MID49 Rainbow Handle System with Interchangeable Color-Coded Grips – First Look

by Francesco AndreolaJune 13^th, 2024

At Cine Gear 2024, we sat down with Ryan Schorman from MID49 to learn more about their newly released Rainbow handle system. This modular grip can be attached to most MID49 camera cages via an Arca-Swiss dovetail plate but can also be screwed to virtually any camera’s top plate. Also, it offers a color-coding system to customize your camera rig.

MID49 is a relatively new company co-founded by Ryan Schorman – former owner and president at Wooden Camera. Ryan is well-known in the industry for developing elegant, clever, and, most importantly, functional camera accessories.

After only one year of official activity, MID49 already offers a long list of rigging solutions for some of the most popular cameras out there, like the RED KOMODO/KOMODO-X, Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, and Sony BURANO, for example. And now, they’re introducing a new modular, customizable handle system. Let’s take a look!

MID49 Rainbow Handle System – overview

The core of MID49’s new Rainbow handle system is a top handle featuring an Arca-Swiss dovetail design. This means it’s compatible with pretty much any MID49 camera cage or top plate. Also, its position can easily be adjusted by simply sliding the top handle inside the receiving Arca-Swiss clamp.

However, if you’re not using MID49 accessories to rig your camera, the Rainbow top handle offers a center screw channel that allows you to screw it to your camera’s third-party top plate. Two 3/8”-16 screws are included with the handle and can be spaced up to 76mm apart inside the center screw channel.

The top handle offers numerous 1/4”-20, 3/8”-16, and M4x20 threads for mounting accessories and can be extended toward the front or back of your rig using dedicated extensions. These come in various lengths (50/75/100mm), and a 90° section is also available in case you want to extend your top handle behind your battery. Moreover, a dual 15mm rod bracket can be attached to the front of the top handle to run 15mm rods over your lens.

Both the top handle and the straight extensions feature interchangeable rubber grips available in 8 different colors (black/blue/red/green/yellow/pink/purple/white). This enables users to customize their rig to match their branding, or even better, can help them color-code different cameras in a multi-camera scenario.

What’s next for MID49?

According to Ryan, we will see a lot more coming from MID49 in the next few months. Particularly, the company is working on rigging solutions for some camera models that promise to become very popular, like the Blackmagic Design PYXIS 6K box-style cinema camera, the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K, and the Canon EOS C400, which was announced right before Cine Gear 2024.

Price and availability

The new MID49 Rainbow Handle System is now available to order from the company’s website. The complete kit retails for $595, but you can also purchase all parts individually. This can be useful, for example, if you already own a MID49 Arca-Swiss top handle and just want to extend it. All accessories are shipping now.

For more information, please visit MID49’s website here.

Do you often rig your camera with an extended top handle? What do you think of this color-coded system by MID49? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!