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

Thanks for the detailed review!

sirui also have s5ii cage

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

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

excellent job, thank you

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

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?

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! 🔥

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?❤

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

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.

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

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

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

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. 😎

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

Good Job, Sir! Thank you! T

Not easy . THANK YOU

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

+

Super😊👌

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

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?

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

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

What do you think about the falcam f22?

This was so helpful thank you 🙏🏾

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?

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.

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 👍

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

Thank you ❤

What about de Sirui cage?

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.

Black Mamba and Tilta

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

I did not like material quality from the Tilta when mount or dismount several time. Personal the BlackMamba.

does the kondor blue support Arri locking pin for the top handle?

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.