Purpose of a matte box?

B

Bongos121

Well-known member
From my understanding the original purpose of a matte box was to put filters in right? Not a rhetorical question by the way.
If that is the reason then whats the purpose of having a huge one on a dslr with no filter or anything? I was talking to an acquaintance of mine while on business and when he was setting up his 5D he had a huuge matte box. I asked him why he used it and he said to keep contrast and make sure he didn't get any sun glare in his shots.
My question is, if your not using it to hold filters and just for the reason stated above does it actually make that big of a difference? More so then a standard lens hood?
 
Flags are used to block light from hitting the lens, which would cause exactly what your friend said.

Yes, it can make a huge difference (over having nothing). A lens hood should give you the same result (in most circumstances).
 
Yes, a lens hood can help controlling external light from hitting the lens. But on productions with lots of different light sources, the extra size and flexibility of a Matte Box (Top/side flags, larger coverage, etc.) can be very helpful too.

It's also used to only use one set of filters with every lens in a kit (swap lenses, filter stays on the MB)
 
If you're doing work for a client it also looks expensive *and* impressive.
Don't discount it; I've seen guys charge $300+ more than the other guy on the argument that their equipment is fancy pants compared to the next guy.
 
David W. Jones said:
Let us also not forget one of the original uses of the matte box... To hold hard mattes in front of the lens.
Click to expand...

Yep.

As far as controlling light even a matte box or a lens hood is not good enough and a french flag comes in handy. I haven't used one in a while and I just did a studio shoot where I wish I had one. We ended up having my AC hand holding a flag for one shot just to block the lens. Pretty easy and simple, but I may want to get a french flag set up soon.
 
josh-ozirigpro said:
If you're doing work for a client it also looks expensive *and* impressive.
Don't discount it; I've seen guys charge $300+ more than the other guy on the argument that their equipment is fancy pants compared to the next guy.
Click to expand...

This is what I was wondering most. If a lot of it nowadays had to do with the "look" of being pro.
Thanks to everyone for your answers. The thing about productions with lots of different light sources makes a lot of sense. Thanks!!
 
Man, this is one that (I guess) needs to be a sticky - seems like this exact thread gets repeated twice a year, same question and same answers. Like, to the letter!

Or is the "search" function down?
 
If you don't plan to use filters in the MatteBox with your DSLR:
1) You'll have to close the lens if you're shooting outdoor on a bright sunny day.
2) You'd be better to use a lens hood instead.

I've asked myself the same question a couple years ago, and now that I have one with filters, I understand. ND filters, Polarizing filters...they all do something for a specific situation.
 
I've always found lens hoods to be crap in blocking light. total waste in my experience...so a mattebox with french flags does come in handy. I don't own one but there have been many a shoot I wish I had it to keep out that extra light from washing out the image (had to use my hand at times)
 
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