FS700, Matte Box, Yes or No?

G

Gene Sung

Veteran
I was wondering if most of you use a matte box with your FS700? I tend to shoot light and keep my rig and gear stripped down to a minimum to work fast. But I'm finally starting to get some legit, network DP jobs (lower end, but for me it's a big step up). I'm almost feeling this "insecurity" to pimp out my camera a little more, so I was thinking of adding a Matte box. With that said, I think with built in ND filters and all of my effect filters being Screw On, a matte box seems like a huge weight / work flow penalty for not much gain - Flares are easy to kill with a Lens hood or a Dinkum Flare Flag.

I would only use the matte box for studio / sound stage situations as for handheld, a matte box is out of the question since I need the camera light.

But yeah, do you guys use a Matte Box for your FS700 and is it really that useful or more for vanity purposes (impress client, producers, etc...)?
 
A matte box is used for controlling light (french flag, eyebrow, etc.), adding filters (4x4 ND grads) and improving the captured image and not to impress a client or producer. I use it for both handheld and tripod shooting when needed but have been known to remove it if the situation allows or requires it (eg. extreme wide angle lens).

It is foolish to think that vanity would have anything to do with the decision - it's all about light and shadows.

Regards,
Scott
 
I bought a matte box to shelter my lens from snow and raindrops, for this it's essential. Also if you're doing indoor filming and have a heavy backlight a mattebox can control unwanted flares that a lens hood can't. My matte box stays in the case most of the time.
 
I think it depends where you're shooting, sometimes it is important to shade the lens but not always (especially with modern coatings). I do believe matte boxes can be a bit of a vanity item for a lot of people, they're also expensive for what they are. I've been through quiet a few, but do tend to shoot without if i can get away with it (not always though). If you like to use filters, diffusion or grads then obviously you need one.

I've been through these:

- old petrof bellows matte (nice design, too small for some lenses)
- lee filters on-lens bellows (actually one of my favourites, very flexible but you can only use lee slide in filters, so not very good for that)
- format simple clip on (not so good, but okay)
- dmatte clipon/rail option (was nice and light but the filter tray was too small for my filters)
- cinematics matte box (bit heavy but it's solid, swing away and has some nice touches (velvet covered flags))

But broadly speaking i've not found the perfect one for me, i liked the look of the manfrotto circular one or the tangerine one (can't remember the name)

cheers
paul
 
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