SIGMA fp Camera Cage – Taipan KABUTO FP-1 Soon to be Available

News

by Jakub HanOctober 14^th, 2019

KABUTO FP1 from Taipan Cinema is the first cage system for the upcoming full-frame mirrorless camera SIGMA fp. It features a modular design with many ¼-20 UNC, 3/8-16 UNC mounting threads and ARRI 2-pin anti-rotation mount. It also includes T5 SSD holder and a cold shoe adapter without blocking any of the camera’s functions.

KABUTO FP-1 Cage for SIGMA fp. Image credit: Taipan Cinema

The compact full-frame mirrorless camera SIGMA fp is coming very soon. Now we know it is going to be priced slightly under $2,000. My colleague Johnnie was testing the camera in Japan and his early hands-on impressions article is coming very soon. In the meantime, Taipan Cinema introduced the first cage for this camera.

The Italian camera accessories company Taipan Cinema is focusing mostly on cages and rigs for popular cameras. They usually react very quickly and introduce first cages and rigging solutions to newly announced cameras – like with the EXO cage for DJI Osmo Pocket. This time Taipan Cinema most likely took advantage of the published 3D models of SIGMA fp camera and they introduced the first cage for the fp – KABUTO FP-1. What are its features?

Taipan KABUTO FP-1 Cage for SIGMA fp

KABUTO FP-1 cage features a modular design and is mounted on the camera like a mask, from the front. The name is inspired by the battle helmets used by Samurais in ancient Japan.

KABUTO FP-1 Cage for SIGMA fp. Image credit: Taipan Cinema

The cage adds a number of mounting industry standards (like ¼-20 UNC, 3/8-16 UNC threads and ARRI 2-pin anti-rotation mount) and extends the compatibility to 3rd parties accessories. It integrates well with the SIGMA fp design without blocking access to any of its main functions and guarantees seamless integration with the original accessories, like the VF-11 viewfinder and the lens adapters.

The uniquely designed SSD holder allows to mount an external Samsung T5 SSD unit using its shape like a sun shader when open and as a display protector while in a closed position. Holders for other SSD standards are planned in the future as well. SSD will probably be a popular accessory because SIGMA fp will accept it as a recording media.

KABUTO FP-1 Cage for SIGMA fp. Image credit: Taipan Cinema

The ARRI 2-pin anti-rotation mount is located on the very front of the cage, aligned with the lens axis, allowing to mount 3rd parties top handles without obstructing any lens operation. Moreover, its position guarantees an ideal center of mass balancing.

On the right side, Taipan Cinema designed a removable cold-shoe support plate that follows the shape of the camera and also acts as an extended thumb rest. The numerous ¼-20 threads allow to easily relocate the original SIGMA neck strap supports.

KABUTO FP-1 cage is made out of machined 7075-T6 aerospace aluminum alloy with satin surface finish, military specification natural grey anodization, and stainless steel Helicoil reinforced ¼-20 UNC threads. For maximum rigidity and robustness, the KABUTO FP-1 main frontal part is machined from a solid billet of 7075 aluminum, in one piece.

KABUTO FP-1 Cage for SIGMA fp. Image credit: Taipan Cinema

Price and Availability

The KABUTO FP-1 cage should be available in November 2019. The price will be announced very soon. We will update our article as soon as we know it. Pre-orders will be possible via a direct E-mail to Taipan Cinema.

UPDATE

Pricing of the KABUTO FP-1 cage has been set to €135 (plus VAT, shipping, and import tax). Taipan cinema is now accepting pre-orders. The cage will ship in the next four to eight weeks.

Are you planning to buy SIGMA fp once it’s released? What do you think of KABUTO FP-1 cage? Do you think cage will be a necessity for the fp? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.