Best Camera Cage for Panasonic Lumix S5II/S5IIx? Smallrig vs Kondor Blue vs Tilta

[@JohnHelghor]

Richard, the Tilta full cage now comes with a small attachment point that slips over the strap ring on the left side of the S5ii/X.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thanks for the info!!

[@RCGJR_]

How do i know if i’m buying the older/new model?

[@JozzieProductions]

The mamba is the winner imo, the fact it wraps the body and is very sleek makes it a winner in my eyes. I had that same cage for my S5.. amazing cage. Sold it now because I'm going s5iix

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Yes I do really like how it wraps around the grip

[@KONDORBLUE]

Wow amazing in depth review! Thanks for the honest thoughts and feedback!! Loving all your s5ii content! Keep it up🔥🔥

[@TheRealRichardWong]

hey @KondorBlue. thanks for checking this review and my other contents. It's great to see you guys created such a feature-rich cage that is very different to the others in the market.

[@tangibleplanetvisualmedia1138]

Man, I don't like how extra tall that Kondor Blue cage is. They make good stuff but their prices are out of control. The smallrig cages are fine, its a solid piece of metal, never had anything from smallrig break.

[@jockturner1547]

For me the slim line design of the Smallrig Black Mamba cage is king. As a hybrid shooter, I want a cage I can leave on and won’t feel weird or get in the way when shooting photos but then can be built up. The Kondor one just looks insane for such a small camera

[@RandomMotoThings]

Facts

[@KONDORBLUE]

Unfortunately we can’t compete with Chinese brands in terms of pricing. However we know camera gear is an investment and we make sure our designs are feature rich and production tested and we protect the investment for our customers with the best tech SUPPORT TEAM in the industry and a LIFETIME WARRANTY for all our products. As professional cinematographers ourselves, we believe there is much value in the overall experience we can provide! Thanks!

[@tangibleplanetvisualmedia1138]

@@KONDORBLUE Hey I appreciate the response! I really do like your stuff, and I definitely understand where you're coming from regarding costs. Its just hard to spend that much more as a startup business that has already taken on quite a bit of debt. I run multiple cameras for the kind of work I do so when I upgrade to the new S5 I will need to buy ay least 2 cages, and the whole thing just becomes ridiculously expensive on top of all the other endless spending this career demands lol. Hopefully once I'm a little more successful I will be able to afford your stuff. For now I can at least buy a few of your Gerald Undone HDMI cables lol. Keep up the great work and keep making quality stuff, thats whats important, Ill get there eventually.

[@KONDORBLUE]

@@tangibleplanetvisualmedia1138 💯! We are happy there are options for all production scenarios!

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Have you already bought or ordered a cage for your Panasonic Lumix S5II or S5IIx? Which one is your favourite and why?

[@garypranzo9334]

Still waiting for stock on the mamba I pre ordered fro BH. The camera is great but it is naked now. :-)

[@SuchetB]

Thank you for the awesome comparison - I’ve ordered the mamba although after seeing your video I’m considering the Tilta now

[@TerenceKearns]

Beautiful work my man. I ended up ordering the tilta cage.

[@Stone1108]

I know i’m late to this video but i’m in the market so always checkout any reveiw you, they’re the best, you work so hard to address the detail and you apply a broader thinking to usage factors for a wider audience. Thanks again Richard for a being so consistent and reliable. All the best 👍

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Stone , thank you! I'm really glad you like this video!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Best camera/gear reviews on KZbin once again! Thanks Richard. Now I know the SmallRig is for me.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Wow, thanks a lot!

[@Pachiscruz2]

Thanks for the detailed review!

[@TheRealRichardWong]

My pleasure!

[@RRProducties]

Thank you so much! I was searching for a good cage haha

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Glad I could help!

[@natanzaob5433]

Thanks for this bro, really good video and I appreciate the effort you put into this.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

thank you for watching!

[@zsoltcselenyi622]

My Tilta is on back order, but it’s coming 😊 I would prefer the 8SINN but the price of the Tilta can’t be beaten

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Tilta's price is definitely very attractive

[@justint8115]

I like the Kondor Blue most, love features like safety locking pin and it seems rock solid, But i do also like Tilta as I like to install and uninstall my cage all the time. The price is super good

[@TheRealRichardWong]

thanks for watching Justin

[@JoeMustang99]

The standard SmallRig 2022 cage is what I bought initially, but I found the obstruction of the on-off switch a little aggravating, so I ordered the Black Mamba 2023 cage to see if I liked it a little better, and I did. No obstruction of the controls on the right side of the camera, still small and tight, still anchored to the strap lugs. A better choice for me for a minimal rig. But if I was rigging out a G9ii or S5ii, sure the Kondor Blue cage would be a fine choice. Excellent review, Richard.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

thank you Joe! And i agree if you want a small compact rig, the Smallrig Mamba is a great choice!

