The First Komodo Out in the Wild

[Phil Glowskey]

Phil, are you going to upload RAW FILES for download in the future so that we can see at home? Thanks!

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Eight pages and no footage?

Be patient! Let the guy breathe. ;-)

How's the auto focus?
Is there sensor stabilization?
Can you weigh the lightest set up possible? (What does under 2lbs mean?)

AF is still being developed, but it is phase detection based. It's not going to be Sony-like for a while - that stuff takes time. No IBIS, either.

 

[Sylvain Morjane]

Hi,I wpas wondering about the same thing, could it be a phony Canon bp you insert adapted to the v-Mount ?

 

[Alex Lubensky]

I get it that ergonomically, humans want the camera to be the locus of control for the hands. But that goes away when talking about gimbals or drones.

I don't understand your point about flimsy 15mm rods, because in this case you are not talking about the rods supporting the lens as much as supporting the < 1kg camera. When you connect to a bridge that's at the C.O.G. of such a system, the connection point is going to be so close to the termination point of the rods that there's basically nothing to flex. Unless you have a diagram that shows otherwise.

I get your point, but it actually works only for an owner-op style, where you don't change lens families often. My practice is - I pick a lens family for every new set, usually I go rental lenses and my own camera body. In that scenario you have to build-up around camera, not a lens. Unless you buy support for any lens out there.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

I get your point, but it actually works only for an owner-op style, where you don't change lens families often. My practice is - I pick a lens family for every new set, usually I go rental lenses and my own camera body. In that scenario you have to build-up around camera, not a lens. Unless you buy support for any lens out there.

Cool! Maybe I wasn't being clear enough that I was talking about a specific lens family. In any case, I would love to see some clever engineering from Wooden Camera and/or Tokina to support this!

 

[Zach Rockenstyre]

Hey Phil,

I mostly lurk and rarely come out of my cave to post, but just wanted to say thanks for always putting so much thorough information on here. It's definitely saved me a few times. How do you think Komodo's form factor would compare to more traditional stills cameras for shooting stills? I wonder if that gap between dsmc2 and a traditional stills camera is closing with the new form factor.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

Hey Phil,

I mostly lurk and rarely come out of my cave to post, but just wanted to say thanks for always putting so much thorough information on here. It's definitely saved me a few times. How do you think Komodo's form factor would compare to more traditional stills cameras for shooting stills? I wonder if that gap between dsmc2 and a traditional stills camera is closing with the new form factor.

If your EDC (every day carry) stills camera is an RB67, it should be very similar.

 

[Phil Holland]

Is there a single frame shooting mode?

Not currently, but probably will be.

Eight pages and no footage?

Yep.

Is the Black Shading ritual still required with the lizard?

Yes, Sensor Calibration is in there and yes RED is still trying to get the most out of what you can get out of a sensor. Outside of the first day of testing Sensor Calibration though, I haven't actually re-calibrated since.

How's the auto focus?
Is there sensor stabilization?
Can you weigh the lightest set up possible? (What does under 2lbs mean?)

I'll dig in a bit to AF, but honestly it's going to be the thing that will be most worked on to get it to where people really want it.

No Sensor Stabilization, but there is Global Shutter however.

I gotcha on that last question in a bit.

Phil - you're probably already working on this but what kind of run time are you getting with the BP-955/975 batteries and the GDU 98WH mini v-lock battery? Jarred mentioned about 3-hours with two BP-955 batteries. Any significant drain from the batteries when the camera is powered off?

Also, how did you mount the v-lock plate to the camera? Couldn't see the mounting point in your photo.

Thanks for all the testing - can't wait to get my hands on it.

I have it rigged differently at the moment, but I'll snap some other angles of that battery plate. Basically there's a sliding plate that goes into the BP battery mount, Wooden Camera is making a single BP and double slot versions. That has a little friction lock with a kip handle so you can change the angle of the battery if needed for balance or rigging.

Battery draw right now seems to be somewhere between 24 and 30Wh. About 3 hours with two BP-955s basically if you are using the Canon ones. Still haven't done my big battery burns, but I will eventually. Power draw might change a bit as stuff is added or optimized, but generally pretty impressed on how little you actually need for a decent up time.

Phil, are you going to upload RAW FILES for download in the future so that we can see at home? Thanks!

