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ALTA price increase - December 2nd

Discussion in 'ALTA' started by Tabb Firchau, Dec 2, 2015.

  1. Tabb Firchau

    Tabb Firchau Administrator
    Staff Member

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    Today we raised the price on the Freefly ALTA to $11,995.00. There are several factors behind this decision:

    Performance, Cost
    Following our announcement of the ALTA at NAB 2015, we made several design and material modifications that significantly increased the parts and labor cost for the units, but improved the performance, reliability and safety.

    Time
    Similarly we did not fully understand the true time it would take to test and validate each ALTA when we announced the product. Initially we planned on engaging with a contract manufacturer to build and test each ALTA. As the project progressed, it became clear that we would have to build the ALTA’s in house in order to create a fully tested professional cinema drone that met our quality standards. Each ALTA was going to take much more of our Engineers and Assembly technicians time.

    We felt we needed to achieve our targets on both these dimensions despite the cost, and the consequence is that we now need to raise the price in order to create a sustainable program with the level of R&D, Quality Testing and Support that is required by our professional customer base. I realize this change in course will have a ripple effect on our customers and dealers and want to thank you for your support thus far.

    Why now?
    We felt an obligation to maintain the launch price for all those customers who pre-ordered and waited for their ALTA. This last week we caught up with all the pre-orders, and have been delighted by the worldwide reaction to the ALTA.

    Launching the ALTA has been one of the most exciting, and challenging projects I have ever been a part of. We have had our bumps along the way but have never wavered in our support of our customers. Freefly is committed to nurturing and growing the ALTA and our Aerial Product line into the most professional and well supported cinema drones in the industry.

    Thank you

    Tabb
     
  2. Steve Maller

    Steve Maller UAV Grief Counselor

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    Onwards and upwards, Tabb. I'm sure everybody who buys and uses your products wants Freefly to be around into perpetuity, and I appreciate your transparency. The support we ALTA (and MōVI) users have enjoyed is second to none, and we certainly want that to continue. Best wishes for a fantastically successful 2016, and thank you.

    Steve
     
  3. Mike Fortin

    Mike Fortin Member

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    This is really pretty ridiculous both from a consumer standpoint and from a dealer standpoint.

    We had 2 customers cancel their orders today due to the outrageous $3000 blindsided price increase.

    Was really gaining faith in Freefly, lost it all over a single email.
     
    Dinis Estevens likes this.
  4. Robert Eder

    Robert Eder New Member

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    Still a good price for a great rig. Now make one with redundant flightcontroller please.
     
  5. James Adkins

    James Adkins Member

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    You get a different perspective visiting the Freefly shop and seeing firsthand what goes into the Alta. This rig is intended for high end filming. If $3K makes you pause, you might want to consider staying in the shallow end of the pool.
     
  6. James Adkins

    James Adkins Member

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    Says the guy with the worst reputation in the entire industry!
     
  7. Matt Beardsley

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    Ouch! That'll force me, for one, to stick with the Inspire/X5 combo for the time being. Would love to fly my Movi, especially once Red Raven and RT Motion "Latitude" ship next year. It feels like a big step backwards when camera design and camera control & wireless HD video Tx tech is just starting to catch up. This is disappointing news.

    Here's hoping it at least paves the way to awesome innovation in the future.
     
    Dinis Estevens likes this.
  8. Chris Jordan

    Chris Jordan Member

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    Here comes the hard split of comments. I for one 100% support it. I bought my Red Dragon and literally a month later they announced weapon, and my $32k was worth $17,500. Keeping the value of the professional tools we all use is absolutely important. This price point fits perfectly with what the Alta offers. In a less popular statement, it keeps novices out until they are ready. There have been too many Alta wrecks as of late because of lack of experience, and that sheds bad light on an amazing product that needs someone who has the chops and or respect for the ship in control.
     
  9. Dave King

    Dave King Well-Known Member

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    Agreed it would be nice. This being the first model means it will only get better. Sure glad I bought mine 2 weeks ago.
     
