RED Komodo 6K - Frame Rate and Sensor Crop Breakdown

I've seen a lot of comments about the Red Komodo frame rates and resolutions so I wanted to show off some slow motion! I also give a quick explanation of why Red crops in on the sensor for resolution changes. Hopefully this provides some helpful insight when you're thinking about your next purchases!
Gear:
Red Komodo - www.red.com/ca...
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CoreSWX Hypercore 9 Mini Batteries - amzn.to/392UaJg
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Canon FD 28MM Lens - amzn.to/3bBxJMG
Simmod Lens Gear - www.simmodlens...
Aputure 300D - amzn.to/338w4t3
NATO Rail to Arri Rosette Adapter - amzn.to/3sEZUQN
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[@BenEricson]

Best video I have seen on this topic. Much appreciated!

[@SuperMBARutgers2013]

Fantastic video, sir!

[@MichelArens]

Dude great video!

[@PeakAdventureMedia]

Great video! I just ordered a KOMODA and this video helped a lot! I love seeing someone else from the PNW as well! Let me know if you ever want to shoot one day!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Thanks man! Yeah that'd be cool!

[@PeakAdventureMedia]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK Of course! I work up near Mount Rainier so if you wanna go adventuring hit me up!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

@@PeakAdventureMedia Oh wow, nice. You're going to get some sick footage for sure!

[@PeakAdventureMedia]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK Thank you!

[@Mike0193Azul]

Very interesting information. Definitely the best explanation I've seen over the science of why the heavy crops at higher frame rates. Still slightly confusing but I loved the visual presentation with colored paper ❤️

[@clarkunderwood]

Super appreciate you showing 6 minutes of footage. Very refreshing.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

My pleasure!

[@punkforsale1]

Great explanation! Thanks for making this video :)

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yeah for sure!

[@shzammpatapon9865]

surprising thing is this red komodo has been the most stable camera of all red cameras i have been using

[@tobyhitchcock2958]

Great video! Just FYI, The Sony FS700R shoots up to 240 fps in 4k raw, with recorder. It was release in 2012!!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Thanks! I think the FS700R shoots 4K120 raw with recorder, 240fps at 2k. Also those are bursts rather than continuous recording. Pretty amazing how much they added to that camera in the years after release

[@tobyhitchcock2958]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK You may be correct. It’s been quite a few years since I had that camera setup. But that camera was definitely ahead of its time!

[@albertusbodenstein1976]

I like your focus setup.. How does that work for you? Can you perhaps share what it all entails?

[@aethersuperfluid]

Nice review!

[@BransenPass]

Great explanation! Loved the colored paper method of explaining. I personally very rarely shoot anything over 60p. Usually 24fps almost exclusively. What I am bummed about is the crop even at 24fps. You said that it’s because it can’t actually be a raw format if they take out some information from the sensor. That makes sense to me. I just wish that maybe having 1080p prores raw no crop or even just any 10bit codec would be nice to have for projects that don’t require as much flexibility in post. I often shoot in 1080p even though my camera allows for 4K because most of my clients don’t even care if it’s 4K or not. So for some smaller shoots like I sometimes do it would be nice to have smaller file sizes while not having a crop.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Oh yeah I get that. This is possible with an external recorder I’m fairly certain. It’s an extra piece of equipment but I think that’s probably the trade off though.

[@BransenPass]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK yeah and I refuse to record externally. Just another bit to keep track of. Oh well! Maybe in the future...

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Oh I totally agree. Is the reason you’re wanting to shoot in 1080 that you’re trying to save hard drive space on clients that don’t need that extra quality? Idk what you’re computer setup is like but exporting proxies would probably be worth it so you could just delete the .R3Ds. I know that’s not what you actually want and it’s an extra step lol.

