RED Komodo (2X) vs Z Cam K2 Pro for VR180 | 60fps, 7K, 3D, 180° Test for Oculus Quest 2
This beautiful Sunset at Venice Beach, California,
is captured by TWO RED Komodo 6K Cinematic cameras side by side in 6K 30fps, upconvert into 60fps
using Optical Flow from Re:vision Twxitor and stitched in Mistika VR. This is a VR180 video,
so you should really watch this in your favorite VR headset like the brand new Oculus Quest 2 or
Pico Neo 2 to see 3D in the highest resolution. The purpose of this video is to show you that
it is totally possible to create beautiful, cinematic 3D 180 videos with TWO RED Komodo to
saturate the max resolution of the brand new Oculus Quest 2 – which is 7200 X 3600 in 60FPS.
We are going to show you a side by side comparison between the TWO Red Komodo and another
popular professional VR180 camera – the Z Cam K2 Pro.
We will explain when to use the
K2Pro and when to use the RED Komodo setup based on the IPD requirement. The RED Komodo
is a beautiful camera and unlocks so many possibilities for professional VR content
creators and filmmakers. And it is about time we use traditional, Hollywood-approved
cinema camera to level up our VR production. As the leading expert in VR180 filmmaking,
Your boy Hugh here is working hard to figure out the build, the post-production for you,
free with love. So you can WoW your clients and your audiences in the next-level immersion.
If you want to support what I do for you, don’t forget to subscribe, give this video a
thumb up and share it on your social media. Now let’s rewatch the action part and answer
the most obvious question – why I use Twxitor to upconvert the frame rate from 30fps to 60fps?
Well, RED Komodo can only shoot at 30FPS in 6K.
We want the max resolution close to
4K pre-eye, so we have to shoot at 30FPS. Yes, the fisheye lens crops your sensor, so you
don’t get the full 6K. 60FPS is very important for cinematic VR video in the Oculus Quest 2 – it
should be the new standard moving forward. Take a look at 30FPS and 60FPS comparison in your Oculus
Quest, you will see the difference immediately. The ghosting effect is what causing
motion sickness for lots of people. For more information about frame rate
and resolution, please refer to my Oculus Quest 2 MAX resolution explain video right
here. Lots of useful technical information. You may think Re:Vision Twxitor will create
lots of artifacts when doing optical flow interpretation. Yes, for other rolling shutter
cameras like the Insta360 Titan or Blackmagic 6K. But not for RED Komodo – which is a Global Shutter
cinema camera.
This is the most unrated but also the most important feature of RED Komodo. Having
a global shutter camera meaning you can easily use optical flow to stabilize shaky footage to
avoid jello effects. Or, in this case, is to create extra frames to have a smooth experience
in VR, just as VR game like the beat saber. But if you do not want to rely on
post-production.
To create extra frames, Red Komodo can shoot 4K in 60fps. Here
is the result we shot at 4K in 60fps during a FOX PBC Boxing match. We use the Komodo
professionally for broadcast in VR – because we trust RED. The RED Komodo can reach Z Cam
K2 Pro MAX resolution in 5.7K in 60fps by shooting direct side by side
to use the entire SUPER 35 image sensor. If you look up and down, you do see a black
circle. But it is okay if you integrate a 3D environment to cover the black hole – just
like Oculus Venues with its VIP viewing room. Having 16-bit color depth and reliability
is so important for broadcast or just any professional environment when you do not
control the lighting. Working on RAW R3D is so efficient compared to overcompressed
H.265 like from the Insta360 Titan.
It gives RED a unique advantage that no
other VR camera can even come close. What about the IPD? In this boxing video, The
IPD is actually huge – 111 MM to be precise. Do you see an issue? Is that make you look like
King Kong? Is that make you sick? I asked lots of people to watch this video in my Oculus Quest
2 – not even one person mention discomfort. So for far away action sports, large
IPD is totally fine. Sometimes, it is what you want when the actions are
really far away and losing stereo 3D effects. But what about close up? Like what you
see right here, our beautiful actress is smelling the flower for narrative content.
Well, the RED Komodo can shoot side by side, thanks to global shutter, to bring
down the IPD distance to 90MM – 95MM. It is still bigger than 65MM – which is the
average IPD distance.
But how is that look really compared to Z Cam K2 Pro. Let’s do a
tight space side by side comparison to find out. Here we have the Z Cam K2 Pro,
shot on 5.7K 60FPS in ProRes 422. And here we have the RED Komodo, in its smallest
IPD configuration without breaking the camera, in 7K 30FPS upconvert to 60FPS. I have to downscale
it to 5.7K just to match the K2 Pro resolution in a single video. So please download this video on
my Google drive and sideload it onto your Oculus Quest 2 to see the final uncompressed result. I
have done a lot of works and share lots of free resources to you. So please, if you find this
useful, drop a like and thank you comment below. I will have a follow up 2D video to share my
thoughts, what I think among the 3 cameras – the K2 Pro, the Red Komodo, and even the Blackmagic
6K – in term of image quality, 3D quality, and workflow complexity.
So don’t
forget to subscribe and hit the bell. In conclusion, I want to say the RED Komodo is
a fantastic camera for future VR production. It might not be appropriate for close up
VR180. But def a great system for hyper stereo – far away 3D to make everything pop.
It is also a great camera for broadcast or mission-critical production. It gives you
a vote of confidence when you know you are shooting with an established brand that
is trusted by million video professionals. RED told me they are seriously considering
breaking the shell open and put the 2 brains together to create something like the K2 Pro –
which is 2 Z Cam E2. This will bring down the IPD even further. But this requires the VR community
to express enough interests. That is why it is so important to share this video and
comment below to provide feedback. Let’s together, push the media
forward by continuing to innovate, do something that has never been done
before, and tell amazing immersive stories. I will see you next time.
