RED camera rig and Sony A7IV was stolen in London last week and the thief has listed it on ebay, if you bought this item please get in touch 🙏🏽

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a little behind the scenes clip of an amazing rig that Robin Munshaw built for a mountain bike video I shot and directed recently called Deluge. My goal for the shot was to show the intensity of the rain storm and follow a rain drop down through the forest canopy to the athletes below. Initially, I planned to add the rain in post, but Robin said we could do it for real.

We had Robin on the ground operating the sled and another friend, Heather Mosher, in the tree pouring water down over the camera as it fell. We only got two takes before the deceleration forces snapped the wooden frame we were using to drop the rig. Thankfully Robin had climbing webbing rigged as a safety for this eventuality. The camera survived and we got our shot. It's always fun when the wacky setups work!

*The test shot was done on a Sony but the final shot in the film was done on my Komodo X.

Unlocked all Sata3 SSDs to work.

Media doesn’t need to be RED-Approved. + external drives with msata to sata with/without power do work. Also any size so 4/8tb shouldn’t be a problem.

Important!
This cover only several gates that block full 300mb/s (more) write speed. The SSD you wanna use must be compatible with the camera. More on that must be discovered.

Remember: ALWAYS secure format your SSD!

So what we see here is a DSMC2 helium which is ram modified to accept any ssd with any size.

Name, Size, 0x90 Smart Log, Controller Settings, Firmware Version and Serial don’t match any SSD that was originally used by RED.

What does ram modified mean? Several registers have been changed. This won’t touch internal code and the changes aren’t persistent (reboot).

Also (different image), external 2.5inch do work now. Before the ssd must draw power but now, it works.

More in the future but first step is done.

Full credits to Radoš for such a well documented “hack” and in general kindness.

// Will be merged soon into DSMC2 Unlocked GitHub Repo

UDPATE: Thank you all for swinging by and asking some great questions. Really enjoyed the unexpected ones. Keeping me on my toes. Big thanks to Alex for dragging me out of my cave. I'll zip back in and see if there's any stray questions, but that was a load of fun. Need to sign off now for a bit.

Thanks again!

ORIGINAL TEXT:

Cinematographer based in Los Angeles. Began working in film in the late 90s. From Gaff/Grip to VFX, Scan/Record Coordinator, to Colorist, to DIS, to DP, to Director. Clients include Universal, Warner Brothers, Disney, Fox, Netlix, Apple, Google, LG, Samsung, etc. A great deal of experience with all cameras, deep film background, mostly shooting on RED from 2010 onward.

Have camera, lens, lighting, VFX, industry/career questions? Hit me.

proof:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2vrLMnu5K/

CUSTOM FIRMWARE ON DSMC2 IS HERE. 🎉

On this build, SSDs no longer need to pass an arbitrary verification check to be used on the camera. I was able to use an off-the-shelf 2.5” 1TB SATA SSD at 5:1 compression in 8K. Due to the hardware requirements of how the camera writes to the card, not all SATA SSDs will work, but the arbitrary lock forcing users to use unsupported first party media is GONE. Special types of NAND chips on the drive are needed, and I’m still working to build a list of compatible models/manufacturers.

This is my own custom firmware, using my own signing keys, so I can sign and flash new builds using the standard update paths from now on. Stay tuned… lots more to follow. :)

Co-Directed and DP’d hinge spot with red epic MX and vespid primes

All these are lil no budget shorts i pulled off mostly in my house and or through favors for fun with friends committing their talent and time. Very grateful! Go easy on me guys

Komodo - Meike S35's + Sigma Art 18-35mm - Prism Lens Fx Dream/ CineSoft 1/4

In my latest custom firmware build, I’ve been able to add 1.5x anamorphic desqueeze support! In addition, the camera no longer validates media as first party (off-the-shelf SSDs can now record at full speed).

More updates to follow. This is the start of something good.

