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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 :)

Mattebox: What´s a better choice ?

Ordered an Arri MB 20 II and a Chrosziel CZ204 Studio Rig Follow Focus yesterday. Hope I won´t run into problems with the MB 20´s fit somewhere. Got the Red Bridge plate. Any advcice ?

Frank
 
KLang said:
Yes I am using the red element plate. I will post pics when I get back in town.
Thanks
Click to expand...

I had alignment problems with my MB 20 as well. I talked to ET and this was the prompt response:

"Hans,

Stephen sent me your message about your alignment issue.

As he mentioned, the red doesn't have an alignment hole as most arri cameras do. Stephen explained pretty thoroughly how he likes to line up the bridge plate and I can give you my method as well.

Strip the camera down and turn it upside down so the 3/8 - 16 holes are facing up. Then put on the bridge plate, but only very loosely. You will notice that there is a small ammount of play built into it so you can turn it a little in each direction. You can also notice that the part of the bridge plate that is toward the rear of the camera is approximately the same width as the bottom of the camera body itself. Run your fingers along each side of the bridge plate and make sure that it is even on both sides. Then tighten down the screws.

This should place your bridge plate in the proper alignment. If you find that it is still a little off, you may need to loosen the screws slightly when your lens and matte box are on the camera and rotate the camera on the bridge plate until you find the right alignment and then tighten the screws.

Let me know if this makes sense and solves your issue.

Chris Burket"

I'm posting this here because it made my day. The ET guys are not only great in engineering but also in service.

Hans
 
Hans von Sonntag said:
I had alignment problems with my MB 20 as well. I talked to ET and this was the prompt response:

"Hans,

Stephen sent me your message about your alignment issue.

As he mentioned, the red doesn't have an alignment hole as most arri cameras do. Stephen explained pretty thoroughly how he likes to line up the bridge plate and I can give you my method as well.

Strip the camera down and turn it upside down so the 3/8 - 16 holes are facing up. Then put on the bridge plate, but only very loosely. You will notice that there is a small ammount of play built into it so you can turn it a little in each direction. You can also notice that the part of the bridge plate that is toward the rear of the camera is approximately the same width as the bottom of the camera body itself. Run your fingers along each side of the bridge plate and make sure that it is even on both sides. Then tighten down the screws.

This should place your bridge plate in the proper alignment. If you find that it is still a little off, you may need to loosen the screws slightly when your lens and matte box are on the camera and rotate the camera on the bridge plate until you find the right alignment and then tighten the screws.

Let me know if this makes sense and solves your issue.

Chris Burket"

I'm posting this here because it made my day. The ET guys are not only great in engineering but also in service.

Hans
Click to expand...

So this means that it´s definitely possible to use the MB 20 without problems ?
 
harryclark said:
Cheap follow focus devices, tripods, and matteboxes will all conspire to brand you a second-stringer. When DPs ask for an MB-14 they expect to see an MB-14, not the "closest thing". When your 18-month old off-brand follow focus falls apart, you will regret buying it. When you bobble a once-in-a-lifetime shot because your B&H Special tripod for $1,500 has lousy action you will be sorry.
Stick with pro gear. You are a pro. Aren't you?
Cheers,
Harry
Click to expand...

I agree that gear with a bad build quality or lousy support is, over time, a bad investment. But I think it's a poor choice to always buy the primary name brand without considering the lesser known brands. If we only bought from well established industry leaders, none of us would be using Red. The more brand variety in the field, the less likely a particular brand will be requested, the more we can carry what we want to carry and use what WE find works best. If some component is found for a low price and is just as good as the more expensive product, then it's good to support that off brand.

If someone questions your professionalism based on your gear, then you may need to push the quality of your final product rather than the tools you use. I would hope that people are more concerned about what you add to the end result than the means you use to get there. If, during a job, a specific product is requested, you could always just rent that particular item. Cheaper than buying every known popular product in the industry.
 
Jones said:
Ordered an Arri MB 20 II and a Chrosziel CZ204 Studio Rig Follow Focus yesterday. Hope I won´t run into problems with the MB 20´s fit somewhere. Got the Red Bridge plate. Any advcice ?

Frank
Click to expand...

Congratulations on the MB-20 II order... just received mine on Tuesday from AbelCine... I'm very impressed with the build quality.
 
KLang said:
I have a MB20 for my 15mm Red setup and can not get it to align right with any of my lenses Ultra Primes Zeiss standards or my 25-250.
It has up down adjustment but no side to side. Anyone else have any issues?
Click to expand...

There is a side to side adjustment.
Right beside the knob you pull up to swing open the matte box, there is a black knob beside a blue knob.
There is also a corresponding set of black & blue knobs at the bottom of the matte box.

If you loosen the top and bottom blue knobs, you'll find the adjacent black knob is on a cam which adjust the matte box side to side.
I think the play is about 3mm. Now if you wish to a adventerous you can pull the matte box out even further (approx 1cm) past the locking range of the black knobs.
Be careful to tighten the blue knobs very tight or the matte box will slip off the swing arm rods.
This will move the matte box to the left. If you don't have enought adjustment to the right,
I suggest shims between the lightweight support console bracket and the swing arm assembly.
You may have to purchase 2 longer screws which fix the console bracket to the swing arm assembly. Hope it helps.
D
 
David is correct about the adjustment capabilities in the MB20-II, but you shouldn't need to purchase any longer screws to fit it on a RED. Use the above mention instructions for correctly mounting your ET bridgeplate and you should have no problems. I have seen it done on a RED in both 15 & 19 (as well as lightweight 15mm) so you should not have an issue.
 
dmacleod said:
I hear ya. That is what suprised me about Vocas...it was about the same price as an ARRI.

It is the service availability (or lack thereof) that is a problem. Seems the Netherlands is the only place that will service it.
Click to expand...

The main problem with the Vocas is that every single piece is built upon the plastic 'scoop' rather than on some sort of support.

What is the most common part of a mattebox that would need occasional repair/replacement? It's the plastic scoop. On the Vocas you would have to remove literally hundreds of little screws, pieces, pins and locks to fix the scoop (which is why I haven't offered to help Dylan rebuild his yet :) )

Like many things, it's great until you need to fix it.
 
Lowkus,
I agree that slavishly sticking to "brand-name" gear for no good reason is foolish. And there may be cases where the knockoff is in some ways better. I, in fact, have several sets of Luma-brand tripods. They look just like my Ronford-Bakers, equally heavy-duty, but are made of titanium and are fantastically lightweight (for a heavy-duty Mitchell top tripod) Best of all, they are half the price of the Ronfords. But before I bought a set, I spoke to the guys at CSC about how the Lumas were holding up in rental vs. the Ronfords, and it seemed as though they were doing fine. So in some cases, if you do your due diligence (which is what this post is all about, surely) you can be smart and save money as well.
But I stand by my statement that if (if you are a rental house) you have a request for a certain mattebox, that you actually supply that mattebox. If you are an equipment owner, you'll learn that cheap follow focuses fall apart. And if you are a DP executing a tough shot and that Manfrotto that you're sporting makes your work look amateurish then it is indeed a bad bargain.
Others may disagree.
Cheers,
Harry
 
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