RED KOMODO 6K Monochrome Camera Available Upon Request

Camera News

by Francesco AndreolaFebruary 20^th, 2023

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Jarred Land, President and Co-Owner of RED Digital Cinema, recently showcased a monochrome version of the company’s “entry-level” cinema camera. The RED KOMODO 6K Monochrome features the same specs as the standard model, but its sensor comes without a color filter array. Pricing is set at $7,500.

While it’s always possible to convert a color image into black and white in post-production, shooting on a monochrome camera sensor to begin with generally provides superior results in terms of overall image quality, although such tools are usually rental-only items.

RED had already launched monochrome variants of its flagship cameras in the past, such as the DSMC2 Helium and Monstro 8K Monochrome brains, and so did ARRI with the ALEXA 65, XT and Mini LF Monochrome, which are exclusively available via their ARRI Rental program. Now, the RED KOMODO becomes the first DSMC3 camera to join the B&W party. Let’s take a closer look!

RED KOMODO 6K Monochrome: increased sensitivity

With few exceptions, most modern single-chip digital cameras exploit a Bayer filter pattern to produce a color image. Placed on top of the image sensor, this RGB color filter array ensures that only specific wavelengths of light can reach the sensor at each photosite location.

As a result, each photosite gathers only information about a single color channel (Red, Green or Blue), while the two missing channels are then reconstructed during RAW development using data coming from the adjacent photosites in a process called demosaicing (or de-bayering). The standard RED KOMODO follows this same approach.

On the other hand, the RED KOMODO Monochrome gets rid of the Bayer mask, thus allowing each photosite to capture more of the light it receives. This should result in increased sensitivity, better dynamic range and improved low-light performance.

In particular, according to Jarred Land, the sensitivity of the Monochrome version is almost twice that of the original KOMODO, so the suggested default ISO value moves from 800 to 2000. Moreover, the company also offers a full-spectrum alternative that captures light beyond the visible spectrum and should provide even better sensitivity.

RED KOMODO 6K Monochrome: specs

Despite these differences, RED claims that the Monochrome version shares exactly the same specifications as the normal KOMODO. Here’s a quick refresher on the camera’s main features:

• 6K Super 35 mm Global Shutter CMOS sensor
• RF mount (compatible with the new RED RF to PL Adapter Pack for KOMODO)
• CFast 2.0 media
• Dual Canon BP Battery Slot
• 6K 17:9 at up to 40fps
• 4K 17:9 at up to 60fps
• REDCODE HQ, MQ, LQ (ELQ available in Beta 1.7.0. firmware)
• ProRes 422 and 422 HQ (up to 4K60p)
• IPP2 image processing pipeline

Price and availability

The new RED KOMODO 6K Monochrome is not officially listed on the company’s website and appears to be manufactured exclusively on request. So, if you’d like to get your hands on a monochrome KOMODO, you should reach out to RED directly. 

While the standard model currently retails for $5,995 (B&H / CVP), the monochrome variant will set you back $7,500 and should ship 1-2 weeks after placing your order.

Have you ever shot on a RED Monochrome camera? What do you think of the RED KOMODO Monochrome? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!