MOZA sent me their recently released MOZA Cage for review, and while I’m slowly and inevitably getting into more filmmaking with my Sony a7R Mk2, I’m still a photographer first. I thought to myself, “How can I review this cage as a photographer.” After taking delivery, however, I found it quite easy! There are a few unique things you can do with this cage that make it perfect for certain types of photography, not just as a tool for filmmakers.
MOZA Cage Handheld Camera Gimbal Stabilizer
If you’ve never heard of the term Cage used in conjunction with cameras, in very basic terms a cage is just that. It’s a cage that you screw your camera into, and it provides you with multiple handle options, cable routing options, attachment options (think LED panel lights / microphones, etc.). Cages can range from very basic and a couple of hundred dollars, up to fully featured monsters that will see you shelling out more than a grand (USD).
But this one, the MOZA Cage is a mid-priced cage with many features of much higher end products. What stood out to me after I unboxed the cage was the build quality. Everything is really well made and works well, and after using the product for a few weeks on multiple shoots, it has given me no problems.
Still photography uses
When shooting video, it’s great to have a cage to help you hold your rig more steady. It’s helpful to attach a small shotgun mic or LED panel if you’re a run and gun interview shooter, or someone shooting an event, etc. But, that doesn’t really apply to us so much here on dPS, as we’re all about the still photos.
What appealed to me in the stills department is that the MOZA Cage has a sweet wooden handle grip included. And inside that grip is a 4800MaH battery that is used to power your camera! By way of comparison, the included NP-FW50 batteries in my Sony A7 or a6300 are 1020mAh. So, we’re talking about a unit that will power your camera for a lot longer than usual! (I won’t mention the Sony battery performance, except to say that I’d like more please, more batteries!)
Longer battery life
So what does having more battery power do? It gives us the ability to shoot for longer. Obviously shooting film is the first thought, but I used the cage for time-lapse as well as some regular photography and it worked great. The wooden handle on the MOZA rotates so you can hold the camera down low to the ground by the top handle, while you have your screen tilted up to show you what you’re shooting.
The next little added bonus is that the MOZA Cage includes a shutter release in the handle, as well as a video stop/start. That shutter release worked really well for shooting from within the cage at weird angles and doing it with no contorted weird ergonomic photographer’s stance! (You know the ones haha)
Benefits
The cage does have limited use for photographers. But if you’re thinking of trying your hand at shooting some video of your kids, or maybe doing behind the scenes on your next epic production, this cage could really increase your production value. It will give you many more options from a camera handling perspective, as well as those benefits listed for alternate photography uses. The MOZA Cage is $499 which, for what you get, is a great price.
Sony a7RMk2 in situ, ready to go shoot!
The MOZA Cage, Naked
The Sony a7RMk2 rigged into the MOZA Cage
Buttons on the MOZA handle unit
If you’re still shaking your head and muttering “Cage, what’s he talkin’ ’bout…cage!” Here’s a quick overview and a look at how you might set up your camera in a cage, be it this one or any other style cage.
Summary
In summary, I don’t really have anything negative to say about the MOZA Cage! From a photography/video convergence point of view, it’s a great mid-level tool that will work very well for you, from a pure photographic perspective. For alternate uses like long events, time-lapse and simply awkward shots down low (I found it particularly handy for these!) it works very well. The build quality, price and customer service were all very good (I did a secret squirrel customer service call with a question… yes, a little sneaky, but we need to know these things!)
Find out more or purchase the cage on Amazon.
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