Ready to Shoot for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera

Blackmagic Design and ARRI have announced the Ready to Shoot kit for the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera. They issued a joint press release explaining the features of the new accessory package that will be part of ARRI’s PCA(Pro Camera Accessories) collection.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera was introduced in April at NAB and was initially expected to begin shipping in July. However, the manufacturing process was postponed because Blackmagic Design was awaiting Thunderbolt certification and also had to perform some internal testing on the camera. Production finally began in August and is now shipping in very limited quantities. A full distribution date is expected to be announced soon.

This Ready to Shoot collection will start at $1,200 and includes a “Mini Base Plate MBP-3“, a “Camera Cage System” and a cabling safety system called “Universal Cable Safe System CCS-1″, which protects the internal electronics against accidents due to multiple cabling (HDMI, USB or audio cables). All of them are from ARRI, and the company claims that they have been designed for small cameras, making them very efficient and ergonomic. The box (Camera Cage System ) has a series of mounting points (3/8-16″ and ¼-20”) that allow standard accessories to be added.

As not all users are the same, nor are all shooting situations or environments, ARRI has decided to release the kit in several configurations. The most basic includes a CSL-1 aluminum arm, for the left side, which will allow cinematographers and operators to use the grip and camera controls without any hindrance. On the other hand, the most complete adds a CHS-1 hot shoe that will keep the camera body secure.

In addition to the packages for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, ARRI also has kits for others such as the RED Epic, Sony F3 or Canon C300. You can see them all here.