I'm going to break these down one at a time for you, so you can get both the cons and pros of both. Because the specs of these tripods are in the links provided, I'll be giving you each thought I had from every aspect that the tripods give us...something that most of us, as creators, would rather have anyway: first hand experience.

Table top tripod 2288


The rubber pads on the bottom of each leg don't wrap around...at all really. And because of that, the pads aren't exactly enough to grip the surface if the legs are spread out even a little more than half-way. On that same note, the pads are a little too slippery as a whole, and I'd be hesitant to put a mirrorless camera on this tripod for fear of the weight being too much for them, but I'd still be completely comfortable having a light or an action camera on it.

            The rubber pad is what's sitting on the rock itself

Beyond the pads, the legs are held in place by a single allen bolt and mine didn't come as tight as they could have been, which is what made my legs cave out under the stress of the weight. 

The fact that this tiny tripod only has those few "cons" is fantastic. Because, as you'll soon find, the "pros" far outweighs these.

PROS:

Staying on the point of the allen bolt, the problem is quite easily fixed: just tighten it with an allen wrench. The legs won't give out anywhere near as easily...though it still doesn't help with the rubber pads issue.

The tripod is WAY tougher in my hands than it looked in the pictures, and the fact that it's so skinny makes it super lightweight.

Each leg has a single 1/4 20mm hole (which is fantastic for mounting those lightweight accessories), though I feel that the placement of the holes is just too far down on each leg for vloggers to be able to use this specific tripod as a handheld option and still be able to use the holes. So, as far as using it on for table top/on any surface, the holes can definitely be utilized.

                                                 Female 1/4 20mm mounts

The top of the tripod has a 1/4 20mm mount for you to be able to use most ball head options...or phone clamps/mounts, or action camera mounts. Basically, that means you can make your table top rig completely customized.

                                                Aputure H-198c LED on top

Table top tripod 2287

CONS:

Okay...so I opened the box (after already having opened the 2288) and immediately noticed that the larger of the two tripods does not have female 1/4 20mm mounts on the legs. I find that a bit strange, but I'm sure SmallRig had their reasons.

Though the individual allen bolts were already good and tight on each leg, they're still bolts. Bolts that I would have to tighten or loosen with an allen wrench in order to have the legs to my liking/needs, which means always having one on me.

The screw that comes inserted into the arca swiss plate is a basic 1/4 20mm that you would need a flathead screwdriver or nickel (because we've all done it) to tighten or loosen it. I find it strange that it couldn't come with a d-ring 1/4 20mm (that SmallRig already makes) so that it could be handled with a single hand instead of another tool.

On the last "con" note, the screw that is holding the ball head onto the tripod is a 3/8 instead of 1/4 20mm. It's not so much that it's bad, but it does limit your mounting options if you want to switch out the head for another one, but I do like that a 3/8 does tend to give more strength to the joint...so it's kind of bad and good at the same time.

INTERESTING:

Yes, that's right, there's an interesting note to this tripod...specifically it's about the ball head. Actually, it's even more than that: the knobs on the ball head. The knobs have TENSION RELEASE ability! What I mean by that is: after you tighten the knobs for panning and the ball head position, you can pull the knobs straight out and turn them without tightening or loosening, and then let it go and they'll pull back in. Basically, what that means is that you can have the knobs be in other positions after they've been tightened so that they're not in the way of cables...or, if you have OCD like me, it's nice to not have them in odd positions or facing different ways.

              Both knobs are able to be pulled out after tightening them

PROS:

It comes with the allen wrench that you'll need to tighten or loosen the bolt for each leg so that you won't have to buy one.

It comes with a ball head attached already (as you probably already gathered from one of my previous comments) that is fitted for arca swiss...and also has it's own plate ready for mounting.

The rubber pads on the bottom are definitely big enough to have the legs sit in almost any position and have great amounts of grip to all indoor surfaces and most outdoor ones, too. One caveat, however: I wish the pads fully encompassed the bottoms of the legs so that there would be grip in all positions, not just most.

