AK Doc/Expedition Komodo? Sony? Canon? (think ice axes and crampons)

[Jeffrey Wright]

Hey guys,

I'm gearing up for an expedition in Alaska and we are just beginning gear discussions. The trip will involve most likely me or the other cine climbing/mountaineering and skiing the same lines as the skiers snowboarders. For the most part there will be two teams, one with the athletes and one cine (think fast and light, no sticks probably one wide zoom maybe the camera even in a large chest pack or on a strap around the neck (think ice axes and crampons). The A cam could also stay in the back and Go pro or mirrorless could be in the chest pack for easy access (it's not fun to let go of your ice axe to take your pack off). The phrase "speed is safety" is probably very applicable in this case as the longer the climbs last the longer your time in the danger zone is and risk increases exponentially. The producers "want a RED" on slope but aren't totally in the know of the limitations. I own a DSMC1 and use a Helium about half of the time and spend quite a bit of time and energy hauling them high up in the mountains but for this specific job I definitely know I don't want to use either for the on slope. I foresee this cam running mostly at realtime with audio (the athletes will probably be wearing time synced audio recorders so onboard sound isn't too much of an issue).

The other team will most likely be on some kind of opposing slope with a 30-300 with a micro force on sticks and with help from a porter (I imagine this will probably be a Helium or some kind of DSMC2.

We will have a basecamp with DIT and generators for charging.

It will be delivered in 4k and will be airing on an American broadcasting network.

I'm very familiar with the RED eco system and am always very hesitant to pick up a sony or canon because I feel like those cameras are very much owner operator cameras and take quite a bit of time to fully understand the strengths and weakness of the many settings and menu options and I'm very confident at a quick glance with a RED I'm getting what I think I'm getting.

Basically in a perfect world all of the cameras would be some kind of RED (other than the POV cams). Before the Komodo I'd have already made the call to use some kind of mirrorless for the on slope. Does the Komodo have any limitations (I'd assume we'd use sony batteries). How's the startup time? I'd really like to use an EVF as well, I'm assuming you can use a pogo adapter? I also think I'd want to use a Kippertie ND mount.

Many thanks for thoughts.

Jeff

 

[M Harvey]

Hey Jeffrey,

I don't have any experience with this type of shooting (extreme environment and activities). But I do own a Komodo and a Sony A7RII. Based on your description, here are some thoughts:

Image quality
-Image quality. I'd pick the Komodo for ultimate image quality. And it records in 6k, whereas the competitors max out at 4k. That said, these newer Sony/Canon cameras offer richer recording codecs, and the footage would appear to allow more room for grading than past models (like my A7RIII). To my eye, this allows a skilled operator to get more natural, less "video look" footage. Among the other cameras, I couldn't confidently offer an opinion on differences.

Usability
Image quality is only as good as what you can get into the camera, so it sounds like usability is going to be almost equally important.
-The Komodo is very compact. But, once you build a minimum set-up, it starts to get somewhat long. (It takes Canon BP-series batteries natively, btw-- not Sony. But you will probably want to use a v-mount adapter if you're looking into adding an EVF.) The DSLR-style options like the A7S III/FX3 from Sony and Canon's C70 will very likely be more compact. The Sony FX6 would probably be about the same size, but different in shape. I think you'll probably want to get hands-on with these cameras-- you'll quickly know how viable they are for chest pack/strap use.
-One key thing to me would be the EVF. Komodo isn't compatible with the DSMC EVFs, there's no pogo connection-- you use the single SDI out. So for now that likely means Zacuto (though there are also models from Portkeys, ZCam, and probably others). I'd imagine that the built-in EVF of one of the DSLR-style cameras (the A7SIII or C70) might be very valuable in your situation-- no rigging, no extra bulk, and it's always there.
-ND filters. You're right about the Kippertie ND mount. The Canon C70 and Sony FX6 have built-in ND filters, the A7S/FX3 doesn't.
-The A7R boots up much faster than the Komodo, which takes something like 20-30 seconds. Based on my experience with earlier Canon/Sony, I'd guess they're quick, too, but can't vouch for it.
-Komodo is operated mostly by a top-mounted touchscreen (with physical buttons next to it). I'd try this first with gloves (or however you dress for this kind of shooting) to make sure you can operate. There is a physical record button on the dumb side.
-Check out the Komodo record times per card and make sure this works for you-- the file sizes are bigger then DSMC. At top quality, you can record for approximately 1 hr on a 1TB card. (I myself typically use medium quality, which is great for most things.)
-Komodo is quite rugged. I can't speak to the others.

Stuff you haven't mentioned that may or may not matter to you
-The A7S and FX6 are 135-size ("full frame") sensors (but also offer 4k super 35 modes), Komodo and the others are Super35-ish.
-Frame rates: the Komodo maxes out at 40 fps in full 6k, 60 fps in 4k. The others all go to 120 fps in 4k.
-Image stabilization: the non-Red cameras all offer some form of built-in image stabilization.