out of the way yet easily accessible.
- SmallRig 2156 Cable Clamp,
$23: This small metal clamp keeps
an inserted cable in place as the cam-
era is handled and used. Consumer
and prosumer cameras, like the Fuji-
film X-T3, often utilize an HDMI,
HDMI-mini or HDMI-micro con-
nector to output the video signal.
Of the three connections, the
Micro HDMI Fuji included on the
X-T3 is the worst. It’s tiny, fragile
and flimsy and generally wears
out quickly. So, the best we can do is
affix a cable clamp to the connection,
which holds the connection in place
and offers some protection to the con-
nector and cable.
SmallRig offers several clamps, each
designed for a specific camera and cage.
Buy the one recommended for your
gear. For our cage, SmallRig recom-
mends the 2156 model, which affixes
to the cage via two small Allen bolts.
There’s also a small slot screw to affix
itself to the cable. The only downside is
that it’s time-consuming and awkward
to remove the camera and then re-
insert it back into the cage again using
the clamp. - SmallRig 2093 Universal
Wooden Side Handle, $79: After
holding the camera in various posi-
tions, it soon became apparent that
although we could hold the X-T3
battery grip with our right hand,
there really wasn’t a great place to
grip the whole rig on the left side.
The SmallRig 2093 Wooden Side
Handle solved this problem. The
natural Rosewood handle not only
looks great but is quite comfort-
able to hold. In fact, when shooting
in the cold, the wood responds to
your body temperature and doesn’t
hold the cold. Conversely, in hot
situations where your hand may
be sweaty, the natural finish on
the Rosewood gives just the right
amount of grip.
As a plus, the 2093 side handle has
a cold-shoe on top, which is perfect for
our Røde Video Micro microphone
since the distance from the microphone
to the 3.5mm-audio input on the X-T3
left panel was only a few inches away.
That meant I wouldn’t have to worry
about running straight audio cables all
over the rig. I could just use the stock
Røde short-coiled mic cable, which
will minimize overall cable clutter on
the rig.
Like the top handle, the SmallRig
side handle also features a magnetic slot
for carrying an included Allen wrench/
spanner, very slick design.
- Cinevate Universal Accessory
Mount, $36: Although we bought the
Atomos Shinobi SDI 5-inch camera
monitor to use with our gimbal, we
decided to also mount it on this Small-
Rig setup. The Cinevate mount has
been a handy addition to our camera
rigs over the past few years, with its
dual ¼-inch 20 arms with a two-stage,
articulating ballhead in the middle,
each supporting the two arms.
We found that the string of ¼-inch
20 sockets on the right side of the cage
worked perfectly for quickly threading
on the Cinevate mount and attaching
the Shinobi SDI to it. The dual articu-
lating ballheads make positioning and
adjusting the monitor’s position quick
and simple.
The only downside of the Cinevate
mount has more to do with the Shinobi
monitor’s single ¼” 20 receptacle: The
monitor constantly comes loose from
rotating counter clockwise so you have
to spend time retightening it
Should You Cage Your Camera?
Overall, we found our rig worked
very well and is an improvement for
shooting handheld. For instance,
we increased the weight from 1.19
pounds to 6 to 8 pounds (depending
on the lens, as well as what other
accessories we used). The increased
heft allowed our camera move-
ments to be significantly smoother
and more fluid. Also, the addition
of the 2093 Universal Wooden Side
Handle let us grip the whole rig
with our right hand on the cage/
battery grip while using our left
hand to zoom.
Also, we come from a traditional
background of using film and
higher-end video /digital cinema
cameras. And since the Fujifilm
X-T3 is our first mirrorless cam-
era, we felt caging it made sense: It
allowed us to produce consistently
steadier and smoother handheld
footage, even when we were operat-
ing the X-T3 on a tripod. The addi-
tional weight made creating smooth
pans and tilts easier.
For us, building the SmallRig
setup only cost a few hundred dol-
lars, and the end results are notice-
ably improved over shooting with
only the body and a lens. DPP
These two shots of our SmallRig cage rig shows how we turned this simple mirrorless
camera into a more well-rounded and flexible camera system, which makes it easily
configurable for different shoots with different gear. It’s also an integrated system
with better ergonomics than it had before for improved handheld video shooting.
62 | Digital Photo Pro digitalphotopro.com