                                                                                     Rubber pads

Just like the smaller model, this thing is INSANELY robust. This is a huge note because I feel that the most obvious competitor is the batch of mini tripods that Manfrotto has out that (in my opinion) all look like they'd break under the strain of a single camera and decent lens.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Though small, both have massive potential. I will probably use the smaller (2288) model sparingly...perhaps to hold a LED (as shown above) or mic; whereas with the larger (2287) model (and this is me being honest with how absolutely surprised I am with it), I believe it's going to replace my Joby gorillapod. Yes, you read that right. 

                                             Sony A6000 with a 18-105 on top with no issues

My reasons are simple: I don't use the versatility of the gorillapod's legs as others might. For most of my footage (both for myself and through collaborations), I use it mainly for its vlogging ability. And because we all know that the legs of the gorillapods give out over time (much more quickly for some of us than others), I'd rather have my expensive gear be sitting on something a little more stable, and much quicker to get the legs into position on.

Are they worth your small investments? That depends on your needs. SmallRig: nice job! Keep up the good work. And I hope you will consider my thoughts for your next table top tripod design.

The cage is one piece of aluminium alloy and is mounted to the Atomos monitor via the top and bottom 1/4″-20 taps. Very easy to install and fits like a glove. The cage itself comes in at 418 grams or just under 1lb. It’s relatively lightweight, but compared to the 1.4 lb / 0.6 kg weight of the Inferno it does add substantial weight. If you add on extra accessories as well it starts to get a little heavy.

The cage has a lot of options, with multiple 1/4″-20 and 3/8″ taps peppered throughout. You can go from a simple one piece cage to protect the recorder to a built-out director’s monitor with handles. SmallRig has a lot of pieces of kit you can add on to make the cage work the way you want. The basic $149 US kit includes:

Monitor cage

HDMI clamp

Sunhood

2 x 1/4″-20 screw

2 x M4 screw

2 x Hex spanner

SMALLRIG ATOMOS MONITOR CAGE: A BRIEF TOUR

The monitor cage comes with two built in coldshoe mounts on top which are compatible with most devices that use a cold- or hotshoe.

The SmallRig cage has dedicated ports on the top to attach the sunhood. It’s a little tight but once mounted it holds it in place. Just left of the sunhood port is another one for a neck strap when used as a director’s monitor.

The sunhood is very nice. It’s stiff and stays in place when mounted.

The cage has integrated NATO rails on all sides. This is convenient since you can quickly add different pieces, like handgrips, that attach securely with NATO clamps.

SmallRig has these that work very well. Here is the model.

15mm Rod Clamp (Parallel) 1254

15mm Rod 1049

Rubber Handle 1616

With these three pieces of kit you can turn theAtomos 7″ Monitor Cageinto a handheld configuration.

For safety the cage has spring loaded pins on all for corners to prevent the NATO rail clamp from sliding off accidentally. This is a very good feature.

If you go with the rail and handles I would add a SmallRig M12 Threaded Rod Capon the end as well.

This will prevent the rail from sliding off the clamp. Can never be too safe right?

Since the SSD on the Atomos Inferno doesn’t lock in SmallRig added a spring loaded safety pin design here as well to keep it in place.

The last piece of safety is the locking HDMI clamp. It has two spring loaded screws that gives the clamp some resistance for a nice tight fit. The added screws are great for doubling up on securing that HDMI cable or for cables with a very small base. The lock works for both HDMI ports.

On the back of the cage is a plate that can be used for adding different pieces of kit like a V-mount battery plate or other accessories. I have the V-Mountadd on and tried a few different configurations. It’s nice to have options. I do wish a Gold Mount option was available but I fixed that with an adapter.

In this setup the Inferno is ready for handheld use. It’s much heavier with the added battery but the portability is very good and the handles can be adjusted to make it comfortable to use.