    Chris Jordan likes this.
  10. Chris Jordan

    Chris Jordan Member

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    Sad your so "all or nothing" man. You clearly don't understand how much has gone into getting the Alta out to people for zero or break even profit. Also leaves a bad taste in my mouth when someone is so eager to jump ship over "one email". What this ship is offering is well worth the new price. I bought my first S1000 premium for $12,500. It was 1/10th the ship. It then lost value so fast that within a few months they were going for $8k... Then $5k... Now they are essentially unsellable.
     
  11. Keith Colodny

    Keith Colodny Member

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    We now have 2 Altas and personally we feel there is nothing else available currently on the market that compares. Not even at TWICE the price. Nothing else flys like the ALTA. Nothing, PERIOD! And if you havent had the opportunity to see one in person, you cant comprehend the quality of this machine. This is not a platform that can be compared to anything DJI has ever offered, and the fact that previous comments list the Inpsire 1 as a competitor just validates the industries ignorance of what this machine actually is. The Synapse flight controller was designed to be EXACTLY what the film industry needed, NOT the RC industry. This is the single fact that most confuses industry consumers. This is the first multirotor that I have had clients ask for by name! We started in this business flying single rotor helicopters and have always felt that multirotor flight controllers were so "Dumbed Down" that it felt more like pushing them around in the air as opposed to actually flying them. The Alta brings back that "Connected" feeling of flight! You actually have to FLY IT! The Alta is designed for companies with pilots and filmmakers at the top of their game, the price point should reflect that.
     
  12. Matt Beardsley

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    Well said! That's exactly why the news is such a bummer. I own and use an Inspire 1/X5.. didn't mean to compare the two UAVs, just lamenting that I won't be able to make the leap up as soon as I'd been planning. The Inspire has done its job for my little production company: excited clients and provided lots of great flight hours and footage. I'm anxious to step up, mostly to fly matching cameras and lenses to what we use on the ground, and to use my Movi/Mimic combo in cool new ways (assuming we get the range figured out).

    UPDATE, Jan. 2015: Having been flying with the Alta for just a couple weeks now, I am really impressed by the big step up it is over the Inspire. The Inspire will still have a place for certain doc, quick productions, BTS, long range... but the Alta is smoother & much steadier, flies longer (with an 8-lb payload and 2 10A packs), is much more adaptable from job to job, and (most importantly, I think) can cary whatever camera is needed to match the rest of the production. It's a lot like comparing a fixed-lens point-and-shoot to a Phase One.
     
    Keith Colodny likes this.
  13. MIke Magee

    MIke Magee Active Member

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    At the macro level, I have GREAT deal of faith in Freefly. Yes, I own several others as well - German and Chinese, you know who. I truly believe that American salaries are a major contributor to this increase (read between the lines of Tabb's statements). I have NO problem keeping these salaries here in the United States. I love to tell onlookers this thing is "Made in the USA". In all ways I hope that Freefly is the tip of the spear of American presence in this expanding market.

    That said, I hope that Freefly will leverage this increase to expand their direct customer support and advancement of the Alta capability and apps (firmware, flight capability and post flight analysis). I'll give Tabb a pass on this one but in return would like to see them also increase support and enhancement proportionately.

    My 2 cents.
    -m
     
  14. Michael Elsegood

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    I feel much better about this decision than I did when my two original M10s were almost halved in value overnight due to the pricing restructure in 2014.

    If anything, the ALTA price rise benefits the early adopters, which is a great reward for those who have had faith in the company from the start, and those that are willing to put their hard-earned money on the line at NAB time, to allow great engineers to make great products.

    For the hobbyists, the price may be a tough pill to swallow, but for those of us who rely on a return on these investments to make a living, this restores the faith.

    At $9,000, $12,000 or $20,000.... this machine is good value IMO
     
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  15. Ozkan Erden

    Ozkan Erden Distributor

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    A few months ago, we, as customers, wished not to buy M10 a few weeks ago.

