matte box newbie

C

Cheesesailor77

Veteran
I'm looking into the possibility of buying a matte box, but I'd like to be more educated.

What are the main reasons to use one? How much do filters cost? Which matte boc do you use? I saw an ad for a matte box in DV magazine that was under $500, does anyone know about this one? I remember DVXuser had a dvd about filters. Does that still exist? was it helpful?

anything you could share would be appreciated.
 
For two grand you can get a good quality matte box and a few essential filters. For less than that, most users are unhappy with their purchase over the long haul. "Buy right, cry once," I say. Good luck!
 
I have a chrosziel mattebow on my dvx. It works out great, but it costs around $1200. You should make sure that you really have a use for it before you shell out that kind of cash. Don't buy it just because it looks cool. The filters for my 4x4 start at around $150 each. Like everything else they are exspensive. You can find the matteboxes here.

www.16x9inc.com
 
sorry for the noob question, but what is the difference between a sunshade and a mattebox?

the chrosziel "mattebox" seems to attach to the anamorphic adapter

the chrosziel "sunshade" seems to attach through the lens filter thread


both provide protection from errant light, and provide spaces for 4"x4" filters.

is there any real difference, aside from what they attach to on the DVX?
 
Usually the sunshade does not hold filters but just shades the lense from light which can cause flare. It is round or rectangular and often screws onto the thread of the lense or screwed into place with a set screw arrangement. It is designed so that the widest frame on the zoom will be unobstructed by the sunshade.

Matteboxes have several uses. They can hold filters in filter slots called stages and they can be either rotatable or not. Rotating stages are good for polorizers and grad filters to accurately postion the filter where you want it to work. Filters can also be moved up and down in in either stage to accomodate grad filters. Fixed stages are good for uniform filters like ND's or diffusion filters. More stages and rotating stages are more $$ but more precise control.

Matte boxes also keep errant light from hitting the lense and causing flare. Because they are rectanglular they can have hard matte inserted in the front to mask off any areas not within the frame although this is more often used in film cameras. But an eyebrow is a small, hinged flag attached to the top of the mattebox. It can be lowered by tilting it down to keep out flare. It is hinged and parralell to the top of the frame which make it much more adjustable and therefore more useful than the round or rectangular sunshade. It s also further from the lense which makes it easier to cut errant light from the lense without getting onto the shot. Some matteboxes have these available for all four sides.

Matte boxes are of two designs that can be either clamped onto the lens or used with rods. Rods are used with a baseplate on the camera. The rods hold the matte box in front of the lens and keep the weight off the lense that a clamp-on matte box would add. Rods also can also have a follow focus unit added to the setup for accurate focus pulls. This starts to get larger and heavier and therefore more geared (no pun intended) to narrative fimmaking rather than run-and-gun shooting.

I use a clamp-on, two-rotating stage Vocas mattebox. It enables me to do run-and-gun docs but have the control I need to do landscapes and such. You usually must spend over $1K to start to get a good setup. Cheaper models exist but buyer beware.

Hope this helps.
 
Ashokan that helps a lot thank you.


i can certainly see the benefits of these devices.

Stacking together filter thread based filters wouldn't have the ease of use that using a mattebox gives you.

I'm quite interested in getting a polariser and perhaps a graduated ND filter. Two independantly moving filter stages sounds awesome.

In fact if i used filter thread based filters would rotating one rotate the other once they were both attached? how does this interfere with the stock hood?
 
Only the front part of a rotating filter rotates. The back part (the one that's screwed onto the front part of the lens if you're using only one filter) doesn't rotate. Thefore, the polarize should go last ("on top" of the other filter). If you add another filter on top of the rotating one, it will rotate as well.

Furthermore, adding several threaded filters on top of each other is not a good idea : it may cause some vignetting... which doesn't happen with a mattebox and 4 x 4 filters because they are much larger.

Hope this helps.
 
Ashokan1 said:
Usually the sunshade does not hold filters but just shades the lense from light which can cause flare. It is round or rectangular and often screws onto the thread of the lense or screwed into place with a set screw arrangement. It is designed so that the widest frame on the zoom will be unobstructed by the sunshade.
Click to expand...
http://www.16x9inc.com/cgibin/eDatC...cts;Chrosziel;DV/HDV Solutions; Panasonic DVX
Looks like the Chrosziel sunshade holds filters... what's the diff between these two?
 
The one Chrosziel calls a "sunshade" is a clamp on mattebox, the one they call a "mattebox" is a mattebox with support rods. They both take filters and have 2 stages, one of which rotates.
 
well, i can see from the description that they both have 2 stages, with a rotating filter, but what i need to know is the major difference between the two. there must be one. the support rods (lightweight support system) shown on the mattebox is an option, which is also available for the sunshade.

looks like maybe the mattebox is for use with the anamorphic adapter? i don't have this, so is the sunshade a better solution for me? are there any other differences? can you use a wide angle lens or fisheye with either of these?
 
Sunshade is a generic term which is most often used as I described above. The Chrosziel sunshade is, indeed, a clamp-on style mattebox. Just what the business needs...another manufacturer mixing up terminology.

The seller or Chrosziel should be able to tell you whether it can use a wide angle adaptor and which will fit or not. That is why it is often best to purchase it from a seller who is familiar with all the accessories for the DVX100. At a certain point, wide angles like the fish eye lens will see the mattebox and cannot be used.

The two matteboxes from Chrosziel may have differences such what accessories from the manufacturer can be added. Check with the seller about flags and such. The clamp-on (sunshade) matte box is nice if it can be used with or without rods so that it can be used both in a more formal "studio" type of setup with a follow focus gear or without the rods for handheld shooting. Much more versatile.

Another consideration is that the clamp-on definitely has a set position in relation to the lens whereas the rod style matte box can be slid forward or back for fine tweaking of it's position. While this feature is not very often used, it sometimes comes in handy for very precise placement of the mattebox. You may want that grad just a little bit more in focus on that landscape shot and sliding the mattebox out may give you just what you need.

One other important point to consider is... with what other cameras might you use this mattebox? You may want to consider a different aspect ratio like 4x5. or the 4x5 may work with some of the wide angle adaptors on the Pana. It's a big choice to make because not only will you be investing in a good chunk of $$ for the mattebox but wait until you start collecting filters. I have 4x4 and sometimes wish I had gone 4x5.

A good resource for all filters and matteboxes is Stan Wallace at the Filter Gallery in NYC. If you have the chance I highly recommend calling him at 212-631-9177 and/or stopping by his facility to see some really cool filters and matteboxes. He has good advice and knows his stuff.

Of course, I have no affiliation other than just a satisfied customer.
 
CAVISION is great. I've been using mine for about 4 months now, and I love it. Rush at EVS can hook you up with the mattebox & rails for about $550.
 
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