MASSIVE price drop for the RED Komodo, now it is only US$2,995! The influence of the new Nikon owners, bringing in efficiencies? Or price pressures?

[NorBro]

I'd expect one more as a nice parting gift before the final transition, exit strategy really feels done-done, but who even cares at this point, I think.

IIRC, JL said in one of those first phone interviews after the acquisition that everything happened so fast and it's all crazy, etc. etc...they were probably already working on a camera (or more), might as well finish it, if so.

 

[IronFilm]

My two cent and guess would be that the Komodo will be replaced with a camera body more suited to Japanese automated mass production of the internal components with minimal human intervention apart from parts assembly, final testing and QC at the end of the line. Nikon's current major Thailand plant is more like a General Motors plant. Current Reds are much more labour-intensive to produce. Red has never run automated production stages like the Japanese manufacturers.

Such an automated production process is very capital intensive. Which I guess as a small company then RED didn't have access to.
Also requires a totally different type of skilled expertise that RED didn't have either.

But now thanks to Nikon, all this is possible.

If Nikon wants to compete with the likes of Sony with their high sales volume FX line-ups as opposed to Sony's A series, where Nikon are competing with the Z series, they need to move to the same type of manufacturing processes and philosophy that Sony used to produce the FX6 for example. One can't argue that hasn't been a success. Aside from the design and function of the FX6, Sony could barely meet market demand for the first two years of the FX6's production life from a new production line built specifically for the FX6.

Undoubtedly the Sony FX6 has been the big success story of the current cycle of this generation.
Am sure Nikon would like to be "the FX6" (or "the FS7" or "the C300mk1" of the past) for the next generation coming. Or at the very least, do such a strong showing it sets Nikon/RED up for being in a front line position to take that crown for the next generation after. (not "the FX6 2.0" but "FX6 3.0". As going from Zero to Hero might be too much to expect from Nikon/RED for "the FX6 2.0 generation")

Who wants to bet that RED will release a new camera that wasn’t already in the pipeline from before Nikon bought them?

Am half expecting this. But with Nikon tweaks added on top.
Such as having only the Nikon Z Mount (a locking variant). And having Nikon AF, and built in Nikon Z lens corrections.
Might even more than just tweaks, could even for instance be an entire overhaul of the UI to closer match Nikon's existing UI.