To Matte or not to Matte, that is the...

Rick Meyer

Rick Meyer

Veteran
I am new to the DVX. In fact, I haven't even purchased one yet, but next Friday, I plan to. Along with the DVX, I am aiming to pick up a few necessary things, (tapes, warranty, Pelican bag, extra battery, etc.) and am considering a few unecessary things (at this time, like a AT897 mic OR a matte box). After looking at Matte boxes I have discovered that they are EXTREMEMLY expensive. Rediculously so.

So my question: IS IT POSSIBLE TO SIMULATE THE BENEFITS OF A MATTE BOX AND ACCOMANYING FILTERS IN POST???

I would LOVE to have a matte box but they are just too damn expensive. Can anyone out there please point out where I would be shooting myself in the foot by relying on post production to help color correct and alter exposure, etc????

Thank you so much in advance-
Rick
 
my 2 cents:

In a month new cameras are coming out at NAB...you might want to wait and see what they offer before buying old product designs.

The matte box does a few things,

1. it keeps light from flaring your image,
2. it holds filters.
3. it helps you feel cool.

Just use some Black wrap, (black aluminum foil) with gaffer tape will take care of excessive flares.

For filters, that's another story but usually post can handle many things. Experiment with post processes before you spend a fortune. Magic Bullet and other programs will do the trick. Of course proper photography is the best way...and when your ready gradation filters, extra NDs, polarizers and etc... will be there waiting.

Start small and gradually build your system unless you're 100%postive on what & why you want something. Plus it's more fun to slowly add a piece to learn it well before adding more. It'll make the process more enjoyable.
 
There are many filter effects that can be simulated in post. Two that can't are polarizing filters, and gradient filters (once the exposure detail is lost, it's lost, and you can't recover it, whereas a gradient might prevent that overexposure in the first place).

So other than gradients and polarizers, most effects could be simulated in post. It might be optically higher quality to shoot them with filters in the first place, but it's not a do-or-die situation. And yes, as 10s says, you can certainly flag some shots with black wrap, although a mattebox would do a better job under windy conditions or something like that.
 
polarizers and grads will help out alot in making exterior daylight shots look great...its what i use when trying for that more film like look in daylight shoots.
 
On vocas.com there is a mattebox from century optics if I am right, that is affortable.
A cool system on 15 mm rails, and you can buy a cool flag kit for it.

I am thinking of buying it myself, but I have a question for those owners of matteboxes on rail support systems:

Do the mattebox only attach to the rails, or does it also attach to the lens?
Cause they are talking about rubber step down rings to fill the gap between the lens en the mattebox, so looks like the mattebox is only attach to the rails.

One other question, are 4x4 tiffen filers as good as Schneider filters? Cause 4x4 Schneider filters are very expensive.
 
God I love this website!
Everytime I post, I get really quick responses that are incredibly helpful all within a few hours. Truth be told, I was teetering on whether or not to buy the dvx100 or the xl2 (though, my heart has always been with and leaning towards the panny). But, THIS site easily pushed me over the edge. With a community THIS strong, the camera has GOT to be good. At any rate, thanks Barry, 10s, jkl and the rest...I will be considering getting a polorizer and gradient filters.

One quick question, can I get these two filters to attach directly to the camera rather then spending a small fortune on a matte box?

Thanks again-
Rick
 
Can you get them to attach to the lens - sure. Will it work, probably not. As long as you buy 72 mm threaded filters you can attach them to the lens and stack them on top of each other. But if you add to many you will see them in the frame when you are in the wide end of your lens. Another issue that you will incounter with the filters you are talking about is that the polarizer is a rotating lens - the end of it spins so that you can rotate it to the position that is the best for reducing the glare. The grad filters you will want to keep in the same position, say on the horizontal axis. So you might run into problems if you try to use these to filters at the same time. This is where a matte box comes in real handy.
 
I bought a Cokin P-series filter holder for about $10 and the filters are about $25. It's not as good looking as a matte box but a hell of a lot cheaper.
 
Barry is absolutely correct.

I use exclusively the ND Grad and Polorizing filters with my Mattebox; and rarely a soft FX filter.

I do not know what I would do without an ND Grad for Exterior shooting.

Get a Mattebox if it's in the budget; it's functional and yes, sexy.
 
The entire Vocas system weights about half as much as the Chrosziel with rods for DVX100, I think. It still feels like a handheld camera. My .02 .

brian wells
 
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