What's The Best Top Handle for Your Camera Rig?

Рет қаралды 37,236

4 жыл бұрын

What are the best top handles for your camera rig? We breakdown and compare a handful of SmallRig top handles to see which one is best.
THE GEAR:
Basic geni.us/topHandle
NATO geni.us/TopHandleNATO
NATO+ARRI geni.us/NATOarri
Mini geni.us/MD2393
Monitor Mount geni.us/MonitorMount
ARRI Monitor Mount geni.us/ARRImount
Cold Shoe geni.us/ColdShoe
Blackmagic Pocket 6k geni.us/Pocket6k
BMPCC4K geni.us/Pocket4k
Atomos Ninja V geni.us/TheNinjaV
SSD geni.us/AtomX
MY TOP GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS!
www.amazon.com/shop/chadwinsmith
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==Let's Connect==
Instagram: / chadwin
My Website: www.acrylicstudios.net/
_________________________________________
#tophandle #smallrig
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any affiliate links above used may contribute a small commission to help me create new content.
This video is not sponsored and all opinions are my own.
Who is Chadwin Smith? I am an aspiring cinematographer. I love creating videos and showing others how to light and shoot better videos! I also review tech and gear. Based in Arizona, USA

Пікірлер: 80

@wooster7571 2 жыл бұрын

Man that was one helpful video. Clear and informative. Just what I needed to know. I'm a stills guy going back an awful lot of years but I'm moving into video for the first time so lots to learn.Thank you.

@PerfectMessProductions 2 жыл бұрын

This answered the exact thing I was wondering today. The perfect handle to attach to my small rig cage for my Blackmagic 4k that I can use with a monitor

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

awesome! hope it helped you choose the right top handle for your pocket 4k!

@ncj_digital 4 жыл бұрын

Great video. I have been trying a few handles. Thanks for sharing.

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

NCJ_Digital thanks! Yeah, I keep getting different handles too and realizing why I like each one for a different reason

@TonyBridge 3 жыл бұрын

Hey, many thanks. After 40+years shooting stills (yeah, I am an older guy) I am moving into video, and trying to work out what kit to get for my Fuji X-h1.... This is the best video to help me i have seen so far. Thanks

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Tony Bridge awesome! sounds like you have more experience than many of us combined! I’m sure you’ll come up with a great kit for your Fuji. Hope my videos can help some.

@daisukevideo 3 жыл бұрын

Smallrig's products are very good! I use a smallrig gimbal handle. The video was very helpful! Thank you. With love from Japan :)

@NilesHeckman 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this Chadwin.

@evansalina 2 жыл бұрын

This was really helpful! Thank you!

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! hope you find the right top handle for you!

@richardshippy2016 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome video, thank you!

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it! thanks for watching!

@jamesdon8423 4 жыл бұрын

The first top handle is what i have. It is bulky but works. Maybe i should try out some other top handle. Great in depth of the handles!!

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

Max Soto yeah, I had the first handle for a few years until I started trying out a couple of others. It does the job well for sure man!!

@richv6842 3 жыл бұрын

thanks this was super helpful

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Glad it helped!

@chrisr7463 4 жыл бұрын

Very helpful!

@joetury 3 жыл бұрын

Nice. The mini handle is what I'm going with and pairing it with the 2174 monitor mount. Thanks for the info!

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Good choice! you'll really like it!

@joetury 3 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin I love it! fits well and love the low profile. You were right.

@paritoshnayak1587 4 жыл бұрын

That was so helpful

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

Paritosh Nayak great, glad it was!

@scottmorgason 4 жыл бұрын

Nice Video and new sub! I find that my top handle for G9 gets in the way of my EVF which I use a lot if I am just using my cold shoe. If using my cage, I am good.. blessings!

@Mike0193Azul 2 жыл бұрын

Very helpful thank you

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@dmnfilms6040 4 жыл бұрын

My personal favorite is the small rig with rubber and nato adapter :)

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

DannyNG yes! The rubber grip with the NATO looks really nice. I haven’t used it yet but I bet it’s real comfy

@AdamSmith-zq5sr Жыл бұрын

Any idea what the actual name of the first cheap Smallrig handle is? I noticed that yours has threads on the bottom of it as well and when I check out the link the ones on Amazon do not have mounting options on the bottom like yours? Cheers

@geraldfrancke9439 4 жыл бұрын

Nice comparison. But I think I would prefer a wooden or rubber top handle which is not too high either. Any suggestion here?

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

Gerald Francke yes! SmallRig actually makes 2 nice handles that are NATO rail with monitor mounts in the front that are made of rubber or wood. Just search on Amazon.

@iamchristianconcha 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Chadwin, first of all amazing videos, maybe you can help me, do you know if the nato handle is compatible with any tilta nato rail incorporated on their cages? could you please check this? thank you so much in advance

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure all NATO rail is standardized so it should work across and NATO rail hardware.

@matrixate Жыл бұрын

3:38 - This spoke volumes to me.

@chadwin Жыл бұрын

Lol! 😆 hilarious cause I’ve been hating on Magic arms for years I guess.

@youtubak777 4 жыл бұрын

It looks like you used the first, cheapest, top handle in your Turning my Sony a7s into a CINEMA Camera! video but you mounted the monitor in the front anyway... How did you do it? Or was it different handle?

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

youtubak777 yes, I did use the 1st more basic handle in that video. I found 2 longer M5 screws and was able to screw through the monitor mount and directly into the handle. I don’t recommend it though, it was very jimmy rigged. The other handles in this video work much more reliably for that!

@phucmapvlog 3 жыл бұрын

How do you feel about Uurig’s compatibility with Smallrig cages?

@mathiasjaxson4079 3 жыл бұрын

a tip: watch movies on Flixzone. I've been using it for watching lots of of movies recently.

