News Roundup: Supply chains causing problems for manufacturers

This week's news roundup, including supply shortages for RED and a new full-frame telephoto prime from Zhong Yi Optics.

RED’s Jarred Land discusses RED KOMODO delays, potential price increase

It appears RED hasn't been immune to the global supply chain shortages plaguing nearly all industries, from bicycles and cars to computers and other electronics. RED's President, Jarred Land, took to Instagram to explain what’s happening in a sort of FAQ, and why prices may go up.

“Komodos are shipping every day, but are also in heavy backorder as demand is far overtaking supply,” Land said. “And the supply chain is still a Clusterfu*k, Globally. It really is a roller coaster ride, our manufacturing and supply chain seems to get a new shortage every week.”

He went on to explain that if they can’t find parts from another source, RED’s engineering team will do “a rolling re-design to make a different component work and that sticks till something else falls into a shortage, it’s a vicious, expensive cycle. Very expensive…”

Unfortunately, combined with very high shipping rates, Land warned to not “be surprised if Komodo’s price goes up in the coming months.”

No one is immune from the global supply chain shortage, and we’ll see how the rest of the year unfolds for not only RED, but other camera manufacturers who no doubt have new gear ready to debut.

Be sure to check out Jarred Land’s entire Q&A post on his Instagram page.

Zhong Yi Optics unveils affordable Mitakon Creator 135mm f/2.5 full-frame manual lens

There is an updated version of the Mitakon Creator 135mm full frame lens from Zhong Yi Optics, featuring a slightly faster aperture — f/2.5 vs. f/2.8 — and a new internal design that has improved overall performance.

This quick lens is very affordable at $299 USD, but there is a big trade-off for that price: It's 100% manual, so you'll be adjusting focus, aperture, etc. But, you get full frame glass without breaking the banks.

The Mitakon Creator 135mm f/2.5 full frame lens features an aperture range of f/2.5 to f/22, an angle of view of 18.2°, a 76mm filter thread, and a minimum focusing distance of 1 meter (3.94 feet).

The lens has 9 elements in 7 groups, and uses two super ED elements (extra-low dispersion) and two ultra high refractive index elements to cut down on color fringing and chromatic aberration. 

The lens weighs 1.86 lbs. (845 g) and the dimensions are 3.11 in. x 5.39 in. (79mm x 137mm). This is a pretty good addition to your kit for both film, video, and photography applications.

You can order the lens for $299 USD and choose your mount — Canon EF, Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon F, Nikon Z — on the Zhong Yi Optics site.

CAME-TV introduces affordable video capture adapters for live streaming

If you’re looking for an affordable way to live stream, CAME-TV has you covered. They’ve introduced two new Video Capture Adapters, the Prizm 4K (USB 3.0) and the CAME USB 2.0, that won’t break the bank.

While both can input 4K resolution, only the Prizm 4K can output in that resolution (3840 x 2160); the CAME USB 2.0 is stuck with outputting only 1920 x 1808 full HD resolution.

Both units support 8/10112bit deep color, a AWG26 HDMI standard cable, common video capture software (like VLC, OBS, Amcap, and other), doesn’t need an external power source, and many other features. Both can be used on computers powered by macOS, Windows, or Chrome OS.

The Prizm 4K (USB 3.0) costs $108 USD, while the CAME USB 2.0 is only $38 USD. Visit CAME-TV’s site to learn more and purchase.