The Atomos Ninja Inferno is power hungry so adding a larger battery will get you much longer run times while not adding that much weight compared to two large Sony L batteries.

What makes it heavy is the hardware to attach it. It adds up. Again it’s all about customizing the cage for your needs.

Stripped down it works great on my GH5 rig. Yes it looks huge on such a small camera but it sure makes shooting a better experience if you’re on a tripod.

SMALLRIG ATOMOS MONITOR CAGE: FINAL THOUGHTS

I like this cage a lot. At $149 US it’s affordable, and the ability to customize is great. Having the option to go from mounting to a camera rig to going into a handheld directors monitor is easy and toolless with the integrated NATO rails that surround the cage. Everything is solid and feels secure. Need a long run time? The optional V-Lock battery plate is a good solution. All in all a good investment for your Ninja Flame, Shogun Flame, Shogun Inferno or Ninja Inferno.

What I have is the Safety NATO Rail with a 15mm Rod Clamp and a 6 inch Rod/90 Degree Rod Adapter to help connect it to my main setup. You can attach your EVF mount here and very easily adjust it’s height along the rail to fit your needs. I’ll have links to all these parts below so be sure to check that out.

These parts will help to mount the EVF in a different position, to make it easier to view when carrying on a shoulder mount or just to help with the overall balance of your rig. This setup is really quite flexible and can be used on both the left and right side of your rig and also attached in a number of different positions and angles. Some additional, small accessories could even allow you to attach this on the front end of the top handle mentioned in my previous review.

Starting with the 90 degree rod adapter, this is a very simple but useful product that would allow you to attach additional accessories off to the sides of your rig and takes up very little space. It will slide onto your main (15mm) rods easily and tighten down with just one screw on top. Underneath there are 2 separate screws to tighten down any rods you slide through. As with all the other SmallRig accessories the design and functionality of this is identical to everything else and it’s very well made.

I went with a 6 inch rod, which actually comes in a set of 2, since I won’t be positioning this too far off to the side. As with the main rods included in my previous review, they’re threaded on the ends allowing you to extend them or you can screw in the end caps to prevent anything from falling off. These are, of course, also available in carbon fiber for a very similar price.

The Safety NATO rail is really a nice and versatile product. Since it will easily attach to 15mm rods, you can use it in a number of positions on your rig. It’s long enough that you can have plenty of flexibility in the position of whatever you attach here, such as the EVF Mount. There are 2 sides to it which allow even more possible positions and configurations and there are safety pins on both sides to avoid things accidentally falling off. I love these little touches in terms of small safety features found all over the SmallRig system. It shows they’re really invested in keeping your gear both safe and customizable. Of course there are also 1/4-20 threads on here to allow even more possibilities.

I talked a bit more in depth about the EVF mount in my previous review, but it slides on here perfectly and smoothly. As I mentioned, you can put this combination as high or low as you’d like, push it further away or closer to the camera body, pivot it under or over the rods and angle the monitor however you’d like.

If you’re carrying this on a shoulder rig with the camera lined up straight with the shoulder support, this setup will put the monitor right in front of your face. Depending on your matte box and follow focus setup you may have to adjust the position of this, but since it slides freely along your rods just as everything else does, that’s not a problem. It makes it very quick to make adjustments if you need to as well.

The bottom line is that these and other accessories from SmallRig prove time and time again to be very well made, they work without any surprises and they both inspire confidence and creativity.

If you’d like to see these or any other SmallRig accessories, don’t forget to check the links below or www.smallrig.comfor more information.

