How Are You Liking Your Komodo?

[Han Vogen]

So my brand new Komodo is scheduled to arrive in two days, shipped from BHPhoto. This has me wondering how users that have had their cameras for awhile are getting along. Are you enjoying working with the Komodo? What are the things you like most? What are the things that separate this camera from anything else... and more importantly, are those things that actually make a difference to your usage?
What are the pain points of shooting the Komodo? Are there any deal breakers?
Dynamic range seems comparable to the Sony A7S3 (which I also own) from the videos and test I have seen. I recall seeing this video, and thinking there’s really not much between the two:

https://youtu.be/7bjCGJqhW1Q

I’m just curious. I was originally on the waiting list and was offered the first batch... but changed my mind as I wanted a production camera. Then the Canon C70 and Sony FX6 came out... and I purchased both, but ended up only keeping the Sony... which is fantastic. Anyway, I’m rambling, but that’s more or less where I’m at.

Please share your experiences and where the journey has taken you.

 

[Bill Totolo]

I'm still learning the camera but so far what I've gathered from my tests:

Colorimetry is very impressive. Highlight recovery is as well.
The sensor handles mixed lighting and cheap LED's very gracefully.

If you want to reduce noise, expose to the right.

I like the mount, Red Control, the interface, and the CFast memory card.
Used it on an unscripted follow doc, and the camera performed very well.

Still figuring out the best way to rig it with accessories.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Superb camera for narrative work. FPS is only an issue if the majority of work is HFR and over cranking, but most narrative stuff is not primarily that. What's best with it is how well it can be mounted with cheaper gimbals and sliders. Weight and size bring down the cost of side-gear necessary for enabling certain shots. This is the most underrated thing about the camera. If all you do is shooting tripod stuff, then sure, it doesn't bring a lot with its smaller size, but as soon as you start moving the camera, jib/crane, gimbal, steadi or just mount it in weird hard to get places, all of a sudden you open up a lot more creativity than a cumbersome large system that requires extremely expensive support gear and can only fit a very small number of setups in a specific area.

The only thing I don't like is the extremely sensitive SDI component and how we both don't have a dedicated monitor for the camera, and that there's lots of problems getting a proper follow focus motor to work on the camera without the need for V-lock batteries. I really dig the BP battery solution which keeps the camera small, but there's just no solution for my focus puller to do their work and there's no word on any solution to this.

What I would like Red to look into is both dedicate time to solve the SDI stuff so that there's little to no risk of damage, develop a low voltage monitor that can be used natively on the camera and maybe add a power-pack solution of some kind for follow focus motors to be used.

 

[Han Vogen]

What I would like Red to look into is both dedicate time to solve the SDI stuff so that there's little to no risk of damage, develop a low voltage monitor that can be used natively on the camera and maybe add a power-pack solution of some kind for follow focus motors to be used.

I haven’t been following the SDI issue. What’s happening? Does this affect all Komodo?
A dedicated monitor would be nice. Particularly if it can rotate and has adequate brightness.