@kabirkhalid2499 3 жыл бұрын

@Mathias Jaxson Definitely, I've been using Flixzone for years myself :)

@landrypreston284 3 жыл бұрын

@Mathias Jaxson yea, been using Flixzone for years myself :)

@alexanderrr1825 3 жыл бұрын

The camera LCD is as big as the field monitor :D

@samuelsulaiman 2 жыл бұрын

but they are not angled

@knife121 3 жыл бұрын

I can't seem to find the monitor mount you used with the nato handle. HELP, please ..

@vyoufinder 3 жыл бұрын

You seem like you play with a lot of camera rigging so why I'm asking you.. I want to attach 3-4 Sennheiser receivers to my rig but what is the best way to do this? Should I use a rod and mount the Sennheisers onto the rod in a row? Or...? What would you recommend?

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Haha yeah I do play with a lot of gear! Personally I’d probably mount 4 wireless Lavs separately on another audio only rig, but if it has to be on camera. I’d put 2 cold shoe mount on either side of a camera cage if possible and mount them there. Whatever you end up doing, try to keep it as compact as possible. Maybe a generic cheese plate could be used on top of your camera for all of the cold shoes

@vyoufinder 3 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin I ended up ditching the cages altogether, all the smallrig attachments, etc. cage for the Atomos, everything and just making my own out of an l-bracket. It's so much cimpler, better, easier to setup and actually fits my system. I tried all kinds of Smartrig stuff. Blew several hundred dollars but the junk in my hardware bag was better in the end. Sometimes better is cheaper. As for the receivers, I'm doing what you also suggest - it's justa piece of metal from the hardware store I bolt them onto. I had the specialized Sennheiser attachments from SmallRig, but they didn't help anything, so not using them either.

@GirishJ 3 жыл бұрын

vyoufinder Can you post a pic of your rig with the radio mic receivers ?

@jfbreese 3 жыл бұрын

In a previous video, you suggested that nato rails had a tendency to be loose-fitting, are you finding that to be different now?

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

jason breese that’s true, I read a few reviews that said that about NATO. But now that I’ve used it myself on different pieces of gear, it actually works pretty well. Sometimes it can get a little loose and need re-tightening but not often.

@jfbreese 3 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin I totally get it, and thanks for taking the time to reply. I was really excited to see your positive review on that SmallRig mini top handle, thinking it would suit me well. But I can't help but think about the limitations that come with having a bolt-on top handle, even if it is lower profile. It eliminates a lot of portability options. I think the NATO mount offers too much convenience, and if it does happen to come loose, it must be a rare occurrence, at least rare enough to not outweigh the benefits. Appreciate your reviews man, thank you!

@jfbreese 3 жыл бұрын

Do you have a general Amazon affiliate link?

@IWTBFOY 4 жыл бұрын

Do more Smallrig part review please!

@chadwin 4 жыл бұрын

Victor Nguyen yes, will do! I’m always building different rigs with SmallRig parts, so many more reviews to come

@venusohmygod 4 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin try cheaper alternative such as Nicerig and Camvate as well!

@manniemolina9400 3 жыл бұрын

What if you want to flip your monitor for vlogging? Any suggestions there? I'm at the point where I've purchased a monitor but now looking at a top handle

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. It’s difficult to flip the screen around on a top handle unless you get a monitor mount with a swivel (SmallRig makes a decent one) I also use the SmallHD Focus mount which allows you to rotate it around quickly.

@manniemolina9400 3 жыл бұрын

I will be buying a Feelworld Lut6 which comes with a swivel mount. I think this might work very well

@Komaticom 3 жыл бұрын

Is it still possible to use the DSLR viewfinder with the top handles mounted? Curious if it'll hit your forehead given the clearance

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

with some of the shorter handles yes, but for the most part, the top handle does get in the way. That's part of why I usually use an external monitor on top of the handle anyways!

@Komaticom 3 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin thanks!

@claudemusic3599 8 ай бұрын

man, interesting T shirt idea but the Chinese sentense gramma is not quite right(not wrong in certain context), but we can understand what you mean.BUT, I personally prefer it to be wrong❤, i think it makes it more interesting than to be right.

@shuhangao5472 3 жыл бұрын

It should be 你可以忍者走吗. (Ps. Great content)

@saschafirst 3 жыл бұрын

Great video but why you only use a 5inch monitor for a blackmagic that already has such a big monitor

@chadwin 3 жыл бұрын

i use a 5" monitor to help keep the rig more compact. it's much brighter than the BMPCC so thats why i need it

@saschafirst 3 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin i see! Thats a good decision then :)

@ronyzmiri 2 жыл бұрын

Cannot find anywhere the mini top handle shaped to fit fingers

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

Here’s the link for it! amzn.to/3kiX9SO

@videosymphony9902 3 жыл бұрын

can you send me a link to the type of monitor mount u have

@joetury 3 жыл бұрын

Its listed in the description but also check out the 2174 if you have an arri connection.

@PerfectMessProductions 2 жыл бұрын

What do the words mean on the ninja shirt?

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

haha it literally just means Ninja Walk, directly translated with Google translate from english.

@PerfectMessProductions 2 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin I need that shirt 🤣💪🏾

@jamescohen 2 жыл бұрын

Couldn't one use the smallrig monitor mount with the smallrig top handle?

@chadwin 2 жыл бұрын

yes. with the right smallrig top handle that has the arri locating pins or 1/4 20 threads in the front

@jamescohen 2 жыл бұрын

@@chadwin Ordered it, got it, set it up! Its all good. EXCEPT, now I can't figure out where to attach my follow focus. Im sure if I play with it enough, or, if I can get a longer rod for it then I can make it work,