hello all,
I recently purchased the century optics .06 wa adapter for the xl1. I plan on buying a sunshade because i can't afford a mattebox at this time. the shade i'm looking at says it will fit 4 1/2" slide filters. Just wondering if anyone can suggest a place to start searching for these types of filters? Thanks in advance!

I'm confused. What do you mean by "sunshade" -vs- "mattebox"?

Ken,
Perhaps sunshade and mattebox are in fact the same thing. To be honest, I don't know. It just seems as though they're titled as such at century. (The difference being about a hundred bucks!) The mattebox takes 4X4 filters whereas the "sunshade" takes 4-1/2 " drop in filters. Not much more of a description beyond that. I'm not familiar with either so maybe you could let me know what the difference is and whether you had a preference. This is all sort of new to me so I apologize for any confusion.

Aha, I understand your confusion. Century has actually confused you.

The "sunshade" product is actually more or less a matte box & filter holder which can accommodate two 4"x4" (NOT 4-1/2") glass filters. (By the photo, its value as a lens shading device is doubtful.)

You will be able to find 4x4 filters from a wide variety of sources; they are not an unusual product. Try one this site's sponsors, ZGC.com. I'm sure that B&H Photo (bhphoto.com) will have a large variety. Century will, of course, also offer a variety of them.

Ken,
Once again thanks for the info. Maybe I should re-think the sunshade thing from century. My only concern is that I have nothing on the front of the camera when I attach the adapter. I'd also like to invest in some filters somewhere down the line. As per alotta folks I'm on a limited budget whereas I have to weigh the affordability/quality issue. Any suggestions on a mid-range matte box?
thanks.

Dan Buchmann

If you are looking for a good value on a matte box, try www.cavision.com They make an XL1 specific model for a reasonable price.

I'd second Dylan's recommendation re: CAVision. They've had some quality control and customer service issues in the past but, according to a few recent reports from members here, they are cleaning-up their act.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll certainly check out Cavision.