KOMODO....

[BrendanLeahy]

i hope we can see something like thins one day for it too!

I have one for my RZ67 and it's great!

However, I think an EVF like this going right over the top of the camera would put our noses/mouths right up against the batteries hah.

 

[Todd T]

Wonder who will be the first to build a Komodo 6K BulletTime Rig ..... .. 100 Komodos in a row .. now that would be something ....

Possibly the same "Customer" that prompted the Scarlet Deal of a Lifetime

 

[Philip Lima]

Possibly the same "Customer" that prompted the Scarlet Deal of a Lifetime

I still have my Scarlet from that "deal of a lifetime." It's been on hundreds of shoots and still works flawlessly.

 

[Bob Gundu]

Komodo is shaping up to be my perfect companion camera. This is going to be THE gimbal, arial and travel camera. The power requirements alone will mean you can pack manageable batteries on the plane and backpacks. You will be able to just mount batteries on the camera body on a gimbal without having to jerry-rig anything. I'm very intrigued about the wireless capabilities built into the camera. Clearly, it's not meant to have rigging all over it. Clean and small. Real classy... like a Hassy.

 

[andrewhake]

Likely something to do with those little shiny gold pins on the top of the camera....

Antenna. Menu. Back. Up Down. Lock. SEL?. Play. Switches. Pins.

Enhance. What's that camera in the background. What is that finger print on the screen? Who's is it? Is it a touch screen. Why is the screen square. How is the button feel going to be on those eject buttons. How am I going to mount one of these to my head. ughhgahahghaghahahughhh

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Why is the screen square.

I'd say that the touch screen is square because it uses the maximum amount of surface area on the top plate. Remember this is no bigger than 4"x4"x4".

Looks pretty damned good so far.

Edit: Oh, and:

 

[BrendanLeahy]

Komodo is shaping up to be my perfect companion camera. This is going to be THE gimbal, arial and travel camera. The power requirements alone will mean you can pack manageable batteries on the plane and backpacks. You will be able to just mount batteries on the camera body on a gimbal without having to jerry-rig anything. I'm very intrigued about the wireless capabilities built into the camera. Clearly, it's not meant to have rigging all over it. Clean and small. Real classy... like a Hassy.

This. I've been doing a ton of run-n-gun documentary work following people and grabbing quick shots, so it'll be nice to have a super light package and not have to wait 45 seconds for boot-up!

 

[Brian Boyer]

Jarred, I’m assuming the buttons on the top will be rigorously tested during this phase and engineered to be robust and provide long-term functionality in a variety of extreme environments and conditions. Can you then please share that technology with cordless phone and tv remote manufacturers? Thanks.

 

[Bob Gundu]

As a DSMC2 owner, and hydrogen owner, who purchased it for its advertised monitoring capability, but now an owner, who then expected at least a pocket cam that Jim showed at Hydrogen night Red studios:

Jarred, can you explain the reason for this camera?

As I have seen others ask.

Just above someone says it's a travel cam. Or a gimbal cam. But, if I have 8K, why would I put 6k camera on a gimbal, or not carry a FEW extra pounds when traveling and take my DSMC2?

I am anxiously awaiting DSMC3... But I would really love some explanation how it went from smartphone sized camera module prototype to this, since it appears a LOT of resource is going into it? Komodo.

If Jarred actually responds to this, I have one other question/request.

Since this is Full frame ("full frame"?) can GDU PLEASE release an oplf DSMC2 speed booster so we with our paltry DSMC2 S35s can keep up with the arm$ race? Compared to that flashy Komodocam. Please.

Its not full frame.

 

[Samir Patel]

Let's go in the other direction maybe... stop with the teases. Can't deal with this anymore.

 

[Phil Holland]

Let's go in the other direction maybe... stop with the teases. Can't deal with this anymore.

How about a little Komodo Fact/Low Level Speculation Round Up now that we've seen all the sides of this Rubiks Cube?

What we know as of 09/26/2019 about RED Komodo:
- New RED 6K Sensor
- Max Frame Rates = Unknown
- Format Size = Currently Unknown. Safe to say probably at least S35, it's been mentioned it's not "Full Frame". I would guess S35 or S35+
- Recording Codec = It's been hinted at REDCODE RAW, don't know much more than that
- Form Factor = no larger than a 4x4x4 inch cube
- Body Weight = 2lbs or less
- Lens Mount = Integrated Canon RF (does not appear to be removable, but RF adapts to nearly everything easily)
- Recording Media = CFAST 2.0 (largest capacity currently available is 1TB) - it appears there is a media bay door enclosing the card
- Power Options = 2X Canon BP Series, can run on 1 battery as well as being hot swapped and 1X LEMO DC IN
- Camera Control Built In = Top Side LCD (likely also monitoring, perhaps a touch screen), various integrated buttons top side, side Record, Power Switch, Status Light
- Camera Control External = Antenna (we don't know what it does, but that's a good guess) and 1X EXT Port (also unknown, but traditionally used for Genlock, TC Sync, etc)
- Monitoring = 4K SDI (12G or 6G, unknown), Top Side Pogo Plate potentially for cables display use and hinted at Hydrogen One Integration
- Audio = Mic In 3.5mm, Headphone Jack, what appears to be a scratch mic
- Accessory Mounting = 4X M4 front side, 1X M3 for focus hook, top side, 4X 1/4"-20 Top Side
- Camera Base Plate = It appears to be about the same size and design of a DSMC2 Brain
- Camera Cooling = I suspect a fan, unknown how loud, certainly there is a heat sink
- Body Material = It appears to be Aluminum or a Magnesium/Aluminum Allow, doesn't look like plastic for sure outside of buttons
- Price Point = < $5K if you own a Hydrogen, street price = unknown


