Komodo is Officially On Sale

James0b57 said:
Red loves to milk the "sold out" thing. They're like a Night Club in LA that has a long line out front, but when you get in, the place is half empty.
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I saw people saying that a few years ago when it became easier to find the S-W over the RAVEN and many thought it was just a tactic to get frustrated, impatient customers to cave for the next camera up, but in this case the next option is $15,000 and what's needed for it to function is more complicated.

A lot of people seem like they are waiting for their cameras so pretending they are sold out doesn't seem like it's best for business as preorders will likely be canceled as more time goes on.

In LA, you see the place after you've already paid to get in.
 
NorBro said:
I saw people saying that a few years ago when it became easier to find the S-W over the RAVEN and many thought it was just a tactic to get frustrated, impatient customers to cave for the next camera up, but in this case the next option is $15,000 and what's needed for it to function is more complicated.

A lot of people seem like they are waiting for their cameras so pretending they are sold out doesn't seem like it's best for business as preorders will likely be canceled as more time goes on.

In LA, you see the place after you've already paid to get in.
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oh, sorry to hear that. yeah, Red does enough silly stuff to not need any theories like that.

Cool! you should visit LA more often!
 
P.S. For anyone interested, make sure to be logged in and have all of your payment details on point if you're interested in this bundle as you'll have some competition as soon as checkout opens.

As someone who has sniped dozens of cameras from all over the place over the years, I can tell you that you'll have to be checked out within about 8 seconds if you want this product.

I had 9 hours to purchase it yesterday (noticed it in the AM) and it took a lot out of me not to buy it and am flabbergasted how no one did all the way up until 8pm when B&H closed checkout for sun down (SOP), but you still have a chance...
 
NorBro, thanks for the tip! I just ordered "WITHIN ONE MINUTE" of Checkout coming back online Saturday evening!!! Couldn't believe it was showing "In Stock" on the Starter Pack! Used the B&H payboo card, so NO sales tax!
 
If I wanted that camera badly enough, within one minute wouldn't have cut it, haha...enjoy your new toy!
 
ntouched said:
NorBro, thanks for the tip! I just ordered "WITHIN ONE MINUTE" of Checkout coming back online Saturday evening!!! Couldn't believe it was showing "In Stock" on the Starter Pack! Used the B&H payboo card, so NO sales tax!
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sweet! looking forward to what you shoot! these smaller cameras certainly open up the possibilities.
 
IMG_6702.JPG

Balancing the RED Komodo paired with the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM on a DJI RS 2 was easy peasy! In fact, it required much less time to balance than the a7s III with the Ninja V. As can be seen in the photo below, there is a ton of clearance between the batteries and the roll motor. The optical stabilization of the lens will come in clutch for handheld work. The camera can be removed from the quick release plate of the gimbal and mounted on a tripod with the provided Arca Swiss plate; or you can attach the SmallRig handle (shown above) to the NATO rail of the cage and go handheld. The phone can also be attached to the side of the gimbal with the SmallRig Monitor Mount (not shown) to avoid shaking the camera when using the app. There isn’t a menu item of the Komodo that can’t be accessed with the brilliant RED Control app. Recording R3D LQ to a 512 GB CFast card gives us around 1 hour and 17 minutes recording time and two Redvolt batteries can power the camera for several hours. The SmallRig cage and iPhone barely add anything to the Komodo’s small profile. Batteries, media and a cage are all that’s needed to make the Komodo a fully functioning camera, no more or less than any other camera on the market.

IMG_6710.jpeg

Sample footage (HDR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM9j2VxjBpk
https://youtu.be/MJFr1F0l6a4
 
Nah, I bought 2 and sold 2 within the first 6 months it was released. You could find them if you try hard enough.

Komodo was impossible to find (at the time of that post above a year ago and that ended up being a mistake above at B&H) because RED was sending like 1 to each business every few months (supposedly). Maybe you got 2/etc if you were pals with JL.

On a related note, the Z9 is impossible to find right now (besides eBay).
 
NorBro said:
On a related note, the Z9 is impossible to find right now (besides eBay).
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My buddy got one, Nikon diehard. Said it's always that way with Nikon, that certain people, vendors or organizations get preferential treatment. Can't say, all I've ever owned was a Coolpix.
 
Yeah, for sure - every place I called asked if I'm a Nikon Ambassador because they get them first (as you mentioned).

Maybe others in the Nikon family get them first, too.
 
NorBro said:
Nah, I bought 2 and sold 2 within the first 6 months it was released. You could find them if you try hard enough.

Komodo was impossible to find (at the time of that post above a year ago and that ended up being a mistake above at B&H) because RED was sending like 1 to each business every few months (supposedly). Maybe you got 2/etc if you were pals with JL.

