Spark honest first impressions and feedback

Spark Series
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I have owned and rented out many cameras over my career and have been fortunate enough to have helped in the development of a couple of them. My opinions below stem from this history and knowledge. 

Fit and finish:

  • There are a places on the camera body that suffer from light leak. You can see a green light shining through the cracks. I am not as upset about the light leak as I am about the potential water penetration. One of those spots is at the top of the camera. The other is the battery release button.

  • The depth of the V-Mount is non-standard. There is a 1.75mm gap when my adapters and batteries are seated that caused flexing and wiggle. I corrected this with soft-side Velcro but will have to look into a method for more reliable stability. 

Ergonomics:

  • The on/off switch is upside-down for professional use and precedence. I understand that the switch is recessed, but the up position should be on. When grabbing a camera, placing a camera into a bag/box/case for shooting there is the chance that the switch will be flicked into the off position. When grabbing the camera if it slips a bit under someone’s fingers or against someone’s shirt it could be turned off due to the nature of gravity. This is why Red, Teradek, etc all have the on position as up. 

  • The pull tab for the media is a cute idea but I have already found myself battling with it when it comes to using the door. I also do not like the idea that over time or with an overzealous renter it will come off and leave no way to remove the media from the body.

I know that some people will see these things as nitpicks, but as someone who rents out cameras I can not control how renters use my equipment while on set. I do not want to tell them to be careful of the battery falling off or fold in a cloth pull tab so as to not to break the media door.

Green light leak below the screen
Green light leak below the screen3024×4032 926 KB

Green light leak around the release button
Green light leak around the release button3024×4032 1.62 MB

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I think that’s perfectly valid feedback. I also keep finding myself pushing the power switch the wrong way. The pull tab was a concern of mine as well, though it may hold up just fine.

I didn’t notice the V-Mount being a non-standard depth, but did notice a little wiggle. I was planning on putting a bit of soft side velcro in there are well.

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I could see the gap in your pictures, too. I think Mutiny is looking to address this with a locking plate like they did with the Komodo. I just wish Pixboom had spoken to people like us before locking in a few of the design decisions that were made. 

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it’s very valid feedback. Since I was one of the first people in the U.S. to receive a Pixboom camera, I actually wrote a rather lengthy email to Young the very night I unboxed it. It touched on a number of the same points you brought up here.

I find myself constantly annoyed by that power switch, though. :joy: The rest of the camera is so well thought out, but an upside-down power switch drives me crazy every single time I turn the camera on.

I hadn’t noticed the light leak issue, so I’ll have to check my body. I agree that the light leak itself is probably insignificant, but the potential for water ingress is another matter entirely.

I normally do not run the camera with a V-mount battery directly on the back. I’m currently using the Mutiny Power IO, and it fits nice and tight.

Personally, I don’t mind the pull tab and haven’t had any issues with it. Given the way the drive slides into the body, I’m not sure they could have designed it much differently. Maybe on a Gen 2 they’ll move to something more like the older RED MAG system.

For me, though, it always comes back to that power switch. It’s the one part of the camera you’re guaranteed to interact with every single time you shoot. They did such a great job everywhere else, but then they gave it an upside-down, rattly on/off switch. I still find it hilarious, at NAB I was told, Yea we know… We’re just going to be known for the camera company that does it backwards. And Yes they will be lol …

Seriously tho My spark is fantastic, it’s been on 4 Jobs already with more already scheduled. But I am with you we nitpick to advance the whole company to where we know they can and will be in the future. Red, Arri and Phantom didn’t become great camera companies overnight, they had to learn from feedback as well. 

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I’m actually worried that the SSD tug thingamajig might snap over time. I think a simple physical eject button would have been a better solution.

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That’s a bummer about the switch. You’re right though about great companies not getting there overnight. I’m debating now between buying a used Pixboom Spark or wait for Pixboom Spark 2 with potential 8K 1000 fps and fixed mentioned. 

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You’re really optimistic, 8k 1000 fps will happen in about 10 years. And with all the shortcomings it will have. So we’re waiting for this for a little over two years.

