Dear Matterport, About your new camera...4732
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StevenHattan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi Matterport, ((I don't really know a better way to get a message to you that I know will be read so I'm posting it here.)) This last week my forum inbox exploded with the news of your new camera. My very initial thought was "How exciting" because I just reviewed a lot of Dan's posts regarding new cameras and tech at the Tokyo summit. I really like the camera with 24 different lenses on it, even with the price tag of $13,000. When I found out it wasn't a huge JUMP in technology but instead just a great 'step' forward, the excitement dropped a notch or two. My mistake: I mentally compared Matterport to $13k and, admittedly, was very disappointed that there were just some modest improvements (although important ones). This was my fault and an expectation I created myself so I apologize for that. THEN I found out about the pricing and the 'unfairness' regarding the trade in and who benefited how. So, I had a 'conversation' with someone I have a high respect for. Here is where I stand right now: 1. I absolutely LOVE Matterport and all you guys do. 2. The Matterport technology will help me make over $100,000 (or super close) in my first FULL year. COLLEGE GRADUATES **CANNOT** DO THIS 3. I am VERY OPEN TO BUYING A NEW CAMERA. Here is what I'd PERSONALLY like to see (I see myself as an individual, not a Mattersheep). 1. Give me a enough time to pay cash for a new camera (six month would be good) before support for Pro 1 becomes obsolete. 2. Give me the option for finance (six months) either directly or through a finance center. My credit score 'hovers' around 767-780 3. Consider loaning me a camera for a week. I will do FIVE (5) properties back to back with the new camera and the current one. I can then send the results to THIRTEEN THOUSAND REALTORS in Chicago alone (I will send the camera back unharmed) to show the difference and why the should DEMAND the new camera (or find out no one cares). Matterport, sometimes it seems I am against you and rally up 'the boys'. My intention is not to cause you distress or cause an uproar. Instead, I just want to make sure the corporation REALLY knows how it's customers feel so the 'correct' decisions can be made. As a side note... I know it's popular to bash the 'CORPORATION' when decisions are made that are not beneficial to 'the boys'. I simply CAN'T IMAGINE what your side looks like and the absolute nightmare you guys face with investors, technology, competition, suppliers, keeping the product on track and the millions of other things you deal with on a minute by minute basis that I have no idea about. I'm smart enough to realize that my gripes and 'complaints' are a result of not knowing both sides. From my personal experience I absolutely APPLAUD you on your customer service. On keeping me better informed, I'll ask for a little more effort. FINAL THOUGHTS I love Matterport. I love Matterport. I love Matterport. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep improving. Keep innovating. ...and most importantly PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I CAN EVER HELP YOU IN ANY WAY. Sincerely, Steven Hattan Perfect View 3D www.PerfectView3D.com |
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OpenHouseOptics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| What the what?!? Support for the pro1 is going away? This is a big important letter to the developer but I must have missed this note in their messages to us. I will be super pissed to learn that I have no choice but to lose $1500 in value from the camera I just bought and will only get $2495 trade-in value for or my old camera becomes obsolete in less than six months? |
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StevenHattan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Relax cowboy. haha Matterport NEVER mentioned ANYTHING about NOT supporting the Pro 1 Camera. This is a concern I have PREDICTED. :-) Eventually, they will. It makes sense. I just want enough time to make proper decisions. In MY world six months is plenty of time. |
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Wanderfish360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I am with you. Having just invested in my fist Matterport in February (because they were having a big sale -- I should have known better). I started building my business and have about 5 scans under my belt. Now I have to choose to lose $1500 that I have not yet recouped in order to get a higher resolution camera. All of my realtors are on the fence about using matterport stills because a)Pro1 resolution sucks b)there is the feel of wide angle distortion. So the new camera fixes one and maybe the other with zooming BUT the market is not convinced yet and I have to spend $1500 before I know if the new camera addresses the market need AND I have to convince my realtors to use them (and pay for it). Is the new resolution enough of a competitive differentiator to warrant the cost and increase my ROI substantially? Is there going to be a big surprise that Matterport integration with Google Street View will only work with the new camera (hence the GPS)? Will I find all of this out after the window for the trade in has expired? It's frustrating. |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Wanderfish360 - Google Street View will work with all pre-existing spaces and does not require the Pro2. The new Pro2 camera is priced at $4000, therefore, if you purchased your Pro1 at $3500 (?), consider it a $1,000 upgrade and one that is quite worthy to give your business a push as you can immediately start marketing that you are a provider of Matterport 4K / Gen2 scans. The headstart that you might be able to get might be a boon for your business and certainly will give you something exciting to talk about during sales calls. | ||
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 WGAN BasicMember Denver |
pixelray private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I can't find info on the trade in program. Where is that? THx. Nevermind - found it: The trade-in program is designed so all Matterport customers can realize value on their Pro Camera purchase while also taking advantage of our new hardware. Our Pro 3D Camera trade-in program only extends to orders placed within the last 6 months. However, we still want to reward our early adopters. That’s why any current Pro 3D Camera owner who wants to add a Pro2 3D camera receives $200 (£160) off their preorder. That is not cool. Us "early adopter" have made MP TONS of MONEY!! REWARD US!! Geez. I hate when companies do things that doesn't reward those of us that were there from the beginning. |