At this point we know a lot from what's been shown, but obviously it's been hinted at being tested internally and externally. So who knows what if anything could change.

I've mentioned it before, but now with the top tease/reveal and if it can actually monitor the signal straight out of the camera (which I suspect it will) as far as RED cameras go Komodo has a lot of firsts and new concepts like:
- Lowest priced RED Camera to date
- First fully integrated RED camera to date. Just add batteries, media, and a lens. That is if the top monitor displays an image as well as menus.
- Smallest RED Camera to date
- First Cinema Minded Canon RF Mount Camera hitting the market

Personal take on Komodo?
- Compact Cine, small form factor
- Run and Gun friendly
- Drone and Gimbal real friendly
- Very ideal for travel work considering it's size and battery type
- Lots of potent for VFX and 3D Work

It's not as ideal as other RED Cameras for day to day production for sure, but we already know it's capable of shooting a film for sure.

I still have a lot of questions as my imagination runs pretty wild. I think many are curious as to what sort of Auto Focus capabilities it has, the pins are certainly there to do more than iris adjustments.

More people have asked me about RF Mount in the last couple months than I can count. Canon has a bunch of native RF stuff out and coming. Sigma is going to be bringing some of their newer glass to RF. I believe Zeiss as well, nothing announced. RF Mount features a flange focal distance of 20mm, the same as Leica L-Mount. You can adapt pretty much anything Leica-M Mount and up. EF, PL, F, etc. And even cooler is some of these adapters have behind the lens ND which helps with the compact aspect of things for run and gun.

So far that's pretty much all I got outside of my crazy guesses.

 

[Kwan Khan]

Thanks Phil

 

[Mendes Nabil]

It is not a replacement camera nor should it be anyones first camera, even though I am well aware that it probably will be one or both of those for some, because It is good... It is really, really good.

Remember guys how the Arri Alexa mini was marketed first, it was supposed to be a Gimbal/Drone camera but because of its specs, many production companies turn it as an A cam, even Arri did not expect that..

So, do you all think @6K/24fps Komodo has the image quality of an A cam? If yes, that's pretty huge ..

 

[Bastien Tribalat]

Remember guys how the Arri Alexa mini was marketed first, it was supposed to be a Gimbal/Drone camera but because of its specs, many production companies turn it as an A cam, even Arri did not expect that..

So, do you all think @6K/24fps Komodo has the image quality of an A cam? If yes, that's pretty huge ..

Well, we have seen no footage yet so we can't know how the sensor perform BUT it has already been used to shoot a feature film ("Let Them All Talk" [working title*]) which is set to be released on HBO Max when it launches next year. According to the IMDB page for the film, it has been shot on "Red Komodo Dragon". I know it doesn't mean much because things can be so not true on IMDB, but we KNOW Steven Soderbergh is shooting with Komodo thanks to a picture he posted on Twitter.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, to some degree, yes it should have a good enough quality to be an A-cam ;-)
(and YES I KNOW Soderbergh shot an entire film on an iPhone so even that doesn't mean much)

*what if the title of the film is adressed to us pros and gear enthousiasts speculating about Komodo ?

 

[Christoffer Glans]

And Komodo is not a surprise "take over the lower end market" camera, it's a camera designed for a specific application at the highest level and hence is being tested and tested and tested and then tested some more before release. That has always been the plan since the start, remember I told you all exactly how Komodo would be rolled out and it's sticking to that path pretty well.

I'm still wondering how it stacks up against the Pocket 6K and Z Cams. If you can get more features on a Pocket 6K for half the price and the drawback is that because it's not tested as much as the Komodo it can fail, you can still then buy two Pocket 6K's which gives a backup cam for sensitive productions.

Of course.. people will compare it to everything else out there from Black magics to our own cameras and everything else in between.. but it really sits in it's own market... at least that is what it was designed to do. It's a complimentary camera , designed to take the best images possible that do one thing very, very well in its most simplest of form.

