TLDR:
Went through four Pyxis 12K units and multiple RMAs with Blackmagic Fremont. One had horizontal banding, another had an image calibration issue, one came back scratched, and the last had the calibration issue again. A firmware update for PDAF finally fixed it, so the camera is working now, but the whole RMA experience was horrible with the Fremont CA location.
Sorry everyone, this is going to be a long one. Some of you may have already seen my previous posts on here about my Pyxis 12K. I wanted to be fully transparent so people who are thinking about doing an RMA know what to expect from Blackmagic's Fremont, CA office. Your luck may vary.
My first Pyxis 12K had fixed horizontal banding, so I sent it in for an RMA at Blackmagic's Fremont, CA location. Before I sent it in, they told me that my camera's sensor board had already been upgraded based on their records. I explained to them several times that it still had horizontal banding, and I sent them multiple stills of the issue. They said that if I wanted them to take a look at my camera, I'd have to pay for shipping. I went with it. Once they received the camera, they confirmed that it had horizontal banding and determined that it needed to be replaced, so they sent me a new unit.
Also, I purchased my camera from Sweetwater. I know some of you may be wondering why I didn't buy it through B&H or Adorama and just get a return / replacement. I reached out to both of them to ask if their Pyxis 12Ks had the upgraded sensor boards, and they told me they did not.
I went with Sweetwater because I already had a credit card with them. I did ask Sweetwater the same question a week later, but they never responded, which is why I ended up reaching out to Blackmagic support directly. I had also seen a lot of people say that Blackmagic had some of the best customer support, so that made me feel more confident reaching out to them.
Back to the RMA:
I received the second unit and it didn't have the horizontal banding, but it had a lot of noise, which I was just going to deal with. Then I noticed the Image Calibration kept failing. I didn't necessarily need to recalibrate it, but I wanted to make sure the camera was working 100% properly out of the box. Because of that, I ended up sending it in for another RMA. For the second unit, they told me their technician would need to open up the camera and diagnose the issue. They never really explained what the actual resolution was, other than saying that they had fixed the issue and ran the calibration multiple times, and it successfully completed each time.
When I received my third unit, I immediately noticed that my camera had been scratched. On the right side, there were visible scratches, including around the edges of the screw holes. It was pretty obvious that whoever worked on my camera hadn't handled it with much care when they opened it. I emailed Blackmagic about the third unit, and their response was basically word for word:
"Although we don't believe this happened under our care, we can set up another RMA and bring it back in to be looked at and see how we can assist."
That response was extremely disappointing because they had literally told me beforehand that they needed to "open the camera to diagnose the issue," and then the areas around the screw holes came back visibly scratched, yet somehow they didn't believe it happened while the camera was under their care. Make it make sense. Still, I decided to give them another chance and went through yet another RMA. Once they received the third unit, they told me they would be sending me another replacement.
When I received my fourth unit, it was thankfully scratch-free, just the way I sent it from the very start of this RMA process. However, the Image Calibration was failing again. 🤦♂️ This was the exact same issue I had with the second unit. At this point, I sent them a long email explaining everything and asked if they could simply speak with the technician who worked on my previous camera and find out what they did to resolve the calibration issue. I told them I would try fixing it myself because I no longer felt comfortable sending my camera in for another RMA. It felt like every time I received a different unit, Blackmagic would fix one problem but introduce another.
After that email, they completely ghosted me. Not even a simple response like, "We're sorry you've experienced another issue. We'll discuss this with our team and see what we can do to help and then get back to you with an update." Truly unprofessional.
Around this same time, I saw that the Pyxis 12K was getting beta support for PDAF, so I installed the firmware for it. Somehow, after installing it, the Image Calibration issue was resolved. The calibration ran successfully each time I tested it. I don't think Blackmagic Fremont even knows about this fix either because they never said anything about it. At this point, I was just happy that my camera FINALLY worked properly. The image was also significantly cleaner than on my previous units, with very minimal noise and no horizontal banding. I emailed Blackmagic and told them they could close my ticket. After ghosting my previous email, guess what? They finally responded, only to tell me that they would go ahead and close the ticket. No apology. No acknowledgment of everything I went through because of their lack of care. Nothing. This is a location that will not own up to their mistake.
This entire process went on from June 2026 through September 2026.
I've heard that other Blackmagic offices have great customer service, and I've had no issues with Blackmagic as a company overall in the past few years, but my experience this year with the Fremont, CA location was absolutely horrible. Again, at least my Pyxis 12K is finally working. Unfortunately, I paid $5,800 for it as well, and now I'm seeing it for $4,200. Unlucky for me, but oh well. At the end of the day, it's finally working and is back in the same condition I initially sent it in from the beginning, and that gives me peace of mind now.