SmallRig EVF Mount 1594

SmallRig Safety NATO Rail with 15mm Rod Clamp 1856

15mm Black Aluminum Alloy Rod 6 inch 1050

SmallRig 90 Degree Rod Rig Adapter Clamp 922

You’ll have a range of options when attaching a top handle and I went with a simple metal one with screw mounts all over it. It attaches via a NATO rail with safety locks which you can buy separately (it doesn’t take unnecessary space if you don’t want to use it and it’s extremely cheap if you do). There are also cold shoe attachments on the top and end of the handle for things like a microphone or external monitor/recorder. Of course it’s covered in 1/4-20 and 3/8 mounting points as well as the hole pattern for ARRI accessory mount pins. You can slide the handle back and forth to fit how you want to grip it and also to find a good balance for your particular camera setup. This is done with 2 allen bolts and there is a hex wrench hidden in the handle itself, held in place with a magnet. This is really convenient, especially since it takes up nearly no space. I actually wish they did this for the other allen bolts as well, like in the rail support system (they’re a different size).

Speaking of the rail support system, it has an Arca Swiss quick release plate on top, so you can quickly and easily remove your camera from the rail setup. You could then, of course, attach a plate to the bottom as well so you can remove either the camera only or entire rig from a tripod as easily as you would without any cage or rod setup. I love this design except that the Arca Swiss plate on the bottom of the cage means you’ll have to remove that before you can remove the camera from the cage if you want to do so. Both the plate and the cage attach with regular screws like almost any tripod plate would but the slot in these screws feels a little more shallow than I’m used to. This means it’s a little more difficult to remove with a coin without fear of messing it up. It’s far from impossible and this is really nitpicking but I think the ease of removing these is one area that could be improved. Finally, the rod clamp can slide up and down on this system (with an allen bolt) to match the height of your lens and follow focus/matte box. The rods are fairly standard and are available in multiple lengths, diameters and of course aluminum or carbon fiber. The ends of the rods are threaded so you can extend them if you wish.

With a few very minor complaints such as wanting another hidden hex wrench or easier-to-remove screws in the quick release plate and bottom of the cage, this setup is extremely solid. There’s not a whole lot to say besides the facts because it just works. As with any rig, you could spend hours and hours designing and laying out your rig, but SmallRig will always allow you to do just what you want. It has a very heavy duty feel for a not heavy duty price and the limits will be only in your imagination.

If you’d like to check out any of the parts mentioned in this review, click the links below or visit www.coollcd.com

There are a lot of details which are more or less expected from any cage setup. For example, 1/4-20 and 3/8 screw mounts all over the place, full access to all of the battery, card and port doors and the ability to adjust all accessories to your particular needs. Let’s take a look at a few details more specific to the SmallRig setup.

The cage itself, as most designed for the GH5, doesn’t lock into the hot shoe mount since it’s required for accessories like Panasonic’s XLR adapter. Instead, for stability, it has some tabs on the bottom front which prevent the body from twisting loose in the cage. They work just fine and it feels very secure.

The rails on either side do have a bit of space between the cage and the body and some people say they don’t like this. I, personally, find it to be a total non-issue. My small hands can still grip the camera just fine but there are also attachment points for a hand strap if you want a little extra security in your grip. Of course there are also handles designed specifically to be attached to both the sides and top of the cage if you want to handhold a majority of the time.

The rails on the sides are also usable as aNATO railsto attach things like an EVF mount if you want to do so. I did get that accessory and it works just as you’d hope it would. There are separate adjustment points for where it attaches to the cage and to swivel the mount forwards or backwards. It has a 1/4-20 screw and rubber gripped surface so you can attach quite a lot of things here, not only an EVF. There are also additional screw mounts on the arm where you could attach additional accessories if you’d like. That’s a theme that will follow through with pretty much all the accessories I’ll talk about in this review.

On the left side rail, I’ve attached an HDMI lockmade by SmallRig. Of course, the GH5 comes with one that will screw into the camera itself and the cage allows for that to be used without any problems, but the SmallRig one is of much higher quality. It takes up nearly zero space and is just a much more streamlined solution when using this cage in my opinion.

To be continued, just keep an eye on the official blog.....

Photography and videography skill means more than knowing your camera, but also utilizing devices, environments and basically everything you have to create the best frame. SmallRig wants to build this community where you can find brilliant ideas from other film makers.

