Cpm camera rigs aviator rig review

When I first got my DSLR I had a very poorly made shoulder brace rig. I wanted something better with rods and more support. I was lucky enough to have a bigger camera shop that rented rigs in my area. So I tested a few but wasn't too impressed with the ones they offered. Some of these rigs, if bought, would cost 2 to 3 times the cost of my camera, and they had minimal parts so I would have to buy extras to put other gear on them, adding to the already high cost.

 I did more research and found Cpm Camerarigs on the internet. I started to look over their site and saw they had a bunch of rigs and parts. Something that really impressed me was their rigs are all made from a carbon fiber compounded polycarbonate resin, so they are strong and light weight. Cpm rigs use a cage to mount your camera to. This helps protect it and the side of the cages have 1/4 x20 threaded holes to mount mics, lights, monitors, anything with a 1/4x20 threaded hole. The side strut has 4 mounting points and the uni strut has 8 total. 4 on the left side and 4 on the right side. They are all finished a matte black but you can choose the color fasteners you want. I emailed Cpm to find out a little more about their rigs. I got a fast reply with all my questions answered. After a few more emails I decided to go with the aviator cage with offset shoulder mount. I had a shoot that weekend and Steve from Cpm  rushed me the rig to make sure I would have it.

When I got the rig all the parts were nicely packed in a vacuum sealed package. I got all the parts out and first put together the rig how it was pictured on the site. All the parts are very well made and lightweight. Everything fits perfectly and all the screws and fasteners tightened down without the need of extra force using the supplied Allen keys. Another really nice feature about the Cpm rigs is that they aren't just a shoulder rig. They can be put together in all types of configurations.  I started to see what other configurations I could make with the parts supplied. I took off the offset rods and shoulder pad, and I could now use it as a cage fig rig holding the handles or I could use the top handle for low angle shots. The rig can be taken apart fast. All the parts pack down easily and small enough to fit in a camera bag or small case for travel.

I packed everything up for the shoot and when I got there everything was put back together in around a minute. The shoot went very smooth with the new rig. There was a huge difference with  how stable the shots were compared to my old rig. Having a full cage rig with counter weight helped a lot.

 Everything about the Cpm rig is nice. It all fits together very well and everything is where it needs to be. With the handles close to the 15mm rails for racking focus, not having to let go of the handles to grab the follow focus is a huge plus in not having little shakes from movement. Even with the 2lb counter weight added at the end of the rig, the material they are made from still makes them light weight, and helps cut down on fatigue. It features a bunch of  mounting points on the cage to mount the accessories for a shoot.  These rigs are built to last, I've had mine going on 2 years now and numerous shoots and never had a problem. Also, these rigs are built strong. Besides the camera and lens, I've put a follow focus, mattebox, Rode mic, Tascam audio recorder, Juice link amp, and a SmallHd dp4 evf and dp6 as director monitor and there was no flex in any other the parts.

I'm very happy and pleased with the Cpm aviator rig, and the customer service I've gotten from Cpm. I highly recommend Cpm rigs for their build quality and pricing. Cpm has a rig for all budgets and for all types of shooting styles.

cpmcamerarigs.com

offset 

offset

fig rig- low angle

fig rig- low angle

straight rig

straight rig

hand held

hand held

studio tripod set up

on set

on set