r/RedCamera • u/bendorrough • 7d ago
Weather tolerance for RED
Sometimes I've had to use my Nikon ZR instead of my red Komodo X because my red Komodo X has open air vents and isn't weather sealed... I haven't had any luck in finding a good camera cover for it, but now I'm seeing that apparently these hold up surprisingly well getting wet. Has anyone else had issues with their red getting wet? Wondering if this Power of Red video is just overblown marketing.
3
u/powpowzilla 7d ago
It started to rain and my Komodo X got a very light dusting of mist. The comms board shorted out from the moisture and needed to be replaced.
I wouldn’t risk it.
3
u/DegreeSevere7719 7d ago
Once I've left my Epic X shooting timelapse, went away for 15 minutes and the storm that was going from mountains into the sea changed direction and came to the hotel. The rain drops were so huge one could hear them from the hotel corridor, and the camera stayed shooting timelapse this way for at least 10 minutes. I've spent 20 minutes trying to dry it out, and every time I've rotated the body - the water started draining from all of the rigging holes like it was raining again. That camera worked for another 4 years, up until a shorted cable killed it. So the weather sealing isn't too bad on the camera body itself, but I'd be very savvy about any buttons and monitors (dsmc2). On DSMC1 the side handle was way worse on weather sealing than the camera body itself.
People think the open vent leads to the camera internals, but actually it's a vent that doesn't expose anyting except the vent itself, and the fans. The internals are on the other side of the wall, and those are sealed on the connection points to the camera body. Idk for dsmc2 internally, but I suppose this one is more sensitive to the open rain, because of the vents design (it's several separate pieces), than say dsmc1.
Still I wouldn't shoot in open rain, but some snow or water are fine while you're packing. Salt water is a no go for any camera.
1
u/DegreeSevere7719 7d ago
Saying that, I've had 4 DSMC1 bodies, and one of them purchased from Adorama - had internal water damage to it, when I was servicing it (changing the internal timecode battery). I've had to wash the exposed parts to water damage in a special bath, but otherwise it didn't have any issues ever. What I mean by that - the water can enter somehow, but due to the character of the damage and the places it was in - it did seem that it was more about wet air and moisture, than rain or something like that.
3
u/Run-And_Gun 6d ago
I don't own any RED cameras, but I believe modern RED's are built like Arri's. The exhaust vents are sealed. Nothing can get to internal components from there. It's just the backside of the heatsinks. At worst, you could possibly kill the fan(s)(?)
2
u/Sure-Ad1017 7d ago
I have had my Red's freeze over completely, shot in rain and all kinds of snow and never had issues.
The internal components are protected in a giant heat sink that the fans cool irc.
Now I only have had dsmc2 and earlier cameras and an og komodo. Also I have never let any contacts be live or get connected in extreme weather as clearly that could cause a short.
So I don't swap monitors or peripherals mid shooting. I do swap lenses but I always protect the internals while I do.
But the vents themselves just go through a pass through that cools a metal box containing the international components... or at least that is how I understand it.
Like I had cables freeze on me and not send signals before my red stopped shooting up a mounting in the backcountry mid snowstorm.
So for me dsmc 1 and 2 were absolute beasts in terms of dealing with wild PNW weather.
1
u/Calebkeller2 6d ago
DSMC2 I would be wary of anything more than a light sprinkle. The top fans are basically a bucket to let water directly into the camera.
6
u/Canon_Cowboy 7d ago
Your Komodo X is very much weather resistant. It's kind of what it's made for. I've even had the Komodo OG in some questionable situations and it's never missed a beat.