Pro cinematic camera maker RED, which was bought by Nikon in 2023, has taken the surprising step of announcing massive price cuts for its Komodo 6K camera lines.
As far as we know, this price cut is permanent and it’s also quite steep, with many of these cameras in different packages now suddenly reduced by 30% to cost $3,000 less than before.
Again, this isn’t even a sale event, since these prices are now permanent reductions and their effect in any case is to now make these otherwise expensive, professional cameras much more accessible to potential users.
The especially cool thing about these price reductions is that in some cases, they bring the prices of RED’s Komodo 6K cameras down to levels similar to those of high-end mirrorless cameras.
Thus, a filmmaker working on a tight budget could now upgrade from using a full-frame mirrorless camera to record their production to using a genuine cinema camera.
Also worth noting is that we’re not talking here about badly outdated cinema cameras that are immediately due for replacement and thus subject to obvious stock-clearing price drops.
Yes, the RED Komodo 6K is from 2020, and four years is a bit of a long time in the digital video technology world.
However, the Komodo 6K models are still absolutely desirable, high-quality, high-performance cameras that many filmmakers would be happy to buy even at their recent higher prices.
Aside from this, RED/Nikon has also dropped the prices of its much newer Komodo-X devices. These were released just last year in May of 2023, and the price discounts for them are in some cases even larger than those for the Komodo 6K price drops.
So the question remains, why did RED, and by extension Nikon, cut all these prices so suddenly?
We don’t quite know, but speculatively, I’d guess that Nikon, as the new owner of the RED camera company, is deciding to take its product line in an entirely new direction and wants to clear previous developments from the shelves and warehouses.
RED’s new CEO, Keiji Oishi, made a statement about the price drop, but it’s almost a cliché of PR ambiguity. It sounds cool, and seems plausible, but doesn’t give any concrete reasons:
“RED’s KOMODO lineup has only grown in popularity over the years. Since joining RED, I have heard filmmakers rave about KOMODO’s small form factor and the amazing performance of the global shutter sensor. We’re excited to introduce this new pricing which lowers the hurdle for a new group of filmmakers to take advantage of the exceptional cinema quality and creative possibilities of RED cameras.
RED always strives to create an accessible and reliable avenue for artists at any level to get their hands on premier cinema grade imaging technology. The KOMODO remains one of the most versatile and powerful camera systems that RED has ever developed, and democratizing image capture technology at this level will always remain part of RED’s DNA.”
Note that the above happens to be the first major move, and announcement, by RED since Nikon completely bought the company for 85 million dollars in 2023.
In other words, something new might be coming down the pipes, and the Komodo/Komodo-X price drops are just a first, very consumer-friendly sign of it.
Whatever the background reasons for these discounts may be, they’re indisputably wonderful news for budget-conscious filmmakers.
I repeat, the Komodo 6K and especially the newer Komodo-X 6K cameras are high-end cinema recording devices.
Getting them at these discounted prices while their stocks still last would not be a bad deal for anyone serious about video production.
Here are some of the key discounts available right now. Remember, these aren’t temporary sale-related price cuts. They’re permanent official retail price reductions by Nikon/RED.
However, if enough of their existing stock of these cameras gets snapped up as a result of the mark-down, they could end up becoming more expensive again on the resale market.
- KOMODO (camera only): $4,995 ($1,000 discount)
- KOMODO Starter Pack: $6,500 ($1,000 discount)
- KOMODO Production Pack: $7,500 ($1,000 discount)
- KOMODO-X (camera only): $6,995 ($3,000 discount)
- KOMODO-X Starter Pack: $8,995 ($3,000 discount)
- KOMODO-X Production Pack: $11,995 ($3,000 discount)
To me, the most plausible reason why Nikon is trying to clear these cameras by lowering their prices lies in the company’s own claim that it wants to release new RED cameras with their own Z mount built into them, or Nikon cameras with a cinematic focus based on RED designs and technology.
Currently, the above RED Komodo-line cameras and others from the brand all use Canon RF mount technology, so getting rid of them to make room for products with Nikon mounts makes sense.
Either way, it’s a direct benefit to those of you who want quality cinema cameras without spending any more than necessary.
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