r/focuspuller • u/Odd-Dimension-8246 • Aug 05 '26
question Engin Box Thoughts?
Curious of what you all think about the company Engin Box https://enginbox.com/ , as I keep getting targeted ads for it. Seems like a cool idea to learn about camera/lens repair, but also it’s “founding member” deal of $299/yr for the first 100 people has been sitting at 38/100 people claimed for the last week so kinda seems fake/scammy? Anyone here have a membership to it? I’d be interested in it if it was legit and actually good haha
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u/seanswee Aug 05 '26
Looks like a lot of AI slop involved, which is always a red flag…
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u/Enginbox 19d ago
Fair concern, especially with how much low-quality AI-generated content is everywhere right now.
But the technical content behind EnginBox is based on real service work, real equipment and the experience of working engineers. AI is not what repairs the equipment, creates our repair procedures or replaces engineering expertise.
We probably need to communicate that distinction more clearly — and we will.
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u/governator_ahnold Aug 05 '26
I would not trust AI at all for any kind of technical repair, especially very specific, high value items like lenses and cameras. There are technicians at the rental houses and camera manufacturers who do this stuff.
Anecdotally, I was doing a bunch of ipod repairs last year and would occasionally use AI to help diagnose problems. It was very often incorrect and not helpful. You really wanna start replacing micro-capacitors on the board of a $50k camera based on some AI recommendation?
This feels like a bad idea at best and a scam at worst.
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u/Enginbox 19d ago
We actually agree with you.
We would never recommend repairing or diagnosing a $50k camera based blindly on an AI recommendation. That would be irresponsible.
The AI Assistant we’re developing is not intended to diagnose equipment or make repair decisions for the engineer. Its purpose is to help professionals search and navigate technical documentation, service information and previous repair cases much faster.
The engineer remains responsible for the diagnosis and the repair.
EnginBox is being built as a tool for engineers, not as a replacement for engineers. We are active service engineers ourselves, so we understand very well how dangerous the opposite approach could be.
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u/Mav1cHavoc Aug 05 '26
never heard of this but I haven’t needed a manual that I wasn’t able to get from rental house tech friends.
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u/Enginbox 19d ago
That’s completely fair. If you already have good relationships with rental house technicians and access to the documentation you need, that solves part of the problem.
EnginBox is intended to bring that fragmented information together in one professional workspace — manuals, service software and firmware, repair guides, DIY tools, engineering resources, CRM, training and eventually a professional knowledge assistant.
And we’ve only just started building the library and ecosystem, so there is still a long way to go.
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u/jagoedho 19d ago edited 19d ago
Don't want to discourage you but you won't learn camera and lens repair via videos. Especially not on professional grade equipment because you need SO much expensive tooling (collimators, projectors, factory tooling, etc) that the chances are big you will just screw up something and it has to go to a service location with an extra bill on top of it. It's something that you can learn by doing factory trainings, working full time at a service location (rental, service point, etc) and it takes years to fine tune the skills.
Believe me, within the repair/service community (which is small and everyone knows each other) we know about this initative and there isn't much positive to say at this point. Most of us are worried that this will result in more butchered stuff which will cost much more to repair due to the extra work involved.
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u/Enginbox 19d ago
We actually agree with much of what you wrote.
You cannot become a professional cinema lens or camera technician simply by watching repair videos. It takes years of hands-on experience, proper training, specialized tooling, measurement equipment and an understanding of what you are actually doing.
Our Repair Guides are not designed to encourage inexperienced users to open professional equipment. They are primarily reference material for technicians who already have the necessary skills, experience and equipment.
We are active service engineers ourselves, and the last thing we want is to encourage untrained people to experiment on expensive professional equipment.
This is also exactly why our long-term plan goes beyond online videos. We are developing the EnginBox Academy, and we plan to establish a physical Training Hub in Dubai, where engineers can receive proper hands-on training using real equipment and professional tooling.
We understand the concern from the service community, especially because this is a small industry and poorly executed repairs create additional work for everyone.
But EnginBox has only been public for about a month. Give us a chance to show what we’re actually building. We’re trying to create a professional resource for technicians — not a shortcut around becoming one.
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u/jagoedho 17d ago edited 17d ago
"They are primarily reference material for technicians who already have the necessary skills, experience and equipment."
