Cages: TrustMT cage for GH2

davhar

And what was that ebay site for them? Or not worth it?

jimtreats

Ok, I took advantage of the Trusmt deal a few weeks ago, and today it arrived. Here's some pictures of it so far.

1) the parts arrive in a box, individually wrapped in bubble wrap
2) All the parts wrapped
3) All the parts unwrapped
4) Cage assembled and attached to my shoot35 mattebox
5) closeup of the extend plate
6) wide shot of the lens too low in the mattebox
7) closeup of the lens too low in the mattebox
8) overview of the camera on the cage next to the shoot35 baseplate which i've calibrated to the right height for the GH2 with its supplied spacers
9) trying to show the relative height difference between the top of the shoot35 baseplate at the right height, and the camera in the cage, too low
10) camera taken off the cage, managing to get the base of the cage level with the shoot35 baseplate using some spare spacers from shoot35 and a bookmark.
11) showing the improvised spacer is basically 1cm thick

I sort of expected that the height would be wrong before ordering, but was hopeful i'd be able to rest the cage on top of the shoot35 baseplate and get it at the right height. Sadly i don't think the shoot35 baseplate will go low enough to achieve this.

I'm going to go looking for a 1cm thick metal spacer which i can then drill holes in and place between the extending plate and the cage to get the camera at the right height. Hopefully Trusmt will come up with some pieces to achieve this and match the lovely feel of the rest of the components.

All in all happy, so far. But fiddling to sort this height out has meant that i've not been able to test out the HDMI lock, perhaps tomorrow i'll be able to put it all together, finally figure out how the Ruige monitor locks work and get a test setup with all HDMI secured at both ends.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@jimtreats

OK, as I understand cage with extend plate is too low and cage mounted on base plate is too high :-)

jimtreats

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

As ever, that's the summary of my post in a sentence ;)

I just thought some folks may like a bit more detail and shots on what you get when the cage arrives.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@jimtreats

Yes, of course. It is very interesting.
And problems that you rised are quite actual for people with unadjustable mattebox.

I think best idea is to get some cheap, but good adjustable base plate that can go low.
And sell existing ones.
Look at Lanparte and Fotga, it looks like they can go quite low. And Fotga is quite cheap.

last_SHIFT

@ jimtreats,

Thanks for the quick run-through. But at least i wont have any height problems with my 5DM2.

greggreenhaw

I have the trusmt cage and its is very nice. I know for a fact that is based on stolen cad files from Letus Direct. It does work good. I would defiantly recommend getting the handle. Ask for additional thumb screws for the handle and the hot shoe connector since they come with hex screws by default.

greggreenhaw

I would also recommend ordering a short set rails with one male and one female end to screw into the rails on the top of the cage so you can move the top around to balance the camera.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

>I know for a fact that is based on stolen cad files from Letus Direct. It does work good.

As far as I know it is not the fact.
I specially checked this Letus claims, and as I understand now most of them are false.

DVANZ

Trusmt Cage + GH2 = a small list of issues.

OK, so I took advantage of the Trusmt cage deal and just fitted my GH2.
1: Huge gap between the camera and the hotshoe clamp.
2: Battery clamp does not allow access to the battery bay
3: Must remove both plate screws to get plate off.
4: plate screws and not the same and if one if fitted in the other hole the lens will not go on
5: Battery plate need to come off so need a screwdriver at hand.
Conclusion: Rather boring really. This really is a 5D 7D canon cage, not suited to GH2.

If anyone has come up with a better way to use this cage then please share it.
I would like to add a follow focus, lcd hdmi in/out, matte box.
To get around this battery issue i think im off to get a dc coupler, and maybe either some 8.4v 4800mamh model plane batteries and charger, or modify a 12v to 8.4v adapter and use a vlock plate. They do at times come with 5v, 7.2v and 12v as well as up to 16v, so may need to open it up and modify it with a good 8.4v regulator.

How to best adapt this beasti?

Happy New Year all too!!!

PixCanFly

Looks like too much workaround to cage your GH2. I would probably sell it away.

DVANZ

Im thinking that too!
Im keen to find a GH2 cage that can suit rods, FF, lcd etc....
so it seems there is some who are trying to make one on this site too.

PixCanFly

For the best fit, I think ReWo still rules http://content.rewotechnic.de/?page_id=81
It's expensive though, I reckon it's a custom tailored suit :)

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@DVANZ

All this is old and known.
They really need specialized GH2 cage. Yes.
And ReWo is really amazing cage.

apriori

Thanks to @Vitaliy_Kiselev, I just got this cage for my GH2. Let me preface this by saying that I made this purchase with full knowledge of the compatibility issues with the GH2. Some thoughts:

The design and build are of tremendous quality -- very robust and well-machined. It was heavier than I anticipated, but makes my Sachtler Cine DSLR system much easier to counterbalance.
The height issue doesn't really bother me, and should be correctable with the addition of a Lanparte or other height-adjustable base plate, as mentioned above. (If anyone has already gone this route, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.)
The obstructed battery compartment is the biggest problem, but I don't think this flaw is attributable to the 5D-centric form factor, but rather, to the included camera mount plate. I decided to pull the trigger on the cage after viewing this video review, which highlights the camera mount plates lateral adjustment capability:

Judging by the video, I assumed that mounting the GH2 on the left axis of the plate would align the battery compartment with the battery port on the bottom of the cage. Unlike the mount plate in the video, however, the plate I received lacks such lateral adjustment capability. I sent an email to Trusmt comparing my mount plate with the one highlighted in the video, and they replied with an acknowledgement of the problem and an offer for a $35 refund (I think -- the language barrier is significant). A nice gesture, but one wonders why they continue to falsely advertise this cage as having been ported to accommodate the GH2s battery compartment.

Now the question is: where I can I find a compatible camera mount plate with lateral adjustment capability? I'll likely invest in a coupler/Tekkeon battery set-up, but still hope to find a more elegant solution than unscrewing my GH2s battery compartment door. Any ideas?

Even with the above trade-offs granted, I'm still very pleased with the purchase and wouldn't trade it for a ReWo cage.

apriori

UPDATE:

After a lengthy email exchange with Trusmt, they finally understood the problem and shipped me a replacement mount plate with a laterally adjustable camera screw, free-of-charge.

As I suspected, this new plate resolves the issue with the blocked battery bay. Although it's still necessary to remove the GH2 from the cage in order to change the batter (though I'm still hoping to resolve this with a good height adjustable mount), I'm now more comfortable recommending it for use with the GH2. No more removing the battery plate with a screwdriver!

The new mount plate also better centers the GH2 inside the cage, though it's still too short to reach the hot shoe mount. I don't mind the height issue, as the gap between the camera and cage top provides a nice grip for carrying the rig. There's really no need for the $50 top handle when using the GH2.

I also really have to commend Trusmt's exceptional customer service. My replacement plate was delivered in three days time, at no charge. They really went above-and-beyond to ensure my satisfaction. I hope they offer the laterally adjustable mount plate as a standard option with the Ultimate Cage moving forward.

DirkVoorhoeve

@apriori it would be interesting to see if you could try it with the ownuser batterygrip to raise the camera.

apriori

@DirkVoorhoeve Someone has accomplished this with Sugru putty: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2256

Interesting, but a bit messy for my taste. I'm still looking for a more elegant solution, but will let you know when I find it.

nomad

Yes, their customer service is exceptional, they sent me the fixed arm for my FF right away.

I'd recommend TrusMT any time. Beware of the Chinese, folks, they are learning quickly how to improve their products and how to sell them properly ;-)

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