New Wide Lenses 

Despite our prototypes getting stolen, we finally have the first production units in house and we’re pumped by the results. The image quality on the product units is even better than the prototypes so the thieves can keep them. 

This was the last product we were waiting on to start shipping to backers. The first 400 units got picked up this morning and are on the way to our logistics center to start shipping. We produce more and more units every week. 

Making Battery Cases 

The team is on the ground in China making and testing the first 100 units. We are posting live stories on Instagram as Caleb is going behind the scenes on what it means to make Moment 2.0. Follow us on Instagram here. 

The mechanical feel and performance of the cases is coming along nicely. The electronics are working well and up next we’re going through a series of rigorous tests the remainder of the week to ensure the case is ready for mass production. 

In the meantime we’re sending units to Apple for their testing process, which takes a few weeks. This is one of the last hurdles to start making lots of units and shipping. Lots to do in the coming weeks. [insert photos] 

Survey Update 

We should have been more clear in our last update, but we’re sending these surveys out in waves depending on your backer level. We’ve found in the past that it’s best to send this email right before we ship, otherwise people need to update their shipping info again. We pride ourselves on order delivery accuracy. 

 Here is is the estimated schedule for surveys to be sent. 

• Early Levels Photo Case (iPhone 7/7+): SENT 
• NON Early Levels (iPhone 7/7+): June 1-8 
• Photo Case Levels (iPhone 6/6+): June 15-22 
• Early Photo Case Levels (Pixel / XL): June 26-29 
• NON Early Photo Case Levels (Pixel / XL): July 3-6 
• Early Battery Case Levels (iPhone 7/7+): June 26-29 
• NON Early Battery Case Levels: Early July 

If you have any questions about surveys please email us (hello@shopmoment.com) so we can help. If you should have already received your survey and haven’t, check your spam/junk folder and then email us if you still can’t find it. 

Otherwise here are a few answers to the common questions we receive. 

Q: Can I change my device? A: You can choose between variations of the device you originally selected. If you'd like to change to an entirely new device email us at hello@shopmoment.com. 

Q: Can I pick my case color? A: Yes. In the survey you get we’ll let you pick either Wood or Black Canvas. 

Q: Can I change case type? A: No. You can add the other type of case onto your order but we can’t exchange them. If you want to do that please email us so we can help. hello@shopmoment.com. 

Q: When can I add lens adapters? A: In the email you get, you will click through to land on a special page on the Moment website where you can add a lens adapter for each original lens you own to your order (for free). 

Q: Can I add to my backer level? A: Yes, in the survey you will be able to add cases, lenses, and essentials to your order. 

Q: Can I change my ship country? A: Yes, but please email us so we can help. It’s too hard to recalculate shipping and taxes automatically so we will work with you directly to cancel your order, make you a new one, and put you back in line where you pledged. hello@shopmoment.com.

Shipping Update 

We start shipping first international orders on Tuesday. Our biggest challenge in giving everyone an exact ship date is that we have 8 products arriving in different quantities to two different warehouses (Hong Kong and Los Angeles) across different days. Instead of trying to predict a date based on the contents of your order we instead focused on building software that releases your order as soon as the items in your order are marked in stock. We always prioritize accuracy over speed. 

At a high level the plan looks like this for shipping…. 

• Early Levels Photo Case (iPhone 7/7+): June 5-16 
• NON Early Levels (iPhone 7/7+): June 19-30 
• Photo Case (iPhone 6/6+): June 26 - July 7 
• Early Photo Case (Pixel / XL): Starting June 30 
• NON Early Photo Case (Pixel / XL): Starting July 7 
• Early Battery Case (iPhone 7/7+): End June 
• NON Early Battery Cases Levels: Mid July 

We’re Going To Alaska

 

If you are new to Moment you’ll learn that we are passionate about adventures and learning. Dan Rubin (@danrubin) is guiding our first Moment Trip to Alaska where you are going to discover amazing places to shoot and learn tips that make your photography better. There are only a few spots left. 

Sign up here. 

A Project We Love 

Ok we we stumbled across a Kickstarter photography project we think is worth sharing. The Arsenal uses AI to help you take better DSLR shots. We realize this isn’t mobile photography but we love the integration of mobile and traditional camera. Back their project here.   

// Team @ Moment

Photo Cases + Lenses 

Good news, Photo Cases and Lenses are rolling off the production line.

