Polar Pro Investors

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Polar Pro was on Shark Tank tonight and was invested in by Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. Mark said he was very interested in the drone part of the company. so maybe we will see improvements and maybe some new products in the next 6 months?
 
Polar Pro was on Shark Tank tonight and was invested in by Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. Mark said he was very interested in the drone part of the company. so maybe we will see improvements and maybe some new products in the next 6 months?
Filters for the Phantom and Inspire lenses are already readily available from several other vendors. I don't see much new coming from Polar Pro for Phantoms and Inspires, unless they are going to totally change their product line away from filters, which are their bread and butter. Nothing proprietary about a filter either. You can buy the plastic in sheets and make a dozen for under $10.
 
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Polar Pro makes high quality filters for go pro and DJI drones. Neither of these revenue streams are going to get smaller. My guess is PP is going to try to expand to other drone manufacturers as well as expand its line of specialized accessories.
 
Polar Pro makes high quality filters for go pro and DJI drones. Neither of these revenue streams are going to get smaller. My guess is PP is going to try to expand to other drone manufacturers as well as expand its line of specialized accessories.
Agreed. However, there isn't much "improvement" that can be made to a set of existing filters for DJI drones and "accessories" for DJI drones are limited. The PP line is quite overpriced for such a nonproprietary product, with profit margins of over 300% according to the owner, so expect less pricey versions to be copied and sold.
 
Seems the owner was pushing his battery powered selfie sticks and recharging case for the GoPro more than his filters on Shark Tank. He did say to date their filters have been their biggest sellers.
 
You can buy the plastic in sheets and make a dozen for under $10.

They're "scratch resistant" glass. I recently bought a GoPro set and the quality is awesome, I'd say of the best, along with SP Gadgets.
 
Seems the owner was pushing his battery powered selfie sticks and recharging case for the GoPro more than his filters on Shark Tank. He did say to date their filters have been their biggest sellers.
It seemed that the "buy in" by Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavek was based solely upon the growth potential in the drone market. The founders started out with filters for GoPro's and then GoPro came out with their own GoPro filters. What would stop DJI from doing the same? The huge profit margins cited in the show scream for copying, and the lack of anything proprietary means they can't stop them. 90% of drones sold don't have a camera worthy of any filter. A polarizing filter for video that cannot be adjusted remotely is of little use. If you are shooting at the wrong angle to the sun, it won't do anything other than act as an ND filter. If you cannot control the degree of polarization by rotating the cross filters, most of the benefit is lost. Polarizers on still cameras are great because you have manual control over the degree of polarization, and can remove them on the fly if the sun angles aren't conducive to polarization. The loss of 2 stops of light means slower shutter speeds and more motion blur, especially if you are extracting still frames from 4K video. I guess we'll see if the Sharks can bring anything new to the table. It seemed like a rash investment, lacking in their usual proper business analysis. The bald dude said their patents were worthless, and wisely stayed out.
 
They're "scratch resistant" glass. I recently bought a GoPro set and the quality is awesome, I'd say of the best, along with SP Gadgets.
Hey, the founders made their originals out of plastic and sold them for $10. They work just as well. If they get scratched, buy another one for $10, but how are they getting scratched in the air anyway? You can just tape one over the lens. Photographers have been using plastic gels for years. I just don't see the need, unless you are a cinematographer needing 1/30 second shutter speeds in broad daylight, and then you only need an ND filter.
 
Why don't you buy the sheet of plastic and sell them?
I have no problem paying for a quality product and enabling that company to further develop new things. Just like a GoPro is "overpriced" compared to SJCams and other **** copies. I am not inclined to supporting companies that act as parasites by stealing other's knowhow and making an inferior copy.
 
Why don't you buy the sheet of plastic and sell them?
I have no problem paying for a quality product and enabling that company to further develop new things. Just like a GoPro is "overpriced" compared to SJCams and other **** copies. I am not inclined to supporting companies that act as parasites by stealing other's knowhow and making an inferior copy.

Agreed. That's why I own a Phantom 3 instead of a Johnny come lately.
 
