Polar Pro Basecamp vs ??? - Thoughts on Matte Box?

[Russell M Johnston]

So kinda open-ended question here since there are so many different ones on the market. The new Polar Pro Basecamp has me looking for sure since its so lightweight and I love the VND function on it. I dont own any filters at the current moment outside of a 82mm ND that I use on photo lens. Now we just bought a set of GL Optics Sigma Zooms and looking what move I should make. Get a Matte Box and run that or stick to screw on filters for the time being. I shoot alot of really fast run and gun style work. Handheld most of the time, but shoulder rig getting more and more use. Outside of the we use the Movi Pro alot for tracking shots during racing and wildlife shoots. I also have a Sigma 120-300 and use a Sigma 60-600mm for shoots so a Matte Box would help with some ND on those lens. Any help is great. Thank You

 

[Andrew Reese]

I recommend both scenarios (i.e. matte box and screw on filters) depending on your needs (i.e. traveling vs. on set or gimbal vs. hand held). Also, when investing in filters I would consider what lenses your crew may rent from time to time and make sure you have filters that can cover most of your needs so you don't have to rent additional filters / matte-boxes. I shoot on Red Gemini with Canon CN-E Cine Primes (114mm fronts) and also vintage cine-modded Canon FD's with 80mm fronts / 77mm filter threads. I use a NiSi 1.5-5 stop 77mm screw in variable ND on the smaller glass (FD's) which I usually travel with and also run on a gimbal a lot. Then I also have a Bright Tangerine Misfit Atom which fits (114-80mm fronts with optional donuts) with 4x5.65 NiSi nano irnd filters. This allows me to go run-and gun with the variable ND as a screw in option on smaller setups but also be adaptable for more professional scenarios with true cinema / anamorphic lenses which will require a traditional matte-box and 4x5.65 filters. The Bright Tangerine is very light and the rubber outer can come off as well which makes it very minimal for gimbal set-ups as well if need be. Having all NiSi filters (the same make and model) allows me to be interchangeable without any color casts from varying filter brands which is something you want to consider. The NiSi are very clean filters (best bang for buck in my opinion) and I prefer them over Firecrest Ultra's but I also recommend Schneider rhodium or Tokina's (if you can afford it) as I believe the best available on the market right now.