Now let’s congratulate the winners of DIY Camera Rig Contest!

First Prize:

Bj Ko

https://www.facebook.com/helldunkelproduktionen/

Second Prizes:

Abhishek Chaturvedi

https://www.facebook.com/Abhishek.C86

Todd Matthews

https://www.facebook.com/www.toddmatthews.org

Third Prizes:

Bes Roche

https://www.facebook.com/matthew.young.77312477

Mitja Braun

https://www.facebook.com/mitjabraun

Matt Young

https://www.facebook.com/matthew.young.77312477

Lucky Prize:

Roland Danielzig

https://www.facebook.com/roland.danielzig

Thank you all for joining this activity. The game will be continued every month. Maybe you’re the next winner!

My first impression was wow! A really well made shoulder pad with VCT compatibility and at a more than half price of the competition!

I bought the VCT Shoulder plate 1954 to use with my Sony FS7, so far its been wonderful. The camera sits solid on the shoulder plate and it is comfortable on the shoulder.

The shoulder platehas also opened some new options for extras on my FS7.

Previously I was unable to use a follow focus with my fs7 as it was sitting to high and the Follow focus wouldn’t be able to reach the lens. The 1954 shoulder plate has two 15mm rod clamps with height adjustability built in too the front of the plate, now I am able to raise the Follow focus to the height of the lens and use it!.

I love the fact that there is two built-in Arri Rosettes on the shoulder plate. I moved my Sony extension arm down to the plate and on the left side I was able to add the Smallrig Extension Arm Arri Rosette 1870 together with the

Smallrig Wooden grip rosette 1891. Its made the whole rig feel much more complete and comfortable. It is also helps a lot with added stability.

The Smallrig VCT shoulder plate 1954 is VCT compatible which is awesome. It such a relief to use a professional lock like the VCT, it is extremely reliable and so simple and fast.

I nice feature is that the camera sits on a standard manfrotto 501 quick release plate. Its great because your able to fine tune the balance by sliding the plate back and forth when using it on your shoulder. Also if you don’t use a VCT plate you can still slide the camera off the shoulder plate and use it on another tripod which is manfrotto 501 compatible. These kind of simple add-ons really give you great value.

I’m looking forward to using this new Smallrig VCT shoulder plate 1954 on set and out on the field, a must have shoulder plate!

I could use something crazy like the Varavon Zeus that literally dominates the camera frame with giant handles and mounting options. However, while a huge rig gives you a lot of options for mounting, sometimes you need to take a step back and think about what you really need to mount on your camera and how you plan to use it. Do you need more than 3 cold shoe mounts? Are 3 handles the right number or can you live with one? Do you really need a set of 15mm rails in order to survive? Do you want to carry around an extra 5 to 10 pounds of weight all day? Would you want to spend more money on mounting your camera then the camera itself? If you answered no to those questions, the $68Sony A7s II cage from Smallrigmight be the one for you.

First of all, I like to keep the right side of my Sony a7s II clean and free from obstruction. The a7s II comes with a very nice hand grip, especially when compared to the original a7s, and all of your camera controls are on that side of the camera so why cover it up? The Smallrig cage works perfectly with this concept, leaving the right side of your camera open and clear.

I also don’t want my camera to be able to float or spin inside of its mount. So Smallrig has designed the a7s II cage with tabbed wings and a rubber grip that presses up against your camera and keeps it held in place.

From the base design of the Smallrig Sony a7s II cage, I’ve only made a few upgrades. First, I like to have a handle opposite the body grip for handheld shooting. With that in mind, I’ve attached the $43 Smallrig V7 handle via a $18 10cm nato rail. On top of that handle, I have a single cold shoe adapter which gives me a total of two cold shoe mounts on the handle.

To finish things up, I’ve added a single4cm nato rail to the top of the a7s Cage. This allows me to easily switch between top grip and two-handed control of the camera.

