Geardear Modular Mattebox?

[Jon Furtado]

Has anyone had any experience with Geardear matte boxes?

http://geardear.com/pictures.html

They seem very affordable. And it's interesting how they're modular. You can add more filter stages if you want. Also, they seem to accommodate hard mattes! I haven't seen a matte box that accommodate those on a video camera ever!

Granted there are far superior matte boxes. But they also cost 3-5X as much.

What does anyone think?

 

[scapsinger]

Yeah, I've got their stuff, it's pretty good. The flag is a bit strange the way it sets up, but compared to what a standard matte box will run you, you should expect some shortcomings at this price range.

All in all, it's quite a flexible set of options, and doesn't add much weight to the rig either. Only real downside is they are in Germany, so it will take a little bit for your order to arrive in the U.S.

 

[Jon Furtado]

does it have rotatable trays? can you insert filters from the bottom?

 

[scapsinger]

There are options for rotatable trays and non-rotatable...pick what you need, get extras just in case

Top-loading only so far as I'm aware.

To be honest, I've never heard of bottom-loading before, but I have more limited experience with matte boxes than some other users I'm sure...what's the purpose of bottom loading versus top?

 

[Brian@202020]

I forgot about this company. It kind of reminds me of the Duplo® of matteboxes

 

[Terry_Lasater]

If it suits your needs and budget, go for it.

 

[bgundu]

blast from the past!

 

[Jon Furtado]

Yeah, I've got their stuff, it's pretty good. The flag is a bit strange the way it sets up, but compared to what a standard matte box will run you, you should expect some shortcomings at this price range.

All in all, it's quite a flexible set of options, and doesn't add much weight to the rig either. Only real downside is they are in Germany, so it will take a little bit for your order to arrive in the U.S.

Did you get the 2 stage or the 3 stage? Can you rotate the filters a full 180 degree's?

 

[scapsinger]

2 stage...and yes, you can rotate 180, but the little grip tab is only on one side of the filter holder, so once you drop it in "upside down" it's a little more difficult to remove. Really not a big deal.

Again, going with the theme of the Geardear rigs, you are gaining capabilities at a significantly reduced price but with the expected shortcomings as well when compared to a higher cost rig. I'll reiterate that those shortcomings usually relate more to smooth operation than to actual capabilities, but I've had no problem working around it.