Few questions:

1. Supposedly, when you shoot in frame mode, you lose some resolution. ...So by staying in Normal mode and setting the shutter speed to 1/30 to mimic frame, ....will that give you better resolution than being in frame mode?

2. What real advantage would adding a bellows matte box and a french flag, give you? ...Would you be able to notice a difference in the footage?

3. I'm going to get a wd-58h ..wide angle converter for my gl2. I also want to get a bellows style matte box, and add a french flag. Will I be able to use the wide angle lens with those added accessories? ...In other words ....will the increased angle of the lens pick up the matte box and the french flag?

Thanks for the help

JW

I'm wondering why you are getting the matte box when you are
still asking what the real advantage would be. Don't just get it
because you have to or other people "tell" you too.

I'd say you will probably loose the same amount of resolution
going to 1/30th as when you are going to frame mode. BUT, this
is not something you decide based on fact. You decide it because
you like something over the other method.

For example: I really like the frame mode on my XL1S. So I'm
shooting in that. It's very easy to work with on the computer
(no aliasing) and it looks great. I don't care that much that I'm
loosing resolution. It will never be a "film" camera whatever I
do. It is about the movies that I make with it, not the resolution
I was able to save. Does it all not matter? Ofcourse not. You
try to do the best, but typically only after the creative choice.
At least that's my opinion!

A matte box generally can help you to hold filters and cut out
unwanted strays of light.

John,
If you're really asking whether or not frame mode will degrade your image, the answer is no. There has been a great deal of gum-bashing concerning frame mode's effect on resoulution here and elsewhere. Frame mode is an in-camera synthetic progressive mode with a result very similar to 30P. Many GL/XL shooters use it nearly all of the time. Try it for yourself.

Matte boxes have two functions. (1) They facilitate the use of rectangular filters, and (2) they reduce stray light falling on the lens, thus eliminating lens flares.

No, a matte box should not encroach on your image, particularly a unit as adjustable as a bellows-style unit. That's why it's a bellows.

Thanks for all the input.

I'll be honest, the first reason that I want the bellows matte box and french flag, is because I love the way it makes the camera look. I know it might sound silly. But when I walk in my room and see a beautiful piece of equipment sitting there, it inspires me. :)

A follow-up question on filters for the matte box. If you had to pick 2 filters that would aid in helping your footage look more like film, what 2 filters would you pick? ..Whether they are used individually or in combination.


Thanks,

JW

John: " . . because I love the way it makes the camera look. I know it might sound silly. But when I walk in my room and see a beautiful piece of equipment sitting there, it inspires me. :) . . "

Ah, solution! ! ! : Get a used cornflake packet > a few cuts here and there > cellotape and gum it the way you want it to really look > cheap tin of blackboard paint and slap it on! AND Voila a very inexspensive way to get inspiration! Yes? . . .

. . Thanks for sharing this intimate item . . Betcha aint alone buddy . . I got the original membership card to this HUGE club - hah!

( . John, you shouldn't encourage/tempt me, really . . best regards, Grazie )

John,
If you had to pick 2 filters that would aid in helping your footage look more like film, what 2 filters would you pick?In and of themselves there is no such filter. A light diffusing filter, such as a Black Pro Mist, will take the edge off of the footage. But creating a "film look" is principally a matter of skilled production and camera control.

For the record, neutral density filters and a polarizer are probably the most common matte box filters to start with.

Browse our Film Look forum for more tips.

Practice practice practice, even if someone gave you a panavision film camera right now unless you know what your doing whatever you shoot will not look like any film you have seen.

Its not so much what you have, but how you use it.