Just make sure you mount your 4cm nato rail in the correct position. I’ve been shooting with the Sony k1m-xlr audio adapter so I needed to place the nato rail in a spot that allowed me to balance the camera, yet stay out of the way of the k1m’s smart hot shoe adapter.

Complete configuration:

Smallrig Sony A7s II cage $68

Smallrig V7 handle $43

10cm nato rail $18

4cm nato rail $16

Cold shoe adapter $9

So to recap, that’s just under $160 for a rig that will get you through around 80% of your shots and it requires almost zero setup. This Smallrig configuration leaves you with a total of up to 3 cold shoe mounts if you use one of these or two if you don’t. The layout also balances nicely with a monopod attached to the rig and it is actually the configuration I received so many questions about at NAB this year.

Devin and I were able to carry this around in one hand on the showroom floor, shooting a bit of B-Roll or the occasional booth interview without slowing us down or getting in the way of the constant crowds and congestion at NAB.

While this Smallrig configuration doesn’t solve every problem out there, it likely meet most’s needs (mine included) for far less than some of the other options out there.

Let’s start with a general look around the cage – it is a very thin cage – most of it consists of a single line of 1/4″ 20 threads, you do have two lines on the right with 2 extra 3/8″ screws as well (there are also a number of smaller threads around the cage – we are not exactly sure what screws they fit).

On the top right you have a cold shoe and you have another cold shoe on the optional handle. If you don’t use the handle you also have access to the hotshoe of the camera itself. On the bottom you have the obligatory cutout for the battery and memory card slot at a 1/4″ 20 screw for connecting the camera in the center.

Sadly this isn’t a toolless cage – you will need a flat screwdriver to connect the camera to the cage as the screw isn’t a thumbscrew and you can’t replace it with one as it will not enable you to place the cage straight on the floor. You will also need an Alan key to connect the optional handle (which you do get if you order the cage kit with the handle).

Talking about the handle this is maybe the biggest thing that we would change in this cage. It is a decent enough handle but we actually prefer the feel of our old cage handle with the rubber grip and more importantly, the handle is fixed in its position. The reason why this is a problem is that if you want to use the viewfinder on the A6500 – especially when shooting in the sun without a bright enough monitor – the handle is stuck in the way. Now you can unscrew it and put it to the other side but this isn’t super convenient in our view and doing this each time we want to use the viewfinder is out of the question.

What we would like to see is a rubber handle version with the option to connect and release the handle without tools for quick transport and storage and with the option of rotating the handle 90 degrees to better use the viewfinder on the camera.

We want a different handle

Another thing that we got was a small lock for the HDMI. It is a nice addition and it sort of works if you have a simple straight cable but if you have an angled cable (like we do) or use all three connectors (we use both the HDMI, USB and mic jacks at the same time), it is completely useless. So it would be nice to have something that holds all of them in place with a different design that maybe holds the cables themselves and not the cable connector.

One cool feature that many users might appreciate is the design of the bottom section of the cage. It is basically a large Arca Swiss plate so you can place the cage directly into a Arca Swiss compatible head and lock it – very nice although of course for video production longer fluid head style plates are much more common.

Talking about quick release plates as we have noted before we prefer the Manfrotto RC2 plate system (even when we use it in conjunction with longer video plates). We can easily place an RC2 plate on the bottom of the cage however even though this help us place the entire system very quick on a base, removing the actual camera from the cage – for example for shooting stills – which is something we do often and prefer not to do with the cage attached, if we don’t have to, can’t be done easily like we could on our old DIY cage which included an RC2 base for the camera itself (a design which would be impossible with such a small cage of course).

Conclusion

So let’s conclude this short review of the SmallRig A6500 cage. This unit is well built, compact, support Arca Swiss heads out of the box and can help you build a very nice portable system around your Sony camera.

There are some things that can be improved in this cage as well, especially in the handle as we have mentioned although to be fair this is an optional accessory and SmallRig does have a few other handles although non seems to do exactly what we suggested here, but if SmallRig will decide – they can easily come up with a different type of handle that will be rubberized, removable (NATO handles do that) and rotatable without the use of tools and we really hope that they will indeed consider this idea.

