JPNola
Veteran
Some photos of the Fs7 paired with the Arri MMB-1.
[ yeah, my shotgun mic is doing a wheelie again. Should have sussed that out before taking the pics. ]
One thing I found in shopping for a matte box is that rarely do manufacturers or sellers provide the dimensions of the matte boxes. Other than photos where there is some reference to gauge scale, it is a guessing game as to how the different offerings compare in size. The product images of the matte boxes photographed in isolation lack the scale necessary to gain a sense of size. It would be great if someone with access to many different matte boxes would take a photo of the different offerings lined up in a row. That way we could all see how large the Chrosziel Cine 1 is compared to the Bright Tangerine Misfit compared to the O'Box compared to the Vocas compared to the Tilta, etc. ( Is there a B and H employee reading this who can you make this happen? )
As you can see from the photos above, I ended up going with the Arri MMB-1. My reasons, not necessarily ordered by importance, were: build quality, the bang for the buck, design ( the side loading tray that eliminates shotgun mic obstruction ), personal taste as to the aesthetics, and, admittedly, the provenance of the ARRI brand and the professional image that ARRI gear projects to those in the know ( the snob factor, to be frank. And anything to possibly justify higher day rate.
rogar-BigGrin(DBG) )
I did not place a premium on light-weight. The ARRI MMB-1 is heavy compared to the competition in this product niche. The weight of the matte box is another spec that is rarely provided by manufacturers or sellers. But I knew going in that, being ARRI, the MMB-1 was going to be of tank-like build and heavier than other mid-size, or "mini", matte boxes. Erwin Rommel would approve of this thing. It's solid. I can already see myself obtaining a more light-weight minimalist matte box in the future. For that the Movcam's new MM4 looks to be a good candidate. Particularly at $590.00. At that price it's almost a "throw-away" matte box that you use in rough situations. ( no weight or dimensions listed on B & H product page for the Movcam MM4. See what I mean? I would go to the Movcam website but my browser is warning "This site may be hacked." and even when, living dangerously, I clicked the link it took me to some page selling athletic shoes. Wtf? )
Oh, and just to ensure that you are given more damn info than you could ever have wanted regarding someone's matte box setup:
I'm using the Bright Tangerine rubberized donut, the "Black Hole". At 143mm it fits the ARRI MMB-1. It won't fit the ARRI MMB-2 as the MMB-2 has a smaller rear diameter. That ability of the MMB-1 to use Bright Tangerine's rubberized donut, as opposed to the cloth-type "nun's knickers" from ARRI, was one reason I stepped up to the MMB-1 instead of going with the lighter weight and smaller MMB-2. The pictured Sony 18-105mm doesn't trombone when focusing or zooming- I could have used a solid step-down ring but the flexible rubber "bellow" is handy.
Not pictured is the Garden Designs eyebrow w/side flags that came with my Ebay-purchased MMB-1. The aluminum flag that ARRI pairs with the MMB-1 is, as a RedUser contributor put it, "ridiculously huge". With those thin-edged aluminum matte box flags I am worried that they could be a liability. They are sharp-edged enough to cut someone. Not something you want to have on the front of your rig when shooting low in and amongst a group of children or just shooting handheld in a crowd of people. The Gardner Designs top flag is made of plastic ( coreplast ) and thicker-edged-
I first saw David's pieces on feature film sets back in the 1990's. He incorporates some clever and useful features that even to this day no one else is offering. Check out his work:
http://www.davidgardendesigns.com
[ yeah, my shotgun mic is doing a wheelie again. Should have sussed that out before taking the pics. ]
One thing I found in shopping for a matte box is that rarely do manufacturers or sellers provide the dimensions of the matte boxes. Other than photos where there is some reference to gauge scale, it is a guessing game as to how the different offerings compare in size. The product images of the matte boxes photographed in isolation lack the scale necessary to gain a sense of size. It would be great if someone with access to many different matte boxes would take a photo of the different offerings lined up in a row. That way we could all see how large the Chrosziel Cine 1 is compared to the Bright Tangerine Misfit compared to the O'Box compared to the Vocas compared to the Tilta, etc. ( Is there a B and H employee reading this who can you make this happen? )
As you can see from the photos above, I ended up going with the Arri MMB-1. My reasons, not necessarily ordered by importance, were: build quality, the bang for the buck, design ( the side loading tray that eliminates shotgun mic obstruction ), personal taste as to the aesthetics, and, admittedly, the provenance of the ARRI brand and the professional image that ARRI gear projects to those in the know ( the snob factor, to be frank. And anything to possibly justify higher day rate.
rogar-BigGrin(DBG) ) I did not place a premium on light-weight. The ARRI MMB-1 is heavy compared to the competition in this product niche. The weight of the matte box is another spec that is rarely provided by manufacturers or sellers. But I knew going in that, being ARRI, the MMB-1 was going to be of tank-like build and heavier than other mid-size, or "mini", matte boxes. Erwin Rommel would approve of this thing. It's solid. I can already see myself obtaining a more light-weight minimalist matte box in the future. For that the Movcam's new MM4 looks to be a good candidate. Particularly at $590.00. At that price it's almost a "throw-away" matte box that you use in rough situations. ( no weight or dimensions listed on B & H product page for the Movcam MM4. See what I mean? I would go to the Movcam website but my browser is warning "This site may be hacked." and even when, living dangerously, I clicked the link it took me to some page selling athletic shoes. Wtf? )
Oh, and just to ensure that you are given more damn info than you could ever have wanted regarding someone's matte box setup:
I'm using the Bright Tangerine rubberized donut, the "Black Hole". At 143mm it fits the ARRI MMB-1. It won't fit the ARRI MMB-2 as the MMB-2 has a smaller rear diameter. That ability of the MMB-1 to use Bright Tangerine's rubberized donut, as opposed to the cloth-type "nun's knickers" from ARRI, was one reason I stepped up to the MMB-1 instead of going with the lighter weight and smaller MMB-2. The pictured Sony 18-105mm doesn't trombone when focusing or zooming- I could have used a solid step-down ring but the flexible rubber "bellow" is handy.
Not pictured is the Garden Designs eyebrow w/side flags that came with my Ebay-purchased MMB-1. The aluminum flag that ARRI pairs with the MMB-1 is, as a RedUser contributor put it, "ridiculously huge". With those thin-edged aluminum matte box flags I am worried that they could be a liability. They are sharp-edged enough to cut someone. Not something you want to have on the front of your rig when shooting low in and amongst a group of children or just shooting handheld in a crowd of people. The Gardner Designs top flag is made of plastic ( coreplast ) and thicker-edged-
I first saw David's pieces on feature film sets back in the 1990's. He incorporates some clever and useful features that even to this day no one else is offering. Check out his work:
http://www.davidgardendesigns.com
