Cheapest matte box & tripod rig for GH13 with kit lens

Blackout

Blackout

Veteran
I have a client coming who is completely.. dare I say severely naive when it comes to cameras and said person truly believes if a camera is not big with a lot of gadgets on it then it can't possibly shoot 'real' usable material. I don't have the time nor inclination to do the GH13 wow factor on monitors, so basically I need to play barbie dress up on a second GH13 very quickly and purely for show / cosmetic purposes to seem more pro to this silly man.

So... what is the cheapest matte box or any sort of rig I can throw on the gh13 purely for cosmetic impressive factors and I'm not really concerned so much about its real world functionality (just that it doesn't harm the camera or reduce functionality) , just cheap cost and good look.

No over priced zacuto gear please.
 
Matte Box:
Cavision MB383P at 165$

Dslr Rig:
DSLR Flyer Cage Kit at 239.9$ minus 10% DVXuser discount

Cheers
 
Rent Af-100 for the shoot and then bill to said client. Roll with your gh13's and seemlessly intercut footage. When delivered explain how the Af100 line item can be removed from next production.
 
+1 for the pro-aim stuff. It's about as cheap as it gets, and worth keeping after pimping your ride.
 
No need to rent the af-100 as it's about $250 to $300 for the day here... I don't need it, and that would pay for that matte box stuff for my second cam (already have some nice rig stuff for my A cam) and I might as well keep it as I run into this problem frequently.

Silly client sees the a gh13 decked out and it's fine but if they see a naked one they go "you're shooting with THAT little thing" and I have to explain it's the exact same camera by taking the extra stuff off the A cam, then THAT makes them MORE nervous, then I have to take them into "the room" and show the footage and I'm just tired of it all so I just want to throw all cheaper version of stuff on the B camera as well and make it look like robotech.... people are stupid... what can I say? People think a Canon Xl1 shoots better than a GH13 cause it looks like a robot arm.


Logic goes like this:

"Wow, that guy is shooting on this robot arm!"
xl1s.jpg


"That's professional looking!!!!! He must be a pro!!!"

Then they see this:
0527_panasonic-gh1-300x206.jpg


"OH my god! He's charging us WHAT and shooting on that little handicam!!!! Call the cops!!! We want the robot arm!"

Now we all know the XL1 is a POS. Even in its heyday it was a POS. A very sweet heavy pro looking POS though. I owned two I should know.


So then I do something like this to the gh13:
halo-rig-video-camera-stabilizer-for-dslr-5d-7d-gh1-t2i_330466027093.jpg


"Woaaa!!! That camera has a steering wheel! That guy must be super pro!"

Ect ect...

This effect is SO huge on clients that I am seriously thinking of going to a bike shop or hardware store, buying random parts and levers and just adding some form of Rube Goldberg / Tim Burtonesque completely and utterly fake levers dials switches and knobs and then meticulously toying with them while making the 'shhhhh' sign with a finger to my lips when anyone asks me what they do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine
 
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xenogears said:
Matte Box:
Cavision MB383P at 165$

Dslr Rig:
DSLR Flyer Cage Kit at 239.9$ minus 10% DVXuser discount

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hey Xenon where could I take a look at this stuff b&h doesn't carry it... the price sounds right... also looking into the pro-aim stuff.. thanks for the help guys.
 
I know exactly what you mean BO!

I even feel inadequate walking onto a job with a GH1... strut in swinging a HMC150 or similar and it's like .... all of a sudden your gender differential has doubled in size!

I think the "pimp-out" is good as long as the additions are also useful.

I have TV Producers who shot the same event i have chasing me for my footage for their program even though they snubbed me while shooting because i didn't have Pro gear. I single handedly got the content on GH13, they with huge multiple ENG cams missed all the money shots (mostly due to inexperience at shooting from a moving boat) So that stokes my ego, but doesn't get me high production (read better paying) jobs.

I don't really like the snubby Pro attitude exhibited by some producers, it should be what you deliver not how you are perceived. Maybe I'm just too much of a Rebel!

Blackout, i don't like it that you have more links in your signature than i do, i feel inadequate!:D
 
Another approach would be to make a virtue out of a necessity. Since you might actually find some of these accessories functionally beneficial on occasion, spend some more as an investment.

A quality, compact "rig" that includes follow focus, decent matte box / filter holder and quick-release tripod mount, etc, would look good and be useful (when it wasn't getting in the way).

I should think actors (even stage crew) are just as susceptible as clients to the "bullsheeet baffles brains" stimulus (I actually thought exactly that when I was watching your clip of the model on the bar...). If they respond well to this fancy gear it'd be worth having on the shoot, and if it's on the shoot you'll want it to be good.
 
Blackout said:
Hey Xenon where could I take a look at this stuff b&h doesn't carry it... the price sounds right... also looking into the pro-aim stuff.. thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

Both are in B&H
Cpm Film Tools Flyer Cage (DVXusers has a 10% discount coupon at CPM Films Tools web page)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/733954-REG/CPM_Film_Tools_FLY_DSLR_DSLR_Flyer_Cage_Kit.html

Cavision Matte Box
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/310700-REG/Cavision_MB385P_MB385P_3x3_Matte_Box.html

Cheers
 
Cheapest solution; around $2.00 for one color copy. Print this as enlarged photo on cardboard, tape to one side of GH1, make sure client stays on side facing cardboard!

panavision-genesis.jpg
 
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Blackout - here's my GH2 with a $50 100mm Cavision wide angle square lens hood:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45061726@N00/5439368387/

Not a real matte box (no filter slots), but it's inexpensive, looks "pro" and actually serves a useful purpose. Needed $8 62-77mm and $20 77-100mm adapter rings to make it work with the 14-140.

$10 Cavision soft lens cover here.

The bracket in the picture is a $12 Adorama "C" bracket with a couple of extra cold shoes for impressive-looking lights and recorders!

Good luck in your maskirovka effort. Sorry that you have to waste time impressing the uneducated. I hope they're paying you well, at least ;-)
 
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brunerww said:
Blackout - here's my GH2 with a $50 100mm Cavision wide angle square lens hood:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45061726@N00/5439368387/

Not a real matte box (no filter slots), but it's inexpensive, looks "pro" and actually serves a useful purpose. Needed $8 62-77mm and $20 77-100mm adapter rings to make it work with the 14-140.

$10 Cavision soft lens cover here.

The bracket in the picture is a $12 Adorama "C" bracket with a couple of extra cold shoes for impressive-looking lights and recorders!

Good luck in your maskirovka effort. Sorry that you have to waste time impressing the uneducated. I hope they're paying you well, at least ;-)
Click to expand...

Wow I think this is the way to go. That's a fairly nice setup for under $100 bucks. For quickie stuff I could mount the zoom h4n on the top and a shotgun boom on the side. If it only had some added flags it would up the wow factor.

What panny bag is that?
 
Not sure how open you are for DIY but there are some templates for flags in the DIY section. I used these and cut mine out of sheet metal to attach to something similar. works pretty well for very little money.
 
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