RED Komodo 6k | Digital Cinema Camera For All Content Creators

Going back on Jarred Land’s Instagram, it is around 69 weeks since the tease of the RED Komodo started with the promise of a CFast card slot, which I believe was a good move after the controversies around RED Mini-Mag cards. Ever since then, the hype has just gone higher and higher. From talks by big influencers and YouTubers like MKBHD to high-level productions like the Hard Rock Hotels’ Big Game commercial directed by Michael Bay. With its small form factor, 6K Super 35 Cmos sensor, and that famous Red Color Science, they are going after the content creators who may have been thinking about getting a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k for their youtube video making and vlog filming.

Global Shutter vs Rolling Shutter

The difference between the two comes from the way each system uses the imaging sensor to capture a frame. The CMOS sensor of a camera that consists of millions of pixels will expose them to light for a fraction of a second and the combination of all the light captured by each pixel will create a full image that will be a single frame. Now in a rolling shutter system, a row of pixels will be turned on for each fraction of a second and then combined together for the full image. This is the same as the way the mechanical shutter of older cameras used to work. That can be good until you decide to shoot a fast-moving subject. From the time the first row of pixels is capturing light until the process reaches the last row, the subject has already moved. That will result in slightly distorted images, or in the case of much faster situations, a complete disfigurement.

This is a problem that the global shutter system is about to solve. Unlike rolling shutters, a global shutter will turn all the sensor pixels at the same time to capture a frame. This may be a bit harder to process but will result in a much higher quality video.

And for the same reasons, the global shutter of Komodo 6K is the talk of the town. RED’s KOMODO 19.9 MP Super 35mm Global Shutter CMOS not only can capture fast-moving objects without any Blurred or Curved Lines but also will achieve higher dynamic range and higher ISOs with little to no noise.

REDCODE RAW Recording and Max Frame Rates

REDCODE RAW is quite a well-received format by RED and many filmmakers and content creators are satisfied with the quality of the format. In Komodo 6K, RED tries to build upon what REDCODE RAW has already built and driven it to the next level. So in that department, you can rest assured that Komodo 6K can give you that well-known RED color science and quality. RED Komodo 6k generally offers three main settings for REDCODE RAW recording, HQ, MQ, and LQ, all at a 17:9 aspect ratio. Regarding the frame rates, Komodo 6k can record 40fps at 6k, 60fps at 4k, and 120fps at 2k. The same frame rates can be achieved using Apple PRORES 422 HQ and PRORES 422 but only in 4K and 2K. Komodo 6K can also playback the footage at 23.98 / 24 / 25 / 29.97 / 30 / 50 / 59.94 / and 60 fps at all resolutions.

Lens Mount

RED Komodo 6k by default uses RF mounts but you can also use Canon EF with full electronic communication via compatible Canon RF mount adapters. This can bring the huge and diverse catalog of Canon lenses to the table which not only means freedom of choice when using lenses but can also make moving from other platforms much easier to the RED ecosystem.

CFast 2.0 Storage

For a long time, RED cameras were only accepting proprietary RED MINI-MAGs as a form of media storage which not only was a bit frustrating but was also a bit controversial when many users and tech reviewer claimed that the Mini-Mags are just ordinary NVME SSDs that are “made” proprietary using an adapter inside the casing. So seeing that Komodo 6K has moved from MINI-MAGs to a normal and standard format like CFast 2.0 is welcomed. So now Komodo 6K can reach storage speeds of up to 280 MB/s using RED Pro CFast or any other CFast 2.0 media card.

Batteries

Just like the lens mount and storage, RED has decided to adopt an industry standard for its batteries as well. RED Komodo 6K supports both Canon BP955 (4900MAH) and BP975 (7350MAH) batteries. The camera has two battery compartments that allow the batteries to be hot-swappable so you do not need to stop recording when you want to change batteries.

Conclusion

RED Komodo 6K is a great compact cinema camera that can bring RED’s famous color science and quality to a wider range of consumers from big-budget filmmakers all the way to internet content creators and YouTubers. Komodo is really compact so it can easily be mounted, either on gimbals and stabilizers or on the surface of a moving car for example. And it is all about versatility. Either you want to use it in the studio as a camera on a tripod for your film or youtube content, or outdoors on fast-paced content where chunky cameras may become a hassle to use. Even vloggers can easily hold this camera in hand and feel comfortable filming themselves or their surroundings. So if you ask me, Komodo 6K can make so many different factions of content creators happy and satisfied with the quality that it brings to the table.