20Apr Varavon Armor Mini Rig System for the Canon 5D Mark II
The Varavon Armor is an interesting take on the whole cage concept. It doesn’t really protect the entire camera like some other cages out there. Instead it adds extra mounting points on the frame along with a forward facing mounting bracket above the lens for a microphone adapter. It also has some oddly placed handle brackets on the front and back of the camera for a single hand grip.
The design is interesting and there are certainly some positives to the idea, but the $299 price tag seems a little high for what you get. Especially when you consider the $250 sale price of the Letus Cage. I’m also not a huge fan of the whole viewfinder type of setup though some people prefer it.
If it’s your style of shooting and you don’t mind the price, it could be a good option to consider in the long list of other camera rigs on the market. If you’d like to find out more swing over to the Varavon site for more info.
April 20th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
I kind of like this system because it’s nice and tight. So many rigs are so bulky and unwieldy. It’s nice that it can mount a viewfinder right on the rig but you can only use Varavon’s which is actually pretty nice. I agree about the price though. A lot of their stuff is a bit pricey. They seem to be experimenting with their ebay pricing.
April 21st, 2012 at 7:58 am
I think one area it would work well is with the Manfrotto Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 :
http://amzn.to/JgRbrl
As sort of a slim line cage, so to speak, it would provide mount points and a forward handle. I own this mono, so looks promising …but it seems it is about $100 overpriced.
Wish there was an overseas knock-off.
jake
May 6th, 2012 at 10:49 am
This is a really inspired design! What is up with the bottom photo with the three cold shoe mounts? I don’t see that in any other picture and it seems like it would be really handy. Is it just three separate mounts screwed into the frame?
August 7th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Hi, any suggestion/idea on how to install a follow focus system to this mini rig?
Planning to buy this mini rig for gh2/3!