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The BMPCC4K is a popular camera, no doubt about it. And a popular camera builds a market for third-party accessories. Just like many other manufacturers before them, Zacuto has just released their version of a dedicated cage for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.
The Zacuto cage features a comfortable strap which keeps your hand snug to the camera. The trick is the “no-cage” design, you shouldn’t even notice that there’s a cage at all while holding the camera. Multiple 1/4 20″ threaded mounting holes can be found all over the cage for mounting additional accessories.
The top plate incorporates a Z-Rail (read: NATO rail) which can be used for balancing a top handle for example. As a nice touch, the rail is embedded (but can be moved back and forth) in the cage so the top plate is completely flat.
On the other side of this BMPCC4K cage there is another NATO rail that stabilizes the cage itself and allows a second handle to be fitted. The cage also comes with strain relief clamps and right angle adapters for both the USB and HDMI connectors.
Please note: The images in this article show a 3D-printed prototype of the actual cage. The real cage will be made out of anodized aluminum.
For mounting this BMPCC4K cage to a tripod or rig the bottom of the cage offers two ¼” 20 threads and one 3/8″ 16 thread. This opens the door for either a third party tripod plate to be mounted but you also can use the built-in Arca Swiss plate to mount the cage to any Arca Swiss compatible quick release mounting base.
The cage comes with a left wooden handgrip but you can mount any grip you like via the NATO rail on the left hand side of the cage – or no grip at all. An optional accessory for the BMPCC4K cage is the dedicated SSD holder which mounts to the top plate via two allen screws and holds a Samsung T5 SSD securely in place. Additionally the SSD holder offers a coldshoe for mounting more accessories.
Another (future) optional accessory will be a rod support for attaching 15mm rods to the cage and build a fully-fledged rig from there.
Zacuto is a bit late to the party here. Other companies already have their BMPCC4K cage offerings ready. Click on one of the following links for our corresponding article:
As stated above, the popular BMPCC4K creates quite a market for dedicated camera cages and accessories. Which one is the best? I don’t know but I can tell from personal experience that Zacuto gear is well-build, rugged cleverly thought out. I like the “no-cage” approach but in order to really pick the best cage you have to try them all, which is not always an easy thing to do, obviously.
Link: Zacuto
Do you have any experiences with one of the above (or any other) cages for the BMPCC4K? Share your experiences in the comments below!
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Olaf von Voss is a freelance cameraman who is in business for well over a decade. He is living in Berlin, Germany but has traveled the world as well while shooting mostly documentaries.