasing it in the UK to begin with?!) but that's not the issue, it's being offered a certified refurbished Pro2 instead of a new one when paying the extra!

I must say, I'm feeling incredibly confident at the prospect of world travel to some exceptionally serious destinations (as in one shot deals!) with a Pro2 full of certified refurbished parts!!!
Post 53 IP   flag post
justinv private msg quote post Address this user
@Metroplex360

What do you think about the snapshots? Can you really skip the indoor photos and just use the new Matterport camera?
Post 54 IP   flag post
VRPM private msg quote post Address this user
We've just worked out that it's going to cost us nearly £5k to replace 2 cameras (one bought within the past 6 months, the other in the past 7 months) Plus we have to pay for them to be shipped back to the states (probably about £100)

Not sure if worth it? Nobody is complaining about the tour image quality as it stands. As for the pictures, they are obviously far better quality but it's not the still images that win the business.

EDITED: You get credit for the shipping back to the USA
Post 55 IP   flag post


jfantin private msg quote post Address this user
@VRPM to decide which way to go you must understand first what is the job your Matterport service is doing for your customer.

The "job to be done" concept was developed by Clayton Christensen at Harvard Business School and basically it says that a product or a service performs a specific "job" to the purchaser, in spite of its basic purpose. For example, you don´t buy a $25K gold and diamonds rolex to tell the time.

In this case, you must wonder what is the job you are performing to your customer.

If it is "helping him/her to sell houses", then the next question is to what extent the new Matterport value proposition (4K images and such) improves the job you are doing for your customer.

If the answer is: "using 4K images doesn´t help my customer to sell faster or better", then perhaps upgrading is not a "must do" option.

But, if all your competitors start using the new 4K Matterport camera and they are able to make a point in using the new technology, then it will make sense to upgrade.

At this point is too soon to tell if the new technology will become a standard or not.

My personal opinion, for what is worth, is that Matterport is not in a position to enforce any standard at all, so upgrading to the "new standard" is not something that you have to embrace quickly.

If I were you, I would upgrade if and only if the payment involved is $200 but I wouldn´t upgrade if the total cost is, as you say, 5 thousand pounds. It is a too expensive upgrade cost to make economic sense.

I am not in your pockets, of course, and I am not sure how much you value having the state of the art technology in your portfolio, but one thing is what the new techology means to you and another completely different is how much it means for your customers.

I hope this helps in your decision making process.
Post 56 IP   flag post
StevenTing private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReTech
That's technology! Looks to me like there are some pretty significant improvements in the new model. I just got my PRO1 on may 6th....but I'll get $3250 trade in value....just placed my pre-order. When you trade up, you get a refurb, but it has the same warranty as a new one.


Glad to hear. I was wondering if someone had a trade in value of more than $2995 since it says up to $3345.
Post 57 IP   flag post
VRPM private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfantin
@VRPM to decide which way to go you must understand first what is the job your Matterport service is doing for your customer.

The "job to be done" concept was developed by Clayton Christensen at Harvard Business School and basically it says that a product or a service performs a specific "job" to the purchaser, in spite of its basic purpose. For example, you don´t buy a $25K gold and diamonds rolex to tell the time.

In this case, you must wonder what is the job you are performing to your customer.

If it is "helping him/her to sell houses", then the next question is to what extent the new Matterport value proposition (4K images and such) improves the job you are doing for your customer.

If the answer is: "using 4K images doesn´t help my customer to sell faster or better", then perhaps upgrading is not a "must do" option.

But, if all your competitors start using the new 4K Matterport camera and they are able to make a point in using the new technology, then it will make sense to upgrade.

At this point is too soon to tell if the new technology will become a standard or not.

My personal opinion, for what is worth, is that Matterport is not in a position to enforce any standard at all, so upgrading to the "new standard" is not something that you have to embrace quickly.

If I were you, I would upgrade if and only if the payment involved is $200 but I wouldn´t upgrade if the total cost is, as you say, 5 thousand pounds. It is a too expensive upgrade cost to make economic sense.

I am not in your pockets, of course, and I am not sure how much you value having the state of the art technology in your portfolio, but one thing is what the new techology means to you and another completely different is how much it means for your customers.

I hope this helps in your decision making process.


