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Matte Box from India
What would you say about this device beeing used with the H1 and Canon Wide Angle Lens.
and what about this monitor as a Field Monitor? thank you very much in advance for the input, phil |
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FM-600 4x4 Matte Box Great if you don't need rails! Jeff |
Funny..
I just bought some used Formatt Pol and Grey-Gradient Filters (dont know the english terms so its loosely translated).. It looks good... But the Indian thing with Rail System included seems like the better deal.. I mean, what can you possible do wrong when producing that piece of Equipment? Its only a Filter and French Flag holder.. They also sell DOF Aapters, which i think are probably not that good... I actually bought the matte box 5 minutes ago... |
Phillip - please report back when you receive it as to your initial impressions and/or satisfaction with it? Thanks
Chris |
Not recommended.
I bought one a while back just to see how it compared to other Matte Box & Flags from far more expensive brands. It is built of metal, so I thought that it would be robust...however, the screw adjustment fitting for the French flag is not well engineered and would not tighten enough to prevent the flag from slowly tipping into the field of view. After only a few days of use the whole thing fell apart. I was not a happy bunny...to put it lightly...:) The complete system has been gathering dust in the loft ever since. |
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The geometry can be wrong, so that it vignettes at the widest zoom setting, resulting in darkened corners. The flag can have gaps round the hinge so it's not a good light shade, resulting in flare. The clamp-on screw fitting can be so crude that it doesn't hold the box on properly, even when tightened to the point that it's stripping the skin from your fingers, resulting in blood. Do you sense I've learnt this from bitter experience?.... (I'm with Tony on this one.) |
Tried this on my EX1. Flimsily made, as others have noted. Plus it obstructs the sides when in full wide angle.
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I can't speak for the metal mattebox from India. The cinecity "jumbo" mattebox which has a gray plastic shroud seems to be fine for structure and strength and I hope they do not discontinue it.
The filter glass holders are plastic and may slump out of shape if you store them in the unit with the side screws locked in. The safest bet is to store them outside of the unit or leave filter glasses mounted in them if storing them in the unit so that they stay in shape. The upper flag does droop after a while and needs to be supported on the side flags. I have tried various combinations of stacked flat and spring washers however this does not work as all hinge holes are threaded. I may drill out the threads in the pivoting piece of the hinge and add a sandwich of spring and flat machine washers but while it is not broke, for the moment it stays as is. The fitting of the hinges by screws to the shroud is not by threads cut directly in the plastic but a small metal threaded insert embedded in the plastic, a nice little value add. How well it remains embedded in there I cannot guess however it shows no signs of coming loose so far. The tiny thumbscrews which support the flags need a bit of help otherwise the flags tend to slide out after a few packs and unpacks. Tiny spring washers which are the correct fit for the thumbscrews are a good fix. The bridge and rods which come with one version (JVC GY-HD*** and Canon XL camera style) are a handy accessory for supporting a long lens. After 12 months, unused threaded holes in the bridgepiece piece are showing signs of corrosion which suggests the metal may be a magnesium alloy. ( recycled aeroengine or VW engine blocks?) I recommend all bridgeplate screws be taken out, the threads lubed and periodically loosened and resecured otherwise they may become corroded in place over time. The bridgepiece fits to P+S rods fine. The internal finish of the holes is a bit coarse, okay for the cinecity rods which have a hard anodised surface finish. If you use the P+S Technik rods, a quick rub through of the bridgeplate holes with 600 grit wet and dry on a dowel and a good internal polish with a bit of steel wool is recommended so that the softer grey finish on the P+S rods is not injured. |
Thank you very much ..
Ok.. I already bought it.. So i probably will have to stick with it.. for now I hope its not that bad.. Definitly i will report on it.. cheers... |
Sorry.. was a bit busy ..
Well, i received it and the first impression was pretty good. Then i assembled it and sadly its not very good made when it comes down to details. Everything is a little bit loose. Which is bad because when i am doing fast Pans the whole thing kind of shakes a little bit and thats when you can see it in the picture. So i will have to make it more solid. The pieces themselves are made of aloy and plastic. They look good and precise enough. Except the Cameraplate which is rubbish. I use my own. The filters all fit into the filterholders. The Rods seem like they are made of steel. Pretty heavy. Well. I cant really recommend it that much. With customs i paid 722 Euros. And thats about 800 to 900 Dollars. I think i could recommend it to a price of 300 Euros. Because you get the pieces and than invest 1 or 2 Days to modify it so it works. Invest another 40 Euros into Screws etc. and make it rock solid. cheers, phil |
There's a company in the UK that makes them and much cheaper. The barn doors are optional.
True Lens Services |
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