Last week, my friend Mike, from Rule Boston Camera, sent me a ZIGaRIG DSLR Cage for my 7D to try out. It’s a pretty nifty low profile DSLR cage developed by Jan Egleson, a professor at Boston University.

So for this review, I’m going to be referring to the above posted photos that I shot, when talking about each part of the ZIGaRIG.

[1] The ZIGaRIG is made of black anodized 6160 aluminum so it feels really sturdy and durable. I really like that this cage has a very low profile. I’ve seen many cages that seem clunky, especially when you start mounting a bunch of stuff onto it. Having the handles on the side make for good weight distribution when you are doing hand-held. Although, after playing with this little guy for a while, this is just useful if you are run and gunning for a short amount of time. Once you go for a while, your forearms start aching, so if you plan on doing all day shooting, a shoulder mounted rig may be a better fit for you. However, majority of my use for this was tripod mounted, in which case, it works just great.

[2] The camera mounts on to the ZIGaRIG using a hot shoe bolt on top and a tripod bolt on the bottom. This is really great because it prevents the camera from sliding around and twisting. I often have this problem with rigs that I use. I feel that no matter how tight the camera is secured onto the plate, there’s always some give and the camera ends up getting loose.

[3] The bottom of the ZIGaRIG has 1/4 20 and 3/8 mounts so that you can secure the ZigaRig onto a tripod plate, or even baseplates that support 15mm rod systems. There are even additional screw holes on the bottom to secure your camera even more, to prevent camera movement should you use long and heavy lenses or a follow focus system.

[4] I love that there is full access to the battery compartment. With a couple of baseplates I’ve used in the past, I would have to take the camera completely off the rig to change the batteries, super annoying and time consuming, especially when you are shooting documentaries when you have to be alert and quick at all times.

[5] The top of the ZIGaRIG also has drilled and threaded 1/4 20 and 3/8 mounts for mounting a plethora of things on there.

[6] Here it is with a Zoom recorder on top. You can mount your wireless receivers, microphone, EVF, monitor, light, etc. The possibilities are endless. Since there are so many mounts, you can position all your extra doodads in a way that works best for you.

[7] The sides also have 1/4 20 and 3/8 mounts so that you can mount your things on the sides as well as the top. You can even mount arms off the side so you can get more clearance from the camera if you are using an EVF. Great plus.

[8] There is enough clearance on the right side of the ZIGaRIG for you to be able to swap out your CF card easily and quickly. Like the battery issue, this is a problem I encounter with some rigs as the camera becomes buried in a kludge of stuff.

[9/10] Last but not least, I think that this is my favourite feature about the ZIGaRIG. First off, there’s enough clearance from the camera to the rig to use right angle cables coming out of the HDMI port. However, I LOVE that there is a hole to feed the cables through. It’s great because you can protect the mount or cables, if you secure the cables on the outside, let’s say…with gaff tape, or zip ties, etc. Also it makes your system look cleaner [more organized, if you will], so that you don’t have a bunch of random cords just dangling. I think it’s great accessibility and a neat feature of the ZIGaRIG.

So there you have it. Thanks again so much to Mike and Rule Boston Camera for letting me play with this pretty cool rig.

Want to Buy one?

$250 available exclusively through Rule Boston Camera.

You can call 1-800-785-3266 or email sales@rule.com or sutton@rule.com

Links:

Rule Boston Camera - Rule Boston Camera sells, rents, installs, integrates and architects production and post-production equipment and solutions for film, video and media makers.

Rule Boston Camera’s Twitter

Mike Sutton

ZigARig