It's decision time

Lisa Lee · October 31st, 2003, 09:46 PM

Alex we have the same B + W filters as well for ND. They do the job very well. The matte box gives the advantage of quickly changing the ND filters on the fly and taking a look as the image on the monitor as well as adding some other effects. We find that as the lighting changes we have to always change the ND filter...pain in arse... Otherwise we get those oh so lovely blown whites. This is mostly a convience thing, with the ability to add other filters as we see fit. If you have all the time you need to set up shots, unscrew the lens, etc, then the matte box is overkill. But the guy posting was looking for a matte box, so I just commented that we are getting the century optics brand.

We sometimes do medical imaging and we need to very quickly get the shot. You can't hold up someone's intestine and say, hey, can you wait while I change my ND filter...

Alex Raskin · October 31st, 2003, 10:00 PM

brrrr... graphic details... and this graphics is no video... :)

but seriously, I didn't get your point.

are you saying that you got inexpensive 4x4 filters? how inexpensive?

or are you saying that you are ready to pay $800 for the matte box and another $2000 for the ND and other filters?

Lisa Lee · November 2nd, 2003, 04:09 AM

You can get some kits of schneider filters for under $2-3K. But basically, yes, we're going to put down some cash for the filters as well.

I think I confused you by saying we have the B + W filters, but also are ordering the matte box and 4x4 filters. We are using the B + W filters to see which ND filters 4x, 8x, etc, that we actually need in our given situation before ordering the schneider filters (since they are so expensive). That is the reason we use the B + W filters for now. If we can justify the cost of the matte box and filters, the hospital will pay the costs.

I am not aware of other matte box options besides the century optics, if you are aware of a cheaper option of equal quality please let me know.

Alex Raskin · November 2nd, 2003, 07:00 AM

I'm out of my depth here, but looks like Chrosziel (German-made) and Cinevision(?) from Canada are popular ones. They have optional handles that attach to the matte box's support rods, btw.

Latter seems to be cheaper than former.

I haven't done much research on the subject though, sorry - still working with my B+W screw-on filters.

October 31st, 2003, 09:46 PM	#31
Lisa Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 86	Alex we have the same B + W filters as well for ND. They do the job very well. The matte box gives the advantage of quickly changing the ND filters on the fly and taking a look as the image on the monitor as well as adding some other effects. We find that as the lighting changes we have to always change the ND filter...pain in arse... Otherwise we get those oh so lovely blown whites. This is mostly a convience thing, with the ability to add other filters as we see fit. If you have all the time you need to set up shots, unscrew the lens, etc, then the matte box is overkill. But the guy posting was looking for a matte box, so I just commented that we are getting the century optics brand. We sometimes do medical imaging and we need to very quickly get the shot. You can't hold up someone's intestine and say, hey, can you wait while I change my ND filter...

October 31st, 2003, 10:00 PM	#32
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	brrrr... graphic details... and this graphics is no video... :) but seriously, I didn't get your point. are you saying that you got inexpensive 4x4 filters? how inexpensive? or are you saying that you are ready to pay $800 for the matte box and another $2000 for the ND and other filters?

November 2nd, 2003, 04:09 AM	#33
Lisa Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 86	You can get some kits of schneider filters for under $2-3K. But basically, yes, we're going to put down some cash for the filters as well. I think I confused you by saying we have the B + W filters, but also are ordering the matte box and 4x4 filters. We are using the B + W filters to see which ND filters 4x, 8x, etc, that we actually need in our given situation before ordering the schneider filters (since they are so expensive). That is the reason we use the B + W filters for now. If we can justify the cost of the matte box and filters, the hospital will pay the costs. I am not aware of other matte box options besides the century optics, if you are aware of a cheaper option of equal quality please let me know.

November 2nd, 2003, 07:00 AM	#34
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	I'm out of my depth here, but looks like Chrosziel (German-made) and Cinevision(?) from Canada are popular ones. They have optional handles that attach to the matte box's support rods, btw. Latter seems to be cheaper than former. I haven't done much research on the subject though, sorry - still working with my B+W screw-on filters.