Red Komodo 6K hands-on Review 

The Red Komodo, with a global shutter, is a great action camera and gimbal camera. However, it is good enough to be used in feature films, documentaries and pretty much anything you want to throw at it.

Last month I had picked the Red Komodo for a 12-hour run and gun shoot under lots of mixed and available lighting situations. Therefore, this review is more from an operator’s perspective (who rents from a rental company), and not from an owner’s perspective.

Review type: Hands on

List of sponsored/free gear: None. I rented the Red Komodo for this project.

Did I get paid for this review? No

Warning: The findings of this review are based on the particular sample tested, and might not be true of all samples. Even though I’ve tried to be as objective as possible about image quality and usability a large measure of subjectivity and personal preference is inevitable.

Details about the Red Komodo

In case you don’t know already, here are the important specifications of the Red Komodo:

Feature	Red Komodo
Maximum Resolution	6144 X 3240
Maximum frame rate	120 fps 1080p
ISO Range	250 to 12,800
IRND Filter (internal)	No
Dynamic range	16+ stops
Internal RAW	Redcode RAW
Other Codecs	Prores HQ (up to 4K)
Battery	BP-975 x 2
Power Draw	37 W
Battery Voltage	14.4V
Battery Life	180 minutes with two Canon BP-975 batteries.
Media	1x CFast 2.0
Monitor	2.9″ touchscreen
Connection	12G SDI
Lens Mount	Canon RF
Audio	Uncompressed, 24-bit 48 kHz, with an adapter
Weight	952g

Here are the settings I used:

Setting	Red Komodo
Resolution	6144 X 3240
Frame rate	24 fps
ISO	800
RAW	Redcode RAW MQ
Media Used	Red and Angelbird CFast 2.0 cards
Field Monitor	A TV Logic that was very poor as far as colors and visibility was concerned. It was powered by the camera, via D-Tap.
Data Recorded	2 TB, plus whatever I recorded on the Canon R5!
Lens Mount	Canon RF, and Metabones PL to RF adapter
Audio	Recorded separately, we had a Sound guy. However, we also used a Rode mic for on-camera, just in case.

Why I picked the Red Komodo for this project

The project was a full-day’s worth of shooting in tough and available lighting conditions. Even though I packed an LED light I never had the opportunity to use it.

I was filming a celebrity, who shall not be named, and was tasked to document her life and activities. The director preferred a Red Komodo, even though I felt it might not be the best tool for the job. In the end, we went with a combo of Red Komodo and my Canon EOS R5 (Amazon, B&H).

If you want to know my thoughts on the Canon R5, check this out:

Canon EOS R5 Review. Good for Video?

I rented Zeiss CP.3 lenses and had RF lenses for the shoot.

In this scenario, the Red Komodo worked because it had some advantages:

• Low data rate in compressed RAW
• Dynamic range
• Hot swappable dual batteries
• 6K resolution
• Size and weight
• Decent low light ability

The Red Komodo is really a beast of a camera, and the data rates can get high. I ended up with about 2 TB of data for a single day’s shoot (12 hours)

Cost of Ownership

If you’re trying to spec out a Red Komodo, you should be aware of the costs involved:

Red Komodo	Price
Camera Body	$5,995
Battery	$400*
Media	$1,945^ (4 hours)
Lens Adapter	$369**
Total	$8,709

A cage with a top handle would also be useful. And, you will most likely need an external monitor. I recommend SmallHD or Red’s official monitor.

Both the monitors I had were pretty much useless, and looked worse than the on-camera LCD! We used FXLion batteries for the shoot, and I have had no problems (I own a few myself).

Review

Summing up my experience with the Red Komodo:

Usability

The Red Komodo is light in weight, though once you add on a cage, batteries and a field monitor it’s no longer that light.

You can hot swap the batteries from the back on the Red Komodo, and this is important for continuous shoots. You can also use larger Canon BP-975 batteries for even more juice. Wireless live preview video feed and the camera can be controlled wirelessly from any phone, though I did not test it.

The menu system was really simple to use, and much better than older Red models.

If fact, I urge you to watch my Red Monstro review, because I had made the case for a simpler camera, which, curiously the Komodo is!

Red Monstro 8K Review (vs Sony Venice)

In my review, I had asked for:

• Simpler compression settings (three, to be exact)
• CFast 2.0 compatibility
• Easier menu system

All three features are part of the Red Komodo. Somebody at Red is listening! The only feature request not present was Internal IRND filters. I had a Canon EF to RF adapter and some glass handy, but never used it.

Overall, in terms of usability, the Red Komodo is really easy to use. It took just a few minutes to setup. Recording was easy, you can record from the LCD directly (it’s a touchscreen), or from the record button on the side. We also had a side handle with a record button (original Red accessory).

The camera never came in the way of the shoot. What more could you ask for?

Image quality

We had multiple situations where highlights would have blown out on lesser cameras, but the Komodo held most well. It is clean in the shadows. A couple of images need a shadow boost and in preliminary testing I found the footage to be good enough for it without introducing unnecessary noise.

Redcode RAW continues to be a joy to use. I am unable to share footage for this project, but you can find plenty of examples online. It really shines as a sub $10,000 camera.

The ability to also shoot in Prores up to 4K is useful, though I didn’t test it.

Autofocus

The Red Komodo has autofocus, but I found it was finicky and unreliable on a tough shoot where you have to move fast. I wouldn’t recommend it for anything, even sit down interviews.

I tested it with three RF lenses, and it wasn’t good enough on all three:

1. Canon RF 24–70mm F2.8 L IS USM (Amazon, B&H)
2. Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM Lens (Amazon, B&H) – this lens focuses slowly regardless of the camera.
3. Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (Amazon, B&H)

Data

The maximum data rate of the Red Komodo is 280 MB/s. In 8:1 setting or MQ compression the data rate is 175 MB/s.

I shot for a full 12-hour day, and we rolled a lot of B-roll, and had interview setups with audio. We came to about 2 TB of data. That’s about 3.5 hours of data (200 minutes or so).

You have to be careful with this setting on such shoots, because the data can go out of hand pretty quickly. I had instructions from the director to film in MQ, but on hindsight I would have picked LQ instead.

Cons

The Red Komodo doesn’t have a built-in ND filter. This is a pain for run and gun shoots. I had anticipated some issues but thankfully we never needed ND filters. However, I would say this is the biggest problem with this camera, and the next iteration must have IRND filters.

The other big disadvantage is there are no XLR inputs. You need an adapter, which Red sells separately, but it’s really painful.

The Red Komodo draws a large amount of power for a camera that doesn’t have an LCD or viewfinder, but having two battery slots sort of makes up for it. We changed batteries four times, but that’s par for the course over such a long day.

If you want to see a comparison between the Red Komodo and other cameras in its price class, check this out:

Sony FX6 vs Red Komodo vs Kinefinity Mavo mark2 LF vs Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K vs Z Cam E2-F8. Which is the best deal for filmmakers?

You can see the Sony FX6 might be a great option, except I am not a fan of Sony colors and usability. The director shared my sentiments, too. The only other cameras I would have picked are the Canon EOS C70 (Amazon, B&H) or the Canon C300 Mark III, both of which has dual pixel autofocus.

That’s it for my review of the Red Komodo. I hope you found it helpful.

If you have any questions please feel to ask in the comments below.