Kondor Blue has announced a new Canon C70 Cage that can be bought as a whole kit or as individual pieces.
The C70 Cage consists of:
- Top plate
- Side Plate
- Bottom Plate
- Top Handle
The Canon C70 doesn’t come with many mounting options out of the box and if you want to use it with monitors, EVFs, 15mm rods, etc. then you will undoubtedly need to use some type of cage.
The Top Plate features dual NATO rails, a bubble Level, 1/4″-20 and ARRI 3/8″-16 threads, dual cold shoes, a magnetic tool, and a relocated sensor plane marker.
The Top Plate is compatible with the original Canon top handle and mic mount.
The Side Plate features 1/4″-20 and ARRI 3/8″-16 threads, and a grip. It is also compatible with the standard Canon grip strap that comes with the C70.
The Bottom Plate features Helicoil steel threads, a magnetic tool, side wings with 1/4″-20 Threads, HDMI Protection, and front M4 threads for the Kondor Blue Lens Support.
The bottom plate is also compatible with the Kondor Blue Bridge Plate if you want to run 15mm rods.
The Top Handle features a start/stop record button that supports both Sony LANC and Panasonic Protocols. It also has five 3/8″ threaded holes with ARRI Locator Pins for anti-twist accessories such as the Kondor Blue Mini Quick Release Plates. There are also over eighteen 1/4″ hole options for mounting other accessories.
The Top Handle also has a 15mm rod side support if you want to add an EVF or monitor to the camera. There are also cold shoe mounts on each end of the handle.
Competition
Despite the popularity of the Canon C70 there aren’t actually that many cages available for the camera.
Zacuto has its Camera Cage for Canon C70, but it is fairly basic for the $280.25 USD that they asking. It does start to get expensive once you start adding additional Zacuto parts to it.
Vocas has the top handgrip kit for Canon EOS C70 (€ 285.00) and other accessories for the camera available.
On the more affordable end, there is the SmallRig Portable Kit for Canon C70 which retails for $109 USD.
HDRiG also has a Canon C70 Cage Adjustable Hand-Held Full Frame Cage ($118.30 USD) which I personally don’t think is a very good solution.
It just makes the C70’s footprint ridiculously large. It is also a generic solution that will take a range of cameras.
The trouble is with almost all of these cages, including the Kondor Blue option, is that none of them are currently available, except the HDRIG and the Vocas. If you are a Canon C70 owner then you are basically out of luck until March.
Price & Availability
The Kondor Blue C70 Cage won’t start shipping till march and it retails for $299 USD.
You can buy the following items separately if you prefer:
- Cage $249 USD
- Top Plate $125 USD
- Bottom Plate $70 USD
- Side Plae $55 USD