As for new lenses, they are being assembled this week and next week, ready to ship right at the end of the month. The Wide Lens has taken the longest to prepare because it’s an aspherical design so the glass took longer to produce.

Photo Case for iPhone 7/7+ have been produced and now we’re kitting them into final packaging. Photo Case for iPhone 6/6+ just started the ramp up into production and will ship mid June, while Pixel / XL will be the back half of June.

Lens Adapters (for anyone that needs one) are also ready to ship next week.

We have been using Photo Cases on our own phones and are loving the results.

Battery Case 

We now have 10 working units and are building the first 100 units next week. We have already been through three rounds of mechanical parts so we have high hopes for the first major build next week. These units will be used to complete our testing, certifications, and final Apple testing.

Phill is on the ground in China and RJ arrives next week to support the build. If all goes well we’ll start production on the Battery Cases. Send positive vibes our way.

Surveys Start Sending On Tuesday 

We’re testing final details on the Moment website, targeting Tuesday to start sending first customer emails. This email will take you to a special page on the Moment website where you will be able to make your final selections (device, color, lens, and adapters) add anything to your order, and pay for the difference. Keep in mind we’re going to start with the early backers and move our way to the regular backers over a few days to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Quick answers to questions we’ve been getting…

Q: Can I change my device? A: Yes. In the survey you can pick any device you want as long as it’s the same case type. 

Q: Can I pick my case color? A: Yes. In the email you get we’ll let you pick either Wood or Black Canvas.

Q: Can I change case type? A: No. You can add the other type of case but we can’t exchange them. If you want to do that please email us so we can help. hello@shopmoment.com.

Q: When can I add lens adapters? A: In the email you get, you will click through to land on a special page on the Moment website where you can add a lens adapter for each original lens you own to your order (for free).

Q: Can I add to my backer level? A: Yes, in the survey you will be able to add cases, lenses, and essentials to your order.

Q: Can I change my ship country? A: Yes, but please email us so we can help. It’s too hard to recalculate shipping and taxes automatically so we will work with you directly to cancel your order, make you a new one, and put you back in line where you pledged. hello@shopmoment.com.

Everything We Learned On Kickstarter 

We’ve gotten a lot of questions after the campaign about what was different this time. We put together a thorough guide for what it takes to succeed on Kickstarter in 2017. Helping to share is always appreciated.

 The Complete Guide To Succeeding On Kickstarter In 2017 

Thank you for your continued support. We’re excited to start shipping!

// Team @ Moment

 

To say thank you for your support, we got you a few presents… We wrapped them into a short video and put it on YouTube. You can watch it here.

Caleb says thanks for clicking "subscribe" on our YouTube channel. ;-)

Manufacturing Update

Photo cases are getting a lot of use in pockets, bags, and hands. We are still waiting on first production lenses, but, even after using the cases for a short time, we’re already dialing in lots of cosmetic and material details. The next round of units are being produced next week to validate final details before we start mass production. 

Our first real production of Battery Cases happens the first week of May, when we’ll produce about 90 units. These units will go through a series of tests and certifications. We’ll be on the ground as it happens, as this production of units is a major milestone for the project.

The new lenses are in the middle of production. Glass takes the longest to arrive at the factory, which should begin happening at the end of next week. Following its arrival, we begin assembling and coating. Macro, Tele, and Superfish lenses are being assembled first, as their parts arrive in advance of the new Wide. Since it’s an aspherical design, it takes a bit longer for the glass assemblies to be produced.

We'll be back in China again this first week of May. Come say hi if you're around. ;-)

Latest Schedule 

As we get closer to shipping, we will become more granular about which week your order will ship. Keep in mind: the month that came with your level means we will ship by the end of that month. Our goal is to ship as fast as humanly possible. Cliff notes: nothing has changed from the Kickstarter campaign schedule. 

Photo Case - iPhone 7/7+ Early (May) Regular (June)

Photo Case - iPhone 6/6+ Regular (June)

Photo Case - Pixel / XL Early (June) Regular (July)

Battery Case - iPhone 7/7+ Early (June) Regular (July)

Your Kickstarter Survey 

We are still working on the Moment shop and testing how you can make final selections, update your address, and add to your order. Keep in mind that we try not to finalize your order until the last minute -- just in case your shipping address needs to change. Learning from past campaigns, it’s easiest to do this once, right before we ship. So we’ll start with the Early levels and move our way through the Regular groups over the coming weeks.

