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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Matte Box Woes

The vocas 450 swingout is $4,475.00 - which is only incrementally cheaper than the ARRI.

Which, I think, tells you something. Making a mattebox that is bulletproof and has all the weird features is... expensive and difficult. If your market is small, you have to price high. If your market is large, you can go lower. Obviously we're all seeing prices plummet as these tools become ever so sightly more "mass market".

The petroff I am selling: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=95225

Is WONDERFUL. But it's a little 4x4, won't fit the red lenses and doesn't swing out. And, while it is very cool looking, it won't take a nasty beating like the ARRI will or the vocas.

Of course if red, uhrm, basically copies the features of the vocas/arri swing out and sells it for 1/3 the price well who the hell am I to complain... right?
 
I disagree that things cannot be reliable and bulletproof without being expensive. I designed products for a fortune 500 company that sold for about $10K and carried a lifetime warranty... the cost of goods before markup was only $70. Many of these companies charge a fortune for their equipment because they have become bloated corporate entities that can't afford to sell it for anything less. In order to get these products to the market at a decent price you need a company that has low overhead, a great engineering staff, listens to the customers, and thinks about the manufacturing processes that go into the product. Not everything in the movie business needs to be machined out of billet aluminum and magnesium.
 
I was looking seriously at the MB-19, but now I think I will hold off and settle for something like the Red Rock for the short term, in the hopes the Red will make a move in the future. Has anyone tried the Cavision 16x9 with swing out?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...=CAMB565U3&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=442112

The price is nice, and it has an impressive features but it seems too heavy at 4.6 lbs. On a very shallow note, it's also quite ugly. A matte box is one of the major features to set the aesthetic of a camera. It would be a shame to spoil Red's sleek curves with something like this. All the more reason why Red or Curt should get into this market. :biggrin:
 
If we were to look at any matte box on the market to build on, which one would you guys suggest we look at? One other question... (pardon my ignorance) why are filters still being used when it seems like there is so much flexibility in the digital realm to do color correction in post?
 
CVB said:
One other question... (pardon my ignorance) why are filters still being used when it seems like there is so much flexibility in the digital realm to do color correction in post?
Click to expand...

lol are you serious cvb?

Put it this way, no one wants to be shooting at f22 all day.

A set of ND's will allow you to open up your iris and get that shallow depth of field by limiting the amount of light coming in while maintaining proper exposure.

If you handle all your exposure problems by just stopping down on your lens, not only do you limit your dof to a very deep one, but you also miss the "sweet spot" of most lens.

You can't fix dof problems and softness/ distortion in post.
 
OK, my bad.. You have to excuse me... I'm an engineer first and a cinema junkie second. Got it now.. Thanks Alexander.
 
CVB said:
One other question... (pardon my ignorance) why are filters still being used when it seems like there is so much flexibility in the digital realm to do color correction in post?
Click to expand...

The first ones that leap to mind are Polas, to control highlights and NDs, to control exposure...neither of which you can do as effectively in post.
 
Curt, check out Arri's MB20 with all the trimmings. That's just about my favorite MB ever. I wish it would swing out... but other than that, it's amazing.
 
Hehe, I had no idea you weren't a film maker Curt? Well you're a genius in my books never the less so my apologies if I came across as either arrogant or a royal a hole. :waaa:
 
I'm gonna bump this to OT now that it's big and popular... but not super RED related.

Curt: make a mattebox. :) If it's anything like your other products I've seen... heheheh
 
CVB said:
If we were to look at any matte box on the market to build on, which one would you guys suggest we look at?
Click to expand...

Arri's MB20 , with a swing away function as well. You'd sell those like hot cakes.
 
MMMMM I like hot cakes.
-A
 
Seriously though, I couldn't imagine a matte box costing anymore than $100 to manafacture at the most.

The mark up on matte boxes is ridiculously high. I'll give Red Rock's mb a try just based on their outlook on breaking the mold and not charing an arm and a leg.
 
Alexander Nikishin said:
Seriously though, I couldn't imagine a matte box costing anymore than $100 to manafacture at the most.

The mark up on matte boxes is ridiculously high. I'll give Red Rock's mb a try just based on their outlook on breaking the mold and not charing an arm and a leg.
Click to expand...

There is a fair amount that goes into a solid Arri MB. to make the stages spin independently and the whole thing to flip out and have a perfect fit and finish IMO would be more the $100 but definately not anywhere near the big$$ a lot of companies are charging. In the end I am sure we would all rather have Curts MB's cost a little more but be top quality in function fit and finish.
 
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