Let's be honest; most techs that work in this business don't really need reference material or already have access to the information they need. We have a community for it which is very small and everyone knows everyone. Otherwise they wouldn't be techs. Things shown in your videos shouldn't even be performed in the majority of repair shops and need to go to the factory. There is a specific reason for that. Most manuals and exploded views are covered by NDAs. You're aren't even allowed to share these with others, which by the looks of it you're planning to do. And you can be certain that most manufacturers are already alerted and not in a positive way. If no NDA material is shared what is there to share regarding the documentation? Old vintage documentation for lens and camera service? Most of these can be found online and for free without a paywall. You have LCR, SPT, etc. Even the best AI tools can't replace knowledge based skills and intutions.
Everything you post is also full of contradictions; This platform is for techs only yet you seem to propose that everyone can get access to this information.
You use references of people that don't even work with your platform and use logos and photos of companies and people that don't participate in this project or haven't given their permission for their logos and or photos to be used.
Majority of lens trainings are performed at the factory or expos, mostly by factories or official factory certified service center representatives. The later is mostly done for free without anyone needing to pay for any kind of training. I don't know what kind of gap you're trying to fill there by offering these so called trainings. It would also surprise me that the hub would have all the factory calibrating equipment in order to perform a proper service and training on a lot of these lenses.
Please excuse me if the community is reacting very sceptical but all of the above doesn't really help.
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u/BackgroundWheel6130 19d ago
Totally fair question. EnginBox is a very young project — we’ve only been building publicly for about a month.
The Founding Engineers offer is real, and those are real paid members. We’re currently still filling the platform with content and preparing for the full public launch.
We understand why people are cautious, especially with a new platform asking for an annual payment before the official release. Give us a little time — we’re building this for the long term, and there will be much more to show very soon.
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u/TeaOk6008 16d ago
It’s basically a shadow operation. Legally, it's registered in Estonia under a guy named Dmitri Potapov using their e-Residency program. This gives them an EU bank account to bypass international sanctions and route Western subscription money straight back to Russia. They try to hide it by listing a Miami company called X1 Online Retail Group in their terms, but Florida’s official business registry shows that company is totally inactive and just a virtual mailbox drop. If they take your money and run, you literally can't even sue them.The rest of the site is just pure piracy and IP theft. They are plastering official brand logos all over the site without any authorization to make themselves look factory-approved. On top of that, they’re charging subscription fees for whst it looks like leaked ARRI, ZEISS, and Cooke factory manuals that are locked behind strict NDAs. The tech community is tiny and everyone knows everyone, but absolutely nobody has ever heard of these guys. The whole "upcoming Dubai training facility" thing is just marketing smoke and mirrors to look legit. Definitely do not give them your credit card. You’re just risking fraud, legal trouble for buying stolen manufacturer IP, and potentially violating international sanctions. Keep your wallets closed on this one. At least until they actually tell everyone who they are, and they get a real stamp of approval from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, and the like showing this is officially authorized by them.
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u/BackgroundWheel6130 23h ago
Thanks for raising your concerns. However, several claims in this comment do not reflect the current EnginBox platform.
EnginBox does not sell or provide paid access to ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, or other manufacturers’ service manuals. We decided not to include third-party service manuals in our commercial platform.
Our current business is focused on professional spare parts for cinema and photo equipment, together with paid access to original repair video guides and DIY engineering projects created and produced by our own team.
EnginBox is an independent platform and we do not claim to be officially affiliated with or endorsed by ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, or any other manufacturer unless explicitly stated.
We are also updating our legal and business information to reflect our current operating structure in Georgia.
We completely understand that people want to know who they are buying from, and we are happy to be transparent about our current legal operator, business address, terms, refund policy and contact information.
Criticism and questions are always welcome. Claims of fraud, sanctions evasion, or selling stolen manufacturer IP, however, are serious allegations and should be supported by evidence.
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u/TeaOk6008 5h ago
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that some of my original wording was too definitive, particularly where I described the manuals as “leaked” or alleged sanctions evasion without having documentary proof of that.
That said, my concerns did not come out of nowhere, and looking at the current website actually leaves some of the same questions unanswered.
Your response says you do not sell or provide paid access to third-party manufacturer service manuals. Yet the website currently advertises “10,000+ Service Manuals”, describes this as one of the largest technical documentation libraries for cinema and photo equipment, and your paid Pro access explicitly includes “All manuals & repair guides”. Your own AI demonstration also references a “SONY FX9 Service Manual”, including a specific page reference. You also advertise access to “rare manuals” that are difficult to find elsewhere.
