Re: Matte box
 

Good for you Tom. That is what you set out to do and you did it. I hope it works out for you. Funny how different we all are. Noa sold that cam to you because he does not like the size of a semi-shoulder cam. To big for his taste. You are purposely turning it into a behemoth to suit your taste. A couple of wireless mics, a 10" monitor on the cold shoe, and you will be all set....don't forget the fuzzy dice!

Steve

Re: Matte box
 

I have the Kamerar mattebox, it's not bad for the price...it's made of plastic but it's pretty solid (the flags are aluminum)

Re: Matte box
 

Nice Tom

Is that the "CamShade" model by Camtree that you have that Camerakings sell for GBP 125 ??? It looks pretty darn good too.

There is no mistaking your camera for a pro camera now and I like the fact that the rails are short so it doesn't interfere with the shoulder mount pad! Is that the Camtree Quick release rail you have? I think they are 300mm long so they should be just the right length and also have both camera plates and tripod plates. I had a look at CineCity and they have the CamShade for $130 and the Mini rail for $110 !! (That's without shipping of course) but still a good price for a very neat system. I think I might be tempted to get one for each of my cameras so I can also have two behemoths ..they look pretty cool I must admit!!!

Just for interest Camtree also make the ENG rig and belt that takes all the weight off the front of the camera for you and it fits your rail system perfectly too... if you are doing handhelds it's really worth getting!

Chris

Re: Matte box
 

the camtree flags are the same. Also alumium, at least not made of plastic.

Re: Matte box
 

Hey Chris,

Yes, the camshade mattebox for GBP 125. Pretty cheap and good quality to me.
And the camtree hunt mini quick release rod support, also from the same shop but this was not listed on their website! But they had it but still not published on theit website.

The camtree eng rig looks nice but I only need the shoulderpad and counterweight.

Like you see in the picture I have a counterweight from 1,2 kg. Handheld made by a person specialised in making all things of metal (don't know the wright word for this)

With his "saw" he cut a piece from a metal round bar. IS this good he asked? I said just perfect. He painted it black with special black metal spray. He tapped a new screw (M6) into the shoulder pad of the sony.

Maybe I go back for a heavier one (or an extra one, there are 2 holes in the shoulder pad). At that time I didn't had the mattebox. Now there is more weight in the front. Hope this helps

Chris[/QUOTE]

Re: Matte box
 

Thanks Tom

They look good value for money in my opinion. Ah! so you are using a counterbalance on the back. I have my light battery pack and my radio mics on a little strip of aluminium that screws to the top of the shoulder pad 1/4" threads. Something you might like to think about if you need more weight, is to simply make up a simple aluminium bar and move the weight further back which will make the fulcrum point change and the front will be even lighter.

The reason I don't really use a weight is that I'm using different lenses so the front weight changes quite often, however it might be an idea to partially transfer some weight backwards so even though the camera is not technically balanced it will still be lighter up front. I still need to decide if I need a heavier camera on my shoulder or a more supported but lighter one ??? Is an extra 1 - 2kg on the entire rig going to kill you shoulder at the end of an 8 hour wedding ???

Chris

Re: Matte box
 

CHris,

I"m also using different lenses. Mostly the samyang lens or the stocklens. But without a counterweight this is not possible. The frontweight is too much.

With a bigger camcorder like my setup now people really think I'm from television. Sometimes someone ask if I want to film for them.(a stage event, music clip,)

Re: Matte box
 

Hi Tom

Actually I would have killed for a matte box yesterday at my wedding shoot ...we had sun coming in from angles we couldn't avoid and some flags definitely would have helped a LOT!!

If you make a bracket/camp arrangement behind your camera so the weight can slide back and forth, you can then have it so it can be closer to the pad when the lighter lens is being used and then slide it further back when a heavier lens (like the stock lens) is on the camera.

Chris

Re: Matte box ProAim = junk
 

I had a ProAim (insert your India based shell company name here) matte box. It was total junk and didn't even fit my camera as advertised. The company offered a full refund saying half will be paypal'd back upon poof of return shipment, balancing upon receipt. They asked first for good photos showing the problems, as if they didn't know!

After I provided photos, then provided proof of return shipmen, they came up with every excuse in the book about how they didn't have any paypal funds, they were broke, wah-wah-wah. Then when they received their ProAim (insert your india based shell company name here) garbage back, they refused to issue a full refund, only sending half.

The matte box itself was way out of tolerance, the rails were heavily shot-peened to hide all the surface mishandling, the matte box pivot was sloppy beyond all belief and the matte box would not slide on the rails as the rails and blocks were out of alignment.

Total scammers and junk products, you've been warned.

Re: Matte box
 

Hi Dave

ProAim was an older brand and tolerances were not very good as was workmanship. Obviously the Cam Tree brands are made elsewhere and quality isn't bad at all. You get what you pay for and a $500 matt box is going to be a lot better than a $130 one. I have had no issues with fitting and robustness with the camtree products.

The base company that markets the gear is Cine City and they have various offshoots on eBay with different names and logos. About 5 years ago I bought a Flycam from them and the tolerances were really bad and I sold it ..however they did get better and my current sled came from them ..it required me to replace all bearings with decent ones and do some engineering mods BUT that still cost me way less than a genuine unit from the USA that would have been 5 times the price. They make pretty good basic stuff but most will need your own skills in DIY mods.

Chris