[@BransenPass]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK exactly! I don’t want to have 120gb for a project that doesn’t really matter a ton. It’s fine for bigger budget clients where I’m trying to make it perfect. What I might end up doing which is a lot of extra work is edit on r3d and then export every clip individually as a 1080p backup and delete the r3d’s after the finished edit. That way I still have all the clips not in full resolution but for backups as last resort. Again not ideal and a lot of extra work just to save a hard drive space. Maybe it’s just better to buy more hard drives. 😂

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Honestly I would just buy more hard drives, your clients may not need it but any extra practice finishing projects in the highest quality possible is valuable. That’s how I go about it. I just treat it as a learning experience for me. And yeah, if you need to save space, just export those proxies at the end and delete the R3Ds. If it’s a throwaway project then you won’t care if you don’t have the HQ later

[@ADVANTURECO]

I shoot 120 on every shoot i do. I am curently producing directing, shooting a TV show for the sportsman channel. And I like to nab Slomo stuff to toss into the edit to add a lil spice here and there. granted my backround is in action sports for red bull and gopro. maybe thats why i love it so much. i dont know. either way i will always need that 120 or 240 slomo capability. Great video by the way. thank you!

[@gianniskendristakis7016]

would you recomend komodo for a wedding camera?

[@AINUAEU]

Red Komodo is a Global shutter Camera, so it doesn't scan the image in the way you are mentioning, ,

[@JeffffAn]

very informative video. sld be getting mine this week finally. didn know it does 6k 50 lol. that's awesome news hahaha. will be doing scope anyways so, 6k 48 is actually all i'll need 95% of the time.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yeah I didn’t either. I realized I had never entered that crop mode and was pleasantly surprised

[@JeffffAn]

haha that's actually enough for most of my work i guess haha. can't wait to get my hands on one~

[@INSTINCT777]

thank you for this video! I am quite disappointed with the aliasing/false color on fine details and edges even in 5k mode, getting much worse if you crop even further.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Hmmm, what lenses are you using? I haven't really noticed anything extreme.

[@INSTINCT777]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK nah i can see it in your video

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

@@INSTINCT777 oh really? can you give me an example of a shot? I’m curious to see the issue you’re talking about

[@INSTINCT777]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK in 2k it's basically everywhere at the beginning check on that manhole and the right side of that street lamp. In 5k it's there too check that grid on top of that tower at 4:26 and it's more visable in 4k. The resulting false colors are in all the shots they are only harder to see at 5k or 6k. They push the aliasing away by increasing resolution but the artifacts are there all the time. OLPF is pretty weak in that case. I still don't get why they went for the over the top 6k instead of clean 4k or so, datarates and crop are insanely unusable. But global shutter is a plus so hey :)

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

@@INSTINCT777 Okay yeah I see what you're talking about. I would think some of that is coming from the vintage lens I'm using. I'll have to test that out with some other lenses too. Yeah Global shutter really does make me happy haha.

[@organismx]

you said it 💯

[@jacobwagler]

Most times when I film 120fps it’s for sports promos, to give a dramatic feel. Finding the more I shoot though, the less I use that and go with 60fps.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yeah sounds about right. I used to film skateboarding all the time and for regular use, you really only need 60fps. Every other thing I film is essentially the same in that way

[@jacobwagler]

LAMAR﹢NIK exactly you nailed it! I was afraid of jumping to the Komodo for this reason because I was thinking I’d need to hop from 24 to 120 FPS to get that slow motion but if you just film action scenes you know will require some slow motion film it in 60fps and your set 🤷🏼‍♂️ I appreciate you speaking real about it 👏🏻

[@rMr.big13]

Great video… what is actual crop at 4k 60 fps …. 1.5?

[@rMr.big13]

What is crop at 4k on the Komodo?

[@baijunatarajan]

HI Friend Does Komodo capture 16-bit raw or compress the 16-bit to 12-bit?

[@AlluX97]

That's a great way to mount the Ronin M handles. Just noticed that there's also Niceyrig-nato-rail-with-dual-arri-rosette-mounts. That could do well if you want use both handles. How does the weight sit on the handles while operating ?

[@jtapia1123]

So this crop issue doesnt happen on the Komodo if you choose the Apple Pro Res format right? its only the RED RAW?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

If you want higher frame rates, you have to crop in order to get them, regardless of codec.

