Matte Box and Rails System suggestions

A

adcatalano

New member
I am trying to find a good value matte box and rails systems for the AF100. I will be using the Lumix 20mm pancake lens and the Leica Macro-Elmarit 45mm lens. What are some good options that won't bust the bank?

Also, I'm a bit new to this, will a rails system connect to a Steadicam or tripod? Or is there some adaptor?

Thanks for the help.
 
Not sure how helpful I can be for the budget minded, but then again I personally wouldn't skimp on the basics. If you had a budget in my you might get some more help here. Try looking at RedRockMicro. Their stuff is pretty solid and not super crazy expensive...well some of it is, but they make a heck of a mattebox for the price. Most rail systems allow some sort of tripod mount.
 
If you're going for cheap, a complete Red Rock rig with follow focus, mattebox etc... Will run around $2,400. U don't want to go cheaper than that or you'll just be buying equipment u may regret in a few months. If u do order Red Rock though, get it from bhphoto, they usually have most parts in stock while redrockmicro.com had been known to make u wait 2-4 weeks for the same parts.
 
Just got my Zacuto rails and Universal baseplate- excellent quality and highly customizable.

Also got a Red Rock lens support- the difference in build quality is immediately evident.
 
Zacuto baseplate.

Going back and forth between the Arri MMB-1 and the Oconnor Obox.

The MB needs to fit everything from a RPZ 17-50mm 144mm front down to the typical 80mm DSLR lens.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions, exactly what I was looking for. The one other thing I need to know is how do you transplant a rig like a Redrock Micro onto a tripod or other support system? Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but any help would be appreciated.
 
adcatalano said:
The one other thing I need to know is how do you transplant a rig like a Redrock Micro onto a tripod or other support system? Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

The Redrock Mattebox has a right angle arm that has a rails attachment on it. The Mattebox doesn't actually go on the camera (some do, but you don't want that), it attaches to the rails like the rest of the gear. It sits in front of the camera secured by the rails. That also allows the mattebox to swing away at it has a hinge on it so you can acces the lens easily, change lenses, etc. You also need a baseplate for your camera that attaches to the rails, the bottom of the basplate for your camera will have a threaded insert to mount to your tripod QR plate.
 
Redrock gear is great, they charge so little in the grand sceme of things for what you get. The matte box is very wide and a great build. I have the shoulder mount and baseplate system for the af100, used it for a year before with the adapter and it is great. Plus the more parts you aquire you can build a custom rig for your needs.

For mattebox, you may also check out Shoot 35, they have one coming out that looks nice as well. Which should fit on the redrock baseplate 15mm rods, given thatthe spacing is that same(which i think is 60mm).
 
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