Nitze S5 Cage for Panasonic Lumix S5 with Built-in NATO Rail and Cold Shoe - TP-LS5

Solidly put together. I also own the Smallrig S5 cage (model 2983), so here are the pros and cons relative to that:Pro:- Better HDMI+USB-C clamp - the normal Smallrig one (1679) has an adjusting lever that sticks out and can foul the LCD quite easily. Edited to add: the other Smallrig clamp (3637) isn't any better, because the knurled screw is way too long and can easily damage the camera screen if one isn't careful.- Has ARRI locating holes on both left and right (the Smallrig has one on the left only).- The rod mounting hole is a nice touch.Con:- The Smallrig has a second attachment point to the camera body (using a camera strap lughole), so feels slightly more secure in that respect (though the attaching screw is necessarily small and fiddly); this cage only attaches to the tripod socket.- More basic magnetic screwdriver.I haven't bought the matching handle, so don't know if you can attach one and the DMW-XLR1 at the same time; the Smallrig setup allows you to do both.

...and very high quality is NOT what I would normally say. For the Panasonic S5 (I'm sure the smallrig is just as good) this Nitze cage just seems to complete the camera. I will love finally finding a home for my Roland R7. Weight is good, access to the record button isn't a massive prob. Plus I've fixed the camera strap probs as the cage can just take a normal thin strap-end rather than a pebble on both sides. Excellent.BUT - the left-hand side of the cage has sharp edges. So it does cause eventual discomfort (pain!) when using handheld, on the left hand palm near the thumb. I'm reluctant to return it but this does need to be addressed if handheld?So, now it's been used, 3/5 stars, because of the sharp edges.

The quality of this product is very Good. The only thing once the cage is on, you struggle to reach the rec bottom on your Panasonic S5. however I had to return it because it didn't work with my follow focus.

After trying both this and the equivilant Smallrig cage, the Nitze works better with my workflow. I'm a hybrid shooter and I don't usually like to use a cage when taking stills, so I want to be able to quickly switch from the cage to my Peak Design strap. I struggled to keep strap lugs and PeakDesign Anchor Links attached to my body using the Smallrig cage, but with Nitze it just about squeezes on perfectly. If you want to leave your camera in the cage permanently, the Smallrig is also excellent.

I'm really happy with this cage. I was dubious about the build quality compared to a Smallrig but it's just as too but with a better design.I'd also advise getting the Nitze HDMI / USB-C Cable Clamp to accompany the cage. It's a bolt-on addition that steadies the Micro HDMI cable which are flimsy and prone to break.