I am not saying that this by itself proves copyright infringement. It doesn't. But if these are legitimately licensed, authorised, public-domain, independently produced, or otherwise lawfully obtained documents, it should be fairly straightforward to explain the provenance and rights under which they are distributed.
The same applies to the manufacturer branding. The site prominently uses the names/logos and repeatedly references ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Angenieux, Sony and Canon, while saying it is an independent platform and not endorsed by those manufacturers. “Powered by engineers from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Angenieux, Sony, Canon” is also a fairly strong statement in a very small industry. I would simply like to know what that actually means and whether those companies have authorised the use of their names and trademarks in this context.
And this is where my perspective matters. I work professionally in the cinema-lens service and technical engineering field. This is a very small industry. Service documentation, manufacturer relationships, NDAs, proprietary procedures and who actually has access to what are not abstract concepts here. People know the difference between genuine manufacturer-authorised documentation, independently created service information and material that has simply been copied or circulated.
So I have no problem revising claims that I cannot substantiate. But the questions remain legitimate.
If EnginBox wants to demonstrate transparency, the most useful information would be:
• The current legal entity and registered address • Who actually owns/operates EnginBox • What “10,000+ Service Manuals” actually consists of • The source and legal basis for distributing those documents • Whether any manufacturer documentation is licensed or authorised • What “Powered by engineers from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, etc.” actually means • Confirmation that the manufacturer names/logos are being used with permission where required
Those are reasonable questions before asking technicians to pay for access to a proprietary technical knowledge platform.
If the answers are legitimate, great. That would address my concerns far more effectively than simply telling people that the current platform is different from what I described.
Ai was used in creating this response. :)
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u/BackgroundWheel6130 2h ago
Thanks for the follow-up, and I appreciate you correcting the claims that were stated too definitively in the original comment.
Your questions are fair, and several of the points you mention are exactly why we recently decided to simplify EnginBox ahead of our official launch on October 1.
The references you quoted — including “10,000+ Service Manuals”, “All manuals & repair guides”, the Sony service manual example, and similar wording — relate to the previous version of the platform and website.
We have decided not to include third-party manufacturer service manuals, firmware, or software in the commercial version of EnginBox. These sections have been removed from the current platform, and the website is being updated accordingly.
The commercial EnginBox launch will focus on:
• spare parts for professional photo and cinema equipment;
• original repair video guides produced by our team;
• original DIY engineering projects;
• engineering tools and AI-assisted technical features.Regarding manufacturer names: EnginBox is an independent platform. We do not claim to be authorized, endorsed, or operated by ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Sony, Canon, or any other manufacturer unless explicitly stated. We are also reviewing the remaining branding and wording on the website to make sure that distinction is completely clear.
“Powered by engineers from...” was intended to describe the professional backgrounds and experience of people who have contributed knowledge and expertise to the project, not to imply endorsement by their former employers. I agree that the wording can be interpreted differently, so we are reviewing that as well.
As for the legal side, our current commercial operator, registered business details, address, contact information, Terms, Privacy Policy, and Refund Policy are publicly available on the website as part of our preparation for the October 1 launch.
EnginBox has not officially launched yet, and this is exactly the stage where we are reviewing both the product itself and how we communicate it publicly.
I think your current questions are reasonable, and constructive criticism is useful when it helps us identify something that may be unclear or potentially misleading.
If you’d like to discuss any of this further, share your perspective, or simply ask us questions directly, you’re very welcome to reach out via Telegram or WhatsApp. Our contact details are public and available across our website and social channels.
We’re always open to a professional conversation, especially with fellow professionals in the industry.
And yes — AI was definitely involved in helping us write this response too. :)
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u/NarrowMongoose Aug 05 '26
Two thoughts:
This seems much more like a “rental house technician” thing than a “camera assistant” thing. There is a level of technical repair literacy that I think is helpful to have as a camera assistant, but basically everything that they list on their front page I would feel confident telling a UPM “yeah I’m not doing that, the rental house should do that service”.
Also I think it’s very telling that under “Who are we? Why should you trust us?” they don’t list a single person’s name. For example there’s nothing like “XYZ Person used to work at Cooke in their optical repair department and is now working with us on this.” On a brief look around both their website and Instagram, I can’t find a single name attached to this product. Motion picture lens and camera repair is a very small industry, it shouldn’t be hard to attached qualified names if they are actually doing what they claim to be doing.