Reviewing the Shape Quick Handle + Rod Block

Marco Solorio Reviews 5 Comments

At first glance, the visual appearance of Shape’s Quick Handle is stunning with all the machined aluminum parts, and red accents. I was excited to receive it and give it a spin… literally speaking!

The Shape Quick Handle + Rod Block looks as good as it performs

When the Quick Handle arrived, I was even more pleased. The unit as a whole is completely solid and well crafted. I long since abandoned using any kind of handle mechanism that doesn’t use a locking teeth system to ensure the handles don’t move out of place over time. Without teeth, this will undoubtedly happen with heavier cameras, or even lighter cameras with sudden movements. With locking teeth, the handles are guaranteed to never move out of place. Ever.

Shape Quick Handle mounted to 15mm rods

The other problem I’ve had with other handle systems is that even if they have a locking teeth system, it takes two hands to loosen and tighten them into a different position. With the Shape Quick Handle, you can easily and quickly change the angle of each handle with one hand. Just grip the handle, press the red button on the side, pull the handle out (will only come out a little, so you wont have to worry about it completely coming out), spin the handle to the new location, mesh the teeth, and let the handle spring back into place (it is spring loaded, which is great). It couldn’t be easier. There are plenty of times when I need to change the handle to a more extreme angle, like mounting the camera from sticks to a crane or a tabletop dolly. Takes all of about one second per handle!

The Shape's thumb buttons allow for one-handed operation to quickly change the handle's angle.

I also really like the fact that the handle section is lower than the rod block section. This helps keep the handles away from hitting my follow focus and/or my mattebox. It just makes for a tighter fit if I need to.

Front view of the Shape Quick Handle + Rod Block. Note how the handles are out of the way of the matte box and follow focus.

The one thing I wish was slightly changed was how the tighten mechanism works for the rod block. I’d prefer a tightening screw at the bottom of the rod block, rather than on the side of it. It would make for easier tightening of the rod block in more compact situations.

The entire unit might be slightly heavier than others because it’s all aluminum. But for me, I’d rather have the all-aluminum build quality, knowing that it’ll never crack or break under stress.

Note that I paid for this unit; it was not given to me for free for review. I’ve done many, many reviews for DV Magazine, Creative Cow, and other popular resources, but I liked this unit so much that I felt compelled to review it, even though I paid for it out of my own pocket.

The Shape Quick Handle + Rod Block is definitely the best handle system I’ve used. It’s definitely my A-camera handle system of choice!

Visit the Shape Quick Handle + Rod Block product page.

$349 USD List
$300 USD Street


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About the Author

Marco Solorio

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Marco Solorio is an award-winning feature filmmaker, published author, and international speaker as a 30-year veteran in the industry with many industry awards to his name. As owner of OneRiver Media, he has produced, directed, and lensed content spanning from commercial to feature film works. As a credited thought-leader in the industry, Marco has consulted for the likes of Pixar, Apple, and Google to name a few. Along with published books to his credit, Marco has also been featured in... Read Marco's full bio here.

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Comments 5

  1. Hi. I read your review on this handle at B&H then came here. I’m thinking about getting it for my Zacuto rig (I don’t want the Zacuto handles for a couple of reasons although I like all the rest of my rig). I would appreciate it greatly if you could tell me what the total width of the handle setup is. I have a limited width of 10-11 inches in my upright case (Cinemabags) that I carry my camera in, mounted on the rig. If things are too wide, that would be a problem and I’d rather not have to remove the handles every time I set the camera in the bag.
    Thanks!

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      Hi Bill. Thanks for the comment. From end to end, it’s right at 12 inches wide. I too carry a Cinebag on shoots, and these handles are in fact just a hair too wide to fit in that particular bag without removing the handles from the camera rig. A bummer, I know. But honestly, they’re the best handles I’ve used, so I don’t mind taking them off when need be. Thanks.

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