MUTINY Freefly Ember Camera Accessories – First Look Review

Accessory Review

by Graham SheldonToday

The good folks over at MUTINY, a US-based accessories manufacturer, are fans of the Freefly Ember camera (so am I), and they have launched a wide variety of accessories that make it much, much more production-friendly from both an operating and a power distribution perspective. I’ve now had a chance to take these accessories and their Power + IO module for a spin in this first-look review.

I like many things about the S5K Freefly Ember slow motion camera – the pricing of the body itself compared with a Phantom, the edit-friendly 10-bit ProRes codec, and the newly announced replaceable media module with SDI out. Still, I frankly didn’t love the initial batch of accessories that launched with it (with the exception of the Freefly wooden handle and monitor bracket).

One of the only large issues with the Ember (both the S5K and S2.5K version) out of the box is simply a lack of mounting points on a camera that really, really needs more of them for things like wireless transmission or an operating monitor. There are a couple of tiny M4 screw holes and two 1/4-20 threads on the exterior, but that’s the extent of it – oh, and the Record button isn’t in a great place either if your right hand is actively using the handle. There is also that pesky issue of cable management (some of them of the delicate 4-pin molex type) hanging all over the place that are prone to being snagged on something.

MUTINY Freefly Ember Accessories – the Cage

Given the box-like build of the Ember, the MUTINY team could have gone a bunch of different directions with the design of the cage, but I appreciate the modular system they created that gives the user the option of leaving open places on the camera to reduce the overall weight or cover the entire exterior with mounting points.

The cage is broken into a few interchangeable pieces named simply:

• Short Plate ($50/each)
• Long Plate ($80/each)
• Block ($25/each)

You can purchase a variety of different kits with different combinations of the above. Packages save you $10 if you go that route. In general, the pricing of the MUTINY Ember cage feels very reasonable for what you are getting in an industry rife with a film and TV upcharge pricing model.

The block pieces allow you to link either short plates or long plates together to form whatever configuration you wish. Each plate comes complete with a multitude of 1/4-20 and 3/8 – 16 tapped holes and Arri locating pin holes, too. Deciding where you want short plates and long plates gives the whole feel of building out this cage a kid-friendly building blocks vibe that I appreciate, and I would love it if MUTINY extends this system to other box-style cameras.

You also get the sense that you are paying only for what you need and not for additional plates that simply won’t be required for whatever build you have in mind. There also isn’t that annoying wiggle that you sometimes get when the cage is a separate piece from the camera without enough mounting points.

One small quibble – I didn’t mind the monitor mount that Freefly created, and you unfortunately won’t be able to use that on this cage. Plus, MUTINY doesn’t make a monitor mount, so you’ll have to source that elsewhere. In my case, I went with a monitor hinge originally designed for the Canon C70 from Wooden Camera that worked fine with my Ultra 5 Bolt 750 TX monitor.

Personally, I used the Freefly branded handle with the Freefly rail on the right side of the camera, but there are a wide variety of top handles and side handles that would work great with this cage system.

The cage gives plenty of space for all the various heat sinks on the Ember body, and the cage even has a gap at the base, which allows for additional airflow. You could also run a few FIZ motor cables through the gap at the base for a cleaner build if needed.

Keep in mind that you will still need to source a baseplate from another brand if you plan on using 15mm rods as part of your build for a matte box or a follow focus.

The Power + IO Module

My first introduction to MUTINY as a company was due to their RED KOMODO OG/X power modules, SDI isolators, and custom cables, and I appreciated their attempts to add solutions for filmmakers despite not being a KOMODO owner myself. They have since branched out to support all types of camera bodies from Sony to ARRI, Blackmagic, FUJI, and, of course, Freefly.

The $800 Power + IO feels like a return to MUTINY’s roots – instantly making a camera more useful while not getting in the way of what already worked. I also don’t want to discount the included custom MUTINY cables that are exactly the correct length to bridge the gap between the Power + IO on the back of the camera.

You need the rear Freefly brackets that are included with the Ember to mount the Power + IO to the rear of the camera, and I’ll admit that these brackets take a little finesse to line up correctly (the screws from MUTINY go through the Power + IO once the brackets are affixed to the camera).

The cables included by MUTINY are a 2pin 0B to MOLEX 4 power cable and a 6pin 0B GPIO cable. Extras will cost you $65 for another set.

Freefly, initially, only supported V-mount batteries with their battery plate, and MUTINY allows you to pick either native V-mount or Gold mount plates for your Power + IO. Core SWX makes these plates, and my Nano X Micro V-mounts fit snuggly on them.

Here is a list of all the ports on the Power + IO directly from MUTINY:

• 1x 6pin 1B DC input jack (uses same DC cable as DSMC2/ V-RAPTOR/KOMODO X) 11-17 volts (do not use higher than 17v)
• 2x D-Tap power output connectors,
• 2x 2pin 0B power outputs,
• 1x Fischer 3 power + R/S 3pin port (pin 1 ground, pin 2 +, pin 3 R/S)
• 1x 6pin GPIO 
• 1x 4pin 00b CTRL (RX/TX port for future expansion)

The Power + IO powers an additional Run / Stop button ($175) that I’ve placed on the left side of the camera (exactly where my hand falls when holding the Ember while shooting handheld). You could also mount the R/S button atop a handle on the right side or really anywhere else that works for you on the camera body. The R/S system is available a la carte from MUTINY and also works with a variety of other camera bodies, including the Canon cine line, which has been updated recently.

Oh, and you can remotely trigger the camera record with the R/S Trigger box that worked well when I tested it with my Teradek FIZ, but MUTINY promises it will also work fine with “every major FIZ on the market” from the likes of ARRI, RT Motion/Teradek, C-Motion, Preston and Tilta, too.

Conclusion

MUTINY is releasing new products at a rapid pace and their support of the Ember is making that camera much more user-friendly. The cage is excellent, but the impressive Power + IO is a standout as it cleans up the overall build and provides so many inputs and outputs. There also aren’t any competing alternative options on the market for the Ember with these features as of publishing.

Both the MUTINY cage and the Power + IO fit perfectly with the newly announced Ember Media Expander (see the above image), and the Media Expander removes the headache of losing the entire camera for media dumping while filming pauses. In fact, the quick pace of both firmware and hardware releases from Freefly suggests the Ember is here to stay. Good news for Ember owners and users who are considering purchasing MUTINY Ember accessories.

Beyond the Ember – a deep dive into MUTINY’s website shows a variety of different options for everything from a cage for the new Blackmagic PYXIS, different colored timecode cables to XLR cables, and even camera body caps where you can hide Apple AirTags. All useful stuff for filmmakers, and I’m a sucker for custom cables in different colors…

Hopefully, MUTINY will continue to make other accessories for other camera bodies as their cage solution here is affordable and works well. I can also think of several other cameras that would benefit from a solution like the Power + IO.

What do you think? Are you a Freefly Ember owner? Will you be adding the MUTINY Ember accessories to your kit? Let us know in the comments below!