First look at the new ReWo Blackmagic Cinema Camera Cage

[kirk]

Sorry Andrew :) But I still think this is overkill :-)

[richg101]

Looking at the beautifully machined aluminium i think they missed a trick making it black! I imagine a silver anodisation would work amazingly in keeping with the theme of the black magic look. replace the hard wood handles for some laminated 'zebra' look timber. bleached birch laminated with stained black birch! lovely!

[wondo]

calm down guys... :-)

we OFFER this cage, nobody is forced to buy it...

if you like to rip out the threads directly from your precious camera body.... go ahead.

but honestly, we knew that this would only appeal to certain people..
first of all we build stuff that WE want to shoot with and this is the design both of us liked the most.
and yes, i like my alpa a lot :-)

this rig is 100% made in germany, the handles involve a big amount of hand finishing and, trust me, we don`t have chinese slaves doing that..

there`s always a cheaper solution, product, one for every given budget, so please go ahead, i totally understand that at this price point not everybody can afford this.

top gear can, just sold the last two remaining gh2 cages to them :-)

about the MFT mount version.
this cage will be a pain in the ass if you want to shoot directly with MFT lenses! that`s for sure.
but since the camera does not support iris or powered focus on these lenses, anything but your voightländer won`t work either..
we`re aiming here at people who use lens adapters.
unlike the pl adapter that you stick directly onto your MFT camera, and that then shakes in the mount, ours will be rock steady and support even the heaviest lenses like angenieux optimos etc.. with now force pulling on the camera mount.

as always, all hints, criticism, suggestions etc.. are welcome, we`re not red and we`re pretty proud of that :-)

best,

bernd wondollek
ReWo

[wondo]

@richg101

zebrano handles are already available :-)

we`re also thinking about a "send us the wood you like the most and we make your personal pair of handles for you" solution.

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/comments/uploads/inline/15850/506ae5a2c14a0_20120822_162045.jpg[/img]

[kirk]

Don't get me wrong... you make some fine cages (and I would have loved to have a GH2 cage if my budget had allowed)...

[richg101]

did your nex7 housing ever go into production? I thought that was a beautiful piece of kit from the photos. just wish the nex7 had the same sensor as the nex 5n.

[wondo]

kirk, everyone has the right to have an opinion, so are you.
believe me, we`re always trying to get this to market at a reasonable price point.

the nex7 cage, for example, was just too expensive to make because the wooden element was 100% hand carved.... so it will stay a prototype.

anyways, i hope nobody already bought a cage from us or others because blackmagic just told us that the camera body will rise 2mm because they added a plate at the bottom of the camera for better ventilation... so we`ll have to adjust our cad`s a little...

but because we`re producing in germany, almost around the corner, these changes will be implemented right away...
as i said, this flexibility comes at a price...

[richg101]

[quote name='wondo' timestamp='1349188648' post='19320']

anyways, i hope nobody already bought a cage from us or others because blackmagic just told us that the camera body will rise 2mm because they added a plate at the bottom of the camera for better ventilation... so we`ll have to adjust our cad`s a little...

[/quote]

This is where Black Magic have really let people down. It goes to show they have not been honest with regard to shipping dates. because it proves their design was nowhere near ready for shipping, or even mass manufacture. forget supplies of sensors or other stuff. the design was not finished. If this change has just happened then it means they are not at production stage yet - still prototyping. Very rude and unprofessional to use a false preorder to build up funds for the manufacture based on bending the truth. A cheap shot in my opinion. If Digital Bolex had done this they would probably be selling their product by now. Though it doesnt matter to me - I'm not in the market for a raw cinema camera. but it does annoy me seeing the plot thicken

I hope I am proven wrong

[wondo]

i think the 2mm plate really was a last minute change to the design, and makes it better and safer...

they told us that they are very confident that things are on track now, and they`re probably beginning mass production as we speak.

i slightly know how they must feel... it`s always a nightmare when a supplier call like this "the mill broke and the service guy told us that spare parts will be here in 4 weeks..." while you have customers writing emails every day about the whereabouts of their orders...

in our case we never found a reliable cnc shop for the gh2 cage and had to let many people down.

thank god we found the right place now for the blackmagic cage...

[DJJ]

[quote name='wondo' timestamp='1349188648' post='19320']
anyways, i hope nobody already bought a cage from us or others because blackmagic just told us that the camera body will rise 2mm because they added a plate at the bottom of the camera for better ventilation... so we`ll have to adjust our cad`s a little...
[/quote]

I hope that doesn't turn out to be true, since I have already paid out good money for a cage... I would not be especially happy to learn BM have changed the form-factor [b]after[/b] initial shipping.

