Quick take: Tilta's "cage" for the Canon PowerShot V1 is really a beautiful wooden hand grip with a built-in Arca-Swiss plate and a top plate. The grip is excellent and makes the V1 less tiring to hold all day, and at launch it was the only option. But there are no side mounts, the Arca plate doesn't run the full length, and the top plate sits a bit too high over the multi-function shoe, putting pressure on Canon's mic and hot shoe adapter. Update: full cages have since arrived. See my Yanzu cage and SmallRig cage reviews.
The Best Cage, Because It's the Only One
The PowerShot V1 is one of my favorite cameras in a long time. It's small, a really good video tool and it lives in my backpack. In my V1 accessories video, I recommended an L-bracket because there was no cage. Now there's this one from Tilta. I bought it with my own money and carried it for a few days before reviewing it, because one issue came up that I want to flag.
Design and Ergonomics
It looks really good. The wooden hand grip has nice texture without feeling overly woody, and it's well sealed. I wasn't sold on the retro look for a camera that isn't retro, but on the camera it looks great.
More importantly, the grip is great. It's secure at every angle and less fatiguing. The V1 already has a good grip, but this adds surface area, so walking around with it all day or shooting B-roll when you're worn out is noticeably easier and steadier.
Functionality and Mounting
It's called a cage, but it isn't really one. A real cage has mounting points on the bottom, sides and top. This has:
A built-in Arca-Swiss plate on the bottom, though it stops short at the front, which is annoying when mounting to a gimbal like the DJI RS4.
A 1/4" screw and locating openings on the handle side, so you can anchor it to a magic arm, which I'll use for car recording.
Strap lugs that fit Peak Design anchors.
No side mounts and only a removable cold shoe on top.
Honestly, you'd get most of the benefit from the grip and base plate alone. It also comes with a nicely designed magnetic multi-tool, but the cage uses smaller-than-usual Allen screws. Tilta includes the right key, but keep it in your camera bag because you won't have that size lying around.
The Top Plate Problem
I returned Tilta's retro cage for the X100VI because its top plate completely covered the hot shoe. An accessory that reduces a camera's functionality isn't the way to go.
On the V1, removing the cold shoe gives you access to the multi-function shoe, but the top plate still sits a little too high above it. I use Canon's multi-function shoe microphone (no cables, with audio controls on the camera) and Canon's hot shoe adapter for flash and triggers. Both slide in, but they rub against the plate, and when locked, the accessory isn't quite level and the shoe gets extra pressure on one side. That can't be great for the shoe, the accessory or the camera long term.
If you use a cabled mic or DJI wireless mics, keep Tilta's cold shoe on and you'll be fine. But if you use the multi-function shoe like I do, this is a real concern on a nearly $1,000 camera that probably won't be replaced for years.
Final Verdict
My advice to Tilta: make the top plate thinner on a version two, and release a true full cage. If it's well designed at $80 to $90, people will buy it. That's under 10% of the camera's price for something that lasts its whole life.
I'm keeping it. The grip is excellent and the price is great. I'm just surprised Tilta beat SmallRig to market, and it's a real chance for Tilta to win over creators shooting on small cameras.
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