More Cages for the BMPCC 4K by Shape, Wooden Camera and SmallRig

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by Bato ProsicNovember 6^th, 2018

To say that Blackmagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera 4k has been received well would be an understatement. The online camera community is still bubbling with reviews, comparisons to other cameras and stories about accessories. (Check out our review by clicking here). One essential accessory for most people would be a cage system of some sort, to alleviate some of the rigging problems that smaller cameras inherently face. However, the solutions manufacturers choose can really differ from one another. We have reported about most other BMPCC 4K cages before – here are the ones we haven’t told you about yet.

Shape Cage for the BMPCC 4K

Shape’s solution for a BMPCC 4K cage is made of CNC machined aluminium and comes at a rather light 0.66 lbs / 0.3kg. This might be due to the fact that it isn’t technically a full cage – it is open on the right side, with a padded side leash securing your hold on the BPMCC 4K’s pretty comfortable grip. The top of the cage features a cold shoe mount, the top and side have numerous 1/4″ mounting points, most of them with anti-rotation pinholes. On the camera’s left side there is an integrated clamp that secures the HDMI-cable into place, but curiously enough this clamp doesn’t extend downwards enough to also secure the USB-C cable while recording to an SSD. The bottom of the cage allows access to the battery compartment and has 1/4″ and 3/8″ mounting points for tripod plates and the like.

Shape’s BMPCC 4K cage is available in a barebones version, but also in kits, offering different combinations of accessories, ranging from simple top handle all the way to fully built shoulder mount solutions with a mattebox and follow focus. Notable amongst the generally high-quality Shape accessories are the trademark button rotatable handles and grips (there are two different top handles available) and the side handle for the left side of the BMPCC 4K cage. An SSD mount is also available.

Wooden Camera’s Unified BMPCC 4K Cage

Wooden Camera’s BMPCC 4K cage shows quite a different approach. It is no full cage, but rather consists of a top and bottom, connected by a rod on the camera’s left side. The rod itself has some 1/4″ mounting points and holds Wooden Cameras’ HDMI angle connector in place, which comes with the kit. One might wonder what will hold the actual cable in place, once it’s connected to this secured angle connector. The bottom of the cage consists of a quick release system for the integrated Manfrotto-style baseplate and a pin to secure lenses or speed boosters. The top of the cage is more or less a cheese plate with numerous 1/4″ and some 3/8″ mounting points, one of the latter also featuring holes for anti-rotation pins. The cage is available in two versions, depending on the top handle you choose. It seems like the only difference between the grips is the material, which can be rubber or wood. The top handle screws into the front of the top cheese plate and has a few mounting points as well as a cold shoe mount and a 15mm rod hole, oriented to the side. The cage comes in at  0.975 lbs / 442g.

Amongst the accessories Wooden Camera is offering are a D-Tap to DC cable for the camera, a universal viewfinder mount that can be attached to the top handle’s rod attachment, a unified baseplate that supports 15mm rods and a MFT to PL mount adapter.

SmallRig Half Cage and Full Cage for BMPCC 4K

Like Tilta, SmallRig offers two versions of their cage, one half cage and one full cage – the main difference being five more 1/4″ and one more 3/8″ mounting points on the full cage’s right side. Both cages don’t hamper your access to the battery compartment and have two integrated NATO rails (one on top, one on  the left side) and a cold shoe mount on top. The full cage also has attachment points for a camera strap on both sides, while obviously, the half cage has this only on one side. The half cage comes in at 0.5 lbs / 228g, the full cage at 0.66 lbs / 300g.

Amongst the accessories SmallRig makes for this cage specifically are a Metabones adapter support that attaches to the bottom front of the cages, an SSD mount compatible with Samsung T5 SSDs and a combined HDMI and USB-C clamp that screws into the cage’s side. Obviously, with the cages relying on the standard NATO rails for attaching handles, you can either use some of SmallRig’s own side grips and top handles, or just any manufacturers NATO handles. Of course, the cage is also compatible with SmallRig’s humongous selection of accessories, ranging from offset shoulder mounts, EVF and monitor mounts, magic arms and many others.

The competition

If you want to compare these cages to the others we have reported about, here are the articles relating to those:

Tilta Cage system for BMPCC 4K

LockCircle Cage for BMPCC 4K

8Sinn Cage for BMPCC 4K

Regarding prices for the most basic version of the cage, the current landscape of BMPCC 4K cages looks like this:

• SmallRig cages start at $55.00 and $69.00 respectively
• Tilta is asking for $69.00 (half cage) or $99.00 (not yet available)
• Shape’s basic cage starts at $175.00
• 8Sinn’s offerings start at $179.00 (half cage) and $279.00
• Wooden Camera’s Unified cage will set you back $350.00
• LockCircle hasn’t announced pricing yet

Of course we will keep you posted about other new cage systems and accessories being released for the BMPCC 4K.

Which of these cages would suit you best? Do you prefer the high integration of Shape’s system or the lower price of SmallRig’s alternatives? Or are you holding out for Tilta to make their very comprehensive accessory system for the BMPCC 4K available? Let us know in the comments!