[@naviknanubhai4244]

This was so helpful thank you 🙏🏾

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Glad it was helpful! :)

[@9adriano21]

I’ll wait for the Falcam F22 cage, the versatility is unbeatable, and I already have a few of their grips and accessories

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Ok I will check out their cage!

[@zionpark0803]

wait is ulanzi releasing their own cage for S5ii?

[@ThePistonPit]

I was searching for your video on cages yesterday and here we go…👌🏼

[@TheRealRichardWong]

CS thanks! haha i was trying to find your previous comment and reply to you. but glad you saw this review :)

[@ThePistonPit]

@@TheRealRichardWong haha… great video… I’m leaning towards the smallrig black mamba now… though i like the 8sinn as well but not sure what that is like etc.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

@@ThePistonPit yeah as i mentioned on other thread, i was interested to compare the 8sinn cage too. Unfortunately, 8sinn didn't reply to me at all despite I tried to contact them through their website and email

[@ThePistonPit]

@@TheRealRichardWong yeah I remember you saying… that’s a shame… smallrig it is then… thanks v much

[@justint8115]

@@TheRealRichardWong its their lost not replying. i was interested in 8sinn too, but i think i will get Tilta or maybe Kondor Blue now

[@ThePoisonDrummer]

Great job! I have the Kondor Blue. It is big and hard to remove. Certainly not a vloggers cage. However, their stuff over all rocks! I have two other products of theirs. The one for the R5-C is awesome!

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Kondor blue definitely not the best choice if you want easy removal of small. But the quality and feature is great!

[@hunglongdee2587]

Hey Richard, great review my friend. I am really liking the Tilta Half Cage, any chance you can review that one? Thank you I appreciate you review

[@TheRealRichardWong]

the Tilta half cage does look interesting! But it's unlikely I would review that at this stage.

[@realblackened]

I’m using the Smallrig cage. A bit tricky to get to all dials sometimes but definitely a solid piece of gear. The look of the Kondor is hideous imo. Keep making great content Richard. Good stuff! 🔥

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thank you so much! Do you have the BlackMamba cage for your S5II? which dial you found tricky to get to?

[@realblackened]

@@TheRealRichardWong I got the 4143 kit for the S5II. It came with the cage, nato lite top handle and cable clamp. Great quality, very solid. It’s tricky to get to the on/off switch and the drive mode dial but I got used to it.

[@donwarren3253]

@@realblackened How do you access the on/off switch? It seems hard to reach

[@realblackened]

@@donwarren3253 I got used to it. You can’t get use your thumb to switch it off but that’s the price you pay for having a second cold-shoe I guess.

[@donwarren3253]

@@realblackened What finger do you use to switch it on or off? Is it possible if you have large fingers?

[@entrigueall2661]

Thanks for the video. Kinda or Blue seems more practical with the ssd in the handle, but it’s expensive compared to the others and I con still attach an ssd to them.

[@ReiDoesIt]

Tilta is great except that they on the full cage version didnt put full length nato rail up top… so the top handle either needs to be off center, or one that mounds with cold shoe not nato rail. If it had full length nato on top with 3/8th locating mount it would be perfect.

[@herenow4629]

Already pulled the trigger the Tilta full cage, just waiting for it to arrive. No ragrets ;^)

[@brandonpetersen10]

Great review with awesome points for each cage. It really comes down to what you're looking to get out of the cage: protection, rigging options, compatibility, etc. Curious, which cage did you end up leaving on the camera?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

haha thanks for watching!! I definitely agree, all these three cages were designed with very different concepts. Each has their pros and cons so it all comes down to what suit your requirements the most! Interesting question about what did i leave on the camera! The answer is.. Tilta!! And the reason? That's the last cage I mounted on the camera when shooting all those product videos for this review. And after installing/removing all these cages dozens of times, i just got lazy to change anything again.. 😵‍💫

[@ThePistonPit]

@@TheRealRichardWong hahah very diplomatic… good job Richard

[@TheRealRichardWong]

@@ThePistonPit haha maybe ask me that again in 3 months time,. By then I should have settle down to one cage

[@titusrivers5059]

​@@TheRealRichardWongso here I am 3 months later 😁

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Haha ok right now I have the smallrig cage on the s5ii!