SmallRig – simple, compact and inexpensive

First off I’m going to put my hand up and admit that I previously had reservations of using a camera cage, I changed from a Canon DSLR setup to a Sony mirrorless one because I wanted the reduction in weight and I thought that adding a cage would mean adding unnecessary extra weight. With the capabilities of my newish Sony A7ii camera, I started to explore recording small video clips and it just felt clumsy when I wanted to shoot at different angles and having to rummage through my pockets and rucksack to get to all the accessories I needed from time to time.

So when SmallRig sent me their newest 1982 camera cage for the Sony A7ii, A7Rii and A7Sii, and their best-selling 1955 camera stabilizing NATO handle, I jumped at the chance to give it thorough whirl to see if adding that extra weight solved all the headaches I had when filming.

SmallRig’s 1982 camera cage is their latest edition for the Sony A7ii series mirrorless cameras. Many manufacturers release a camera cage for a certain model of camera and be done with it, but SmallRig is company that has listened to the users of their products and constantly refines its camera cages, and the 1982 is the latest product to roll out of its factory for the Sony A7ii series of cameras. From its first edition, SmallRig has rejigged the cage’s layout and refined the design by manufacturing the 1982 from one entire piece of aluminium block, add a built in hot shoe, ARRI locating hole, ARRI rosette mount and NATO rail on its side, and improved the access to your camera’s buttons, dials, switches and latches.

I have previous tried out camera cages that are comes in several pieces and needs to be assemble around the camera but I never liked them because they didn’t feel sturdy enough, and that any assembly screws are even slightly loose, the microphone picked up the tiny rattles. With the 1982 being made on one block of aluminium, it just has this sturdy feel to it and I was in the safe knowledge of having one less point of noise source to worry about.

Let’s take a quick look at how you would mount your Sony A7ii series camera into the SmallRig 1982 camera cage on the next page.

Buy the Smallrig Cage for the Sony A7II camera from Amazon for USD $135.00

Mounting your camera inside the SmallRig 1982 camera cage is very simple; just position the camera inside the cage and then secure it into place via the mounting screw at the bottom of the cage with a coin. There are a few points to pay attention here:

From experience I found I need to twist the screw with a coin hard to ensure the screw did not become loose, and the camera moving about inside the cage.

Sony A7ii series cameras fit quite snuggly inside the SmallRig 1982 camera cage, so you will need to remove any protective coverings such as leather half cases and silicon sleeves to have the camera fit inside the cage.

If you use a small prime lens you will find the camera installation very straight forward, but if you plan on using any wider lens such as I did in the video above or a cine lens, then you will need to detach the lens first, secure the camera body into the cage and then reattach the lens.

With bigger bulkier camera cages, and ones which are oversized, accessing your camera’s switched and dials mean reaching around the body or slipping a finger into a small gap to adjust the camera’s settings. At the top of the SmallRig 1982 camera cage, access to the Sony A7ii series top dials are unobstructed providing easy access, apart from the customizable C2 button, so you need to plan around this. If you do want to take photos as well, the right hand side of the camera cage has a indent where your right forefinger can press the trigger button with ease.

On the right hand side and bottom of the SmallRig 1982 camera cage, both the SD card opening and battery latch is unobstructed and again very easy to access. An ARRI rosette mount is located here which allows you to mount a rosette handle if so required.

On the left hand side of the SmallRig 1982 camera cage, both the latches that cover the audio ports and micro-HDMI ports are uncovered, and SmallRig was kind enough to provide a HDMI clamp in case of accidental knocks which would otherwise damage the port on the camera itself. You will also find an ARRI locating hole and NATO rail so you can slap on a side handle or mount a LED light or external viewfinder.

As if the SmallRig 1982 camera cage was not a gem in itself, SmallRig also sent over their best-selling handle, the 1955 camera stabilizing NATO handle.

