TRUSMT Matte Box review

[Mike Garrick]

@ Nick Morrison

Unfortunately this appears to be the "big secret" about Tangerene .....no one knows or is to afraid to state a price & also its bloody ridiculous. The various websites all list components but no prices , you get a price by asking for a quote, WTF ! I don't want a house built on a slopping site, I just want a MB ! AND I don't want to be upsold by a salesmen who now has my contact details . In my opinion buy an O'connor at least you can look at their shopping list and budget accordingly & until Tangerene stop being so secretive, they don't deserve the business .

In regards to the Trusmt MB yep its cheap & I imagine works better than the indian versions. There appears to be alot of "price snobs' saying that you should only pay top dollar for something that will last to the next "Ice age." However what many miss is if you don't have the funds right now & you have a job next week that will help get the better MB why not buy the cheaper MB use it until it till falls apart whilst saving for the better one at a latter point in time.

As the O.P. stated there a things to dislike about it but there are also things to like, out side of price. At the end of the day this item mightn't have a big Arri logo on it but it does the job for the dollars. All gear is a compromise one way or another ..........even the super expensive stuff.

[Yousuf Abbasi]

@ Nick Morrison

Unfortunately this appears to be the "big secret" about Tangerene .....no one knows or is to afraid to state a price & also its bloody ridiculous. The various websites all list components but no prices , you get a price by asking for a quote, WTF ! I'm don't want a house built on a slopping site, I just want a MB ! AND I don't want to be upsold by a salesmen who now has my contact details . In my opinion buy an O'connor at least you can look at their shopping list and budget accordingly & until Tangerene stop being so secretive, they don't deserve the business .

In regards to the Trusmt MB yep its cheap & I imagine works better than the indian versions. There appears to be alot of "price snobs' saying that you should only pay top dollar for something that will last to the next "Ice age." However what many miss is if you don't have the funds right now & you have a job next week that will help get the better MB why not buy the cheaper MB use it until it till falls apart whilst saving for the better one at a latter point in time.

As the O.P. stated there a things to dislike about it but there are also things to like, out side of price. At the end of the day this item mightn't have a big Arri logo on it but it does the job for the dollars. All gear is a compromise one way or another ..........even the super expensive stuff.

Mick, Agree 100%

[Matt Ryan]

@ Nick Morrison

Unfortunately this appears to be the "big secret" about Tangerene .....no one knows or is to afraid to state a price & also its bloody ridiculous. The various websites all list components but no prices , you get a price by asking for a quote, WTF ! I don't want a house built on a slopping site, I just want a MB ! AND I don't want to be upsold by a salesmen who now has my contact details . In my opinion buy an O'connor at least you can look at their shopping list and budget accordingly & until Tangerene stop being so secretive, they don't deserve the business .

In regards to the Trusmt MB yep its cheap & I imagine works better than the indian versions. There appears to be alot of "price snobs' saying that you should only pay top dollar for something that will last to the next "Ice age." However what many miss is if you don't have the funds right now & you have a job next week that will help get the better MB why not buy the cheaper MB use it until it till falls apart whilst saving for the better one at a latter point in time.

As the O.P. stated there a things to dislike about it but there are also things to like, out side of price. At the end of the day this item mightn't have a big Arri logo on it but it does the job for the dollars. All gear is a compromise one way or another ..........even the super expensive stuff.

Pricing isn't a secret and I can tell you Curt only charges MSRP for the units. Camadeus has raised their price a bit. The reason no prices are listed is due to the wide variet of accessories and options available for each kit. It would end up being more confusing to people if they had 12 prices for each mattebox (due to all the available options and accessories). As for their website, this is just temporary to give people an intro into the products. Official launch was scheduled for September but threw something together when they started to get a lot of interest. Stop flaming the company when you haven't even attempted to contact Bright Tangerine or a distributor for details. Call or email Curt and he will answer your questions before you hand over your info.

As to your comment about not having funds and a shoot coming up, you can always rent.

If you guys have questions about Bright Tangerine call or email Curt for details. He's a regular guy who's distributing, not a company. The full Bright Tangerine site should be up and running in September so hopefully more info would be readily available.

Back to the OP, I wasn't intending to rip on you, just speaking from experience. I have owned several matte boxes in the past ranging in price from cheap to mid level and learned my lesson. In the end it's all about if your happy with your purchase and if the value is worth it to you.

Cheers

[Brad Webb]

The rule for expensive items is "if you have to ask how much it is, you can't afford it."