[@aspinalldirector]

Hey. Thanks for this. My Komodo is on order. Can you not set the project time base to 50 / 60 fps and get 6k 60fps this way?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

No. If you set your camera's project timebase to 60fps you will still only get the max framerate the camera shoots per format. There's no way to trick the camera into reading the sensor faster. That's essentially what I was trying to get at with my sensor readout example in the video, the max framerates available at each resolution are the max framerates. So I just set the project to 60fps because I hadn't done that yet but what that gives me is the ability to undercrank. So 6k 40fps that will play back at 60fps. Which makes sense since this is designed as a crash cam, where undercranking is used a bunch. Pretty cool, didn't know it would let me do that. I think you're going to like this camera though! Hopefully yours comes soon!

[@daveedsdreads1265]

Does the Komodo crop the exact same when shooting in Prores?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yep, same crop for the same framerates. I haven't tried this but I believe you can get an external recorder and record clips from the 4K SDI connection. So you could record 4K with the full frame size but I don't think that would up your frame rate at all.

[@NickVago]

Great video! Have you noticed any frame skipping before slowing down your footage when shooting in 40fps or 50fps at 6K on a 24fps timeline? Right now I shoot everything at 60fps on my Sony and I slow down some clips and leave other clips at normal speed (gives me options). I am curious if I can do the same thing with the Komodo without any frame skipping or jittering.

[@orlandoquesada6458]

I used for wildlife :)

[@FunkyPigeon369]

Hey man! Nice video, I have been using my Komodo for a few months now, nearly solely in 5k or 6k and I'm quite frequently getting some pretty awful Chroma noise. It's weirdly pretty prevalent in the green channel, have you find anything like this with yours (and if so any solutions) or no issues?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Thanks! Are you seeing this in broad daylight or is it always in low light? Or what scenarios do you see it in?

[@FunkyPigeon369]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK daylight!? It's not a lack of exposure I'm getting it right on the traffic lights and I get how Red RAW works, so it's pretty annoying!!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

@@FunkyPigeon369 Hmmm yeah that's weird. And I'm assuming you've messed around with it a bit in Redcine-X to see if you can make it go away? I'm wondering if there's some setting off or if it's the Gamma output or something. There's been some noise for me but only if I'm pushing the footage pretty hard.

[@FunkyPigeon369]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK I can get rid of it with with noise reduction either in Resolve or Cine-X, but I'm seeing and hearing other guys have so much cleaner footage, and it's worse than other Reds I've used, so yeah wondering if it's a setting or something?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

That's what I would guess. I remember several years ago I had some footage that looked like shit randomly and after days of trying to figure it out. I found out there was something cranked up for some reason. I think I accidentally hit the setting on the camera and didn't notice until everything was offloaded.

[@jacobwagler]

I’m looking to have a similar rig setup but was wondering about the rail mount and if the 3/8 screw would fit the lower quarter M4 hole on the Komodo? This would make things so much easier!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

You're going to want some sort of cheese plate type thing or cage on the side of your camera and attach to that. The ones I have are the GDU Timmy Ribs. Maybe it's possible to find an M4 to 3/8s setup, I'm not sure. I think you'll like having more spots to mount things on the side though.

[@jacobwagler]

LAMAR﹢NIK okay! I was looking at a left side Timmy rib and thought that would be the best option for mounting point 👍🏼 thank you!

[@marcusthompson666]

Can it shoot 4k 59.94p project with 59.94 frame rate? That is the actual question. It may not be able to have 60p 4k with sound

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yep, you can shoot 60fps with a project frame rate of 60 fps to get 4K 60fps with sound

[@marcusthompson666]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK But with a forced crop in right? Not into slightly foggy images from cropping into the thick part of the lens, but maybe RED has fixed this problem they always have?

[@VirtuosityToniLekic]

is there crop on the sensor when shooting 4K prores?? which framerates are available when shooting prores? (also 100fps in PAL when shooting prores?) thanks

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yep, the ProRes side of the camera mirrors the same frame rates and crops. All of it is based on how fast a frame can be read so nothing will change between R3D and ProRes. All of the frame rates I show in the video are the top frame rates in those resolutions but you can record lower frame rates in each resolution too

[@lewisfilms]

This is a great explanation. And very disappointing tho…. It’s means the red Komodo won’t work for me since I want to be able to shoot 4K 60 without a crop.

