Mounting stuff to rig cage

M

mrl72

Well-known member
Hey all

So I just ordered a cage for my DSLR and need to starting thinking about how to mount my stuff like LCD monitor, LED light, H4N recorder, Mic etc. Am I right in saying that for stuff like the mic and recorder these can just be screwed directly into the cage (1/4 thread?) and that for the LCD and light where I need to move them, they can just be attached using an articulating arm? No need for extra clamps etc.?

It's a Proaim cage BTW, pic:

9-cage-3.jpg


Arm:

11637361-led-video-lights-11-inch-articulating-magic-arm.jpg

Cheers.
 
If you want a lot of options and adjustability, pick up a few of those articulating arms you posted a picture of, as well as a few rail blocks from Cinevate. These are really, really durable and well worth the money. They have 1/4-20 holes on each side (see pics in the link), and those articulating arms lock down tight.

It's unlikely, but if you have an accessory with a 1/4-20 screw built into it, you can screw it these rail blocks and mount them anywhere on your rig. They are strong enough that you can just use one rail - as opposed to two - to hold the rail block in place on the rig, and it won't budge, even when holding up an arm with a 7" monitor and a battery.

If you have something that's female-threaded 1/4-20 and lightweight, you can also try Jag35's Single Railblock. Not as strong as the Cinevate rail block, but they work. You can also get them as a kit with a magic arm.

My recommendation would be the first, though - a few arms and Cinevate rail blocks.

Hope that helps.
 
I bought a small basic cage from Gini Rigs in Korea, but trying to get in touch with him to find out about specific accessories is proving difficult.

I just need to attach a couple of things to the cheeseplate on the top of the cage, basically a small external monitor, and perhaps an external audio recorder (for when I don't have a sound recordist with me).

I'm trying to find out how people attach these accessories directly to cheeseplates, but without using the long magic arms. I have done a number of searches without luck.

Most of the accessories for sale seem to come with a basic 1/4" ballhead to hotshoe mount (like this):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Black...ltDomain_3&hash=item19cb0f2848#ht_2570wt_1180

But obviously there are no hotshoes on the cheeseplate, so presumably I would need something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_2815wt_1180

So then I would get 1/4 screws, attach the hotshoes to the cheeseplate, and then attach the accessories to the hotshoes?

I feel like I am missing something basic and obvious here!

How do people normally attach things to cheeseplates!
 
simonpwood said:
I bought a small basic cage from Gini Rigs in Korea, but trying to get in touch with him to find out about specific accessories is proving difficult.

I just need to attach a couple of things to the cheeseplate on the top of the cage, basically a small external monitor, and perhaps an external audio recorder (for when I don't have a sound recordist with me).

I'm trying to find out how people attach these accessories directly to cheeseplates, but without using the long magic arms. I have done a number of searches without luck.

Most of the accessories for sale seem to come with a basic 1/4" ballhead to hotshoe mount (like this):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Black...ltDomain_3&hash=item19cb0f2848#ht_2570wt_1180

But obviously there are no hotshoes on the cheeseplate, so presumably I would need something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_2815wt_1180

So then I would get 1/4 screws, attach the hotshoes to the cheeseplate, and then attach the accessories to the hotshoes?

I feel like I am missing something basic and obvious here!

How do people normally attach things to cheeseplates!
Click to expand...

Yea, you're overcomplicating it.

Look back at the picture of the articulating arm the OP posted - the hotshoe based on the one side of the articulating arm unscrews from a 1/4-20 screw you don't see. Take a look at the "kit with magic arm" I linked in my previous post. That's basically what that arms looks like when you screw the hotshoe mount off of it - one 1/4-20 screw on each end. So, you screw in one end of the arm to your accessory and the other into a cheeseplate or railblock..

So, all you need is a railblock and an articulating arm and you can mount anything you want that has a 1/4-20 thread installed in it. No need for cheesplates or hotshoe bases.

EDIT: Oh, sorry. Re-read your post. You're trying to mount things to a rig without using magic arms. Well, there are shorter arms (5" and 7"). I don't think I've seen a ball head that doesn't have a hotshoe base (foot). The arms are typically the way to go, unless you are using the hotshoe of the camera.
 
Ok thanks. I have one of those little ball head hot shoe things, but I am unable to remove the lower screw - maybe it is jammed in and I then presumed they are all built this way! I'll get a new one and see if that works. Thanks.
 
simonpwood said:
Ok thanks. I have one of those little ball head hot shoe things, but I am unable to remove the lower screw - maybe it is jammed in and I then presumed they are all built this way! I'll get a new one and see if that works. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that the coldfoot of the ball head actually comes off. At least, I've never seen any that do.

Usually, the solution is to mount arms to rails or cheeseplates, and then the accessory to the other end of the arm. But you could also try what you suggested earlier and just use 1/4-20 screws from The Home Depot and screw the accessory straight into a cheeseplate. I've done that, actually, with a few things on rail blocks, and it works fine.
 
This is probably what you're looking for...

Something like this has a 1/4-20 female thread in the base, so you could just screw it straight into cheeseplate/rail block.
 
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