Weekly Update — Let's Catch Up!

Spark Series
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Hey Pixboomer,

Time for our weekly check-in! I’ve got a handful of updates to share this week, so let’s get into it.

 

Production & Shipping

The next production batch — 150 units ready by mid-June
The next batch of Sparks is on track to be completed in mid-June, with approximately 150 units ready to ship. If your backer number is #100 or above, you can expect to receive an address confirmation email once this batch wraps up. We’re getting there!

 

Canada — shipments starting mid-June :canada:
Great news for our Canadian backers — we’re targeting mid-June to begin rolling out Canadian shipments. Hang tight, you’re almost up!

 

Official retail packaging — finalised by mid-June
Our official retail packaging will also be ready by mid-June — so your Spark will arrive in a proper, polished box, just as it deserves.

 

A note on tracking numbers
Since this is our first time working with our current logistics partner, we’re still ironing out the workflow on both sides. This means that processing tracking numbers and related shipping info may take a little longer than expected. We appreciate your patience as we get this partnership running smoothly — we’re on it.

 

Since this is our first time working with our current logistics partner, we’re still ironing out the workflow on both sides. This means that processing tracking numbers and related shipping info may take a little longer than expected. We appreciate your patience as we get this partnership running smoothly — we’re on it.

 

4K HDMI Output & Certification

4K HDMI output is ready and currently undergoing full testing. The firmware will be released in mid-June — existing users can download and install it directly from our official website, and units shipping in mid-June will come with this firmware pre-installed. We’re also happy to share that our HDMI port has successfully passed certification testing by the HDMI Licensing Administrator. :white_check_mark:

 

Software Milestone

Pixboom Cine is now officially Apple-notarized on macOS :tada:

This one’s worth celebrating — Pixboom Cine has received official Apple notarization for macOS. That means smoother installs, no more security warnings, and a more polished experience all around. A quiet but meaningful milestone for the team.

 

Signing Off for Two Weeks

I’m heading to the US next week for Cine Gear and a few other exciting events, so updates will be on pause for the next two weeks.

But — if you’re going to be at Cine Gear Expo in LA, come find us! You’ll get to get your hands on a production-unit Spark, and yes, there will be free popcorn :popcorn:. I genuinely can’t wait to meet some of you in person.

 

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See you on the other side! :heart_hands:
Jing & the Pixboom Team

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Does that mean that:
Orders 0-100 were already shipped?
And 100-250 Are going to be in production for next two weeks - then will receive emails?


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Also, super sad to be above 100 and instead of useful pelican case to receive a paper box…
Especially if waiting for this “shiny” paper box even delays shipments further… :frowning:

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So even if I’m number 57, I’ll not get the pelican case and be delayed to the 150+ numbers because of the french user manual mistake in Canada? Not fair at all! Not impressed. I hope I will get the extra mount shipped at the same time with all these pushed delays?

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This is very frustrating and I don’t understand in today’s world how a translated copy of an existing manual (English into French) takes this amount of time. Also being backer #26 and being told mid June before it’s even possibly shipped. Reading between the lines and going on previous promises, I’ll take that to really mean July. I understand this is a new specialist camera, it’s kickstarter etc. I love the PIXBOOM team, but I’ve started to feel very let down and deflated by my own experience. Even more filming opportunities lost due to delays and yeah it’s just annoying, if nothing more than the amount of $$ invested. I’m just venting here so forgive me but I doubt I’m the only one starting to feel this way. 

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Hi Mike,first of all — vent away. Seriously. This is exactly the kind of feedback I need to hear, and honestly? I get it completely.

I want to be transparent with you: this French manual requirement caught us off guard too. The translation itself is being led by our R&D team (yes, R&D — I know), and we’re waiting on them to finish before we can redo the layout and get everything print-ready. Is it frustrating? Absolutely. Do I wish I could walk over and shake them? …I’ll plead the fifth on that one. 

But in all seriousness — a lot of this comes down to us being a young team navigating things for the first time. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the honest truth. And moments like this are exactly how we learn. We should have caught this earlier, and we didn’t. That’s on us.

What I can tell you is that Canada has been moved up as a shipping priority — we’re not sitting on this. And as the person on the front line talking to all of you every day, nothing makes me happier than seeing backers excited, not deflated. So on behalf of the whole team — I’m genuinely sorry.

