Komodo Reliability?

[Mark Kuroda]

Hello community. So I am a new owner, and am shooting my MFA film with a Komodo I just bought. I keep reading that they have tendencies to overheat and aren't reliable? Is this just from people who don't even own or is this something I need to be concerned about? Do you all have tips for reliability? I'll be shooting an 8 minute narrative short film later this month in Northern California so temps will be like 60's.

 

[Giles Harvey]

Pretty much bomb proof for me.

 

[Mark Kuroda]

Ok great to know!

 

[Jon Pais]

Hello community. So I am a new owner, and am shooting my MFA film with a Komodo I just bought. I keep reading that they have tendencies to overheat and aren't reliable? Is this just from people who don't even own or is this something I need to be concerned about? Do you all have tips for reliability? I'll be shooting an 8 minute narrative short film later this month in Northern California so temps will be like 60's.

Is that so? You keep hearing this from multiple sources? Could you elaborate what you are referring to when you say overheat? Cinema cameras blow warm air through their vents and it is normal for media to become hot to the touch. Are these sources of yours saying the camera becomes scorching hot then stops operating? Because if the Komodo were unreliable, there wouldn’t be as many as dozens on the sets of multi-million dollar blockbuster films. Would you be so kind as to provide a link to these filmmakers who claim the Komodo overheats and is unreliable? Because I’ve read dozens of articles about productions where the Komodo was used on set and watched countless videos by owners and have yet to hear anyone say that the Komodo overheats and is unreliable. My own experience is that the camera has performed flawlessly, and I live in the scorching heat of Vietnam. I did a quick Google search with the key words RED Komodo and overheat and zero results turned up. Since you own the camera, perhaps you could perform your own tests and share your findings here. I honestly have no idea why anyone would worry about a camera overheating in the cool temperatures you’re describing anyhow. The temperatures in northern California range from 45-55 degrees F these days.

 

[M Harvey]

I’ve owned a Komodo for two years now, and I’ve shot full days in hot summer conditions (80-90 degrees F) outdoors. Also on a windy beach with blowing sand. No overheating or other performance issues.

As a reminder, no camera likes to be left in direct sun or a hot car—cover it and keep it in shade when you’re in very hot conditions. (Though you’re not likely to encounter such conditions this time of year in northern California.)

 

[Thomas Buchan]

No problems. Got one of the first ones avail... shoot on it every week.

 

[Alex Zeder]

I'm pretty sure you can shoot with the Komodo at temperatures where the operator shuts down first and the camera keeps rolling.

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

Our two have been totally reliable. Our RED Ones were prone to over-heating in 100 degree weather in the summer in Kansas, and we used to keep them cool by putting ice packs on them, but I have yet to experience any over-heated at all with our Komodos.

Stephen

 

[Vedran Strelar]

I've been using my Komodo for last two year exclusively in Middle East (Qatar) in summer temperatures that can go up to 50deg Celsius and I never ever had overheating issue.