15mm Riser Baseplate fitted for the Spark

Hi everyone,

I believe MID49 is the first company to bring a PIXBOOM-specific riser plate to market, so credit to them. I bought one and have been testing it out, and a properly fitted riser plate is essential for achieving the correct rod height between the camera body and accessories. Some universal plates from companies such as Tilta do work, but their limitations become more apparent when using larger, professional cinema lenses.

As with everything MID49 makes, the build quality is excellent. They have also achieved some impressive weight reductions throughout the design. I’ll try to share more as I spend additional time using the system.

I chose this baseplate because a client needed both 15mm lightweight rods and a quick way to switch to 19mm studio rods. MID49’s system makes that transition easy.

My only complaint is that the connection to the SPARK body terminates in an Arca-Swiss dovetail. I would have preferred a Manfrotto 501-style plate, although that is a relatively minor detail—and perhaps something only I would complain about!

Overall, I’m very happy with the kit. It isn’t the cheapest option, but it is currently the best-fitting and most adaptable system on the market.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1980846-REG/mid49_m49_bsl_lw19_ac12_baseline_15mm_lw_for.html

3 Likes

Ordered! 

If going straight onto the body, the Bright Tangerine Left Field Mini with 52.5-55.5mm riser gets you to the correct height and I really like their Arri dovetail implementation.

The SmallRig cage adds 10mm in height, so the Left Field Mini with 61.5-63.5mm riser would work, but the weight saving pockets on the bottom of the SmallRig bottom plate don’t align well with the four rubber pads on the top of that riser plate, so it doesn’t sit as well. I’m considering filling my bottom plate in with epoxy to make it solid and flat so it’ll work better with that riser.