Brevis Mattebox at DVinfo.net

David Zaugh · June 14th, 2007, 03:09 PM

Can anyone provide a review of the Brevis Mattebox? I am thinking of buying one to use with my Brevis and HVX-200. This is my first filmmaking camera (I am a professional still photographer), and was wondering how vital it is to have a mattebox. Most of my filmmaking will be outdoors on this first film, using that good ol' light in the sky. I use lens shades often with my still work...so just curious about the flip side of things here with this medium. Thank you in advance.

Dennis Wood · June 14th, 2007, 07:03 PM

David, regardless of which mattebox you end up using, you'll appreciate them immediately. I spent the afternoon shooting a PSA with the XH-A1, Brevis, Rails, 24mm lens, and our mattebox on steadicam. It was my first time using the rig with a Marshall 7" HD monitor and 12V power supply...so not a feather-weight rig. We had a .9 ND and polarizer filter installed. With everything to pay attention to when shooting with an adapter on steadicam, it was great to just pop the filters in and do a quick rotate of the filter stages to set up the polarizer for our shots. We were also able to cheat a few shots into the 2pm sun as the french flag shaded the lens perfectly. I was wanting to keep the 24mm at f2.8 for maximum depth of field, so the CP, ND.9, and a bit of the XH-A1's ND filter allowed setting the XH at f4 or so for max sharpness. Switching to 50mm only required sliding the mattebox forward an inch, installing the lens, and sliding it back..with the same filter setup intact.

Until playing with 35mm adapters, I had never used a follow focus or mattebox before. It would be really hard to go back now.

David Zaugh · June 15th, 2007, 03:05 AM

thanks dennis. speaking of focus follow systems...you mentioned you had one coming out in about 6 weeks...are you still on target with that, and do you feel comfortable giving a price or a price range on that item?

Dennis Wood · June 15th, 2007, 05:32 PM

So far so good..and pricing should be well under $600 including one of our aluminum universal focus rings. The unit should have been done a while ago, but we're being very particular with respect to gear lash, and a few of the finer design points. Here's a few frame grabs btw, from that shoot with the mattebox mounted up.

June 14th, 2007, 03:09 PM	#1
David Zaugh New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 6	Brevis Mattebox Can anyone provide a review of the Brevis Mattebox? I am thinking of buying one to use with my Brevis and HVX-200. This is my first filmmaking camera (I am a professional still photographer), and was wondering how vital it is to have a mattebox. Most of my filmmaking will be outdoors on this first film, using that good ol' light in the sky. I use lens shades often with my still work...so just curious about the flip side of things here with this medium. Thank you in advance. __________________ Be Well, David Zaugh

June 15th, 2007, 03:05 AM	#3
David Zaugh New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 6	thanks dennis. speaking of focus follow systems...you mentioned you had one coming out in about 6 weeks...are you still on target with that, and do you feel comfortable giving a price or a price range on that item? __________________ Be Well, David Zaugh

June 14th, 2007, 07:03 PM	#2
Dennis Wood Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 916	David, regardless of which mattebox you end up using, you'll appreciate them immediately. I spent the afternoon shooting a PSA with the XH-A1, Brevis, Rails, 24mm lens, and our mattebox on steadicam. It was my first time using the rig with a Marshall 7" HD monitor and 12V power supply...so not a feather-weight rig. We had a .9 ND and polarizer filter installed. With everything to pay attention to when shooting with an adapter on steadicam, it was great to just pop the filters in and do a quick rotate of the filter stages to set up the polarizer for our shots. We were also able to cheat a few shots into the 2pm sun as the french flag shaded the lens perfectly. I was wanting to keep the 24mm at f2.8 for maximum depth of field, so the CP, ND.9, and a bit of the XH-A1's ND filter allowed setting the XH at f4 or so for max sharpness. Switching to 50mm only required sliding the mattebox forward an inch, installing the lens, and sliding it back..with the same filter setup intact. Until playing with 35mm adapters, I had never used a follow focus or mattebox before. It would be really hard to go back now.

June 15th, 2007, 05:32 PM	#4
Dennis Wood Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 916	So far so good..and pricing should be well under $600 including one of our aluminum universal focus rings. The unit should have been done a while ago, but we're being very particular with respect to gear lash, and a few of the finer design points. Here's a few frame grabs btw, from that shoot with the mattebox mounted up.