Anybody used the Geardear mattebox?

dory_breaux

dory_breaux

Todd Wannabe
I just got 500 bucks to spend on video equip, and I am really wanting to get a good mattebox as I'm rather annoyed with the amount of excess light that gets into my DVX's lens with the stock hood plus I need to be able to use graduated filters on alot of my upcoming projects (stupid DV latitude). That, and matteboxes are teh steez when it comes to making a camera look BA.

I'v narrowed it down to either the Geardear with the french and side flags, or possibly the Formatte F600. As of now, the Geardear looks to be better for me, since I shoot in extremely bright environments alot and would benifit from the french/side flags and the lightweightness. My question is, tho, can it mount directly to the DVX's lens, or does it need rod supports?


If anyone has any other reccomendations I'd love to hear them, other then the indesnap, I need adjustible flags and atleast one rotating filter holder.

Thanks,
Dory
 
Budget a little more and get the monster of them all redrock dude... The geardear does look interesting though, havent seen alot of people using one. I *think* Luis (Siniarch) mentioned had one on the Corrado shoot (in the Corrado thread) , but quickly replaced it with a redrock one. Dont know that he mentioned why he didnt like it. Might want to PM him and find out.
 
500 is max, Its a early b-day present from my wonderful gomother (whos fault it is that I have the DVX haha) to spend on gear. Anyway, I need it rather soon (sooner then 40 days, the wait time for the RR at the momento) and anyway I need flags, and thats like 200 more then what I can afford for the RR. Believe you me, if I could afford it, I would get it in a heart beat. Thing looks legit.
 
The Geardear matte box is a toy. I had a chance to play with it on the last LA dvxuser meeting and I was not impressed at all!
 
Its down to either the Formatt or the Geardear I think... The Geardear would allow me to get some filters and possibly some other stuff, but I'm hearing slightly mixed reviews on it. The Formatt on the other hand seems to get top reviews, but 1) it would pretty much spend my budget and 2) its only got the top flag (but I could probably figure out a way to get some side flags on it).
 
Last edited:
I have a Geardear. Works pretty well. Not as cool looking as some others, but considering that really wasn't much out at the time I got it that wasn't over a grand, I've been happy with it. I got the "medium" kit. Shoot, make me an offer if you want -- the new babies have slowed my shooting to nil.
 
jdajda said:
Have you considered the indian made ones? They get mixed reviews but they are cheap at least...
Click to expand...

Considered, researched, and decided, No.

Jason, what kind of material is it made out of? How strong is it? Do you have the flags with yours?

I'm still thinking the formatt may be a better choice for me since its made of aluminum and I put my gear through hell, and then bring it back.

thanks,
dory
 
It's something called foamed PVC. It seems pretty tough, but I'm decently anal with my gear. On the plus side, if you bust a piece, the thing is so modular that you can just replace that piece without having to get a whole new box. It's definitely a different approach. Oh, and I didn't get the flags.
 
Whats so bad about making your own?

its only a mechanical device right?

some carbon fiber sheets to make it lightweight, joints to make it adjustable, why not? save hundreds.
 
too many mixed reviews, and, if it is indeed made of regular plastic, I would be to worried about using it for most of my purposes.
 
Jason, the I already looked at teh Indiesnap, not adjustible at all and it gets in the way of the mic.

I think I will be going with the Formatt, it seems to be my best bet at the moment, and I'm sure I can find a way to ghettow rig some side flags, nonadjustable or not. I'm also getting a few little gheegaws that will definitely make my life easier.

Thanks for your help, as usual!
 
Last edited:
Yes, it would have. But it wasnt something that would have suited my needs, especially since I often need my mic to be mounted on my camera and the Indiesnap (with flags) blocks it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top