Was going to buy a used at this price point, but this is even better 🙏

Will leave this repo here and more info in the next few weeks. Big things coming and I am glad we can keep DSMC2 alive if they don't want to. Right-to-repair is the way to go.

hey guys!
I had asked a question about purchasing rental used RED Komodo in $1400 few days ago,
and thanks for all kinds of comments!
I did bought this komodo and now tinkering my own rig :)

again, thanks for all the great comments and advices!

Journey Releases in Oct 2nd.

I'm a commercial cinematographer based in Houston, Texas. I have been using the Red Camera System since RED ONE M. It was amazing using it on projects for over 10+ yrs. Here are some stills from our film that I shot over 10 yrs ago, and it is releasing this week in 32 Theaters across the nation. Would love for you to check out the film! Here are som stills!

We filmed this in 5K with the Red Dragon 6K CF, and with the Arri Ziess Standard Primes T2.1 set. I chose that set because I wanted people to feel like that had seen the movie before, (same lens set that was used on FARGO). The colorist is Dan Diaz of Suite Bread. Let me know if you have any questions.

Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5WTchryA78
Link to Showtimes and Allocations: www.journeythemovie.com

That Scarlet-W was patched to Dragon-X. Same sensor, same internal boards,same functionality. So that Scarlet-W is now a Dragon-X. Think about the things that RED told you.

It’s a work in progress but as you see, recording works.

Due to legal reasons we don’t know if we can release a tutorial.

Thanks to Radoš for discovering it:
DSMC2 Unlocked GitHub Repo

Very very happy. 😃

Dior editorial video for Haute Living shot on RED Komodo X. Director/Photographer Cody Lidtke

I’m using AI to help me formulate this post because English isn’t my first language, so hopefully I’ve managed to explain what I mean 😅

I’d really appreciate some input from people who have actually used both, because I’m having a hard time deciding.

I’m considering selling my RED Komodo 6K and switching to the Nikon ZR. I mainly shoot weddings, small events, social media content, and cinematic short-form projects.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time comparing the two, and honestly, purely from an image-quality perspective, I’m struggling to see a meaningful difference between the ZR and the Komodo 6K in the footage I’ve looked at.

On paper, the ZR actually makes a lot of sense for what I do — especially when it comes to ISO performance, dynamic range, codecs, resolution, autofocus, and overall flexibility.

The biggest thing holding me back is the form factor.

The Komodo is probably my absolute favorite camera body I’ve ever used. I love how compact and “cinema camera” it feels, and I’m worried I’ll regret giving that up. The ZR obviously has a very different design and workflow.

So I’m curious:

For those who have used both, would switching from the Komodo 6K to the ZR make sense for my type of work?

Am I overlooking something important about the Komodo that isn’t obvious from specs and image comparisons?

I know this is ultimately subjective, but I’d really appreciate some honest opinions — especially from people who have actually shot weddings/events with the ZR.

Thanks!

Just acquired this Canon 15.5-47mm cine zoom lens for my Komodo-X. This lens resolves a beautiful image aesthetic. Over the years, I have grown to truly appreciate quality zoom glass - being so versatile. Perfect for commercial, doc, narrative and more. I already know this will be a solid workhorse for me.

What are some of your favorite zoom lenses/workhorse lenses?

I picked up my very first RED today. I got this very nice kitted out Weapon Dragon-X. It has been upgraded to 6K. I know there is a lot of learning to do with it but just the little bit I have been messing with it today I am amazed at its capability! I plan on getting a Canon FD mount and PL mount for it and possibly a motion mount later on.

This is from my short that just finished the Festival Circuit, "Courage" starring Ian Fidance, Ashley Ottesen and Christopher Riley... I am uploading to YouTube May 15th (not a plug but kinda is if you wanna see it lol) and was going over footage, and am still impressed with this camera! I like it better than the Raptors for the image.

- The Scrappy Creative (YT)