KOMODO....

[Peter Stanley]

This may seam like a strange question but will the Komodo have a OLPF in front of the sensor?

I replaced the one on my URSA mini with a third party one ‘Rawlite’ to get rid of morie and IR ( it’s really bad on the URSA ) as the one that comes with the URSA mini isn’t very good.... like at all.

 

[Aaron Lochert]

This may seam like a strange question but will the Komodo have a OLPF in front of the sensor?

I replaced the one on my URSA mini with a third party one ‘Rawlite’ to get rid of morie and IR ( it’s really bad on the URSA ) as the one that comes with the URSA mini isn’t very good.... like at all.

That's just about guaranteed with a RED camera, you shouldn't have to worry. IR also shouldn't be much of an issue, RED tackled that problem years ago. I still don't understand why Blackmagic is putting out cams that are susceptible to these issues, but at least there's a third party solution for it.

 

[David Rasberry]

- Lens Mount = Integrated Canon RF Mount (easy to adapt to nearly anything)


Easy, but is it expensive? Anything else to consider?

Since this has a smartphone screen wifi all the bells and whistles. What about privacy? Can you remove the antennae if you want say, a camera. Like the cameras of the past 100 years and all of human experience?

I will getting one but what about that, privacy. Ability to be hacked.

If it has an antenna and the wifi it's not safe.

On camera wi-fi is apparently for wireless control only. No video. All of the video, streaming, proxie recording and other functions will require a hard connected smart phone.

 

[Brian Boyer]

Man really not a fan of that UI. Here's hoping it gets simplified with some more professional and minimalist design queues. The gradient/dropshadow buttons look pretty dated and the sliding scale graphic seems pretty divergent from the rest of the design style with lots of extra kind of meaningless graphics in it that don't really add anything. Why not just use the standard red dsmc1/dsmc2 menu as a style guide for komodo? Not really that big a deal in the end but I don't really why it would diverge so much from existing styles. And the old-android phone design queues don't really inspire confidence or a premium feel. I guess we'll see how it ends up looking.

Umm...Word. I know, everyone's a critic and no one asked our opinions. There are people who've already expressed how much they like the UI (though, now I question their judgement in all things). And, there's nothing to say that I would like alternate designs that Noah or Andrew would like. I'm sure Matthew has put a lot of time and effort into it but, as he or any good creative will tell you, that doesn't always mean it's the right choice. I suppose it's meant to feel nostalgic, given the classic medium format camera form-factor, but I don't know if that's the right approach for a cutting-edge camera. Even the current DSMC UI is getting a little long in the tooth.

Skeuomorphism is harder to pull off these days in UI design without looking dated. I get not wanting to be bland and striving to differentiate from everyone else. There are ways to do that without getting carried away or heading in the wrong direction simply because that direction is different. I feel like the scale idea is overly ornate (like 80s and 90s Pontiacs) for no reason other than nostalgia. There's an odd mix of real-world design cues like highlights/shadows on rounded buttons that seem to depress into virtual cavities and graphic design cues like the faux dimensionality of the drop shadowed font on those same buttons. Drop shadows are fine but, if they're used to make type stand out from the background, that often indicates an issue with the initial design. The intense gradients and the embossing...it's all very throwbacky, which may be the point. I'm just not digging it. I know this kinda makes me sound like a douche. If it helps, design is my day-job (when I have one) and I crap all over things I've designed and music I've composed, some of which I've released. Yikes.

Like Noah said, in the end, it's not a huge deal but I don't think that UI is going to do RED or Komodo any favors.

 

[Cristian Mihai]

Any hints about ISO ?

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Umm...Word. I know, everyone's a critic and no one asked our opinions. There are people who've already expressed how much they like the UI (though, now I question their judgement in all things). And, there's nothing to say that I would like alternate designs that Noah or Andrew would like. I'm sure Matthew has put a lot of time and effort into it but, as he or any good creative will tell you, that doesn't always mean it's the right choice. I suppose it's meant to feel nostalgic, given the classic medium format camera form-factor, but I don't know if that's the right approach for a cutting-edge camera. Even the current DSMC UI is getting a little long in the tooth.

Skeuomorphism is harder to pull off these days in UI design without looking dated. I get not wanting to be bland and striving to differentiate from everyone else. There are ways to do that without getting carried away or heading in the wrong direction simply because that direction is different. I feel like the scale idea is overly ornate (like 80s and 90s Pontiacs) for no reason other than nostalgia. There's an odd mix of real-world design cues like highlights/shadows on rounded buttons that seem to depress into virtual cavities and graphic design cues like the faux dimensionality of the drop shadowed font on those same buttons. Drop shadows are fine but, if they're used to make type stand out from the background, that often indicates an issue with the initial design. The intense gradients and the embossing...it's all very throwbacky, which may be the point. I'm just not digging it. I know this kinda makes me sound like a douche. If it helps, design is my day-job (when I have one) and I crap all over things I've designed and music I've composed, some of which I've released. Yikes.

Like Noah said, in the end, it's not a huge deal but I don't think that UI is going to do RED or Komodo any favors.

I’m more worried about the position of the mic and headphones input than UI design.

 

[Tim Daust]

I can’t believe some of you are being so harsh on the UI.. Matthew is still working on it. A working UI is more important than a “flashy” or “sleek” design.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

This is why Arri's still king of digital color science. And asking for having a color science closer to that of Arri's are always met with the criticism and "suggestion" that digital cameras are like different flavors of film stock. To that I say no, it isn't. Film stocks have had their development based on certain goals and as a whole, chemical film has had over a hundred years of development. Arri aimed to match up as close to film as possible and it shows. So doing the same with Redcode is not a bad thing. We don't even need to match up to Arri's color science, just match up to films like Mendes here points to. I don't think it's about being organic, I think it's about getting harmony in how colors interact. People talk about skin tones, but it's not really about that, it's about how colors behave over the DR spectrum.

