I’ve spent my weekend testing and filming. My living room is covered in camera rig parts and tripod stands. So what does all of this mean? It means that The CPM FILM TOOLS Cube Cage review is done.

So lets spend a little bit of time talking about the Cube Cage 3.0.  As with all of CPM’s camera Rigs, the cube is made out of carbon fiber, making it a Light weight and solid feeling construction.

The handles have been upgraded from earlier models, making them feel much more solid, and the end caps add a nice professional touch. The Cube Cage differs from a lot of the other square style rigs on the market by using 15mm rails for the upright portion of the cage.  The reason this is handy is that with the addition of a few rail clamps, you can move arms, handles, and other mounted gear to pretty much any position you like.  The mounting Plate across the top gives you more then 20+ through holes for equipment mounting and if you’re a fan of 1/4 20 threads, CPM also sells threaded inserts that can be added to the through holes for about $13.

After spending some time with the Cube Cage, I decided that I prefer the handles to face downward. I have two reasons for this, one is that this prevents the rig from slipping through my hands, and two is that I found it comfortable to rest the rig on my wrist while operating the follow focus. I also lowered the handle on the left hand side to make the level at which my wrist rested more convenient for follow focus operation.

Another option to consider is the Tekkeon Battery kits.  From what I understand this battery system can be adapted to power the Canon t2i, 7d, 60, and 5d mark II. The Tekkeon system can also provide enough battery power to keep your camera running all day.  If this is something you’re interested in then you might want to take a look at a few of the camera adapters.

As mentioned in the video, I had two concerns about the Cube Cage after setting it up.  The first (left side) is that there is no battery drop out for the camera. This means you have to remove the camera in order to change the battery. The second is that there was an Allen head screw on the quick release plate.

I emailed CPM and it looks like they’ve already noticed this and have a solution. A new bottom mold (left side) will be released in few weeks with a battery opening built in. This will allow you to easily change your battery out without having to remove your camera from the rig. The Allen head screw on the quick release plate problem is solved by adding one of these spacers (right side) to your kit. In the video I corrected this by placing a few spacer washers under the quick release plate.

Those were my only two concerns about the CPM FILM TOOLS Cube Cage, and knowing that there is already a fix on the way for both gives me a very positive feeling about the Rig. I think if you’re in the market for a Square Style DSLR camera rig, the CPM FILM TOOLS Cube Cage 3.0 should be at the top of your list.

If the Cube Cage 3.0 does end up on your list of things to buy, I would consider adding to your order the QR spacer kit (pictured above), a few Rod Clamps, and a Cube Threaded insert kit. These three items wont add much to the cost of your Cube Cage but, to me, are handy items to have.

CPM FILM TOOLS is always upgrading and evolving their DSLR Rigs and it’s nice to see a company that’s nimble enough to solve problems when something comes up.  I think the Cube Cage could be a great fit for many DSLR applications.  To find out more about CPM FILM TOOLS swing over to there site: cpmfilmtools.com

 

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