I was looking into Bright Tangerine, but when I found out the guy was from Arri, I realized the prices would be near Arri. That was more than I wanted to spend on mattebox at this time. So I started looking at cheap alternatives and I think I found one of the better cheap alternatives. I wrote the review for people in the same situation. I wrote it honestly and I did my best to stay objective and not sway opinion one way or the other.

[Matt Ryan]

Hey Brad not blaming you for anything. I too wanted to throw in my opinion. You got what worked for you an that's fine. Glad you are pleased with the purchase. At that price you definitely can't beat it.

The Bright Tangerine VIV is priced like the OBox, the Strummer kit is significantly lower than an Arri MB20, and their other two clip on models are less than both. The goal for Andy and Bright Tangerine was to provide a matte box that was far superior to Arri, and make them upgrade able as to not needing to own multiple matte boxes for different uses, and offering them at less than the competition. Before distribution was set up Andy would call me personally from wherever he was traveling to demo the unit to speak to me and answer my questions. To me, that says a lot about a person and a company. I even told him I wasn't really looking to purchase but wanted more info. Camadeus here in LA is notorious for not responding to inquires which is why I suggest calling or emailing Curt. I am sure once the real Bright Tangerine site is up a complete pricing list will be included. When I purchased they didn't have a comprehensive price list or even a basic description of each product. Why? Because at that point the company consisted of only one man, Andy. Basically he left Arri, designed these matte boxes and accessories, took out a large loan and began a production run. He then went around with the units all over the world and to trade shows to demo the unit. Recently he hired several employees which I believe is now up to 6. At one point Andy was receiving hundreds of emails a day and personally responding to each or calling to speak over the phone. I'm adamant about the company based on the passion Andy has and after going out on a limb and purchasing the Strummer and seeing how amazing and revolutionary the product really is. Even after I received it he said please email me any and all criticism you may have so I can improve the product. He is even implementing a height adjustment on the Strummer now due to user input and will be sending the upgraded part to existing owners at no charge. He openly welcomes ideas and criticism in the name of improving his matte boxes.

Anyways, that's it for the rant. Just wanted to clear up the some what bad name the company has for their lack of public info. Again if you have any question contact Curt, he's a good guy, not a business. In the near future Bright Tangerine will have more public info and reviews out there. Remember the first production run was just completed less than a month ago. Anyone remember a situation like this back in 2007? I think everyone here does. Give them a break and as time passes things will get much smoother.

Best,
Matt

[Ned Wilson]

Pricing isn't a secret and I can tell you Curt only charges MSRP for the units. Camadeus has raised their price a bit. The reason no prices are listed is due to the wide variet of accessories and options available for each kit. It would end up being more confusing to people if they had 12 prices for each mattebox (due to all the available options and accessories). As for their website, this is just temporary to give people an intro into the products. Official launch was scheduled for September but threw something together when they started to get a lot of interest. Stop flaming the company when you haven't even attempted to contact Bright Tangerine or a distributor for details. Call or email Curt and he will answer your questions before you hand over your info.

As to your comment about not having funds and a shoot coming up, you can always rent.

If you guys have questions about Bright Tangerine call or email Curt for details. He's a regular guy who's distributing, not a company. The full Bright Tangerine site should be up and running in September so hopefully more info would be readily available.

Back to the OP, I wasn't intending to rip on you, just speaking from experience. I have owned several matte boxes in the past ranging in price from cheap to mid level and learned my lesson. In the end it's all about if your happy with your purchase and if the value is worth it to you.

Cheers

If I can easily get prices for every Arri combination and part, I see no reason why Bright Tangerine can't do it. Sure, it'll take a bit of work to break it down and integrate into a site, but it'll pay for itself in more product sold. Make the buyer experience simple and easy and you'll be showered with riches. Eitherway, I'll be seriously looking into BT. If there all what folks say they are, my MB 20 will be on the market.

[Matt Ryan]

If I can easily get prices for every Arri combination and part, I see no reason why Bright Tangerine can't do it. Sure, it'll take a bit of work to break it down and integrate into a site, but it'll pay for itself in more product sold. Make the buyer experience simple and easy and you'll be showered with riches. Eitherway, I'll be seriously looking into BT. If there all what folks say they are, my MB 20 will be on the market.

Hey Ned,
Why not contact a distributor to get pricing details? They have prices for every part. Arri doesn't list prices on their site either, only the distributor sites.