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I will have made enough on my 4k 1000 projects to afford 10 - 8K 1000 cameras by the time they come out lol. It’s gonna be a while before we see 8K high speed, a lot of things have to increase for that to be possible. :-) 

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The SSD tug is pretty strong ribbon, it really does need to be abused to break, that being said I would have liked to have seen a indentation or something that could be hooked on to it manually so you could pull it out just in case it did fail. 

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May I ask what type of clients you use the Spark for? Have they specifically asked for slow mo or is it something that you pitch to the clients? And do you charge extra for it? Or is it 100% slow mo shoots? I haven’t really figured out how to market this service just yet. But it’s an opportunity for sure, since we are very few in the world that have them, for now.

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I had a peak at how that tug strap is actually designed and it would take some serious force to break, it’s a woven nylon strap that is wrapped around a metal pin that is secured top and bottom and heat welded together inside the SSD casing. I bet you could hang 20 lbs from that thing and it wouldn’t break. 

If the strap did somehow break at the heat weld, then you would just pull the nylon out and you would be left with a slot that you could slot in a paper clip to something and it would eject. so in the HIGHLY unlikely event that it would ever happen I think its designed well enough to cover that edge case. 

I am actually impressed with how the Pro-Card is engineered. It’s not some fancy case on a NVME drive like RED Mags were…  it’s a whole custom approach with the dual drives inside… It wont be easy to duplicate what Pixboom designed here. (another reason I like this company) 

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My larger concern with the tab someone breaking the media door on it.

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Hi Shootit,

Many of my clients are covered under NDA, so I cant share most of what I work on… Many times I can’t even revel the method behind the shoot after the project is public. 

This protects their IP on how to achieve that look. A lot of large production companies are that way. Case in point, One of the crews I work with produces all of Sixflags content on and off the coasters, while I can talk about those projects, they are protective of anything that is mounted on the ride as that is considered IP of the production company.  

Camera’s have always been a part of my life, I have had a camera in my hands since I was 9 years old

My first film camera....
My first film camera....2324×3541 1.84 MB

Fast forward many years later and I have been in the aerial capture game via planes, drones & helicopters and ground based stabilized systems like Shotover, Titan, Movi. Many of which I have been privileged to be around since their introduction. 

This is how I got my nick name Swiss Army Cinema… I may not be the best at anything, but I might be the best one to have on hand. 

I say all this, to help you see… Yes you can go into trying to market yourself as the premier slow-mo guy in your market, however I prefer to advertise myself as added value on a set. Many companies will book me because if you don’t need 5 people running cameras at the same time, I can build a Arri, Shoot on a Red, Pull focus for the story, Dream up a high speed shot…  and pilot their drone system all in the same day. 

As budgets tighten, producers will look for any way to reduce personnel, this is your real value on set. Be the guy who is fun to be around, be willing to adapt to the whatever needs doing, and most of all never stop enjoying your craft!

As we all figure out how the Spark settles into the market be on the look out for the opportunity to just get it on a set for any reason at all. We all have just scratched the surface of how a 4k high speed can be used when you have 7 minutes of record time per drive. 

The latest jobs I have shot with the Spark has been existing clients that I have pitched.  The very first job I got with it was actually a brand new client that knew I had the camera and needed a solution ASAP. I jumped in and gave them a very good day rate considering I brought way more gear then I billed for, however I have made great friends and will likely be asked back on for the next national campaign.

In the end, don’t just chase jobs. Build connections… I hope this helps… 

Stargate reference for our sci-fi nerds…

 “We don’t need their stuff…we DO need them”

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Maybe - We should do a meet the Pixboomer posting on here, and get to hear all of the awesome stories of how we all came to be in this crazy business and what changes were doing to adapt to the needs of production. 

Just a thought. 

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Yea, I could see this.. I feel the door is pretty secure, I would like to see them increase the tolerance of where the door ends up resting at. It has started two tiny wear marks on the outside edges of the door. Not a big deal but over time this will be a noticeable wear pattern. 

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Thanks a lot for the very extensive answer!

I only do photography and video as a side hustle, have a full time job within marketing communications.

I really agree on a specific detail there - be the guy who is fun to be around. I usually say something similar - be the guy who is easy to work with. You don’t have to be the super duper best on something, but if it’s good enough and you always deliver (or exceed) what the client wants, and you’re that guy who always fixes everything regardless of the challenge, then you’ll get hired again.