[@daniel_b_living6133]

Hey Richard great overview. I think you should try out the Falcam cage that was just released today. With easy slide on handles and low profile it wraps the grip much like the small rig black mamba. I had one on my fx30 it was incredible.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Hey Daniel, I heard some good thing about their cages. I will see if I have a chance to try their product in the future. Thanks for the suggestion

[@ILZHOO]

Can somebody help me please, how to use black mamba cage bottom right connection in front side? Could it connect with some rod? No info at all 😢 11:36

[@eddiespectral]

What about de Sirui cage?

[@JohnSoh]

I got the smallrig basic one from their website for $79 with shipping. I appreciate the extra shoe mount. But how close they made it to the body makes it hard to turn on or off without jabbing my thumb and hurting after turning it on many times. The tool secures better than the s5 cage i had but i'm sure it'll get lost soon too. Tilta's hdmi clamp is a nice addition but smallrig's extra shoe mount is a deciding factor.

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Hi John, do you have Smallrig's "basic" S5II cage? or the black mamba cage that I'm reviewing in this video?

[@JohnSoh]

@@TheRealRichardWong I guess it's their basic one, but their website says it's the " SmallRig Cage for Panasonic LUMIX S5 II / S5 IIX 4022"

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Yeah they created two. The black mamba should not interfere with any controls but only has one coldshoe mount

[@rAustinBall]

I feel like the goldilocks cage is the small rig one that’s not in this review

[@sjohnstonus]

Can the Kondor top handle with remote button be mounted on the small rig cage?

[@kfx13]

hey, that's helpful, thanks! Will you do a in depth comparison between the new leica sl f2 50&35 and the lumix f1.8 primes?❤

[@TheRealRichardWong]

I will need to see if I can have access to those Leica lenses

[@kfx13]

@@TheRealRichardWong hopefully, it would be fantastic to see if there are substantial optical differences. for example, because of a different coating❣️

[@spec-productions5733]

Hi Richard, been watching your reviews for quite some time. Always a pleasure. Are you familiar with "optical center?" Let's say you wanted to add rails and an attachment (matt box, anamorphic adapter, etc.) and have the attachment perfectly centered with the lens on the vertical scale, the rod block must be machined to a specific height, such that when it is attached to the cage, the rods will be at a standard distance from the optical center of the lens. When seeking a cage for my S1h, I found it rather interesting and frustrating that no manufacturer built a rod block that offered optical center. It would be nice to see such questions posed in reviews, as it will bring this requirement to the attention of the cage designers. Thus, with my S1h, I had to search out the camera specs that gave dimensions (such as optical center to the bottom of the camera), then obtain thicknesses of the bottom of various manufacture cages, then shop the market for a rod block that was a match, and when none was found, purchase material of such a thickness that compensated for the difference. All of this would be unnecessary if any manufacture would simply pay attention to this specification. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. 😎

[@TheRealRichardWong]

hi Spec-Productions! Thank you for the support! And thanks for explaining optical center to me, i'm not familiar with that at all.

[@Spencer_White]

Thanks for this, very useful. I went with the smallrig black mamba and am very impressed. 🤓👍

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Glad the video helped Scott! Enjoy your black mamba and S5II!

[@madrivermediaeddooley5084]

No mention of whether any of them allow the use of the DMW-XLR1 on top. My Small Rig does for my S5.

[@tdhayes1]

Good Job, Sir! Thank you! T

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thank you too!

[@anneallison6402]

I have the basic smallrig model and I've noticed the frame bends quite a bit when hold from the top handle, there's another video on the mamba pointing this same problem. Do you think it will be able to hold 10kg?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Black mamba focus on small and light weight, so if you want very heavy load I would choose another cage

[@bentaylor4948]

Hi I have the v grip for the s5ii are any of these cages compatible with it? Great reviews!

