RED KOMODO for Documentary

Philipp Kunzli · February 17, 2021

Hey everybody

I'm in Preproduction for a feature length Cinema Documentary on which we're going to have around 40 shooting Days.

Has anyone any experience in shooting Documentary-style with the Komodo?

Its going to be a mix of shoulder & tripod and some long take(60Min) Interviews... The team is just very basic. Director, Sond-Guy and myself on the Camera.

(The setup would be the Komodo with the Fujinon MK18-55mm T2,9)

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Philipp

Rick Cook · February 17, 2021

Hey Philipp,

I recently purchased a Komodo. So far it's been great. The form factor was the biggest seller to me. The image has been really impressive and if you are used to dealing with R3D's and IPP2 it will be great.

In my opinion the weakest part of this camera is the single SDI Port. I haven't personally had issues but some folks had their output go down. There is little you can do besides sending it back to red. This is an issue when folks use cheaper sdi cables and the pins are not properly sized or the locking is not tight. It seams the 12G port on the camera is very sensitive. If you use the recommended 12G cables it will not be an issue.

Another issue is the wait time to receive one. I know you'll likely rent but since its 40 days maybe you planned to purchase? They are back ordered for about 5 months.

Fivel Rothberg · August 27, 2021

Hi Philipp and Rick, would you mind sharing how you rigged out your Komodo for shoulder based work? That's what I'm most concerned about. And interesting to hear about the single SDI issue. Thanks!

Mark Kenfield · August 30, 2021

I would be very wary of the reliability (based on the reports I've seen). The compact size is really appealing, but I fear you'd want to carry a backup camera with you at all times.