Mirrorless and hybrid cameras have been a huge, and beneficial, change for independent filmmaking and video production, especially now with cameras like the Panasonic S1H getting Netflix certification.
Unfortunately, once you start getting into this professional shooting arena you’ll quickly find the hybrid design is a bit limited when it comes to proper mounting of all the accessories you might want to use. Not only that, a lot of manufacturers understand that some high-end features aren’t for everyone and require some additional accessories, meaning you will have to build up your camera even more.
As you would expect, plenty of manufacturers jumped on this opportunity to produce cages, mounts, and other tools to help ensure everyone can capture beautiful video. Arber Baqaj details all the best accessories for the S1H, including cages, adapters, monitors, and more in his latest video.
For video with mirrorless, the best place to start is a cage. It adds a ton of mounting points and gives a solid shape to start building from. The cages Baqaj has are the SmallRig Full Cage and Half Cage for the S1H and the Tiltaing Camera Cage Kit for S Series. They do a great job of protecting the camera and then leaving room for the camera’s monitor to move around.
The Tilta was Baqaj’s first cage and it looks great. It even comes with a wrist strap for handheld use. A cold shoe mount on top works for things like mics and the cage will accept a top handle which can seriously help when moving and maneuvering with your camera.
The only potential fault is that the cage is set up more generally for the entire S Series, so it isn’t perfectly optimized for the S1H.
Moving over to the full cage from SmallRig you have a lot of similarities. It’s a little more bare and doesn’t come with a hand strap. Being designed specifically for the S1H also helps.
Another advantage of SmallRig’s system is that they can use NATO rails which makes attaching extra accessories, like a side handle, much faster. It does also have a cold shoe. Compared to the Tilta, the SmallRig accounts for the free-angle screen even when using the left side handle.
Then there comes the half cage from SmallRig. It’s essentially like the full cage, just missing the right half. The cold shoe migrated to the left side, the actual side though so you might want a ball head like the Manfrotto 492LCD.
The nice part of the half cage is that it allows for uninterrupted use of the S1H’s grip and it has a quick release plate to easily put in/take out the camera. Also, in this setup, he has the Helmet Kit to protect and offer mounting when using the DMW-XLR1 XLR Adapter.
The more “complete” setup Baqaj shows off features the half cage and then adds all his accessories. First is the Tiltaing Mini Matte Box on the front.
Then, to get ProRes RAW out of the S1H you’ll need an Atomos Ninja V. To mount this he uses a mount with NATO clamps on both ends as well as the SmallRig Ninja V Cage. SmallRig makes NATO rails you can attach where, say on the top handle, to help get everything standardized.
In the end, Baqaj does very clearly call out that he likes the SmallRig Half Cage the best. It offers enough mounting and still offers freedom to access the camera grip.
Also, the quick release system makes it so easy to take the camera out and then use as a stills camera. It really allows it to work as a hybrid camera, which is part of the charm of these mirrorless cameras with awesome video specs.
Any accessories you can’t live without for your S1H?
[source: Arber Baqaj]
Order Links:
- Panasonic S1H Mirrorless Camera (B&H, Amazon)
- Panasonic Lumix S PRO 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens (B&H, Amazon)
- Panasonic Lumix S PRO 16-35mm f/4 Lens (B&H, Amazon)
- Panasonic DMW-XLR1 XLR Microphone Adapter (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig CCP2488 Cage for S1H (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig CCP2513 Half Cage for S1H (B&H)
- Tiltaing Camera Cage Kit for S Series (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig Quick Release NATO Rail (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig Wooden Side Handle with NATO Clamp (B&H, Amazon)
- Atomos Ninja V 5” 4K HDMI Recorder/Monitor (B&H, Amazon)
- Angelbird 1TB AtomX SSDmini (B&H, Amazon)
- Angelbird 256GB AV PRO SD Match Pack (2 x 128GB) (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig HTS2367 DMW-XLR1 Helmet Kit (B&H, Amazon)
- Manfrotto 492 LCD Micro Ball Head (B&H, Amazon)
- Tiltaing Mini Matte Box (B&H, Amazon)
- SmallRig 2385 Monitor Mount with NATO Clamps (B&H)
- SmallRig 2209 Cage for Atomos Ninja V (B&H, Amazon)
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate partner and participant in B&H and Adorama Affiliate programmes, we earn a small comission from each purchase made through the affiliate links listed above at no additional cost to you.
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