Let's face it, unless a camera is designed to go on your shoulder, it's either going to need some sort of rig, or you're going to have to get creative to achieve maximum stability. Not only that, but many of these smaller cameras don't have any good way for you to grab them quickly. That's where Redrock Micro's ultraCage product line comes in. They've introduced two new cages that are specifically designed to fit snugly around the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and the recently announced Canon C100. They've also come up with the lowBase, a great solution to add rails to tall cameras without increasing the height of your rig. If all of this weren't news enough, Redrock is also offering a 10% discount -- exclusively to No Film School readers.
Black-and-Bluemagic: ultraCages
If you missed it from NAB, here's a look at Redrock's ultraCages (beginning of the video, built around a Canon C300):
The ultraCage | blue for the Canon C100 continues Redrock's tradition of engineering extensible/customizable rigs for serious DSLR-shooters (not to mention making the little cameras just look really cool). Like any other Redrock cage, it can be matched with accessories such as matte-boxes, shoulder-mounts, counter-weights, follow-focuses, and power-packs.
Redrock classifies the main types of cage-configs as shoulder-mount rigs (starting at starting at $1,335), handheld rigs ($550 for cage only, plus $135 for the top handle), and studio bundles (starting at $1,230) -- with a few sub-types among them. That would put a base-level setup at about $685, with just the cage and handle. Keep in mind that low-budget buyers can always forego the preset rig kits and chose their individual accessories piecemeal however they (or their wallets) see fit -- though there's no guarantee you can necessarily afford all the items you need with this route, either.
If you're one of the folks waiting for your pre-ordered BMCC to ship, Redrock has built a cage for you too (in a good way). Another member of the ultraCage | blue line, this design hugs the Cinema Camera so closely it actually adds no width to the form factor -- nor does it sacrifice any of the advantages of the cage system. Here's a couple shots of the ultraCage built around the BMCC:
As far as pricing goes, the BMCC ultraCage shoulder rig goes for $1,220, with the handheld rig starting at $500 for the cage only (plus $110 for the top handle), while the studio rig is available for $1,243. That puts the basic cage/handle setup right around $610. If you need some of the more luxurious additions like shouldermounts and handle-bars, though, you'll likely be spending $1000 or more.
lowBases for Tall Orders
I think it would be a violation of Redrock's operating principles to not think of pretty much everything as far as accessories go. As such, the company has devised the lowBase, a baseplate tailored to allow rigging for tall-standing form-factor cameras. As Redrock's store explains, these cameras are the following:
- Canon 1DX, 1D MKIV
- Canon 5D MKII / MKIII with battery grip
- Canon 7D with battery grip
- Nikon D800 with battery grip
- Nikon D4
- Red Scarlet*
- Red Epic*
*For Red Scarlet and Epic only, the lowBase support plate results in a slightly higher rail-to-center-of-lens measurement. Most follow focuses can adapt to this height, and the microMatteBox requires the matteBox vertical adjustment riser accessory. Other third-party products may or may not adapt for use with the lowBase.
Most of the prebuilt rigs using the lowBase system sit somewhere around $1000, give or take a couple hundred depending on the type of rig in question (note, the $1,440 studio rig is designed for Epic/Scarlet only). However, the lowBase itself costs only $200, so if you happen to already own some Redrock gear (shouldermounts, follow focuses) and you're looking to build a rig around any of these cameras, you may be in luck. Especially because...
Redrock is Offering an Exclusive Discount to No Film School Readers!
Whether you like it or not (though, I'm not completely sure why you wouldn't), you can save 10% on select purchases from Redrock Micro. If you are making a purchase, use this promo code (NFSR10), and tell 'em NFS sent ya (just for good measure)!
You can check out all of the products mentioned using the links below.
Links:
Disclosure: Redrock Micro is a No Film School advertiser.