[CVB]

[quote name='wondo' timestamp='1349188648' post='19320']
anyways, i hope nobody already bought a cage from us or others because blackmagic just told us that the camera body will rise 2mm because they added a plate at the bottom of the camera for better ventilation... so we`ll have to adjust our cad`s a little...
[/quote] We manufacture a cage for the BMC and this is the first I have heard about this. We have shipped [b]A BUNCH[/b] of cages to people that already have production cameras and no one has had any problems. I have personally fit our cage to at least 4 production cameras and had no problems. Beyond that, Black magic has been very forthright with us in terms of changes to drawings... so I would hope that something as significant as a 2mm change in height would warrant an email. Are you certain you aren't mistaken? The camera already has a 1.7mm lip on the bottom for ventilation and I have not heard anything from any customers about airflow/cooling being a problem that would justify a change to the design.

[Kristian Lam]

[quote name='wondo' timestamp='1349188648' post='19320']
anyways, i hope nobody already bought a cage from us or others because blackmagic just told us that the camera body will rise 2mm because they added a plate at the bottom of the camera for better ventilation... so we`ll have to adjust our cad`s a little...
[/quote]

Hi

This is incorrect. There has not been a mechanical change since I had last communicated with your company in June 2012. I would like to know where you're getting this information from.

[DJJ]

[quote name='Kristian Lam' timestamp='1349265467' post='19352']
This is incorrect. There has not been a mechanical change since I had last communicated with your company in June 2012.
[/quote]

Thank you Kristian for that confirmation. I thought it seemed a bit odd, I would not expect BMD to change form factor on something like this after shipping units, seems an unlikely thing to do.

[galenb]

Wow, it's weird how much we've been attacked lately. And it's not even to advertise penis pills either. ;-) Time to install capcha in the new user registration I guess.

Anyway, I'm really surprised by the reaction to this. I would have thought people here would have loved it. To me it looks awesome! It looks like one of Syd Mead's design sketches for Bladerunner. Very futuristic looking. and what's up with everyone freaking about the price? Have you see how much cages usually cost? This is €750 + tax which is just under a $1000. This is actually cheaper then most high end cages out there. Go look on Zakuto's website and see how much their cages costs. ;-) [url="http://store.zacuto.com/Blackmagic-Stinger.html"]This one is over $1600![/url] Or BeBob or CPM for that matter. And their stuff isn't even hand made. Considering this, I think it's a very reasonable price. I'm I going to buy one? Hell no! I don't have that kind of money! :-D But if I did, I totally would. And, most production studios who want a striking rig that sets them apart would too. Seriously guys, unless you are buying cheep Chinese made rigs (and I can totally understand doing that btw), $1000 for a cage is a totally normal price.

[Jon de Zwaan]

Don't get me wrong, I really like the design, but I never understood the use of these kind of cages. I mean, are you really going to hold the camera in front of you with these handles and try to make some sort of steady shot? Or are those handles just for transport? I can't imagine myself being able to make a decent (usable) handheld shot without some sort of extra support, like a shouldermount, especialy when using heavier longer lenses.
But then again, I haven't tried it, so maybe I'm talking nonsense.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='galenb' timestamp='1349286780' post='19365']
Wow, it's weird how much we've been attacked lately. And it's not even to advertise penis pills either. ;-) Time to install capcha in the new user registration I guess.[/quote]

There's already a capcha system in place on the new registrations. I'm open to people volunteering to become mods.

[avrofilmvideo]

[quote name='Simco123' timestamp='1349044212' post='19263']


Which rock did you crawled out of? <_<

Most of their products are made in China DH
[/quote]

[PhilipR]

[quote]
Hi

This is incorrect. There has not been a mechanical change since I had last communicated with your company in June 2012. I would like to know where you're getting this information from. [/quote]

Hey,

this was a CAD mistake we had made by our own on the 3D rebuild of the camera.
Not by Blackmagic.
Already fixed.
Best, Philip (rewo)

[XXX]

[quote name='PhilipR' timestamp='1349336887' post='19377']
Hey,

this was a CAD mistake we had made by our own on the 3D rebuild of the camera.
Not by Blackmagic.
Already fixed.
Best, Philip (rewo)
[/quote]

Thanks for setting this straight, but wondo´s original statement sounds like a cheap sales pitch now...

[pask74]

Am I the only one wondering how to focus when both your hands are handling those lovely wooden thingies ?