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Wanderfish360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Metroplex360 -- Do you work for Matterport? LOL I just stated my realtors are on the fence of using Matterport stills, mostly because of the wide angle appearance. So the resolution upgrade is nice, but not quite tangible. Mobile and tablet users are going to see a compressed version, and for those clients that are embedding the player the resolution difference won't really matter. It will look better on larger displays that are going to the spaces directly, but again is it worth the upgrade? Does it drive new revenue streams? Trust me, the photographer in me wants the new camera! The businessman in me is pulling back on the reigns calculating how many more scans would have to do to justify it. |
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JC3DCX private msg quote post Address this user | |
@StevenHattan, don't get me wrong BUT WOW "2. The Matterport technology will help me make over $100,000 (or super close) in my first FULL year. COLLEGE GRADUATES **CANNOT** DO THIS" and then you complain about the price of a new camera? From my perspective If I could do THAT amount in one year, I would be a millionaire in ZAR. USD4500 = 1 years salary for me. I had to take a loan here to be able to purchase my camera. Now a new camera and I still need to repay 3/4 of the loan, so I would not be able to upgrade for at least a year. Seems you could pay for a camera within 10-15 jobs or 3 months, I have to do 150 jobs and might then have recovered enough to pay the camera. So it sounds like your complaining with a white bread under the arm  It's easy to lose perspective in the USA when you don't keep in mind that customers in other parts of the world (like me) are more at a disadvantage because of the exchange rate. I am not complaining and LOVE MP  . I just ask that keep in mind somewhere someone is in a worse situation than you. On another note: MP needs to recoup costs and if they don't make money then we will also go down with them. It is in our own best interest to ensure that MP stays viable as a company. |
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StevenHattan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @JC3DCX I'll clarify...I will make $100k this year but it's from my total business which includes Matterport (obviously) but also virtual staging, photography, aerial photography...blah blah blah. Also, understand that there are 30,000 Realtors in Northern Illinois (my mls) and have a bigger pool to access. Finally, I did not mention how much I have to SPEND or KEEP...not to mention taxes. The reality of the situation is, I'm not eating Ramen Noodles but I'm not eating MatterMeals, either. |
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JC3DCX private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @StevenHattan , I know this was more meant for MP when they read this...  When I saw the release of the new camera I thought "....." but now I know it's necessary to move forward, |
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StevenHattan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My apologies...the @StevenHattan threw me off. hahaha I think a lot of people make a mistake by measuring wealth by the amount of money being made. $100k isn't a lot of money when your bills are $105k. My wealth is measured in TIME. How long can I live without any further EARNED income? Not long. LOL Matterport received, what, thirty three million in funding? Peanuts, relatively speaking, when compared to billion dollar tech companies. $4,500 for annual salary? Well, I'll bet your mortgage isn't $2,500/month. :-) |
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JC3DCX private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Yes, $4500, (my job until recently)now full-time into my own business so monthly income is much less, . Yeah, one tends to miss the expenses when looking at total income per annum. Life is quite cheap here but do get exspensive when paying for services in foreign curency. When looking at % then it changes the picture a bit. $19 hosting fee is about 1/3 of my average fee for a job. I can increase my fee but then cleints will rather go without the service than paying the fee. At this stage 3D scans and tours are more a "nice to have" than a "need to have". With your montage here you could live in a mansion . 24x mine will pay one camera. (I'm renting a 2 bedroom cabin in the woods) |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Wanderfish360 No, I'm in the @SteveHattan camp wherein being an MSP is making me some very good $ and I wouldn't trade that for a job if one were offered. I -am- involved in testing everything that Matterport will let me test and be involved in. At this stage as an MSP, I think I'm more useful helping/promoting/supporting/consulting with Matterport and advocating for the community vs. undermining them and parading around my discoveries As far as the businessman vs. the photographer -- if you can afford the Pro2, I honestly want to advise you to treat yourself to it You're going to enjoy your work so much more I do not want to throw the Pro1 under the bus since we all own them and as @jfantin wrote more elegantly than I will -- it will still get the job done that it has always done and there's no reason to go jump off a bridge because you don't have the latest and greatest. |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @JC3DCX As I've shared with you before, Metroplex360.com was founded by a South African and started off as a web hosting company wherein I was the CTO/Programmer/Work Horse. We got into photography/virtual tours and I split 'Metroplex360.com' off as a separate brand. My point being, my friend and mentor moved from being very wealthy in South Africa to living in a lousy apartment in a mediocre area of North Texas and traded in a lucrative career in pharmaceuticals for manual labor until he built up a consulting business among other things. Incredibly dynamic person and I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. I also worked in Christian television for a while for a global company founded and run by South Africans. They are always a joy to work with. |
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Viewing private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Working with Matterport is a bit of an emotional business. Proper highs mixed with a few lows but all in all it's just the most amazing tech and if we can all make a living using the camera then that has to be the overriding factor. | ||
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tomasdunbar private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have my camera 8 months. I love the camera but this latest development is going to hurt. I will not be able to afford the new camera and it is a huge slap in the face. The price is significantly less for someone else to enter my market than what I originally paid and they will now have a better camera than me. Matterport have lost my respect | ||
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