Photography & Camera Rigs
Rig accessories are absurdly priced for what they are, and the one you actually need is always the one nobody makes. Printing it is the easy part. The thing worth settling first is what is hanging off it, because a mount that lets go takes a lens with it.
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Get a photography & camera rigs estimate
Upload your file or describe the part. We review printability before confirming anything.
Common uses
- Cold shoe mounts, monitor and recorder holders
- Cage accessories: cable clamps, rail fittings, hand grip parts
- Filter holders, matte box adaptors and lens caps
- Tripod plate adaptors, spirit level mounts and leg fittings
- Battery, microphone and transmitter holders
- Studio kit: gel frames, flag clips, backdrop and light stand fittings
When a printed mount is the wrong answer
Mounts carry real money, so here is where we will tell you to buy metal instead. A printed part is layered, and it is weakest across those layers — which is the exact direction a cantilevered load pulls on a shoe mount or an arm. It also creeps: a plastic part under a constant load slowly gives, and a rig left assembled overnight is a constant load. So no heavy lens support, nothing overhead, nothing over people, nothing on a gimbal, slider or jib where dynamic load and a bit of leverage multiply everything, and no structural cage components. Threaded interfaces are the other trap: a printed 1/4-20 or 3/8-16 thread will strip after a few firm nips, so we design for a brass insert or a captive nut — and even then the plastic around it has a limit. What printed parts do well is light accessories: a small monitor, a mic holder, a gel frame, a cable clamp, a level mount, an adaptor that spaces two things apart. If the question is whether this will hold a long telephoto over a crowd, the answer is no, and we would rather say it before you pay.
Shoes, threads and getting the fit right
Cold shoe dimensions are nominally standard and in practice vary between makers, so send us the kit or its make and model, and measurements if you have the calipers out. The same goes for cage rail spacing, plate profiles and battery footprints — a millimetre out on a dovetail is a part that does not clamp. We model it, share the file to check against your kit, and print a test piece of just the mating feature before committing to the whole part when the fit is tight. Where a thread is involved we will usually recommend designing in a heat-set brass insert rather than printing the thread, because that is the difference between a part that survives a season and one that strips on the second shoot.
Material, heat and staying matte on set
PETG is the default: tough, a bit forgiving, and it will not go soft the way PLA does. That heat point is not theoretical — a black camera bag in a car boot in July gets past the temperature where PLA starts to sag, and PLA accessories that live in a kit bag are a slow disappointment. ASA is the pick for anything under hot studio lights or living outdoors. Nylon suits parts that need to flex and clip repeatedly. TPU for grips, pads and anti-slip faces. On finish: matte black filament and a considered orientation keep reflections down, which genuinely matters for flags, gel frames and anything that ends up in shot — layer lines diffuse light rather than bounce it. What we cannot do is a painted or anodised look out of the printer; if a part needs to be invisible next to milled aluminium, plan on sanding and paint.
How it works
Send your file or describe the part
Upload an STL, OBJ, 3MF or STEP file, or tell us what you need with photos and a few measurements.
Get a guide price
When we can read the geometry we estimate from it straight away — material, print time, supports and quantity all priced openly.
We check printability, then confirm
A person reviews orientation, wall thickness and supports, flags anything that will not print well, and confirms your final quote before any work starts.
Photography & Camera Rigs — example prices
Worked examples on real models from our print library, priced by the same calculator that estimates your own part. Sizes span small to large so you can see how cost moves with the part.
| Example part | Size | PLA | PETG | ABS / ASA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15mm Pipe Clip | 19 × 39 × 12 mm | £1.18 – £1.51 | £1.25 – £1.60 | £1.42 – £1.81 |
| 28mm Pipe Clip | 30 × 52 × 16 mm | £2.46 – £3.14 | £2.61 – £3.33 | £2.93 – £3.75 |
| L-Bracket (large) | 70 × 40 × 70 mm | £9.99 – £12.76 | £10.50 – £13.42 | £11.62 – £14.85 |
| Gusseted Shelf Bracket (large) | 90 × 60 × 90 mm | £21.97 – £28.07 | £23.09 – £29.51 | £25.54 – £32.64 |
Guide prices for a single unit, calculated from the measured geometry of each example model — not fixed quotes. Small parts land at or near the £0 minimum order, and per-unit prices fall with quantity. Your price depends on your own part, its material and its printability. How pricing works.
Example models for photography & camera rigs
Open-source designs from our print library that show the kind of part this service suits. View any of them for a full material and quantity price breakdown.
28mm Pipe Clip
Control Knob (large)
Display Plinth (medium)
Corner Brace (large)
These are open-source example designs (CC0) we publish to show what the process suits and what it costs — not a record of past jobs. Prices shown are examples in PLA.
Photography & Camera Rigs — FAQ
Can you print a mount for a heavy lens or an overhead rig?+
No. Heavy lens support, overhead rigs, anything above people, and gimbal or slider parts under dynamic load want metal. Printed plastic is weakest across the layers and creeps under sustained load — the two things a mount like that is certain to see.
Can you print a 1/4-20 thread?+
We can, and it will strip. A printed thread is fine for a few hand-tight cycles and no more. The proper answer is to design the part around a heat-set brass insert or a captive nut, which is what we will suggest — it costs a few pence and changes the life of the part completely.
Will it be matte enough not to reflect on set?+
Matte black filament plus the natural layer texture diffuses light rather than reflecting it, which is usually enough for flags, gel frames and in-shot fittings. It is not a coating, so if you need a specific finish, plan to sand and paint.
My cage is discontinued and I need one accessory for it. Can you copy the fitting?+
Usually, yes. Send the cage or the surviving accessory, or measurements and photos with a rule in shot, and tell us what will hang off the new part so we can be straight with you about whether plastic is the right call for it.
How much does photography & camera rigs cost?+
There is no fixed per-item rate — price comes from how much plastic the part uses, how long it takes to print, how much support and finishing it needs, and how many you want. The example table above shows what real parts of this kind work out at. Upload your file for a guide price on your own part.
How long does it take?+
It depends on the size of the part, the queue and the material. Tell us your deadline when you enquire and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable before you commit.
Can I order one of the models from your library?+
Yes. Every model in our print library is a design you can have printed — pick one, choose a material and quantity, and the example price on its page is your starting point. You can also download the file and take it elsewhere; they are all CC0.
Are my files kept private?+
Yes. Uploaded files go to private storage, are never made public, and are only used to quote and produce your job.
Worth reading first
Practical guides that help you get a better part and a more accurate quote.
What Is TPU (Flexible Filament)?
TPU is printable rubber. It bends, grips, seals and absorbs shock — and it behaves nothing like PLA, which is the whole point and the whole difficulty.
Nylon and Carbon Fibre Parts
The engineering end of FDM. Nylon is tough and wear-resistant; carbon fibre makes it stiff and stable. Both are harder work — here is when that pays off.
How to Copy a Part Without CAD
No file, no drawing, just a broken part and a pair of calipers. That is a perfectly normal starting point — here is how the process actually works.
Other services
Get a 3D print estimate
Upload your file or describe the part. We review printability before confirming anything.