shoot35 Ltd Upcoming 4x4 Matte box Preview

Wayne Kinney

DVXUser Sponsor
Hi Guys,

We have opened this thread to provide answers about our upcoming 4x4 Matte Box.

Features:
2 Rotating 4x4 Filter Stages
Vertical Adjustment
Interchangeable Mattes
Swing Away Design
Optional 'French Flag' & 'Barn Doors'
Rubber Bellows System


The price of the Matte Box without Flags will be £399 and we are looking at an August/September release.

We will also be releasing 4x4 ND & polarising filters.

mattebox%20ad.jpg


Please ask any questions you may have.
 
Hi,

We have designed the matte box to be small & lightweight. It is smaller than most of the other offerings. The shade is made from ABS, the bellows is rubber and everything else is CNC machined aluminium. We will confirm weight once we get the final prototypes in.
 
Break me off a piece of THAT!

Questions:

1. Does this have height adjustment?

2. Can the filter stages be rotated independently of each other?

3. I have your FF unit and am very impressed with the aluminum milling work, but the plastic pieces leave a little to be desired. There are burrs where plastic is drilled, screws get easily cross threaded on the focus ring, and the plastic parts feels generally too soft. For a piece that's going to have much more plastic than your other products, have you done anything in your manufacturing to improve your plastic work?
 
Hi,

Yes, it features vertical adjustment & the filter stages rotate independently.

Regarding the CINEfocus, are you referring to the main handle? If so, this is a stock/off the shelf part. The v2 version of the CINEfocus will be released in August and this features a fully CNC machined aluminium handle with diamond knurled grip.

The matte box uses one plastic part - the main 'sunshade' which is an injection moulded ABS part and of high quality.
 
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I was referring to the knob and the lens gear. Everything else is clean as a whistle.

If you're re-doing the FF, please consider doing a reverse gear and have smaller drive gear options to help increase focus throw... if it's not too late, that is.
 
Wayne,
Will you make 4x5.5 vertical filter holders available for this as well. I am invested in the larger filters which are much better for grad's as they give you a wider latitude in where you place the horizon . Will it accept 3rd party trays such as chroziel's?

I am also concerned with weight as the Redrock seems nicely designed but very heavy.

Incidently the Redrock I believe has filter holders designed to accomodate both 4x4 and 4x5.5 filters. That's a great idea.

Do you really intend to make the trays red? Might that add color reflections sometimes?

Lenny Levy
 
Hi Lenny,

We may consider 4x5.5 trays after the Matte Box is released, yes. We decided to go 4x4 to keep it as small and as light as possible, especially good for DSLR shooters. Only our filter trays will fit, they are much smaller than most of the other matte boxes out there. Because of this, I am confident that it will be a lot lighter, but we will confirm this once we get the final prototypes in.

There will be a drop down menu option for either red or black filter trays on the order page
 
Just to be clear, I'm super excited about this. If the quality holds up to current Shoot35 standards (and I think it will) this is going to be the #1 value leader in indie level matte box market. Just the basic design certainly beats the pants off anyone else out there right now that's remotely close in terms of price. Sign me up 150% for one when it comes out!

Red filter trays look super cool, by the way. Definitely leave it as an option, please!
 
Thanks, we try :)

The matte box will ship with a rubber bellows as seen in the renders. The centre of the bellows has an aluminium ring with 3 sprung balls. We will be offering connection rings for your lenses with the most popular filter thread sizes, these screw onto your lens (1 per lens) making all of your lenses one standard diameter of 80mm. These then clip into the aluminium ring on the back of the rubber bellows. We see this system as being fast and efficient to work with. It is also good for lenses that have their front element turn when you pull focus, the connection ring will simply spin around the ring on the bellows, riding on the 3 sprung balls. We want to make these as cost effective as possible, so we will be including 1 connection ring with the matte box package & extra rings at £4.99 each with extra quantity discounts.

The swing away uses a clamping system very much like our rod support clamps, so it is very solid with no play or wiggle once tightened. Imagine 3 of our Rod Clamps lined up together on a 15mm rod, the two outer/end clamps being fixed to one another and the middle clamp acting as the swing away, when the thumbscrews are tightened the structure is rock solid. The position where the swing away reaches perpendicular is also adjustable via 2 setscrews.

We will also be offering a clip on version shortly after, but this is no good for lenses that have a spinning front element.
 
Wayne, Im starting to make a push to get some new product reviews up in our articles section http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?f=40, esp products from DVXuser sponsers.

If you would like me to take a look at it when its done, Id be happy to. Though you would need to pay the shipping cost both ways. Id also be happy if you found a knowledgable DVXuser closer to home for you who would be willing to do the review and pass it on to me.
 
Hi Noel,

We would be happy to. Could you drop us an email so that we have your details on file. We could also send you one of our CINEfocus v2 units as these will be released at about the same time.
 
Hi Wayne,
awesome to see a new product from you. Some questions that come to mind:

1. I assume we will get a colour option of black for all of the screws as well, not only the trays?
2. If you've used the Redrock matte box you may have noticed that by repeatedly adjusting the french flag it may loosen due to the way it's attached to the matte box. How does your french flag attach? If same as Redrock I'd be happy to see some kind of locking mechanism which prevents accidental loosening.
3. Are there any plans for a super lightweight clamp on version?
 
Hi Marc,

There will certainly be an option for either red or black filter trays. We will look into offering a colour option for the thumbscrews.

Regarding the flags, are you refering to where the flags attaches to the rotating shaft, or where the rotting shaft attaches to the shade?

We have plans on releasing a clip on version shortly after.
 
I'm referring to where the flags attaches to the rotating shaft. If memory serves right, the Redrock flag is to be stuck into the rotating shaft and you can screw it to tighten the connection.
However when you move the flag up and down repeatedly I've noticed that the flag becomes loose.

I think it would highly benefit from having some kind of locking pin/screw that makes that connection secure.

Great to hear about a clamp on version, count me in for sure. I'd also be willing to do a non biased review if you need more testers let me know.
 
Wayne,
Will the clip on version be able to adapt into a rod mounted assembly. That is something i would love.
If so i will probably wait for that. in any case I would have to wait for the 4x5.5 trays. I do suggest you look into how Redrock was able to make trays that worked for both size filters.

In any case it sounds like a good move and I wish you all the luck in this Wayne. I'm sure it will be a great product as is everything you turn out.

Lenny Levy

Lenny Levy
 
I'm referring to where the flags attaches to the rotating shaft. If memory serves right, the Redrock flag is to be stuck into the rotating shaft and you can screw it to tighten the connection.
However when you move the flag up and down repeatedly I've noticed that the flag becomes loose.

I think it would highly benefit from having some kind of locking pin/screw that makes that connection secure.

Great to hear about a clamp on version, count me in for sure. I'd also be willing to do a non biased review if you need more testers let me know.

The attachment works a little differently, we believe it will hold up well.

Wayne,
Will the clip on version be able to adapt into a rod mounted assembly. That is something i would love.
If so i will probably wait for that. in any case I would have to wait for the 4x5.5 trays. I do suggest you look into how Redrock was able to make trays that worked for both size filters.

In any case it sounds like a good move and I wish you all the luck in this Wayne. I'm sure it will be a great product as is everything you turn out.

Lenny Levy

Lenny Levy

If you were to purchase either the rods mountable or clip or version, we will be releasing kits to change between one or the other.
 
Any idea on whether this is going to come out in August or September at the rate your production is going?
 
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