SIRUI Camera Cage for Panasonic LUMIX S5II Launched

News

by Francesco AndreolaJanuary 4^th, 2023

Today Chinese manufacturer SIRUI officially enters the accessory industry with the release of their first camera cage specifically designed for the newly-announced Panasonic LUMIX S5II. The cage features a lightweight, minimal design with several threaded mounting holes, a wrist strap and an integrated quick-release plate. A top handle kit is also available.

It’s always surprising to see manufacturers getting off the beaten path to extend their lines into new market segments. For example, last year the lighting market assisted to a mushrooming of budget COB LED fixtures developed by first-timers such as SmallRig and SIRUI.

In particular, over the last few years SIRUI’s name has been commonly associated with the production of affordable anamorphic lens solutions, such as their 1.33x lineup for APS-C cameras and their Venus 1.6x full-frame series. However, behind the scenes, the company has been working together with Panasonic to come up with their first-ever rigging accessory. Let’s take a closer look!

SIRUI: why a camera cage?

According to SIRUI, an agreement with Panasonic for the development of a camera accessory specifically designed for their new LUMIX S5II was found in 2022 when the Japanese manufacturer sent over a prototype camera body to SIRUI. Since then, the two companies have been in close contact throughout the whole design process.

SIRUI claims that the decision of taking this leap was dictated by the prosperous growth of the video content creation market as well as by future possibilities of shaking hands with new partners. Undoubtedly, entering these new waters has its own risks, especially considering the fierce competition coming from well-established accessory manufacturers, such as Tilta, 8Sinn, Zacuto and SmallRig, for example.

SIRUI camera cage for Panasonic LUMIX S5II: features

Nonetheless, here we have it: SIRUI’s first camera cage! The accessory is designed for the Panasonic LUMIX S5II, but should also work with the S5IIX model, as the two cameras optically have the same design and only differ in color. The cage (product code: SC-S5II) features a lightweight aluminum construction (165g – cage only) and a pretty basic design.

Its surface is populated with 1/4”-20 threaded holes as well as a few 3/8”-16 mounting points with locating pins. At the bottom, we find an Arca Swiss/Manfrotto quick-release plate, while on the right side of the cage we have a wrist strap for a more solid grip. These elements increase the weight of the accessory to a total of 230g. Additionally, the cage integrates a cold shoe mount over the top left side of the camera, since the accessory covers the body’s native cold shoe interface.

Finally, the company also offers a top handle kit (product code: SCH-S5II Kit). This adds an extra grip that screws directly to the top of the cage. The top handle offers additional cold shoe, 1/4”-20 and 3/8”-16 mounting points. Furthermore, just like the cage, it integrates a dedicated slot to store the included hex key. This looks similar to what SmallRig already does with its rigging accessories.

Price and availability

The new SIRUI cage for Panasonic LUMIX S5II will be available in February 2023. However, at the moment of writing, there’s no official info about pricing. We will update the article as soon as we find out.

For more information, please visit SIRUI’s website.

Featured image credit: photo by The Halal Design Studio on Unsplash / Edit by CineD

What do you think of SIRUI entering the accessory industry? What are your thoughts on their first camera cage? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comment section below!