SHAPE Rigging Solution for the Canon C500 Mark II

News

by Jeff LochApril 1^st, 2020

Canadian third-party accessories maker SHAPE recently introduced an entire rigging solution for the Canon C500 Mark II. The complete kit consists of a cage, a REVOLT baseplate, a top plate, one left-side handgrip, a push-button viewfinder mount, a follow focus, a 4 x 5.6″ rod-mounted matte box, and a long top handle. Of course, you can buy every part separately. Let’s take a closer look at this SHAPE all-in-one solution for the C500 Mark II.

Image credit: SHAPE

SHAPE Rigging Solution for the Canon C500 Mark II

The Canon C500 Mark II has been out in the wild for a couple of months now. Like every new camera that comes out, third-party accessories companies are releasing custom-made rigging solutions. Canon’s latest flagship full-frame cinema camera is no different, and after the Zacuto Recoil solution for the C500 Mark II, SHAPE is joining the game.

Image credit: SHAPE

The SHAPE rigging solution for the Canon C500 Mark II consists of several parts, including:

• A cage that wraps entirely around the camera, and that includes a top plate.
• One REVOLT baseplate where you can attach 15mm rails.
• A left-side handgrip.
• One push-button viewfinder mount.
• A follow focus plus a 4 x 5.6″ rod-mounted matte box.
• And a long top handle.

Let’s take a closer look at it piece by piece.

Image credit: SHAPE

SHAPE Camera Cage for the Canon C500 Mark II

The core of this system is the SHAPE camera cage. This cage consists of four parts that are attached to each other: a top plate, a base plate, and two side brackets. There are a lot of 1/4-20″ and 3/8-16″ mounting points all over the cage, with “ARRI anti-twist” four-way locating hole patterns.

On the right side of the side bracket, there is an ARRI rosette gear if you want to attach the control handle that comes with the camera. One nice touch is the cable clamp next to the rosette mount that avoids putting too much pressure on this fragile connector. Also, there is a built-in magnetic Allen wrench slot on the base plate if you want to disassemble the cage.

Image credit: SHAPE

SHAPE Push-Button Viewfinder Mount

The SHAPE Push-Button viewfinder mount screws directly to the Canon C500 Mark II display and replaces the mount that comes with it. The viewfinder mount attaches to your top handle via a 15mm rod, which allows for side-to-side adjustment. With the three 19mm push-buttons, you can quickly loosen, adjust, and lock any of the height/orientation of your viewfinder. This is one of the best viewfinder mounting solutions for the C500 Mark II.

Image credit: SHAPE

SHAPE Accessories

On top of the baseplate, you can mount a large top handle that wraps around the entire camera. This top handle features a ton of mounting points to attach accessories directly to it. Also, this top handle is modular: you can remove sections if you want to strip down your rig.

Most of the other accessories are not C500 Mark II specific, but if you are starting from scratch, they can be an excellent addition. These accessories include the SHAPE REVOLT baseplate to attach 15mm rails at the front and back of your camera and mount it on your shoulder. For extra stability, you can attach the left-side handgrip to the REVOLT baseplate. This handgrip features two push-buttons to adjust the position of the handle quickly.

Finally, to finalize your rig, the full package comes with a Follow Focus Pro and a 4 x 5.6″ mattebox.

Pricing and Availability

Most of the SHAPE solutions for the Canon C500 Mark II are available already. The complete rigging solution is $2815.12/€3253.00, but as already mentioned above, you can also buy all the parts separately to fit your needs.

What do you think of the SHAPE rigging solution for the Canon C500 Mark II? Did you ever shot with SHAPE accessories in the past? Let us know in the comments below!