At first glance, the 1955 looks like an other camera cage handle with a cheese design to allow mounting of various accessories, but on closer inspection, this could be one of the most well though out handles around. Mounting the 1955 handle onto your camera cage requires a short NATO rail for it to clamp onto, and once secured the handle is firmly in place.

The first bit of surprise of the SmallRig 1955 handle is that there is a hex key built in, which is a god send as I don’t have rummage around my pockets and rucksack for a hex key to loosen or tighten the screws with the camera cage. The next bit of great idea in the design of the 1955 is that there are 3 hot shoe slots built into the handle all at different angles, so no matter how and whatever direction you mount it, there’s always an available hot shoe slot in the orientation you want to mount say a microphone, and that’s not to mention the ARRI locating holes build into it.

And if that was not enough, with a quick loosen of the 2 silver screws along its side, the 1955 handle can be slid forward allow you to adjust it to the grip you want, or in my case with a long lens unbalancing the cage, have the handle slid all the way to the forwards giving me a more balanced handling with videoing at low angles.

Verdict & Conclusion

I am going to be very honest here and say I used to think having a camera cage on a DSLR video setup was to look a bit fancy and added so much more unnecessary weight. After using the SmallRig 1982 camera cage extensively during our trip to Computex 2017, I must say it has been a godsend and I absolutely love it. When doing video work, the first thing I do now is install my camera into the cage.

Why have I reversed my judgement? Its the flexibility I want that a camera cage can give me. Sure, for simple run and gun video podcast work, having a camera cage is not necessary, but for more steady shots and ones that require a bit more work, a camera cage is just a must. At the height of videoing at Computex 2017, I had to have so much more extra accessories at hand and attached to the camera.

A power bank to run the camera off so I didn’t need to have 8-9 batteries with me and constantly changing them

A LED light to help illuminate faces and slightly darker areas

A 7″ LCD screen to ensure that the video was well framed and more importantly that the correct objects were 100% in focus

An audio mixer which allowed for 2 microphone inputs

A shotgun microphone

A wireless microphone receiver

As you can see that’s a lot of extra equipment, and in no way could I have coped without the use of a camera cage.

We then come to why I love the SmallRig 1982 camera cage with the 1955 camera stabilizing NATO handle. Firstly, both the cage and handle is very well built, I have accidentally knocked it a few times on hard surfaces and not only has it protected my camera, both hasn’t the slightest scratch. Having the camera cage manufactured from one block on aluminium means there’s one less possible noise when recording from loose screws. The latest edition of the camera cage for the Sony A7ii series camera from SmallRig also brings many well thought out design features which does not hinder your use of the camera, but enhances it with all its packed features.

The SmallRig 1982 camera cage and the 1955 handle comes in at a very affordable price of US$135.85 and US$48.00 respectively, making them a very attractive option indeed, with many competitors’ similar option being priced nearly twice as much. Buy the Smallrig Cage for the Sony A7II camera from Amazon for USD $135.00

The only downside to the camera care which I reviewed is that the C2 button on your Sony A7ii would be hard to get your finger to, and that all screws are just metal on metal, meaning you really have to tighten then hard otherwise they will come loose. I’ve sprayed my screws with a bit of hair spray for extra grip, but ot would be nice if SmallRig had rubber washers on their screws.

I absolutely love my SmallRig camera cage and handle, and I’ve already invested on more modular bits and bobs for it (as you can see from the photos). I’ve added a 15mm rail system and lens holder to help support the extra weight of the longer lens I have, and an easy plate so that I can secure on any quick release plates of my tripods and video monopods. With the SmallRig system being so modular, I’ve already go my eye on a shoulder pad system and handles so I can carry the entire system on my shoulder for mobile recording.

Buy the Smallrig Cage for the Sony A7II camera from Amazon for USD $135.00

Take a look at our video going through some the basics pros and cons of this review: