RED KOMODO LENSES

Hi all, 

Anyone currently using a RED Komodo underwater? Would love to hear what lenses you are running on your set up. I will be getting a gates housing with the SPR80 ports/8inch Dome. 

Trying decide what lenses to use. Any advice would be much appreciated. https://www.gateshousings.com/deep-komodo/

Cheers, 

Esteban

This is interesting. Not heard of anyone going this route so far.

I would have thought a nauti cam housing with the newest water contact optic system as optimal for lensing underwater. None of our high end cine lenses we love on land do much for us underwater.

I see you are selling your BM/Nauticam setup here on the WP classifieds. Since you are leaving the BM/Nauticam setup and moving by going to over to RED/GATES one would assume you think there is something missing or not up to scratch for YOUR needs with the BM/Nauticam setup? I am sure many of us here would love to hear your opinions on the BM setup using the Nauticam housing.

What is/was it about the BM setup you didnt like or think can be improved upon by going to a Komodo/Gates system? You are surely more then doubling your cost to go Komodo/Gates Vs the BM/Nauticam setup. There has to be a reason for that and I am sure you have thought this through and have valid (to you) reasons. Be very interesting to look at this from your reasoning.

I look forward to seeing how this goes.

22 hours ago, Este said:

Hi all, 

 

Anyone currently using a RED Komodo underwater? Would love to hear what lenses you are running on your set up. I will be getting a gates housing with the SPR80 ports/8inch Dome. 

Trying decide what lenses to use. Any advice would be much appreciated. https://www.gateshousings.com/deep-komodo/

Cheers, 

Esteban

 

Have you talked to Pete Lightowler?, he does a lot with Gates and Red cameras, he does a bunch of workshops and other stuff and dives with the gear.

Hello Esteban,

Good recommendation by Chris, contact Pete LIghtowler.  Also Sean Ruggeri, he'll have some thoughts.  

With such a vast array of lenses available on the market, narrowing down choices that work well with Dome Ports can be time consuming.  So,  here's something to help:

https://www.gateshousings.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Gates-Recommended-Lenses-for-Flat-and-Dome-Ports-R16.pdf 

Cheers,

John

Hi guys, thanks for all your replies 

John Doe II I love what you get from the Black magic cameras. I think it's a fantastic setup, and I have no issues using them underwater or topside. For the price, the Blackmagic is one of the best cameras out there. 

I guess my decision on the Komodo over the Blackmagic was mainly based on demand and the name tag. I'm shooting commercials and narrative projects where productions request content to be shot on "high-end" cameras. I'm sure at the end of the day; hardly anyone would be able to tell the difference between something well shot, composed and graded. In saying all that, I have an upcoming TV Series that will be shooting on Komodos, and production will be hiring the cameras, so financially, it made sense for me.  

I know many of our high Cine lenses don't have much benefit underwater, but some lenses still carry some characteristics with them even underwater. While some DPs strive for perfect clean contrasty images, some others might want those imperfections, and I am one of those guys that love those imperfections.

I was exploring the possibility of using anamorphic lenses underwater for narrative content, but I haven't had the chance to test it myself, so I have no clue

I guess having the ability to support all sort of lens sizes in the gates housing without any additional adapters or lens rings was also a selling point for me. Not to mention the ability to share dome ports and port rings with other gates housings without the need for adapters or any extras, is a plus. 

John Doe II Have you had the chance to use anamorphic underwater? I would love to hear your thoughts!

ChrisRoss & JohnE Thanks for the recommendations guys. I have been in touch with Pete and have placed an order for the gates housing through him. It should arrive in a few weeks! 

Thanks, 

Esteban