RED Komodo 6K or V-Raptor X? Both have a global shutter. Sensor size, 6K vs 8K, frame rates, weight, kit and budget compared, with which RED suits your shoot.
RED makes two global shutter cameras that you can hire from our counter in Stoke Newington, N16: the RED Komodo 6K and the RED V-Raptor [X] 8K VV. Both capture the whole frame at once, so fast movement and flashing lights stay clean. Both record REDCODE RAW and grade the same way in RED's IPP2 pipeline. So which one should you put on the order?
The short version: the Komodo 6K is the small, light, budget-friendly RED for Super 35 work, and the V-Raptor X is the flagship you book when you need large format, 8K, serious frame rates and the extra highlight range. This guide goes through the differences that change your shoot.
Specs are from RED. Neither camera has built-in ND, so plan for a matte box with ND filters, or a variable ND, on both.
This is the biggest practical difference. The Komodo's Super 35 sensor sees the world the way most cinema glass was designed for: a 35mm lens gives you a classic "normal" field of view, and almost every cinema prime and zoom covers it. The V-Raptor X's VV sensor is about 50% wider, so the same lens frames wider, depth of field gets shallower at the same framing, and you need full-frame glass to cover it.
If your lens package is Super 35 (Zeiss Super Speeds, Ultra Primes, Canon K35-era zooms and the like), the Komodo is the natural match. If you want the large-format look, wide shots with real separation, or full-frame anamorphic, it's the [X]. Our guide to the best lenses for the V-Raptor X covers coverage and adapters.
The Komodo shoots 6K up to 40fps, 4K up to 60fps and 2K up to 120fps. That's plenty for most narrative, commercial and documentary work, and 6K gives you room to reframe for a 4K or HD finish.
The V-Raptor X is in another league for speed: 120fps in full 8K and 240fps at 4K, without cropping down to a tiny window. If the brief includes proper slow motion, sport, product shots or VFX plates, that's a strong reason to step up. For extreme high-speed, the Freefly Ember S5K is also on our shelf.
Both cameras grade beautifully in REDCODE RAW. The V-Raptor X adds RED Global Vision, including Extended Highlights, which RED says adds more than three stops of highlight range for skies, windows, fire and practicals. On a sunset exterior or a night scene full of bright practicals, that headroom is useful. The Komodo rewards careful exposure: protect the highlights and it holds up very well.
The Komodo is tiny. At around 0.95kg for the body, it goes on small gimbals, car mounts, crash boxes, drones and into tight spaces where a bigger camera won't fit. It's also a favourite as a B or crash camera next to a larger A camera.
The V-Raptor X is still compact for a flagship, at around 1.8kg for the body, but once you add a cage, monitor, V-mount battery and cinema glass it's a proper A-camera build. It sits comfortably on our Ronin 2, and for long handheld days an Easyrig helps with either camera.
Our Komodo kit comes with an RF to EF (Canon) adapter, a Tilta cage with a V-lock plate, two 256GB CFast cards, two 95Wh V-lock batteries and two 12G-SDI cables. Need PL glass on it? Ask us about an adapter when you order.
Our V-Raptor X kit is bigger: Canon EF to RF and Tilta PL to RF adapters, a 7-inch SmallHD RED monitor, three 660GB CFexpress Type B cards with a reader plus a 2TB card, a mains power adapter, a full Tilta cage with top plates, rods and baseplate, a top handle, a V-mount battery plate, magic arms and the cables you need. The RED Komodo 6K kit page and the RED V-Raptor X 8K kit page always list the current contents and live day rates.
The Komodo is one of the best-value cinema cameras on our shelf, and it costs a fraction of the V-Raptor X per day. On a tight budget, a Komodo plus a good lens set and proper monitoring will often do more for the film than the bigger body with compromises elsewhere. Both cameras follow the same day-rate sliding scale: three weekdays are charged as 2.5 days, four as 3 days, Monday to Friday as 3.5 days, and a weekend counts as one day. Our guide to how camera hire works explains the rest.
Comparing RED against ARRI too? Read our V-Raptor X vs Alexa Mini LF guide. And if a rental house quotes you a "RED V-Raptor", check it's the [X]: our V-Raptor X vs V-Raptor guide explains why it matters.
Questions about your setup? Call 020 7898 3322 or email rentals@weareyellowcactus.com.
Yes. The Komodo 6K has a Super 35 global shutter sensor and the V-Raptor [X] 8K VV has a large-format global shutter sensor, so both handle fast movement, vibration and flashing lights without rolling-shutter skew.
Sensor size and speed. The Komodo is Super 35 and shoots up to 6K at 40fps. The V-Raptor X is large format (VV) and shoots 8K at up to 120fps, with more dynamic range and Extended Highlights. It's also bigger, heavier and costs more per day.
You can use them in a cropped sensor mode, but to use the whole 8K VV sensor you need lenses that cover full frame. On the Komodo, almost every Super 35 cinema lens covers the full sensor.
Yes. Both record REDCODE RAW and use RED's IPP2 colour pipeline, so they cut together well. It's a common pairing for music videos and commercials.
Our Komodo kit includes two 256GB CFast cards and two 95Wh V-lock batteries on a Tilta cage with a V-lock plate, plus an RF to EF adapter and two 12G-SDI cables. The kit page always shows the current contents.
Each kit page shows the live day rate. Three weekdays are charged as 2.5 days, four as 3 days and Monday to Friday as 3.5 days, and a weekend counts as a single hire day.