    And now, we wish that we bought the Alta a few weeks ago :)

    Personally, I don't mind the price increase as long as I get a decent product. I had to fly a few days more to substantiate te price difference.

    (The price slash of Movi's were mostly related with DJI Ronin; I don't think Freefly would cut the prices to half if they had no competition. Actually still, there is no other viable professional aerial gimbal which is as flexible and reliable as Movi.)
     
  16. Raymont Stüssi

    Raymont Stüssi New Member

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    Hi there, and you shoud not forget to increase the value of your insurance policy, if you have one...:)
     
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  17. Mateusz Hajdziony

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    Here we go again... few months ago the situation was reversed, but pretty much the same. Of course, people who have bought ALTA at $9k will say that it's perfectly okay for 40% price increase because the price increase only benefits them. Less people flying ALTA = less competition for them. And, of course, people who have not yet bought ALTA, and were planning to (like me), will be disappointed and will reconsider. I would like to see those of you who already have ALTA jumping in my shoes and saying that they are happy that they have to pay 40% more for the product. And of course, you will reply to my post and say that even if you haven't bought the ALTA yet, you would still be happy with the price increase. Do you guys go to a food market, pick up $50 worth of food and, at the counter, say 'I am perfectly happy to pay you $100 for these goods, kind salesman. Here, take this $100 as a token of my gratitude.'? Do you do that often?

    Some of you say that $20k is a good price. Maybe it is. But maybe there's something wrong with the pricing model if a multicopter goes for half the price of 2016 Audi A5.

    I am in the second group of people who have not had a chance to grab ALTA at the old price and I am not happy with the price increase because I value my money. Is the ALTA worth $12k? I don't know, I haven't flown it. Maybe there's something magical in flying it that I don't know of, but how much better can a multicopter platform be than perfectly stable in manual mode? It doesn't have some crucial features, has stupid range restrictions in place, is unstable in wind and, from Adam's story - it drops from the sky due to electronics malfunction as any other platform. At the old price it was comparable to the cost of building a custom X8 heavy lift platform. I can see some benefits of the ALTA over custom X8, and I can see some benefits of the X8 over ALTA. Now, at $12k the story is a bit different.

    Anyways, sorry for my lengthy post - wish you all guys good luck. Happy for those of you who could grab the Alta with the old price tag. Hope that Freefly will at least step up their game and, as Mike said, improve the current iteration of Alta to make folk like me think that they are getting the proper value for their money.
     
  18. Chris Fanning

    Chris Fanning Member

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    Bravo!!! I'm very pleased about the price increase. I've been to Freefly and seen what goes into making the Alta. It's totally justified. The Alta is real filmmaking equipment and the Freefly team is top notch. They've been there when I needed them and I can always get support most of the time within 2hrs whenever I've reached out. That alone is worth the money! Only the very elite should be able to buy or be able to provide this kind of equipment to their clients and I've worked hard to get to that point. If $3k is that big of a deal to you than in my opinion you shouldn't be playing in this league yet anyways. Real tools cost real money and it needs to stay that way in the industry. I'm tired of companies selling quantity products only for profit to consumers and then make brand statements like "4k for everyone (RED Raven)" or "Now everyone can be a aerial cinematographer (DJI)". Companies who strategize that way are ruining the art of cinematography, devaluing real skill sets and the industry rate structure as a whole. I love Freefly for doing this, and will continue to support them and companies like them who keep the pro's pro.
     
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  19. James Adkins

    James Adkins Member

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    We took the opportunity after the announcement to buy two more Altas at the old price. I have zero worries about them earning their keep.
     
  20. Tanner Wilson

    Tanner Wilson New Member

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    How'd you pull that off? We were literally waiting on larger client to sign off on a project and send the check before pulling the trigger on an Alta... Just weird being in such a similar boat as last year after purchasing a Movi and having the price radically drop with their pricing changes. But this time without warning the prices have radically increased... It's all just a little hard to predict and work with.
     

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