Chrosziel 3x3 Sunshade/mattebox....

[HybridCreations]

So I picked up this 2 stage 3x3 sunshade/mattebox on Ebay for a stupid cheap price....it appears to be in great condition and came with two 3x3 filters (polarizer and warming....and the holders). I'm upgrading from the matteblox and I'm trying not to get too excited before I actually see this thing. I just had a couple questions for anyone with experience with this or similar matteboxes.

This is the box (except the one I won was used with an FX1 not a DVX)....

http://www.mediumblend.com/abelstore/customer/product.php?productid=10&cat=181&page=1

So now for my questions.

1) I need a stepdown ring. The box is 85mm and it comes with an 85 - 80mm stepdown ring. Do I need the actual Chrosziel 85-72mm ring that's made for the DVX or will any 85-72 ring work? Or even an 80-72 (although I'm afraid of vignetting)?

2) Are all 3x3 filters created equal? I mean, I know there's differences (Glass, resin, gelatin) but will all of these work and fit into the holders?

3) Can I retrofit a french flag onto this box? Any suggestions on how? I was thinking of seeing if I could just get the parts from Chrosziel and do it myself. Or go more of a DIY route, not sure yet.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
-Ryan

 

[aronprigg]

I have a couple of these matte boxes, they work great. The only downside is that they are so close to the edges of the framelines that when you rotate a filter on full wide you get vignetting on the edges, so you have to keep an eye on that. You need to get the right ring 72-85. At one point when I acquired my second box I had vignetting on the left side and eventually figured out the ring, a "chrosziel 72-85 for 4x4" was causing the problem. The guys at Abel Cine figured this out and sold me the correct ring and it works fine. I have Tiffens, Schnieders and even some old H&H and they fit fine. As for retrofitting I believe you can buy the flag and holder assembly, it is probably pricey as all thing Chrosziel seem to be.
Hope that helps,
Aron

 

[HybridCreations]

Thanks for the tips Aron! I'm gonna get the ring through Abel. I looked on Chrosziel's website and it looks like the frenchie assembly will be about a hundred bucks. Not bad considering I got the thing for about $250 with 2 filters! Thanks again.
-Ryan