[@felixkuehl]

Hey, on the cover image: what did you use to mount the nucleus Handle to the Komodo? It looks like some kind of Arri rossette attachment for the top of the komodo?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Yeah it's a nato rail with an Arri Rosette on one end. I meant to add that to the gear list in the description. I'll put it in there in just a moment!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Links are in the description now!

[@HomesteadPictures]

Something I'm a little unclear of having gone through the menus myself: If I'm shooting in ProRes 4K and the FORMAT is set to 6K, it doesn't seem to crop. But when I set the FORMAT to 4K it does crop, even though it's capturing 4K in both scenarios... Is that perhaps a workaround to avoiding cropping in 4K? Would you foresee any disadvantage to capturing 4K ProRes in a 6K FORMAT?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

So when you’re in ProRes your highest resolution you can shoot is 4K. If it’s set to 6K on the sensor then that’s exactly what you’re recording: full sensor readout but it’s being turned into 4K ProRes. The only extra thing you’re getting when you crop to 4K on the sensor readout is frame rates because the camera gets to read less lines of pixels, making it happen faster. The only disadvantage to 4K ProRes/6K format would be that you don’t have raw anymore and you haven’t gained any frame rates. I could be mistaken but it would be worth seeing if the ProRes is heavier than the raw because if it is, then you might as well shoot raw

[@wildpatagoniafilms16]

I don't have a Komodo.. planning to get it... and to jump inn the RED ecosystem ... I think I rather get the quality of REF color science & dynamic range ... than just 120 FPS... if I need the 120 I can rent a GEMINI , uses full frame read out for 120fps... helium crops the frame so... GEMINI gets you better quality I think. (I could be wrong though...) Nice video mate! Does Komodo does 29.976 ? thanks!

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Are you asking about 29.976 at 6K? If so, it doesn't currently, but I would think that would be coming in future updates. More options in between what's already there. Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@wildpatagoniafilms16]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK hey thanks for reaching out ... well not exactly at 60 fps... (even thought it would be great...), but what about 29.976 in other frames FPS...? thanks!

[@billiampotter]

@@wildpatagoniafilms16 The Komodo records in 29.97 at 6k. You have to go to Menu>Project Settings>Project Time Base, rather than just changing the framerate from the popup window for quick changes on the main menu where you just have the options of project framerate and compatible high frame rate options. 40fps is max framerate in full sensor readout 6k.

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Oh yeah, thanks, I didn’t think to mention that!

[@llhfilms]

Might be a stupid question but bare with me, a lot of the work I do on the komodo is shot at 17:9 4k 50fps, obviously outputting for socials I just output at 1080p 16:9 but shooting at 17:9 leaves bars at the top and bottom of the frame, any advice on what you do about this? (I've just been zooming in until it fills the frame)

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

So if you are in premiere like me for instance: you can edit on a 4K timeline at 17:9 if you want and then do the crop on export by setting the export resolution to 1920x1080. Then above your video on the top left there is a drop down where you can select “scale to fill” I’m fairly certain that’s what it’s called. Otherwise you can edit on a 1080 timeline and zoom in to like 108 OR right click on the clips and select “set to frame size”. I personally choose to crop on export but that just means you have to remember that some of your image will be cropped at the end of your edit but 17:9 to 16:9 doesn’t crop too much really.

[@pugazhenthipandian9040]

This is r3d raw HQ recorded..?

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Most of what you're seeing is MQ and I think there's some HQ in there somewhere. Although I could probalby use LQ and be just fine for these videos.

[@petrub27]

ffs , shoot full 24 not 23.9 you're not on tv

[@LAMARPLUSNIK]

Lol

[@ericsantiago2199]

@@LAMARPLUSNIK Best comment yet ;)

[@goldbook3313]

This is an incorrect representation of sub sampling, and completely ignores the giant negative implications of sensor cropping for lower resolutions. Dslrs are not the only cameras that sub sample. Arri Alexa’s, Sony Venice’s, bmpcc6ks for gods ales can sub sample. There are huge advantages to getting the full FOV of your sensor at lower resolutions, vs dogsh*t sensor crops with massive noise and color degradation. RED is not the solution, they are the backwards problem.