Who knows what mysterious lurk in the heart of man?

Appreciate the testing, Phil-- already very exciting new information.

I'm also looking forward to footage, but family and safety first! We now have an 8 pm curfew here in NYC and, among other things, it definitely changes the way you think about your day...

Appreciate that.


For those unaware of what's happening here in Los Angeles outside of the precautions being taken for Covid-19 to film "anything" the recent protests and riots have evoked mandated curfews citywide. Depending on where you are typically between 5pm-6am, some areas as early as 1pm-6am. I've had to cancel two of my Komodo shoots this week due to this and I will need to figure out talent, location, etc. again. It's an on the day curfew at the moment and we don't know what tomorrow holds, which is throwing a wrench in not only testing the camera but also regular production work.

I'll do my best to get some footage out, hopefully something worth looking at. But it's been rough. The pros to this is I am getting intimate with Komodo through rigorous testing of the camera, unreleased accessories, well known lenses, unreleased adapters, as well as released/unreleased adapters. Testing out lots of rigging and stuff to. Making notes along the way. Filing down parts as necessary on hardware that doesn't "quite fit", etc. I enjoy doing all this and uncovering those little obstacles along the way.

As for Komodo, so far so good. I got more stuff incoming too.

 

[Jiri Vrozina]

Not currently, but probably will be.




Yep.



Yes, Sensor Calibration is in there and yes RED is still trying to get the most out of what you can get out of a sensor. Outside of the first day of testing Sensor Calibration though, I haven't actually re-calibrated since.




I'll dig in a bit to AF, but honestly it's going to be the thing that will be most worked on to get it to where people really want it.

No Sensor Stabilization, but there is Global Shutter however.

I gotcha on that last question in a bit.




I have it rigged differently at the moment, but I'll snap some other angles of that battery plate. Basically there's a sliding plate that goes into the BP battery mount, Wooden Camera is making a single BP and double slot versions. That has a little friction lock with a kip handle so you can change the angle of the battery if needed for balance or rigging.

Battery draw right now seems to be somewhere between 24 and 30Wh. About 3 hours with two BP-955s basically if you are using the Canon ones. Still haven't done my big battery burns, but I will eventually. Power draw might change a bit as stuff is added or optimized, but generally pretty impressed on how little you actually need for a decent up time.




Who knows what mysterious lurk in the heart of man?




Appreciate that.


For those unaware of what's happening here in Los Angeles outside of the precautions being taken for Covid-19 to film "anything" the recent protests and riots have evoked mandated curfews citywide. Depending on where you are typically between 5pm-6am, some areas as early as 1pm-6am. I've had to cancel two of my Komodo shoots this week due to this and I will need to figure out talent, location, etc. again. It's an on the day curfew at the moment and we don't know what tomorrow holds, which is throwing a wrench in not only testing the camera but also regular production work.

I'll do my best to get some footage out, hopefully something worth looking at. But it's been rough. The pros to this is I am getting intimate with Komodo through rigorous testing of the camera, unreleased accessories, well known lenses, unreleased adapters, as well as released/unreleased adapters. Testing out lots of rigging and stuff to. Making notes along the way. Filing down parts as necessary on hardware that doesn't "quite fit", etc. I enjoy doing all this and uncovering those little obstacles along the way.

As for Komodo, so far so good. I got more stuff incoming too.

How about shooting some artistic candle light shots inside house of your kids. Or anybody. Or Red should send Komodo to Mark Toia. ;-)

 

[yann LHENORET]

As for Komodo, so far so good. I got more stuff incoming too.

Thank you very much Phil for all these informations. I agree with you, now is not the best time to go out and grab some footage in LA.

Do you think you could show us what the menu looks like? How it's organized? How the controls for ISO/IRIS/SS work?

 

[Russ Fill]

Pro Rez is a nice touch. Are the frame rates the same for Pro Rez and the R3d's or do you get to push the rate a little.
Thank you for all your info Phil really nice to have a trusted non bias info.
Looking forward to hearing more and getting my hands on mine eventually to come up with my own thoughts.

 

[David Rasberry]

Thanks for the updates Phil. Please stay safe and healthy.

