2016-08-30T08:48:13
Rated 3 out of 5
Good but not Great
The SHAPE in my opinion is good, but not great.
Positives first:
It gives F55/F55 users the protection of the Viewfinder cable plug on the camera body.
I also liked the fact that the regular Sony Viewfinder mounting knob and the 15mm rod design was combined in this concept.
Negatives:
None of the wholes drilled into the "cheeseplate" are the larger thread, only the small, standard thread. Almost all competitors nowadays seems to offer both sizes of hole where things can be mounted. I couldn't quite tell from the available pictures when ordering this particular model.
Only the side of the handle has a few of the larger holes, but then of course they are turned 90 degrees, because obviously they are on the handle's side, not horizontally. But of course you actually need the handle to carry the camera, anything mounted to the handle's side threads is making that more difficult ....
Very strange design.
Also half the holes drilled into the actual plate are way too close to the handle itself, so anything that has a washer (like Noga/Israeli Arms....) which adds a little width to it, are too wide to actually mount to any of these holes. That really limits the amounts of usable holes on that "cheeseplate" significantly.
Last but not least: The handle itself could be an inch longer and possibly half an inch thicker, for no particular reason.... but it just feels strange to grab it with your hand and be at the end of its physical length already. As soon as the camera is not fully balanced you feel a bit "unsecure" or "unsafe" to carry it on a handle that only has the length of your palm....
Not very thought through by SHAPE I must say :-(
RENE J.
2015-03-25T21:00:00
Rated 3 out of 5
Shape F5-F55 Top Handle Kit..... OK
This handle looked more impressive on line in pictures... than in real use. The handle section is too small for larger hands so gets unccomfortable after holding camera for awhile & the VF bracket clamp does not keep the VF rail good & tight. It is built well but the handle is too short so I returned it.
Ross B.