You’ve been patient, you’ve been supportive, and you deserve better than “mid-June, maybe.” I really do hope that when your Spark finally lands in your hands, it makes at least some of the wait feel worth it. :heart_hands:

— Jing

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Jing,

Thanks for the reply. Let’s see. I’ll keep my :crossed_fingers: 

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was really pleased to read that Canada is now a shipping priority!!! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes::grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes::grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: i’m also, like Mike said, missing a few great job opportunities because I thought I was gonna have my Spark much earlier than this. I still have faith in you guys, just having the Spark blues! 

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The “Spark blues” — I felt that. Honestly, you guys are the best internet friends I never knew I needed. Your support means more than you know, genuinely. We’re on it — can’t wait for you to finally get your hands on it! :maple_leaf::heart_hands:

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Same here, I’ve been holding off on slow-mo shooting beyond 220fps while awaiting my Spark :grin:

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Our order number is 5863. Im not sure what that means but if it how many Sparks they have on order, good for them.

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Would love to get some clarity on that as well!!

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2028 at this point :smiley: :smiley: :D 

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I highly doubt that your order number is indicative of how many orders they have; the Kickstarter doesn’t have anywhere near that many supporters and the Pixboom store isn’t widely available yet, AFAIK… So you are probably in the hundreds.

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Yea Unfortunately, this update is as wage as many of previous once. And does not help us to plan.
Admin did skip my question, but answered others in this thread.

My gut feeling … or trying to read between the lines:
They will still be shipping first 100 orders for next two weeks, so far we’ve seen very little confirmations of received cameras.
They might be lining up to start shipping orders above #100 with their official packaging that MIGHT be ready in couple of weeks.
Why and who needs that - no idea… I’m sure people are very happy to simply get those little pelican cases.

Canada story is also strange. I’m not from Canada, but cmon… how translation of a manual can take so long. China had live translating apps in their phones 10 years ago when I was there :smiley:

I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like a forced update where, again, true news are not really delivered.
To me it feels that Admin is trying to be honest and open - but the keyword is - trying.

In the end it’s their business and choice how to do it - and all we can do at this point is wait and hope they’ll eventually sort out the shit behind the scenes.

^^

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Hi, I see your message and I want you to know — I genuinely hear you, and some of your frustrations are ones I share too.

As the admin, I don’t directly manage the supply chain, which is also why I can’t always give you the precise answers you’re looking for. Building a hardware product from the ground up comes with a level of complexity and unpredictability that’s humbling, even from the inside. When I’m not fully certain of something, I’d rather take a moment to verify than give you information that turns out to be inaccurate — because I think that would let you down even more.

On shipping: the vast majority of the first 100 units have gone out, with the exception of a small number of backers still waiting on specific mount types or color configurations. The delay in tracking numbers appearing isn’t something I can control directly — it’s tied to the workflow we’re still refining with our new logistics partner. By the time you read this, there’s a good chance another batch has already been uploaded.

On the French manual — I understand why it looks straightforward from the outside. But a product manual needs professional translation, careful proofreading, and then a full layout redesign by our visual design team. It involves three separate groups — a third-party translator, our R&D team, and our designers — and coordinating all of them takes more time than any of us would like.

I’m doing my best to keep things transparent. I know that’s not always enough, and I appreciate your patience more than I can say.:saluting_face:

— Jing

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Ha! That would be quite the operation — thankfully that’s just a randomly generated order number, not our total unit count! If we’d actually sold 5,863 Sparks, I think I’d have completely disappeared from the comments by now… or at least be replying from a very dark corner somewhere. :grin:

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:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:thank you for jumping in — you’re absolutely right! Appreciate the assist!:saluting_face:—Jing

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Hi there,I’d recommend reaching out directly to support@pixboom.com so the team can look into the details and give you a proper answer. They’ll be able to help you much better than I can here!

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Back in the country and happy to see this update. 

For those curious I got address confirmation on the 21st but waiting on tracking number.  I did get an update on my SSD and limited number of black SSD. I was given the option to have the second SSD delayed or have it come in second (which actually is what I preferred having one of each color) and have both come with the first shipment (i ordered the mounts as well but only receiving my E mount at first).

So now I’m just waiting on tracking number, hopefully I get it this week So I can put it to work. Specially since my job this week canceled and got some free time and would be able to do camera tests (though might look into making it out to cinegear now, specially if pickup of cameras that are ready could be done there/easier to manage then shipping logistics, though I have no idea how complex that side of things is). 

Have safe travels to all of the Pixboom team coming to cinegear!

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