I don't know which market that is? How do a camera dislocate itself from the market it's actually in? A camera at a certain price-point is of course within that market. Just like the low-cost cine-lenses costing around $3000-$5000, they don't have the expectations of high-end ones, but exist within their own market, but still a market with different brands and performances. Comparing the Sigma's to the Canon CN-E's etc. So I don't understand how Komodo would not exist within the same range of cameras like BMD's, Z Cam's, Kinfinities etc. It's around the same price-point, same camera-body types, same kind of practical features.

What makes me a bit worried is that Komodo will simply just be 6K 24 fps at something like a 7:1 compression Redcode, that's it. It might be made to do that very tested and well. But a Pocket 6K doing 50 fps 6K at 3:1 compression gives more options for actual shoots and that's not really an invalid comparison. So I'm not sure what "its own market" really refers to here. For me, it's clearly within a specific tier of cameras, just like cine lenses have their low-cost tiers. And if it's priced at among the highest within that group, but will be limited in features, who's it really for?

 

[Tom Sefton]

given the push for mixed reality content production, if the Komodo can't be externally frame synced it will be a massive fail.

 

[David Rasberry]

Given the technological advances in the interim, why would one expect lesser performance from Komodo than Raven in terms of compression and frame rates? What about overall IQ? This a next gen sensor. Why would it not at least match the IQ of Helium?
The design choices: RF mount, Cfast, BP batteries, SDI output, compact, non-modular, self contained, hold potential for economical manufacture without compromising the most important basics of Red IP.
From what I have seen Redcode is still a superior raw codec compared to anything other than uncompressed CDNG or possibly Arri RAW.
Despite their major improvements in color science and IQ, BM cameras still fall short of Red, even Raven.
There is depth, texture, accuracy, and color saturation in Red images that BM doesn’t reach yet.
There is a coherence to images in motion, texture, solidity, weight that only other high end cameras achieve.
Zcams don’t come close to either BM or Red in motion quality, image texture, or color science.
So yes, I think Komodo will find a very solid market position for itself with customers for whom such things matter more than the paper spec race.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I'm still wondering how it stacks up against the Pocket 6K and Z Cams. If you can get more features on a Pocket 6K for half the price and the drawback is that because it's not tested as much as the Komodo it can fail, you can still then buy two Pocket 6K's which gives a backup cam for sensitive productions.



I don't know which market that is? How do a camera dislocate itself from the market it's actually in? A camera at a certain price-point is of course within that market. Just like the low-cost cine-lenses costing around $3000-$5000, they don't have the expectations of high-end ones, but exist within their own market, but still a market with different brands and performances. Comparing the Sigma's to the Canon CN-E's etc. So I don't understand how Komodo would not exist within the same range of cameras like BMD's, Z Cam's, Kinfinities etc. It's around the same price-point, same camera-body types, same kind of practical features.

What makes me a bit worried is that Komodo will simply just be 6K 24 fps at something like a 7:1 compression Redcode, that's it. It might be made to do that very tested and well. But a Pocket 6K doing 50 fps 6K at 3:1 compression gives more options for actual shoots and that's not really an invalid comparison. So I'm not sure what "its own market" really refers to here. For me, it's clearly within a specific tier of cameras, just like cine lenses have their low-cost tiers. And if it's priced at among the highest within that group, but will be limited in features, who's it really for?

Eye tracking autofocus would dislocate it from the current cinema camera market. Canon RF mount can do that... the little screen on top can do that... if its canon tech inside it can do that.

 

[Maz Mawlawi]

Eye tracking autofocus would dislocate it from the current cinema camera market. Canon RF mount can do that... the little screen on top can do that... if its canon tech inside it can do that.

I really hope it has some advanced AF. I know it's a cinema camera but that still shouldn't prevent it from having that option which would be very helpful for single op, small crew or documentaries.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Eye tracking autofocus would dislocate it from the current cinema camera market. Canon RF mount can do that... the little screen on top can do that... if its canon tech inside it can do that.

I'd much rather have it with the most basic of mid-tier image quality specs before any other features.

6K with 50fps at FF, 5:1 Redcode compression.

With that, it doesn't need anything else and anything else is just a bonus. Seeing that I think the new sensor will have pretty good DR, which Red sensors usually have, getting the same footage specs as the Pocket 6K means that the increased price for Komodo may be because of better DR. I mean, seriously, the most important thing we all need is a good DR, 6K sensor that at least is able to do 50-60 fps maximum. It's extremely limiting to only have 24-25 fps, I think the majority of all footage I've shot with my Red has been 40-60 fps. I rarely go over 60 fps other than for experimentation.

I think it's reasonable to expect that performance since others are doing it. Autofocus options, 4K over SDI, antennas and such feels like putting the cart before the horse. If we get 6K at 50 fps, first and foremost, by Jarred's own words, "done well", that would be perfectly done very well at this price-range if the DR is higher than the others. I would be more than happy with such specs and everything else is just icing on the cake.