GH3 cage

My advice would be to avoid this cage or anything else from FilmCity. I bought a similar cage from them last year which wasn't suitable for any real use. The quick release system is entirely plastic, as are the various clamping pieces that hold the rails. The rails are decent quality BUT the clamps don't hold them at the standard measurement so accessories like follow focus or matte box will need to be forced onto the rails.
 
thanks a lot. this is a very precious information. i was really tempted wth this kit hat loo ul accesorized; the release system, handl, rods, plus he would give me a magic arm, at 100 us dollars shipping included. i delayed only for a little trouble, bt now i think ireally change objective What is interesting to know is, a pat of material, how it is his kind of soltion if compared to classical cage
 
I bought that rig as my first rig and only use the rods and the handle from it now. The rest just didn't work for what I wanted and I only learned that through experience. I have the Honu Fughen cage and love it. Best thing for my GH3. I added a wooden hand grip on the right side of the cage to make a beefy grip for my hands. Love it.
 
RatLabProductions said:
I bought that rig as my first rig and only use the rods and the handle from it now. The rest just didn't work for what I wanted and I only learned that through experience. I have the Honu Fughen cage and love it. Best thing for my GH3. I added a wooden hand grip on the right side of the cage to make a beefy grip for my hands. Love it.
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this is what i am lookinh inmto too
let me understand.you get the cae without its handle and later you added a wooden grip?wha you exactly mean?
 
I, too, have the Honu Fughen cage. Love it. Best $99 accessory I've bought for my GH3 (and upcoming GH4). Highly recommended.
 
stefanocps said:
this is what i am lookinh inmto too
let me understand.you get the cae without its handle and later you added a wooden grip?wha you exactly mean?
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Sorry I wasn't very clear. I bought the Indian rig in your first post 3-4 years ago. I thought it was what I needed but found it was too bulky in the end and bought the Fhugen cage and use that now. I still use the top handle and some rod bits and clamps from the first Indian rig in my current set up but none of the other parts.

By wooden side handle I mean that I made my own and bolted it on the side of the Fhugen cage similar to some of the Black magic pocket cam rigs. It made the GH3 plus cage similar to a 5D in my hands as with stuff rigged I wanted a bigger grip. Still have access to the card slot and everything. I really should post a picture when I get some time. I've never posted a pic on DVX before so I will probably have to host it somewhere first.
 
RatLabProductions said:
Sorry I wasn't very clear. I bought the Indian rig in your first post 3-4 years ago. I thought it was what I needed but found it was too bulky in the end and bought the Fhugen cage and use that now. I still use the top handle and some rod bits and clamps from the first Indian rig in my current set up but none of the other parts.

By wooden side handle I mean that I made my own and bolted it on the side of the Fhugen cage similar to some of the Black magic pocket cam rigs. It made the GH3 plus cage similar to a 5D in my hands as with stuff rigged I wanted a bigger grip. Still have access to the card slot and everything. I really should post a picture when I get some time. I've never posted a pic on DVX before so I will probably have to host it somewhere first.
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yes please. post a pic! :)
 
stefanocps said:
ok. is the handle the one that come in the kit?and the rod bar where did you get from
i need to conenct a 7 inches monio and a rode videomic. there would be enough room?
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Its all cobbled together from the Indian cage kit and the Honu cage. If I didn't already have the parts from the Indian cage around I would have probably bought the ones designed for the Honu cage but I also like to have rails up top.

Breakdown

CineCity kit - Top handle, 8" rails, bracket to hold rails to top, 1/4 20 screw
Honu Fhugen cage - The cage
DIY - Wood side handle


Not pictured parts of rig (below cage)
Giottos QR system
VCT- rail rod block (ebay)
12" rails ( Cine city kit)
 
Ratlab, that walnut handle looks fantastic, question for you or any one with the honu cage, it looks like the right side of the cage could be removed, is that so? and could you use the cage without the right side so you could grip the actual camera when shooting handheld?

Tim
 
Thanks tacotim! it looks and feels even better on the hand now that its finished and stained. I leave the cage on the camera 100% of the time now its really become one unit with the addition of the walnut grip. It only took a weekend to craft. I had previously made an aaton style wood grip that I use with a C300 setup at work. Love the feel in the hands.

The cage comes as 4 pieces that you screw together with allen bolts so technically you could leave off the right side and rely on the shoe connection/bottom screw to hold the camera. I'm not sure if that would be strong enough for me as its using the camera as a stress member for the cage accesories. For light rigging I'm sure it could be fine. I find the GH3 grip a little small in my hands which is why I added the handle. I can trigger the shutter button with my fingers from the grip and it feels good in my hands. With the notch in handle I have full access the SD card slot and since my hand is removed from the GH3 grip I don't have the issue of card slot door popping open on me which is common.
 
i like yhe honu cage. my concern is just about the isssue you sort with diy. when i want to hold in hand, how do i do that with no side knob?
 
stefanocps said:
i like yhe honu cage. my concern is just about the isssue you sort with diy. when i want to hold in hand, how do i do that with no side knob?
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I agree which is why I sorted it myself. I had searched for options that had a 1/4-20 screw so I could mount on the side but in the end nothing would have worked as well as what I made for myself. I guess I'm lucky that I had the tools around but really it took some diagraming in cardboard then cutting a piece of walnut I had left from my Aaton style grip and just have at it. I tried another design which was much flatter (like the tilta BMPCC cage) but it didn't feel right on my hands so I went with the design that ended up being the one in the pictures.

I only used a few hand tools

- Handheld copping saw
- drill (& set of bits)
- Rasp hand tool
- sandpapper in 3 different grits (80, 180, 220)
- tongue oil
- 2x 1/4 20 bolts from hardware store
- 2x washers
 
i am afraid i wouldn't be able to build my own! :) this is my concern and this is what make me think to the pnc gb-3 kit
 
stefanocps said:
i like yhe honu cage. my concern is just about the isssue you sort with diy. when i want to hold in hand, how do i do that with no side knob?
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I use the Honu cage with my GH3 handheld all the time. No wooden grip attached (though I'm sure it's more comfortable with a custom grip). Attached are some photos of me holding the camera just now. Apologies for the crappy pics, it's not easy taking a cell phone photo with my left hand while holding the GH3 in my right. :)
 

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