I agree, I'm not sure it does make economic sense as nobody is asking us for print quality still images (at the moment) Yes, the quality of the tour is better when viewed on a bigger screen but is that sufficient value enough to drop £5k? not sure it is
Post 58 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
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DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Hi All,

One of our techs is trouble-shooting with Rackspace about why the Forum is so slow at the moment. Thanks for your patience. Just wanted to acknowledge the problem and let you know that we're on it.

Dan
Post 59 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
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WGAN-TV Podcast
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DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
We seem to be online again. Thanks for your patience. Dan
Post 60 IP   flag post
Helen private msg quote post Address this user
I believe I heard on one of the video's @DanSmigrod did at Google Street view. NCTech would make hardware updates to existing camera users (for a price) so they would not have to but a whole new camera. I am all for Matterport doing this camera update but I sure as heck do not want to buy a new one to get the update seeing as I only bought it last year. I would be more than happy to pay to ship my camera back and pay for updating. Of course I would like to offer my clients the best quality I can. Good thing Matterport is only a small part of my business, but then again if it was a big part maybe I would not mind forking out that cash for the new one.
Post 61 IP   flag post
kevshed private msg quote post Address this user
Hi folks,

I got my emails today like the rest of you and had mixed emotions. Its good that there is progress - but to me its not enough progress to jump into the exchange. As others here mentioned - for international customers, they are offering a pretty crappy deal. We have to return to the US at our expense, take on the import burden for the replacement camera (refub? huh?) when they should import a batch into the local market and make life easier for their customers.

I've been an an active MSP since Jan - and whilst have done a fair amount of work, its not enough to justify the expense at this stage - unless there is something I've not spotted. My clients are not using current scans for stills in printed material, nor have i ever been asked... sure, its a potential opportunity, but my view is that for good marketing related stills, i'd want to use a different lens. I'm skeptical of the tour quality improvements on the new camera (unless they hobble us!) - and like others here, none of my customers are screaming for 4K - which by definition means more storage, slower loads, longer rendering times, more local data (with still no decent backup).. etc

So... lets see. I think we need someone to do an honest review of the differences when they are available. If in the market for a new camera, sure - its a no brainer, but for existing MSPs i'm not so sure the upgrade is worth it - looks like a ploy to extract revenue from existing customers to offset slowing camera sales.

Today - having been up and down on it - i'm opting not to change. If i invest in more tech - it would be to enable new categories of client with cheaper options, not replacing my MP for the sake of it.

I may change my mind - but that's how i feel right now

Best,
Kev
Post 62 IP   flag post
justinv private msg quote post Address this user
Matterport broke the internet!
Post 63 IP   flag post
Helen private msg quote post Address this user
If they are offering refurbished one's to people for their exchange. they can obviously refurbish our existing camera's there should be a option for this.
Post 64 IP   flag post
Chadcloses private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Metroplex360
@DanSmigrod - The 'in writing' part was my first question too. There's a chance that the person at Matterport in sales was fully unaware of the Pro2 Camera at the time.

No matter what, it's best to be kind, polite, patient and to persevere. If your camera doesn't quality, just be the best person you can be, contact multiple people in tech support / sales / etc. -- explain your situation, ask questions, and try again and again.

If Matterport offered a 12 month buy back guarantee, there would be quite a few people at 13 months trying to get an upgrade too - so it does make sense for them to establish a formal limit. I don't know, of course as it's the morning of the reveal, if Matterport will honor anyone even a DAY over the limit -- but I would like to believe that they would make exceptions within a certain range.


I wonder if the date they have specified has anything to do with the model number and if there's a possibility that older camera versions cannot be upgraded, or upgraded as easily?
Post 65 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
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WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
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DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Hi All,

Our tech team has solved the slow/down time of the Forum earlier today (31 May 2017), except for the Map. They are working on restoring the map now.

Thanks for your patience.

Dan
Post 66 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
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WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@Helen

Do you know which video?

@justinv

Ha! There's been a ton of traffic in the We Get Around Network Forum - including many just reading - about the Matterport announcement and what it means.

@Chadcloses

My impression is that the Pro2 has the same case as Pro1. That said, there is probably enough new stuff that doing a refurbish would not be economically worthwhile for Matterport. Imagine swapping out the following"

✓ new circuit board
✓ new sensor
✓ new battery
✓ new camera glass

... and you just re-built the camera. Thus, if you do an exchange for a used Camera, you are going to get a re-furbished Camera. But, for those of us that bought the Camera outside of this exchange program, not going to happen.