 

[Dabling Harward]

Hey Phil,

I've been in the trenches with the peaceful protesters since day 1. We've been out here in LA all day and night everyday. Shooting with my iPhone, Canon Eos R, and Mavic. If you want me to get some footage of history in the making with this revolutionary new cam just say the word. All skin tones are represented. This way we could get a little something out for the folks who have waited forever for someone to get their hands on one to see some footage.

Dabling

 

[Phil Holland]

Chewing through my list of things to do. And yes, we got my dad home safe yesterday from the hospital and he's on the road to recovery.

There's obviously now more Komodos out in the wild, more early orange peeps. So congrats to all.


Today's quick diary and I don't think a clean shot like this has been done yet.




RED Komodo Diary Day 4 or 5-ish
Moderate break yesterday for a multitude of reasons and during this photo a 5.5 earthquake (killing the game 2020, keep it up!). Digging back in.

So squarely coming up with an apples to erm.... orange comparison from RED DSMC2 to Komodo in size and weight is tricky. Mainly due to Komodo having a built in battery plate, very basic I/O, and lens mount. So here is one of my Monstros rigged up with the Base I/O Expander, V-Module, and with the EF Mount. This should give you and idea of the size difference. The weight difference however is notable and bear in mind this is the Carbon Fiber DSMC2 body.

Weight without caps. Monstro rig = 2428g (5.35lbs). Komodo = 902g. Komodo is just shy of 2lbs naked with nothing on it. About 37% the weight of the rig here and the difference is bigger with the lower power draw and smaller batteries. Lightest weight shooting configuration for me so far is < 1500 grams (~3.3lbs). Really depends on the lens obviously and how much juice, but that's with a 1.5 hour battery.

Interesting stuff. Hopefully that helps you plan out your rigs and all that. Interesting size comparison here really. Obvious differences in max frame rates, horse power, and format size between DSMC2 and Komodo, that's where that all makes sense obviously. But this little beast is tiny and tiny when rigged even.

 

[rand thompson]

Phil,

That's great news about your dad , and thanks for all you have done and will do!

 

[Matt Beardsley]

wow, cool to see the size comparison, makes me excited for drone and gimbal work. I hope your dad is doing well! I've spent time in the hospital with am immediate family member in the last couple weeks and know it's especially tense in these times!

 

[Bastien Tribalat]

Chewing through my list of things to do. And yes, we got my dad home safe yesterday from the hospital and he's on the road to recovery.

That's great news dude. Take care

 

[Phil Holland]

Trying to catch up on my testing after losing a day basically.

Here's some good news!



RED Komodo Diary Day 05

A happy discovery and thanks for following along so far as I discover what this thing does. For experienced RED Shooters Sensor Calibration (Black Shading) isn't a foreign concept. It's basically a sensor and pixel check while generating a calibration map to counteract a sensor's inherent fixed pattern noise.

In the DSMC2 world we are currently at about 1 minute per "K" for a calibration. So about 8 minutes on Monstro, logically I would expect 6 minutes on Komodo all things being equal.

However! Komodo 6K can whack out a Sensor Calibration in less than 1.5 minutes. A very welcome speed boost. These don't need to be run everyday really, mostly in large temperature changes. I like to run it ahead of a shooting day, in the studio ahead of a shooting week. Don't know if this is the final spec, but any speed boost here makes people's lives easier on set.

 

[Björn Benckert]

Still no r3d’s released? or?

Did you guys have to sign a NDA or somthing? So odd when people been waiting for a camera to be released for so long time and teased with pictures of the actual camera but no raw footage from it.

Or have I jyst missed tge link somwhere?

 

[Phil Holland]

Still no r3d’s released? or?

Did you guys have to sign a NDA or somthing? So odd when people been waiting for a camera to be released for so long time and teased with pictures of the actual camera but no raw footage from it.

Or have I jyst missed tge link somwhere?

I'll be providing footage when I can. I had to cancel 2 days of shooting due to what I've written about. I don't think if you're in an area that has the mandated curfews going on there's a clear understanding of how hard it is to get people together film film something this week. Ideally there would be no Covid-19, ideally the riots and protest wouldn't have causes early curfews and locations not even opening, ideally my father didn't need heart surgery.

Not making excuses, but I'll get you all what you want shortly. It's just real hard and I'm really not going to release footage of squirrels in my yard. And trust me. You want something better than that anyways.