Building your own dslr cinema rig. Best Value DSLR Mattebox/FF/Batterypack?

MattMyster

MattMyster

Active member
Hello,

I'm attempting to configure my own "redrock micro cinema package" so to speak, or dslr rig. I already have an opteka x300 shoulder rig which I can mount on my tripod, so all I need is a mattebox, FF, monitor and battery pack. So I'm wondering if you can give some feedback on what are the best value/cheapest mattebox, FF and battery source to mount/use on the rig? I'll be using it with a canon t2i and 5d MK II/III.

Right now I was looking at either the Pro aim Mattebox ($195) http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/PROAIM-UMBRELLA-PRO-MATTE-BOX-SWING-AWAY.html or the DV DSLR Pro II Mattebox (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bundle-Swing-away-French-Rubber/dp/B006EK9O4I). I've heard good reviews about the DV Pro II mattebox.

As far as FF, can anyone recommend the cheapest/best value brand? I figure I'll need to spend at least $60-$100 on a good follow focus. For a monitor I'm going to go with a lilliput 7" for now, then upgrade as I get more gigs.

Finally, the battery source/pack. I need something that will last all day on a shoot power my camera(t2i or 5D MK II/III) and monitor, and perhaps my rode videomic if possible. Budget is from $100-$200.

Thanks for any help!

Cheers!
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
You are missing an extra 0 (zero) in your estimate.
Click to expand...

Spending $600-$1,000 on a follow focus for a DSLR rig would be a waste. $100 FF will do the basic function of a more expensive one, money saved can be used for more important items such as lenses or lighting. Please stick to the budget outlined in my original post, thanks!
 
These are tough questions. You are going to spend $195 on a mattebox, what about the filters? nd.3 nd.6 nd.9 etc, nd grad 3, nd grad 6, pol, etc ..... Thats around $800 to find the cheapest deals on tiffens (which are the bottom line). I'd buy a lens hood and a bunch of 77mm skew-ons. Also why get a cheap follow focus? Save your money and stick some white tape on your lens and mark it out. It will be a way smoother that any FF for that price................ unless its about the look of the mattebox and follow focus and in that case you are headed in the right direction and still use the scew on filters cuz no one will know with the mattebox in front of it!

My 2 honest bits
 
MattMyster said:
Spending $600-$1,000 on a follow focus for a DSLR rig would be a waste. $100 FF will do the basic function of a more expensive one, money saved can be used for more important items such as lenses or lighting. Please stick to the budget outlined in my original post, thanks!
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Except for the fact that Patryk is right..... I guarantee that if you buy at such a low cost you will get... Crap.

My first ff was in that price range and now where Ive experienced better I know I wasted my money on it. Cheap ff has play.... Makes clicking noises when you change direction.... Is too insensitive..... The screws come off.... The mounting gets sluggish... Etc.

I like the ARRI gear Ive tried but I wouldnt feel bad about a Tilta setup since they make quality stuff.
 
Thank you all for the assistance and tips! As far as cost and budget, we aren't looking to get the best as I outlined in my original post, as we only have about $1,000 budget for a whole rig at this time. Of course more expensive equipment will often result in better gear, but within my budget, I'd be better off buying a full rig set up for $1,000 than spending that on just one item. So my goal is to get a working budget/good value setup using some equipment i already own and some new/used equipment. If you can list some cheaper/good value matteboxes, FF's and battery pack that would be appreciated.

Cheers!
 
Are you planning on using the matte box for filters? Or just to look cool and shade the lens? The "cinema" ones (like RRMicro) get big and heavy very quickly. You have a small rig with limited needs, so I would be looking for a lightweight model. Again, if its just to shade the lens, get a cheapie off eBay for $20. If youre using it for 4x4 filters, the one from D focus looks adjustable and manageable.

A couple entry level follow focus models are the D focus v4 and the one from Gini. I believe there is another company that sells the Gini under a different name for less $$$. Kamerar I think - they make a matte box as well. Not sure if either are any good but for $99 you can't really go wrong with the follow focus.

A decent battery pinch would be the one from Lanparte, but keep in mind also that V-mount batteries (and their chargers) are spendy and heavy. I assume you'll use it as a counterweight, but a whole bag full of Canon batteries might be cheaper and lighter weight.

there ya go, some budget reccommendations. Not the best of the best, but within your price range and workable from my experience.
 
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MattMyster said:
Spending $600-$1,000 on a follow focus for a DSLR rig would be a waste. $100 FF will do the basic function of a more expensive one, money saved can be used for more important items such as lenses or lighting. Please stick to the budget outlined in my original post, thanks!
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Keep the money, even the $100. You don't need FF at your level. That way when you are ready to buy $500+ FF you will have that extra $100 you saved. Trust me, you will be trying to sell that cheap FF in no time (at $$ loss). Don't think: it's only $100, think: it's $100 that i could be putting towards real gear.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Keep the money, even the $100. You don't need FF at your level. That way when you are ready to buy $500+ FF you will have that extra $100 you saved. Trust me, you will be trying to sell that cheap FF in no time (at $$ loss). Don't think: it's only $100, think: it's $100 that i could be putting towards real gear.
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+1 its what I was trying to get at in my post. There are cheaper options to matteboxes and follow focuses that will get the job done until you have the money to buy right. Screw-on filters and a lens hood covers what a mattebox does and I still use them for shooting photos as I can stick a couple of filters in my pocket for the day. 4X4 cost a lot. And you really don't need a follow focus that cheap. Seriously white tape the lens and make your marks. I have a feeling this is about the look of the gear, its like the kids with plastic panels of their civics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SerXYb3ws1c&feature=player_embedded#at=16
 
