KOMODO malfunctioned in the cold, did not record

[Dipanka Sarma]

I was on a trip shooting Snowy Owls in the Canadian winter. My Komodo failed at -16 Celsius (that's around 3 Fahrenheit).

I did the necessary calibration outdoors in the cold prior to shooting. Error message said media card writing failure, asked me to secure format the card which I did 2 times. After that it recorded short periods erratically, and would randomly stop recording. The trip was a disaster. All components including the card were RED approved.

Living in Canada with a liking for winter photography/videography I bought the Komodo after reading that it was tested in extremely harsh blizzard conditions by Matt Tremblay from RED. However these are merely media reports, should have read the fine print. Something to think about before making any purchases in the future.

RED support now informs me that -16 C is outside the recommended operating conditions (the recommended temp range is 0 - 40 C or 30 - 104 F). Bears repetition, one should always read the fine print and not rely on media coverage or ads.

Having said that, I'm wondering if anyone has any workarounds or solutions? If not I guess the Komodo will be pretty much useless outdoors all through the Canadian winter.

 

[Wil Wong]

That's unfortunate. Yes Komodo runs much cooler than other RED Cameras (since it does so well with power that and use much less).

I live and shoot with Komodo all the time in the winter here in Toronto. Usually my batteries die faster than the komodo but I try and bundle both with something like a wool hat. It really does help.

You can also use the chemical hand warmers (the kind you shake to activate). Because this is not the "hair dryer" of the past, it's much different in harsh cold climate conditions and will need more protection to keep the heat in. Guess that is the same with these types of media cards (which is a much different build from RED Mags).

 

[Dipanka Sarma]

Wil Wong, thanks for your reply. I'm glad you're able to use the Komodo in our winter (I live in Toronto too). I have shot with the Red Raven in extreme cold without a problem, but I see how the Komodo is a different ball game. Perhaps a V mount battery might work better in the cold, I'll explore that. As for the camera and media card I'll try your suggestions, many thanks.

Having said that, I'm seriously considering selling the Komodo as I shoot a lot in the cold.