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This thread was started by the OP as a discussion of the business model that the Sharks are investing in. The merits of the quality of the PP products are not being disputed. I didn't come up with the idea of making them out of plastic sheets. If you had watched the Shark Tank episode, you would know that the Polar Pro guys themselves started their business by selling plastic polarized sheets in an adapter for GoPro cameras for $10 and were making money hand over fist! The show touted their current 300% markup and huge profit margins on a completely nonproprietary product of glass filters. That's what this discussion is about. Two Sharks are dumping $1 million into this company for a 20% interest, on the hopes that the every new drone purchaser will want a set of $150 filters that cost $30 to make. I find that hope absurd. That's the discussion! I am only presenting the very facts the kid did on the show, to demonstrate how the investing Sharks left their brains at the front door! The kid is making out like a bandit! He hooked 2 Sharks and collected a cool $1 million for only 20% of his company. :p
 
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This thread was started by the OP as a discussion of the business model that the Sharks are investing in. The merits of the quality of the PP products are not being disputed. I didn't come up with the idea of making them out of plastic sheets. If you had watched the Shark Tank episode, you would know that the Polar Pro guys themselves started their business by selling plastic polarized sheets in an adapter for GoPro cameras for $10 and were making money hand over fist! The show touted their current 300% markup and huge profit margins on a completely nonproprietary product of glass filters. That's what this discussion is about. Two Sharks are dumping $1 million into this company for a 20% interest, on the hopes that the every new drone purchaser will want a set of $150 filters that cost $30 to make. I find that hope absurd. That's the discussion! I am only presenting the very facts the kid did on the show, to demonstrate how the investing Sharks left their brains at the front door! The kid is making out like a bandit! He hooked 2 Sharks and collected a cool $1 million for only 20% of his company. :p

Whatever the market will bear. It's unfortunate some folks are so incensed at the idea of someone making a profit or getting rich from simple ideas. If it's such a fools errand, why would this "kid" bs getting rich while you're on a drone discussion board just complaining about it?

Go make something we'll al buy! :)
 
Whatever the market will bear. It's unfortunate some folks are so incensed at the idea of someone making a profit or getting rich from simple ideas. If it's such a fools errand, why would this "kid" bs getting rich while you're on a drone discussion board just complaining about it?

Go make something we'll al buy! :)
Please don't put words in my mouth! You are deliberately misconstruing my posts. If you had read the thread in its entirety, and ever watched Shark Tank, you would realize that.

The high profit margins are only relevant because they create an easy business opportunity for competition to come in and dilute his marketshare and profits, and that of his new Shark business partners, who aren't following their own wisdom from every other business deal they rejected. My hat is off to the kid. He scored and has built a great business! However, his two Sharks just bought 20% of a company that has just publicly waved a red flag on national television for the competition to come and undercut his huge profit margins and dilute his market share! There is absolutely nothing proprietary about an ND or polarizing filter! That's the whole point! Get it now? :rolleyes:
 
The trick is to make P3 filters with the identical weight to the stock clear filter so counter-weights aren't needed on the back of the camera, as some require. Apparently offering ND4 through ND32 with identical weights isn't as easy as it sounds. Maybe the $1mil will result in a technology that allows the "same weight" filters to be produced.
 
The trick is to make P3 filters with the identical weight to the stock clear filter so counter-weights aren't needed on the back of the camera, as some require. Apparently offering ND4 through ND32 with identical weights isn't as easy as it sounds. Maybe the $1mil will result in a technology that allows the "same weight" filters to be produced.
That's why the $10 P3P gel filter kits on eBay make so much more sense than a glass filter for a drone camera, which is delicately balanced on a gimbal. The gel weighs next to nothing, whether it is an ND32 or a polarizer. It can be placed behind or over the stock UV filter. Professional photographers and cinematographers have been using light weight plastic gels of all kinds over their lenses for over a century. There is nothing amateurish or inferior about using plastic gels instead of glass. If they get scratched, cut a new one. The large gel sheets are simply cut to size for whatever lens diameter is needed, which is exactly what how the PP founder began his business, selling them for $10. It works!
 