Dan
Post 67 IP   flag post
Frisco, Texas
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by justinv
@Metroplex360

What do you think about the snapshots? Can you really skip the indoor photos and just use the new Matterport camera?


Yes and no.

The form factor of a DSLR camera is appealing for quickly shooting and getting the angles you want. Matterport currently would require a tedious process of shooting additional panos in alternate positions to pull snapshots from. It's not exactly efficient.

As far as quality goes, I will be posting samples in the next 24 hours. Whereas the Pro1 photos were subpar for realtor photography, the Pro 2 exceeds the needs for blast Realtors and creates sharp, vivid images.

There is a chance that the capture process for photography may evolve making it now appealing. There is unique benefit to being able to position and take snapshots after a shoot. You can fine tune without having to crop.

Photography is now a central attraction of the Matterport platform with the Pro2 camera's high resolution, HDR imagery. This alone is worth the upgrade.

Again, consider how you currently use snapshots. Had the quality limited you from using them commercially? Consider that problem fixed. Has using the Matterport gained to capture the angles you wanted? That hasn't changed.

With the improved visual quality of the tours, they improved snapshots are a treat. I am sure that there will be some gems I find and use for shoots where I did both traditional photography and Matterport.
Post 68 IP   flag post
Frisco, Texas
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user
@jfantin excellent post. The Pro1 is still an exceptional camera and should still serve clients just fine. I am hoping that Matterport continue to innovate and extend the life of the Pro1.
Post 69 IP   flag post
PeterMcCready private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanSmigrod
Our tech team has solved the slow/down time of the Forum earlier today (31 May 2017), except for the Map. They are working on restoring the map now.


I thought my feverish breaking news page views had broken the site!!!

The down time allowed me to reflect upon the revised TOS and I'm *slightly* happier re the...

"A refurbished Camera is tested and certified to look and work like new in all material respects at the time of shipment. The refurbishing process includes functionality testing, inspection, and repackaging."

...bit, despite my initial "Yay, I'm eligible! Huh?! They're like TOTALLY kidding re the refurb bit, right?!"

For me personally, I think the upgrade's worth it on the grounds of the comparisons I've seen on Matterport's site, https://matterport.com/pro2-3d-camera/, as well as the trade-in value, not so much if I had been outside the eligibility window.
Post 70 IP   flag post
Property3dNZ private msg quote post Address this user
@Helen We have two of those lovely doorstops! The best part is that one of our cameras is from the very very first lot so doesn't even have a battery screen on that back of it..... meaning we truly were early adopters.....
As a photographer I understand that cameras are regularly updated and new technology is going to constantly come out but this whole trade in situation is incredibly unfair to people who genuinely were early adopters!
Post 71 IP   flag post
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by @ArtisticConcepts
So, I woke up this morning to the news of a new Matterport Pro Camera with excitement and mixed feelings. We all knew it wouldn't be long before a new model was released (price drops, etc.) but the big question I am wrestling with is this:

"If I get the new camera, what will I do with the old one?"

If I want to offer consistent quality scans, there would be no reason to use the old one interchangeably with the new one(beyond using it as a backup camera).

I don't think anyone would want to offer a higher quality scan to one client and one that is sub-par to another. I curious what your thoughts are.

Is there possibly an industry that could benefit from the use of our lower resolution, GPS-less 1st gen cameras if those of us who purchased before Dec. 2016 upgrade?

I look forward to the discussion!


This is exactly what I was wondering... If I upgrade, do I keep both cameras operational knowing that the new one is supposed to be better image quality?

For those who have multiple camera already, can you answer a silly question for me? Are you able to have them on the same hosting account, or do you need to have separate accounts? If it's the latter, I don't think there's any way I'd keep both cameras.
Post 72 IP   flag post
Putten NLD
DannyBasting private msg quote post Address this user
@Queen_City_3D you can use just one account. It doesn't matter what camera you are using, you just need to be logged in to the account where you want the model to be hosted when you upload it.

Unless you want to work with a sepparate account for a big client that wants to cover his own monthly fee and conversion costs, I don't realy see the benefit in getting multiple accounts.
Post 73 IP   flag post
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