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High-res footage has a new standard: A look at the RED Komodo 6K camera
The RED Komodo 6K: an all-around high-resolution cinema camera for which nothing has been sacrificed despite its compact size.
Are you a beginning videographer overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cameras on the market right now? We get it.
Cinema cameras are real investments and committing to a model can be daunting. That’s not even looking at the endless number of accessories.
Luckily RED digital camera, the brand behind cameras used for “The Hobbit” and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2,” released the perfect product. The Komodo 6K is the perfect cinema camera for any beginning videographer looking to make serious moves.
Features of the RED Komodo 6k cinema camera
Initially designed as a crash cam, the Komodo has grown beyond that narrow characterization.
Users commented that they’d like to use the Komodo as a B or C, and in some cases even a main camera. RED listened.
The Komodo 6k cinema camera, released late 2020, features a global shutter, 6k resolution, stabilization, and an RF-style lens mount.
It features RED’s innovative image capture technology seen in its previous cinema cameras. Komodo 6k stands out in one big thing: it’s tiny.
With high-resolution, the RED Komodo is perfect for beginner videographers
The Komodo 6k is the smallest camera RED has ever produced, yet its high-resolution features are not left behind. Because of its compact size, the Komodo is ideal for videographers that are just starting and are still figuring out their preferred set-up, location, and style of shooting.
The camera being four by four by four, with a weight of just 2.1 pounds means it’s possible to shoot whenever and wherever.
This small, light camera means that you have more flexibility when shooting; instead of lugging along a massive cinema camera, with the Komodo 6k, you’re free to experiment with angles and perspectives.
The cinema camera’s small size hasn’t been detrimental to its image quality. You can record up to 6K at 40 fps, 5K at 48 fps, 4K at 60 fps, and 2K at 120 fps in REDCODE RAW. Shooting in RAW means having the most flexibility in post-production.
The camera’s global shutter sensor guarantees crisp images even when shooting fast-moving scenes. Combine that with the camera’s minimal weight and size, and you have the perfect gadget for trips, adventures, and impromptu antics.
The RED Komodo 6k is a cinema camera made to make your life easier
The Komodo 6k has very intuitive controls. A touch screen on top of the camera makes changing settings and checking footage easy. Through the integrated 2.4/5 GHz WiFi, you can also link your Android or IOS to control the camera and watch a preview on your personal device.
The Komodo 6k has dual battery slots that allow you to shoot up to 3 hours of footage. The batteries are hotly swappable which means that it runs down one battery at a time; once one dies, it switches to the second battery while you can charge the one that ran out.
The camera does not come with dual card slots. This can be annoying if you’re planning to shoot for a long time as this would mean that you’d have to carry a decent amount of cards on you while shooting.
While ideally, you would have to carry as little extra equipment as possible, being forced to carry extra cards can be a positive thing. By switching to different cards, you minimize the risk of your one card getting corrupted and you losing all your footage.
The RED cinema world
The camera also serves as an entry point into the RED cinema world. Where before the RED cameras only supported first-party accessories, the Komodo 6k works with some Sony lenses.
The Komodo 6k creates the potential for a whole series of third-party accessories. The camera comes with a mechanical EF adaptor which allows you to use certain Canon and Sony lenses.
Despite the steep price tag of $5,995, the camera is currently sold out on the RED website.
Having to wait a month or two before getting it might be a good thing; it’ll allow you time to figure out projects, shoots, and goals to hit once you get your hands on the Komodo 6k.
The small size and light weight mean the cinema camera is ready for any experimental shoots you imagine. The question is: are you?