For those with a real need for P3P filters, or considering buying any, read up on those who have covered this ground before you. There are plenty of other options, as well as considerations to evaluate, before plunking down $150 on something you will probably never need or use. Step number one is to remove your stock $38 UV filter. If you can't (many have failed or broken it or the gimbal trying), the PP set will be of absoluely no use! If you ever strip the threads, you are also SOL. While screwing and unscrewing the PP filters, you risk stripping the threads, or even not being able to remove the filter without damaging the camera. The PP polarizer filter is "adjusted" by not fully screwing it tight, so you may have to have it unscrewed by up to 359° for maximum effect. Tip: Once you get the stock UV filter off, adding some 3-in-1 oil to the threads will help with the binding that otherwise occurs without any lubrication. Otherwise, cross threading is a very real risk!

A. Polar Pro ND and Polarizer build Impression | DJI Phantom Forum
B. ND and Polarizing Filter Installation? | DJI Phantom Forum
C. DJI Forum|How to remove a stuck lens cover.
D.
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1. Buy Phantom 3 - ND4 Filter (Pro/Adv) | DJI Store
2. P3 Series Filters
3. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DJI-Phantom-3-Circular-Polarize-Filter-Professional-Advanced-Quadcopter/161732123655
4. DJI Phantom 3 ND Neutral Density 6 filters 3 6 9 Professional Advanced
5. TACO-RC Multi-Coating MC ND filters set (ND4/8/16/32) for DJI Phantom 3 Professional Advance Free Shipping
6. 5-pack 1 Polarizer Filter 4 Neutral Density filters for DJI Phantom 3 Professional/Advanced

I have no affiliation nor any interest in promoting any one over another. You choose. It's your budget and your need. Option #7 is to go "bareback"! :cool:

If you just want to just try out a circular polarized filter cheaply, option # 4 for $10 is your best bet. The seller clearly explains how to use the CP filter (you must first rotate it into the correct position before mounting it to get full polarization for a given direction of flight), and where it will help and where it will degrade your images! It is not a panacea! If you like the results, even if they are a little soft or smudgy due to using the gel (easily compensated for in post), spring for a glass CP. If not, you just saved yourself wasting money on something you won't use.
 
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I often read the same arguments about iPhones being overpriced, especially after someone wrote about parts being approx. 50% of the end price. The profit on an iPhone is actually only around 15-20%.
People always disregard all the costs that go into making an idea a reality and then competing with similar manufacturers, paying a pretty coin for advertising, development of new stuff etc.
I think the investors saw a dynamic company with good, profitable ideas that can keep up to market demand for new products. I'd invest in them.
 
I often read the same arguments about iPhones being overpriced, especially after someone wrote about parts being approx. 50% of the end price. The profit on an iPhone is actually only around 15-20%.
People always disregard all the costs that go into making an idea a reality and then competing with similar manufacturers, paying a pretty coin for advertising, development of new stuff etc.
I think the investors saw a dynamic company with good, profitable ideas that can keep up to market demand for new products. I'd invest in them.
Have you actually ever watched the Shark Tank?
Did you actually watch the episode in question, which aired Friday night?
After you do, please reread this entire thread. Maybe then you'll get it...:rolleyes:
 
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This thread was started by the OP as a discussion of the business model that the Sharks are investing in. The merits of the quality of the PP products are not being disputed. I didn't come up with the idea of making them out of plastic sheets. If you had watched the Shark Tank episode, you would know that the Polar Pro guys themselves started their business by selling plastic polarized sheets in an adapter for GoPro cameras for $10 and were making money hand over fist! The show touted their current 300% markup and huge profit margins on a completely nonproprietary product of glass filters. That's what this discussion is about. Two Sharks are dumping $1 million into this company for a 20% interest, on the hopes that the every new drone purchaser will want a set of $150 filters that cost $30 to make. I find that hope absurd. That's the discussion! I am only presenting the very facts the kid did on the show, to demonstrate how the investing Sharks left their brains at the front door! The kid is making out like a bandit! He hooked 2 Sharks and collected a cool $1 million for only 20% of his company. :p
They are "Sharks" because of their business acumen.
I'll trust that over some guy with a clever moniker posting constantly on a user group.
;)
 
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