At the end of 2017 I started building my first real rig around the Sony a6500, and the first piece was a SmallRig cage. Here's a quick look at it, plus the Lensball giveaway I ran with it.
Why a cage?
If you want to become a filmmaker or shoot video clips, a cage is a fundamental accessory. It wraps around the camera and gives you mounting points for everything else: an arm for a light, a microphone extension, an external monitor. Whatever you want to attach to your camera, a cage lets you do it.
The SmallRig cage up close
It's very light but very solid, and the materials are really top quality. Attaching it to the camera is super simple: all you need is a coin. For the top handle you'll need a hex key. The customisable buttons stay easy to reach and the battery door opens without problems.
I bought mine on Amazon because, with shipping, it worked out cheaper than the official site, where delivery would also have taken forever. I paid about €45 for the cage and €36 for the handle, and there are lots of other accessories to add.
One of my worries was whether I could still put the camera on my gimbal with the cage on. I saw it done in a YouTube video, and the gimbal holds the weight of the whole setup.
The giveaway
At the end of the video I showed the two Lensballs, 60 mm and 80 mm, that I was giving away (you can feel the weight difference!). The giveaway closed on 10 January 2018.