We promise to email you and post an update when these surveys start going out.

Last Day To Cancel 

Today is the last day, if you’re thinking of canceling. After today, Kickstarter doesn’t give us back their 8% fees, so any cancellations will cost us $2-28 dollars. Do us a solid if you plan to bail: please don’t do it after today.

Of course we don’t want to see you go, but we understand that a change of heart happens! If you need help just email us hello@shopmoment.com. 

New Moment Film

But wait! Before you go -- we did a thing recently that we're really proud of. We launched Season Two of Moment Films. And we launched it with one of the most epic iPhone + Moment films we've ever seen. Shot in all low-light, Ari Virem created a beautiful narrative that will have you wondering how it was possibly shot on mobile. Watch the film HERE. 

Have a great weekend!

// Team @ Moment

We spent the past two weeks on the ground in China working on pre-manufacturing builds. (Also known as the phase in the journey when you get punched in the face a lot, figure out why, fix it, and then get punched from a different direction.)

The Photo Cases are looking really good, as we complete our first real build of units. We’ve passed drop testing for iPhone 7/7+ and next are testing iPhone 6/6+. Google Pixel and XL will happen the first week of May, but they’re already going to benefit from what we learned on iPhone 7/7+. We’ve also identified a few “golden samples,” which will be used to measure passing or failing with cases in mass production.

If you ever wanted to see what a drop test looks like here you go. Each test is a new phone. Every drop is painful to watch. 

The Battery Case has been a lot harder. In the first build, called DVT, we tried to assemble the first five units. The mechanical parts fit together fairly well, but the integration of HW and SW was a bit rough. Plus, we found some EE issues that we thought was causing cases to not pass data through the Apple lightning connector. After about a week of troubleshooting, we realized that we didn’t fully understand the interaction between the BQ charger IC, the USB muxes, and the iPhone during configuration transitions. We took the DVT boards and did a ton of measurements to try to figure out what might be causing the issues, and what we found was that it wasn’t a hardware issue but a firmware issue that we were able to get dialed in. Thankfully, there were no hardware changes required.

Everything We Learned

To give back to the community of creatives, we wrote a detailed article about what it takes to succeed on Kickstarter in 2017. A lot has changed over the past three years, and If you’re ever thinking about launching your own crowdfunding campaign, this post details everything we have learned.

The Complete Guide To Succeeding On Kickstarter

 

Please Cancel Your Pledge Before April 21st

If you are at all thinking about canceling, please do this before April 20th. After that date, Kickstarter keeps their 8% fees. We understand that a change of heart happens, but the 8% we pay out of pocket is needed to feed our children, buys diapers, and keeps the lights on. ;-)

We have argued with Kickstarter in the past about how this doesn’t fit with their mission, “To help bring creative projects to life.” But every time we brought this up, they decided that giving back their fees if you cancel 14 days after the project ends, is somehow not their responsibility. The last time we checked it takes more than 14 days to ship a campaign. 

Oh And We Have A New Website

We’re now at shopmoment.com instead of momentlens.co. Our company is Moment, and we want to build something much bigger than lenses. This new website was the first step in making it easier to fulfill your orders.

To everyone asking about when the surveys get emailed out, we’ll start that process in the coming weeks. And don’t worry: we’ll give you plenty of heads up.

Thanks for the support!

// Team @ Moment

We made it. 

 We started this journey three years ago, right here on Kickstarter, because we wanted to make your phone a better camera. In our quest to create, we never could have imagined the love and support we would receive along the way. 

You have backed more than a case or a lens. 

You’ve enabled a small group of people to chase their dreams. From all of us at Moment, thank you! 

The next phase of the journey is hard. 

Manufacturing tests your resolve and although we have plenty of experience, we’re bound to get punched in the face a few times along the way. We do feel confident in hitting our timelines, but regardless of what happens we promise to be honest about our progress. 

Survey and Shipping

Over the coming weeks, we will make the final push to manufacture and deliver your products. Keep in mind it will take us most of April before we begin emailing you the final Kickstarter survey. At that time, you will be able to make your final color/size/lens selections and add anything you want to your order. 

 Onward! 

// 

Team @ Moment