On a related note, the Z9 is impossible to find right now (besides eBay).
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I pre-ordered the FX6 within 5 minutes of its announcement
and still had to wait 3 months to get one despite being the
first person who preordered at Omega Broadcast. And
even then my sales rep had to intercede for me and explained to Sony that we were shooting a show on the
FX9 and were in need of the FX6 for a small B camera
(car mount) to it. Apparently Sony was prioritizing professionals
who had an immediate need for them, even back
then. But yeah back then you could get them…you’d
have a wait but they were trickling out. Right now the
waitlist is over 6 months at the normal ‘big’ video
stores. You may get lucky at a smaller local store
but they are pretty hard to come by right now.

Here in Alaska, I have 2 different friends who have
each (separately) bought a Komodo (one 3 months
ago, the other about a year ago) and they both
received them relatively quickly. One of them bought
the Komodo precisely because it was available and
the FX6 (which he was also looking at) was not available.
 
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Ambassador, yes that is the word he used. He's been once since film days, really since Washington Press Corp. I think he started when he got back from Viet Nam. My brother is also a Nikon afficionado. He won a photo contest in Taos for a picture he shot that ended up on signs, busses, billloards. He showed up to accept the award wearing a D-something around his neck but the winning photo he took with his iPhone. :Drogar-Kriz(DBG):
 
NorBro said:
Well, yeah...the post you responded to was from over a year ago. I bought a Komodo as well, about 6 months ago.
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The interesting thing about that to me, is that the
Sony (who is the big company) seems to have
less availability now and the Red (the relatively
small company) seems to have ramped up production
to keep up with demand better than Sony has.
 
Usually I'd say there is an ulterior motive somewhere in there why that is, but I think this time it's just more about the parts that are used and the demand for the Komodo has declined.

I think Sony actually mentioned the FX6 will be in short supply because of chip shortages (while companies outside of Japan like RED and Blackmagic may have planned ahead not to rely on certain hardware, IDK tho).

But besides that I also think Sony would outsell any RED any day of the week not only because of the overall features of their cameras, but also because RED cameras are intimidating and not for everyone like a simpler hybrid or cinema camera from others.
 
The first time I became aware of RED cameras was back in 2009-2010 while I was teaching English in S. Korea. I didn’t know anything about cinema cameras at the time, but I was passionate about movies (in particular, Korean film). In 2009, a highly regarded Korean film critic came out with his first feature film, Cafe Noir, an arthouse picture starring one of the most gifted actors of his generation, Shin Ha-Kyun, and it blew me away. It was shot on the RED ONE. A year later, one of the most popular Korean dramas, Slave Hunters (Chuno) was also shot on the RED ONE. Then there was the precocious Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan’s I Killed My Mother that premiered at Cannes, again shot on RED (though he since only shoots on celluloid). Much later, I became acquainted with the work of the talented commercial photographer Mark Toia, who made a bunch of sensational promo reels the likes of which I’d never seen before. For fans of RED, his facebook page is full of great camera porn. hehe More recently, I started playing around with RED sample footage and really enjoyed the workflow and became enamoured with the film like noise, unique in my experience, especially when compared to other cameras I’d been looking at, some of which looked plasticky or overprocessed - and it also seemed especially suited to HDR. Then, a few months ago, my local camera shop invited me to have a look at some old Scarlets and I fell in love with the design and build quality - they’re like miniature tanks! At that point, nothing was going to stop me from getting a RED.
 
As far as I'm concerned, I think REDCODE RAW is better than everything out there (it's absolutely effortless to make almost anything look good in seconds) - and the patent(s) makes a lot of sense if you look at it that way - but reliable AF and solid IBIS are also so critical for many if you're doing more than just camera tests on a tripod, and to me this is the perfect technical example of having cake and eating it too.

When I had the Komodo I hoped they would improve the AF (and maybe they will), but once you've used Sony or Canon, it is so difficult to use anything else, it's always on your mind.
 
NorBro said:
When I had the Komodo I hoped they would improve the AF (and maybe they will), but once you've used Sony or Canon, it is so difficult to use anything else, it's always on your mind.
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Yes, I gave up prioritizing image quality above all else several years ago. There are too many factors that contribute to getting the shot and material that you want. Whether or not the footage has your favorite noise pattern or color rendering is secondary to whether or not you were able to line up the shot and get something usable in the first place.

And, as always, it's the creative thinking and inspiration that will matter most. I see people do amazing things with old cameras, or just a single lens and tripod setup. It's important not to let our interest in technology overshadow the basics of image-making, even though the technology is crucial
 
Has to look good tho as well...cuz I'm not sticking around and contributing to the analytics no matter how much creative thinking or inspiration is involved if it's not looking good. Might be shallow but that's what IQ saturation does to ya brain, or some brains.
 
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