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Unfortunately not, as all cages would attach to the bottom of the camera so you can't use with the vertical battery grip

[@jayforcinema]

Hi Richard :) Are any of these cages compatible with the DMW XLR-1? I need the on-camera audio solution for my work, and ideally need the cage to be compatible with the adapter

[@TheRealRichardWong]

hey there, sorry i don't have a XLR1 myself so can't really confirm if any of these cages work with the XLR1

[@flmks]

Hey Richard, cheers for the video. I'm currently looking for a half cage for my s5, do you know if there any available? I found the Tilta TA-T50 for the s5ii but not sure if it would be compatible with the s5

[@TheRealRichardWong]

hi hugo, the S5II and S5's body shape is a bit different so i think the tilta cage you mentioned wouldn't fit on the S5. I don't know of any half cage for S5. i only know there are L brackets

[@DroseMr]

Cool. Some dealers are showing body only is not availible for the X anywho . Thank You

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Sorry what do you mean? Do you mean you can't buy the s5iix as body only?

[@OurSweetHideout]

Is it possible to mount the small rig cage, portrait mode on my gimbal. Side of the cage have a mount hole?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Yes there are mounting holes on the side, so i think in theory it should work but i haven't try that myself

[@coltonmonroe9824]

Thank you ❤

[@andersistbesser]

there is a big problem with s5 camera cages. there are cages for use with the vertical grip for sony, canon and even my old gh5 but not for the s5. i need a vertical grip as i am a hybrid shooter who does video and photo 50, 50. without vertical i cant work like i want to but with vertical i cant use a cage to mount a ssd to tage advantage of this functionality... its a shame. i searched a lot but i did not found a solution. does anyone know a full cage?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

I'm not aware of a solution for you sorry. but if i heard of something i'll drop a comment and let you know

[@V7StudioProduction]

THERE IS NOW...

[@dorianvocalartist]

excellent job, thank you

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thanks for watching!

[@alexandermoursiotis1465]

What do you think about the falcam f22?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Sorry I haven't got any experience with their cages

[@jasonlight8813]

Would the Kondor Blue ssd top handle be compatible with the Smallrig cage?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Sorry I am not sure I don't have the kondor blue handle to check it for you

[@lumixS5ii]

There is still no cage for S5ii with the battery grip connected

[@Keilikeramen]

sirui also have s5ii cage

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Yes I was hoping to include their cage in this review. Was communicating with them arranging it but they suddenly stopped replying 😔

[@DroseMr]

Not easy . THANK YOU

[@TheRealRichardWong]

thank you for watching!

[@kynio8007]

Super😊👌

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thank you for watching

[@chantou2787]

Lumix S5 II For weddings photography Good or Not?

[@TheRealRichardWong]

yeah i think so. I shot quite a number of weddings using the original S5 and pretty happy with the results. The S5II is a good improvement in many areas.

[@jayrey7]

Black Mamba and Tilta

[@PaulPhillipsFix]

Hello Richard. Thank you for your review. I have chosen to go with the Tilta cage (purchased before seeing your review) for my Lumix S5IIx and will do a review of it on our new channel ArtFancy Imaging @ kzbin.info/door/9m3Ss3ZJB_e7lSWrL7tcew We don't have content up there yet but that will be changing after the S5IIX arrives along with our Air S2 drone. I'm really looking forward to getting this camera. I hope you will be supportive of our new channel as we do support yours and appreciate your content. Thanks again, Paul & Wendy Paul @ kzbin.info/door/dq2jaxcmgyX0AERivIB2Tw

[@TheRealRichardWong]

hi Paul and Wendy! thanks for watching the video. I will checkout your channel! And also you can drop me a comment when you have new video so i will also check it out

[@PaulPhillipsFix]

@@TheRealRichardWong Thanks for your reply, Richard. I've rung your bell for notifications on any videos that you will post. Thanks for checking in on our channel. Paul & Wendy

[@brendanlister883]

*Smallrig, *Kondor Blue

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Oops. Haha thanks for the correction. Lucky the only place I type it wrong is the place I could fix

[@brendanlister883]

@@TheRealRichardWong You nailed it everywhere else! awesome work brother. great NZ representation! Love your work man

[@TheRealRichardWong]

@@brendanlister883 thank you so much Brendan!

[@eagleeatsmonkey3621]

the product shot is too dark ... cant see really much ... please have better lighting next time

[@TheRealRichardWong]

Thanks for the feedback, I am wondering which product shot you found to dark? I checked the video the brightness seems ok on my monitors, so is you can point out which shot is too dark that would help thanks

[@FeetFirstAthletics]

​@@TheRealRichardWong I was wondering as well, everything looks good to me. Very crisp and clear, awesome review

[@naveenbasiya4531]

👌👌💝💝👏👏💯💯🇳🇪🇳🇪🙏

[@TheRealRichardWong]

thanks for watching

[@ggdfggdfgdffgfddg34]

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