4x4 or 4x5 filters for HVX 16:9 footage?

B

borax

Active member
Hi,

I have yet to buy a mattebox with a filter slot so before I buy I wanted to know if I should get one that supports 4x4 or 4x5 filters if I intend to shoot 16:9 footage?

Does 4x4 cover the wide aspect ratio?

I am trying to understand the reasons for choosing one over the other.

Thanks
 
I just came off a week long shoot and went with 4x5.6. it was more than adequate and allowed for the use of grads. not sure it will cover with the Wide Angle adaptor. I used an Arri mattebox with 138mm circular bellows in the rear for use with a pola....it pretty much worked flawlessly.
good luck,
Eric
 
Jim Carswell said:
I use 4x4 with no problems.
Jim
Click to expand...


Jim, just out of curiousity.....how many 4x4's were you able to stack? I wanted to use the 4x4 originally, but my filter selection was limited in that format at the time.
Eric
 
4x4 is fine. The 4x5.65 is a fixed, horizontal stage in most applications, so polarizers and grads should be 4x4 or 5x5.

It depends on your mattebox, but two to three stages is the most you're likely to get on most without vignetting.

e
 
So what are the advantages of going with a 4x5.6 sized filter?

I am still confused about this filter size.
 
Eric,
I can stack two filters (each can be rotated). Typically a combination of a UV, Polarizer and NDs. I am considering adding a third stage to my matte box in order to expand its use.
Jim
 
gear used/mattebox issue

gear used/mattebox issue

Let me elaborate the gear I used.......I had the HVX200 with Vocas 15mm rail support. this allowed me to use the Arri MB18 with 2 stage insert plus a 138mm bellows that held a 138 Pola...I had an additional 2 stage insert, but didn't use it. the two stage insert was rotatable so the use of grads in any number of angled positions was possible. the 138mm was obviously also rotatable. the only issue I had was that the front of the Leica/Panasonic lens has a Bayonet style fitting and which I believe (could be wrong though) is 95mm.. the rear of the 138mm bellows is slightly larger so i had to be sure the Mattebox was pulled all the way back and no stray light came in from behind. other than that there was no cutting or vignetting when at the lens' widest mm. I attached a picture to show the set a bit better.....you can also see a arri sliding baseplate underneath the Vocas 15mm rail support. the sliding baseplate facilitated easy camera balancing when on the fluid head.

hvx200-with-2-stage-Arri-MB.jpg


cuhvx.jpg



I am not using grads during this shot, but you get the idea.

I hope this helps......
Eric H
www.spitfirefilms.com
 
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you know at the end of the day I always liked Arri accesories, but they cost an arm and a leg and someone else's arm and leg, so I rent those items. there are some great set ups out there, I just stuck with Arri since the beginning. BTW...the Arri MB18 costs 2600 euros....that's why I rent it.
Eric
 
I would get a 4x4matte box that support both tray sizes. I like getting 4x5 for grads, you can adjust them up and down that way, especially ND grads. I have the Petroff, which support both stages. I am sure there are other brands as well.
 
do you need to get it right away?
call up the guys from Redrock before you do anything... they have a $500 pro matte box
comming out that will include three stages and a french flag, and it will hold 4x4 rotating
filters and 4x5 non-rotating... oh! and did I mention it will be only $500? :)
they might be putting it out when NAB comes around... call them though
 
Hey SomewhereinLA,
I have the Petroff as well. I didn't realize it could handle 4x5's. I'll need to give it a shot because I would like to move toward using grads.
Jim
 
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