Best Nikon z8 camera cage for 2024 and which one should you buy?

What is the best Nikon Z8 cage for you in 2024? Well, there are plenty of models to choose from and I have tried a good few of them now at this stage. My choice might surprise you and crazily it’s my favourite Nikon Z8 camera cage for a few different reasons, did I mention it’s also the cheapest one I tried.

I have done a lot of research on Nikon Z8 cages trust me and I have also a good few videos on them over on my YouTube channel, surprisingly one of them even made a star appearance in my “How to keep your Nikon Z8 cool” video where I tell you a few tricks to keep your Nikon Z8 running as cool as possible. Anyway back to my top Z8 camera cage choices.

My top two Nikon Z8 cage choices are the SmallRig and Neewer CA041 camera cages and while you might very well be thinking there isn’t that much of a difference between them then that’s exactly where you would be wrong and let me explain why.

SmallRig vs Neewer Z8 cage differences.

• Nato Rails… Now if you know me or if you have watched any of my YouTube videos then you probably know that I love Nato rails and use them all the time. Not only are they fast but they are also a lot more flexible than traditional fiddly mounting options.
  Having a top and side Nato rail is a big thing for me and the Neewer CA041 cage has both whereas the SmallRig only has a side Nato rail, that is a big one for me right there and that reason alone is enough for me to choose the Neewer CA041 over the SmallRig version.
• Cable Clamps… The Neewer CA041 also has a HDMI and USB cable support bracket supplied with it, whereas the SmallRig again doesn’t. Two strikes for the Neewer there.
• Value for money… Yet again the Neewer CA041 is usually $10 cheaper than the SmallRig so strike three for Neewer but we still aren’t finished. I also have a 21% Neewer Discount code here to save you even more money simply use code HAYES21 on the Neewer website here to save even more. You can check the latest pricing below on Amazon also.
• Keeping the Nikon Z8 cool… In my “How to keep your Nikon Z8 Cool” video I fell down a serious rabbit hole and spent days examining how to help dissipate heat from the camera, spoiler alert the side HDMI and USB bracket helped a good bit but interestingly the Neewer also had another little trick up its sleeve here and it was that the rubber pad on the base of the cage was smaller than on the SmallRig cage.
  This would normally be seen as a slight disadvantage but with the Z8 I found the smaller rubber pad meant you got more heat transfer from the camera body to the cage and hence the Nikon Z8 cooled down faster. Now that’s only an incredibly minor thing but that’s four reasons to buy the Neewer CA041 over the Smallrig Nikon Z8 Cage.