The DSMC2 RED Dragon-X 6K S35 is marked as “TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE” on the RED Digital Cinema website. Have the Komodo cannibalized it? Let’s talk about that for a bit.
RED Dragon-X 6K S35
The DSMC2 Dragon-X 6K S35 camera was announced back in December 2019. The DSMC2 Dragon sensors, with the exception of the Raven, were already 6K from the start, but the camera utilized only 5K of it. Thus, by free firmware upgrade, the DSMC2 Dragon-X 5K was “transformed” into 6K, unleashing the full real estate of the entire sensor. Of course, in parallel, a brand new 6K body was released.
Presenting the RED Arsenal without the Dragon-X
The “RED Arsenal” was introduced in January. The Arsenal is a RED’s jargon that defines the ecosystem, which includes the Komodo, Ranger, and DSMC2. While elaborating on the DSMC2, RED focused on three main sensors: Monstro, Helium, and Gemini. The Dragon-X was not included in the list, nor on the RED-Tech video which explains the sensors. For some reason, the Dragon-X was not mentioned.
“Temporarily Unavailable”
When checking out the RED website, there’s no option to purchase the Dragon-X. It says: “Temporarily Unavailable”. Also, the camera can’t be ordered from other sites. Nevertheless, B&H has it “in stock” so if you want it, hurry up and grab one as long as the stock exists.
Initial speculations
When Komodo was born, the product cannibalization was pretty obvious. The Komodo is armed with a very similar sensor that the Dragon-X has (6K S35). The major difference is the ability to shoot slo-mo (Komodo: 40 fps at 6K vs. Dragon-X: 75 FPS). Nevertheless, the delta of the prices compensates for the small differences regarding specs. Thus, the Komodo, which seems to be sold very well, has caused that the glory of the Dragon-X to almost wholly passed. Is it discontinued? Comment your thoughts below.
I think the comments here are a bit misinformed. The Komodo sensor and the dragon-x are radically different designs. The resolution being 6k is the ONLY commonality. Komodo is global shutter which is the major limiting factor to it’s reduced frame rate vs dsmc2 dragon-x. As well komodo uses a different compression type then dsmc2 (wavelet vs cosine). As well dsmc2 cameras have considerable room for expansion, hdmi,sdi, timecode, acc, etc. The Komodo while 6k shares very little with the dsmc2 series and it’s very much the baby brother. Remember the dragon-x is literally a repackage of the original epic dragon and later weapon dragon in a newer brain. The drain sensor is still a tried and true option for many film makers and while the komodo has gained popularity in certain segment’s, some of it’s limiting factors still give more weight to the dsmc2 bodies. As a rental facility we still see more dragon-x then komodos go out. While the dragons tube may have come I don’t it’s due to komodo but more reducing the complexity of the ecosystem
Thanks for commenting. Very solid insights you wrote here.
I totally agree that the Dragon -X is completely different animal compared to the Komodo. But from an end-user perspective, the Komodo may win due to its price. But yes, it might be due to reducing the complexity of the ecosystem, and also, preparing the groundwork for DSMC3.