Easy HoodCamera Cage for Sony Alpha 7Ⅳ A7Ⅳ A7M4 ILCE-7M4 Camera, Aluminum Vlogging Video Shooting Filmmaking Rig Stabilizer with Cold Shoe, 1/4" Mounting Points and 3/8" Arri Locating Hole

Is cheap feel good and protect the camera good easy access to the battery I recommend

There's not much to say. It's a camera cage. It makes my camera a little too big for my preferred case, so I don't use this on the go. I wanted something with cold shoes like the SmallRig cage for my a6100. For my a7ii. This cage is too much for my veeeeeery amateur needs. I'm glad I got it, though. It is sturdy enough to balance multiple attachments without putting too much strain on the camera body. I can connect an external monitor plus a light, and mics while still accessing all my camera's controls.

I picked up the Sony Alpha IV last year and have been in love with it ever since. It’s great for both photos and videos. This is an excellent cage for my camera with a lot of flexibility for my accessories. There are multiple 1/4” threaded holes all over the cage allowing for a lot of flexibility. The cage itself does not cover any of the functions of the camera or the battery port like some other cages can. There is a flat screwdriver magnetically attached to the bottom to tighten the camera to the cage. The cage does a great job of allowing me to attach my side handles, light, and with room left for my mic on the one cold shoe on the right hand side. If there was one thing I wish it had was more than just two rubber gaskets on the bottom. I’d like some on the top as well to help protect the camera body from scratches. Other than that it’s very lightweight and works for my admittedly amateur needs.

This review is based on the camera cage model designed specifically for the Sony a7 IV...Overall, the finish is solid and smooth, with no sharp edges. The frame appears to consist of 4 pieces held together with small hex screws (although I didn't attempt to take it apart as I see no reason to). There's ample 1/4" and 3/8" holes on the top/left/right sides for mounting peripheral gear. Full-frame lenses will have to be removed from the a7 IV before the cage can be attached to the camera.1) The top frame has a cold-shoe mount to the right that sits behind the camera's shutter button (see attached photos). Unfortunately, the cold-shoe partially blocks the video and C2 buttons -- this defeats the purpose of the cage which is primarily intended for shooting videos. The camera's hot-shoe is not obstructed.2) The left frame does not obstruct any of the ports on the left of the a7 IV. Since it's designed not to obstruct the ports, the left frame cannot serve as an L-bracket to mount the camera vertically.3) The right frame allows full access to the 2 memory card slots on the right of the camera.4) The bottom frame has a cut-out opening for access/replacement of the camera battery. A key is included for the 1/4" slotted-screw that holds the a7 IV in place. A magnetic slot is provided to hold the key (see attached photo). The base also includes dovetail grooves to mount the cage on an arca-swiss base plate.

I'm directly comparing this cage to the SmallRig 3667 model that also fits the Sony A7 IV. Both are made of tough metal materials with finely finished edges and screw holes. Both fit the camera snuggly and secure it using two screws. Both come with tools to attach the cage to the camera as well as other accessories. Both are black with plenty of screw attach points and one cold shoe. Both also have an Arca Swiss plate on the bottom of the cage and a NATO rail on the same side of the camera as the HDMI output.This Easy Hood cage makes some notable improvements over the SmallRig, however:- Access to the battery door is wide open without any hinged funny business; swapping batteries or using a dummy battery is much easier on this cage- The second attachment point is on the right side (back facing) of the camera, out of the way of any cables- There are a few more 1/4" screw holes available over the entire cage; this makes moving accessories around a bit more flexibleThere are some not as great changes as well:- The provided tools are a small gaggle of Alan wrenches and one tiny magnetic flat-head driver; SmallRig handles all of this with a single magnetic tool/driver- The cold shoe is on the right side (back facing) of the cage in line with the record button; SmallRig has this on the left hand side on a 45 degree mount, putting it near the inputs of the camera- There are no printed guides, labels, or registration marks provided; Small rig provides these all over and it makes it much easier to ensure that everything is properly centered when locking the cage into a mountI'm going to use this cage as my primary one for a while and see how it works. It solves some issues I had with the SmallRig cage while bringing a few new issues of its own. It also appears to have some additional screws to break down the case into an L-bracket, but I haven't tried that so far. If you are looking for another good option for your Sony Alpha camera to bolt on accessories and protect the camera this could be a good option to consider.