At IBC 2023, Bright Tangerine gave us a first look at a new Kasbah shoulder rig that uses the same material used in the Kasbah system—namely the soft and breathable pads. The material is light and breathable, with just enough softness to get a good grip.
The shoulder pad is wider and not as tall as the original Kasbah. This gives the user more surface to fit on your shoulder. The very cool new feature is the plate is very adjustable. You can slide the shoulder pad to the front, back, and side to side. This gives you many options depending on the camera used and the person using it. We don’t live in a one-size-fits-all world, especially with shoulder rigs not designed for one specific camera.
Bright Tangerine has two options for the front hand grip mount. You can get a wide version and a shorter one for smaller framed people. Female cinematographers will appreciate the options.
One improvement is how the new design allows the should rig to mount firmly on the base plate. They made it very solid, so it doesn’t wiggle at all. It’s very important when you get back to the tripod.
On top is a Manfrotto-style plate. This is handy if you want to take the camera off and mount it on a gimbal or a fluid head that uses the Manfrotto camera plate design.
The new Kasbah Shoulder Rig is still in development and being fine-tuned, but it is very close to production. The locking switch will be reversed so it’s not sticking out, and some of the material used could change to make it lighter. I like the adjustability. The options are good, especially if you have different cameras and EVF/monitors that you want to get in the perfect position for comfort and longevity. It will wear you out fast if you can’t balance the rig. Balancing is the key.
Pricing has not been set yet, but the goal is to be under $1000 with a release date of January 2024.
