matte box

I

ian515

Active member
I should have done more research on the matte box I got. the company I bought it from did a good job selling me. I find myself needing to get a bigger one, as the one I have (vocas mb-255) only fits the sony primes, and the cp.2's. I have the RED 17-50 zoom and it is waaaay to big for that matte box. and it is also the lens that really needs one. I looked at the RED matte box, it's backordered, but it also looks like it might be too big for the sony lenses. does anyone know if you can mount the RED box to rails, and use donuts to cover up the gap on sony lenses, or is it a clamp on only?

aside from the RED box, are there any other recommendations?
 
looks like the redrock might be a straight swap price wise at least. I will miss the sweet eyebrows that the vocas has though. too bad the one that will fit cine lenses is about 5 grand.
 
I'm in the same situation and I think I'll make my decision between these three models:

Chrosziel 450W R20
http://16x9inc.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=626

Chrosziel 456-20
http://16x9inc.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=614

Arri MMB-1
http://www.abelcine.com/store/Arri-MMB-1-Top-Load-Mattebox-143mm/

I'm leaning towards the Chrosziel models because they are really lightweight and both the filter stages are rotating. With the 450W R20 you can go to 16mm without vignetting and 12mm with the 456-20. I'm just having hard time deciding which one of the Chrosziels I'm gonna get. You can use the Arri mmb-1 as clip on with the red 17-50mm because it has rear opening as big as 143mm.
 
Ok, I just realized that the Chrosziel models have only 130mm rear opening so the red 17-50mm won't fit. So I believe you'll have to choose between the Arri mmb-1 and Oconnor O'box. I don't know any other sub 2k model that has big enough rear opening.
 
badlaa said:
Ok, I just realized that the Chrosziel models have only 130mm rear opening so the red 17-50mm won't fit. So I believe you'll have to choose between the Arri mmb-1 and Oconnor O'box. I don't know any other sub 2k model that has big enough rear opening.
Click to expand...

I emailed red rock, their matte box has a 140mm opening, so every lens I choose should be covered. even comes with a swing away setup. nice. hopefully it doesn't fall apart in a year.
 
I have seen two redrocks with crackes, It didn't really effect it's performance at all. But might be something to consider. Then again, they may have an updated model. this was a while back.
 
I just purchased the Arri LMB-5 for my RPZ 17-50. It's incredibly light and the 143mm adapter is very easy to attach. I also have an adapter for my RED Pro Primes and it takes three seconds to swap adapters. Only downsides of LMB-5 are the scant flagging options and no rotating stages. Also check out the LMB-15 which is the newer model and costs more.
 
I was looking at the O-Box and the Arri MMB-1, both out of stock.
But I'm taking a closer look at the Arri MB20-II with swing away.
I may get that if I receive a client payment soon.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
i ordered the Redrock, just to put an end to the guessing. if it doesn't fit, I will just send it back. we will see what shakes out!
 
David W. Jones said:
I was looking at the O-Box and the Arri MMB-1, both out of stock.
But I'm taking a closer look at the Arri MB20-II with swing away.
I may get that if I receive a client payment soon.
Click to expand...

I had a MB-20II for my Red. It'a great matte box of course, but it's techy, fragile, and a bit big for the F3. You will not be wanting to do ANY handheld work with it.

I sold it when I bought the F3, and got the O'Connor, which is much more suited and "fits" better the kind of work the F3 often gets put on. Would say the same about the MMB-1 as well.
 
Nate, do you happen to have any experience with the Chrosziels, the build quality, flexibility etc? I'm really close to getting the 456-20 Academy for my red 18-50 & 50-150 zooms so it would be nice to hear any comments about that box. I think Chrosziel offers more flexibility over the Arri mmb-1 or O'box with its two rotating filter stages.
 
ian515 said:
I emailed red rock, their matte box has a 140mm opening, so every lens I choose should be covered. even comes with a swing away setup. nice. hopefully it doesn't fall apart in a year.
Click to expand...
I've had the Redrock matte-box for 3 years or so and it has worked flawlessly. It's big ... sure ... it's supposed to cover a serious camera set-up. If you need a more mobile unit ... Arri will do fine!
 
Nate Weaver said:
I had a MB-20II for my Red. It'a great matte box of course, but it's techy, fragile, and a bit big for the F3. You will not be wanting to do ANY handheld work with it.

I sold it when I bought the F3, and got the O'Connor, which is much more suited and "fits" better the kind of work the F3 often gets put on. Would say the same about the MMB-1 as well.
Click to expand...

I had the Redrock but sold it with the Red. My concerns now are something that A: will accommodate the 144mm front on a Cooke 20-100 and RPZ 17-50, and B: have a swing-away mount for working quickly when shooting with primes.

 
badlaa said:
Nate, do you happen to have any experience with the Chrosziels, the build quality, flexibility etc? I'm really close to getting the 456-20 Academy for my red 18-50 & 50-150 zooms so it would be nice to hear any comments about that box. I think Chrosziel offers more flexibility over the Arri mmb-1 or O'box with its two rotating filter stages.
Click to expand...

Chrosziel is always a solid choice, but it always seems their stuff doesn't hold up QUITE as well as Arri, but they basically cost the same. When I was an AC in the 90s, the Chrosziel gear always seemed to be just a bit more worse for the same wear.

Also doesn't seem to keep the same resale value as Arri, which may or may not be a consideration. See FVESCOs matte boxes for sale on Ebay to see that in action.
 
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