M4/3 mount strong enough for a clip-on mattebox?

A

analog_addict

Well-known member
Hi,

I have a mattebox (Cinecity) which has the option for rails or clip-on. I always use the rails with my DSLR and AF100 but I was wondering if the AF100s M4/3 mount could support a nifty fifty with the mattebox clipped on?

My gut feeling is it will put too much pressure on the AF100 mount but then again a 50mm with mattebox is probably the same weight as some large zooms. I don't have the correct step rings to try it at the moment.

Anyone using a clip-on with the AF100?
 
I think I read somewhere 2 lbs was the limit Panasonic suggested putting on the mount. But it's not just the weight- any large item on the end of a lens (like a mattebox and flags) can get snagged on people's shirts or bumped into by actors, crew, walls and doorways. Being on rails removes the torque from the m4/3 mount and places it on the rail itself. If you are careful about it- you should be fine as long as the whole lens/box kit doesn't weigh more that 2 lbs.
 
Don't do it. The MFT mount it particularly weak. Remember that the mattebox is way out on the end, and cantilevered weight is much higher leverage than weight that's close to the mount. I say no way on a clip-on mattebox.
 
Your gut feeling is right, don't do it. Sure, if it was a lens hood, or a small French flag, but no way with a mattebox.
 
I do it and it's fine! As long as you use a LENS SUPPORT and an ultra light mattebox you're fine. We use a Genus 0.7lb clip on mattebox with lens support on a GH2 (not the AF-100) and it's been just fine. I think vocas even makes a lighter one at 0.43lbs for under $1k.

GH2compressed.jpg
 
A lightweight mattebox + lens support is an excellent exception Brent. Last time I looked at Cinecity stuff it was relatively heavy, though maaaaybe light enough to work with a lens support.
 
I weighed my Takumar 55mm, M42 adapter and mattebox. They weigh in a 1.7lb together. Too much for the AF100 mount?

Could even add a coldshoe to the top of the mattebox and support it with an arm.
 
With the mattebox (with whatever filters you add) hanging off the end, I wouldn't... what happens when (not if) someone accidentally bumps hard into the mattebox? All that torque has to go somewhere... if you're lucky it'll separate the mattebox from the lens and just bend/break metal/plastic/a filter or two. Yes, maybe this sounds like / is a little bit of FUD, but why leave this to chance when you can have peace of mind for a couple of hundred bucks?
 
Agreed. As far as the "weight" (1.7lbs) the AF-100 can hold that safely but the concern is if someone bumps inito it... CRACK! In all fareness though, I take the same risk with my rigged up GH2 and the 14-140 lens but the entire rig is pretty small and easy to protect... but I wouldn't do that with our AF-100 rigs; mainly cause our AF100 uses primes anyway so a standard mattebox works just fine. If you're going to use a clip on mattebox on the AF-100, I would go with a filter/sunshade system or at last the lightest mattebox available (as far as I know) at 0.38 lbs with 2 trays!!!!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/727080-REG/Vocas_0200_0250_MB_250_Mattebox.html
 
If you need to support a clip on mattebox in anyway...it kind of defeats the purpose of a "clip on".

:undecided
 
Shooter said:
If you need to support a clip on mattebox in anyway...it kind of defeats the purpose of a "clip on".

:undecided
Click to expand...

Not when it comes to using SRL lenses that extend like the Lumix 14-140; one could ONLY use a clip-on matte box or sunshade and the lens support is just to be on the safe side. It has actually been fantastic for allowing us to easily use filters/polorizers with a french flag to block light on our run-n-gun B-rigs.
 
Having to use foam donuts with extending SLR lenses is a pain. The clip-on part of the mattebox screws right onto the lens and the lens is automatically centered. Obviously you can't use rails and the clip-on adapter because the lens barrel is going to extend back and forth which isn't going to work if the mattebox is locked down.

I don't want to stop using the rails but sometimes being able to just stick the mattebox on the lens would be great. I had a shoot a few days ago where I had to travel very light with my AF100 in a bag. The bag had no room for rails but the mattebox could have fitted in the side pocket. The standard lens hood worked fine on the Takumar but there are a few shots which were prone to glare and low contrast. Being able to just throw the mattebox on real quick without rails would have helped a lot!
 
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