It's not about either/or.
It's about all.


And that has already been achieved.

 

[Dan Kanes]

About the UI...

I’m predicting this uses an android capable SOC (system on chip) as an “MCU”

Heck, maybe even a next gen Qualcomm Snapdragon...

If it’s running Android (or even if it’s not) a properly architected backend would allow for the UI to be less “hardcoded” and more of a “skin.”

Recurring revenue at the Komodo App Store selling OS skins ? Won’t have as many customers as google play or App Store - but could be an innovative development.

Plug in a keyboard, mouse, and monitor and use your Komodo to do edits and upload from your cell phone or Starbucks WiFi ? Could this be the future of micro journalism ? I hope so!

 

[David Rasberry]

I can’t believe some of you are being so harsh on the UI.. Matthew is still working on it. A working UI is more important than a “flashy” or “sleek” design.

Exactly. I like the ISO swipe ruler. What if the adjustment is not limited to intervals, but is continuous? Almost like an internal adjustable ND filter. Use it with scopes to adjust ETTR.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

Exactly. I like the ISO swipe ruler. What if the adjustment is not limited to intervals, but is continuous? Almost like an internal adjustable ND filter. Use it with scopes to adjust ETTR.

That would be a bad idea since that does nothing to exposure and only changes the image presentation.

 

[Robert Kröher]

are there some infos about the boot time?

 

[Brian Boyer]

I can’t believe some of you are being so harsh on the UI.. Matthew is still working on it. A working UI is more important than a “flashy” or “sleek” design.

Huh? That UI, particularly the ISO scale, is the definition of "flashy" design. I just think it's flashy in a not-so-great way. You don't have something that far along and think it'll be substantially different than it is now because he's still working on it. At least, not without some honest, critical feedback. I was under the impression that RED was actively seeking feedback on Komodo from various people in the industry. How useful can it be if all they get back is what they want to hear? FWIW, I gave my impressions as a graphics professional, albeit unsolicited. RED can and will do with it what they will. They know more about what the camera is and does than I do. If they feel strongly about the direction the UI is headed, that's that. If they're open to changes based on outside and end-user perspectives, then I've given them a few things to consider. I realize what I have to say may seem harsh to some but there really isn't a way to say "start over" that doesn't sting a little bit.

 

[David Rasberry]

That would be a bad idea since that does nothing to exposure and only changes the image presentation.

Depends on the gain structure applied to the sensor data, it would also modify the metadata associated with the file.

 

[Ty Maier]

So stoked for this camera. Curious if it’ll have tap to focus with the AF system.

 

[Bob Gundu]

So stoked for this camera. Curious if it’ll have tap to focus with the AF system.

I’m certain the evolution of Komodo will have DJI level of wireless control with integration with small gimbals. Remote touch focus and tracking from mobile device.

 

[Han Vogen]

It would be nice to see some of the computational trickery that is becoming popular in smartphones employed in this body.

 

[Les Hillis]

I'm not an expert on such things, but the UI looks alright as it is to me. With tools and devices I generally do prefer a very basic and utilitarian design though. I also like the idea of having the choice of being able to use alternative UI designs if possible.

 

[Raphaël_FR]

Et si ce n’était pas une antenne wifi mais plutôt 4G intégrée avec sim slot ou eSIM ???

 

[Les Hillis]

This is why Arri's still king of digital color science. And asking for having a color science closer to that of Arri's are always met with the criticism and "suggestion" that digital cameras are like different flavors of film stock. To that I say no, it isn't. Film stocks have had their development based on certain goals and as a whole, chemical film has had over a hundred years of development. Arri aimed to match up as close to film as possible and it shows. So doing the same with Redcode is not a bad thing. We don't even need to match up to Arri's color science, just match up to films like Mendes here points to. I don't think it's about being organic, I think it's about getting harmony in how colors interact. People talk about skin tones, but it's not really about that, it's about how colors behave over the DR spectrum. This is why matching shots to something shot on an Alexa often gets hard, since as soon as the shot changes, the color on the Alexa changes, just like they do chemically on film. I hope for a more film-like color science on Komodo. I doubt that it will happen for this specific camera, but I hope, now that there's a new sensor and all, that this happens.

So, while not actually disagreeing with how you see it or looking for an argument, here's a different interpretation/opinion -

The RED sensor and colour-science development is actually more in line with the history and intent of photo-chemical film advancements than its competitors.

While the ARRI sensor and colour-science development is more of an attempt to replicate in the digital format where photo-chemical film was at a particular stage of its development. It's more of a caricature of film than a progression for or advancement of it, compared to RED.

What-you-see-is-what-you-get was the aim of photo-chemical film. Kodak hit a wall that could have been pushed further back with nano-technology, but the money ran out, digital technology became more viable and most of the world moved on.

RED picked up the image-quality-advancement 'ball' and started running with it, while ARRI put their effort into keeping the ********* and wanna-be-********* safe and happy with their cherry-picked, low-res, sugar-coated digital caricature of what 'film' should look like.


Seeing it that way, I'd prefer it if RED keep going in the direction they've been going by aiming for something that hasn't been done before, rather than start painting themselves into a corner imitating something else.


Which it looks like RED is doing anyway, by pushing the boundaries with the Komodo, while the competitors keep cutting corners to get in front or keep up, or maintaining the pretense they're above it all and don't even have to.


BTW, as the question keeps coming up, looking at the Komodo in terms of where it fits into the DSMC3 line-up might help with understanding where it fits into the market-place.