thekreative said:
You are going to spend $195 on a mattebox, what about the filters? nd.3 nd.6 nd.9 etc, nd grad 3, nd grad 6, pol, etc ..... Thats around $800 to find the cheapest deals on tiffens (which are the bottom line).
Click to expand...
If I can recommend some filters: I've bought a set from Cavision through B&H and for the price (and as I'm not a professional living from that work) I can honestly say that it perfectly suits the need here. Average of 60$/piece, there's a very slight (almost unnoticeable) color cast, and they're glass filters. For about 300$ you can get a quite good starter kit with glass filters. Then, there's always room for investing in better ones, if you ever feel the need.
MattMyster said:
If you can list some cheaper/good value matteboxes, FF's and battery pack that would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Here's something I would get for the mattebox:
$T2eC16V,!)sE9swmZwlwBRegH9Zw1Q~~60_12.JPG
I have the same and once the filters are well "secured" both rotates 360°. That's a good compromise on a budget. Make sure to get one with these kind of filter holders:
$T2eC16Z,!ysE9sy0i24BBRwHDHy!f!~~60_3.JPG
And here's the filters I've wrote about.
This is the follow focus I got, and for the price it's decent:
FF-1.jpg
 
drapeama said:
If I can recommend some filters: I've bought a set from Cavision through B&H and for the price (and as I'm not a professional living from that work) I can honestly say that it perfectly suits the need here. Average of 60$/piece, there's a very slight (almost unnoticeable) color cast, and they're glass filters. For about 300$ you can get a quite good starter kit with glass filters. Then, there's always room for investing in better ones, if you ever feel the need.

Here's something I would get for the mattebox:
View attachment 73434
I have the same and once the filters are well "secured" both rotates 360°. That's a good compromise on a budget. Make sure to get one with these kind of filter holders:
View attachment 73435
And here's the filters I've wrote about.
This is the follow focus I got, and for the price it's decent:
View attachment 73436
Click to expand...

Absolutely do NOT get Cavision filters. They are really, really bad. The NDs have color cast (all NDs have it - the stronger the ND the stronger green cast) but Cavision somehow casts brown. Also stay away from Cavision Grads. I have ND6 and ND9 - you can't go to infinity on longer lenses with ND9 - that's how bad the filter is - you pop Tiffen ND9 grad and everything is optically perfect. If this warning is not good for you and you are looking for Cavision ND9 grad - PM me - i'll let it go for 50% of the price.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Absolutely do NOT get Cavision filters. They are really, really bad. The NDs have color cast (all NDs have it - the stronger the ND the stronger green cast) but Cavision somehow casts brown. Also stay away from Cavision Grads. I have ND6 and ND9 - you can't go to infinity on longer lenses with ND9 - that's how bad the filter is - you pop Tiffen ND9 grad and everything is optically perfect. If this warning is not good for you and you are looking for Cavision ND9 grad - PM me - i'll let it go for 50% of the price.
Click to expand...

Not only is the cast bad, but each nd has a different tone in its cast so you have colour shifts as you change filters. There is alot on DVXUser about them. Seriously if you have to have the look of a mattebox, buy it and use tiffen screw in filters:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674665-REG/Tiffen_77NDK3_77mm_Digital_Neutral_Density.html
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Absolutely do NOT get Cavision filters. They are really, really bad. The NDs have color cast
Click to expand...

thekreative said:
Not only is the cast bad
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Well, not to sound arrogant, but I've tested the ND 1.5 on a bright sunny day and here's the results. There's a very, but very, subtle color shift towards blue. I haven't stacked two filters, but so far, the ND 1.5 was enough with an f/1.8 lens outside with ISO 100 and 1/48 shutter speed.
As a starter kit, I'd recommend it, personally, but I'm no professional. And I don't want to start a war here, so that was my opinion.
 
drapeama said:
Well, not to sound arrogant, but I've tested the ND 1.5 on a bright sunny day and here's the results. There's a very, but very, subtle color shift towards blue. I haven't stacked two filters, but so far, the ND 1.5 was enough with an f/1.8 lens outside with ISO 100 and 1/48 shutter speed.
As a starter kit, I'd recommend it, personally, but I'm no professional. And I don't want to start a war here, so that was my opinion.
Click to expand...

As with all cheap gear - it works... until it doesn't. How often do you need to shoot infinity focus on telephoto lens? For me it only happened 3 times in the past 6 months and only after last time deciding to get to the root of my problem i discovered the issue: Cavision ND grad. Did i managed to get the shots i needed, of course, but why put myself in similar position in the future? So if you want stuff that works all the time you get good stuff, when you want staff that works from time to time (without really know which times it will work) you get cheap stuff. You might not notice that the cheap stuff works only from time to time if you don't shoot that often but if you do, sooner or later you will discover the value pf good stuff.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
As with all cheap gear - it works... until it doesn't.
Click to expand...
Well, as I said, I'm no professional and for me, as a starter kit it works just fine. I'm playing in the "big boys" yard, but I'm still learning how to.
Thanks for the advices though!
 
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