Home-made dv matte box at DVinfo.net

Charles King · March 21st, 2003, 05:24 PM

was wondering if anyone know of any links to sites that have drawings/plans on building a nice matte box for dv cameras? Thanks

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 22nd, 2003, 03:38 AM

Hello Charles !
Nice to see you here (seems we all end up on dvinfo.net)...

As it so happens there is an article on a home-made DV matte box right here on this site:
http://www.dvinfo.net/dvarticles/production/berube1.htm

BTW: Do you have any news about Ron Peperkamp? His webpage is down and I can't seem to reach him.

Oh, and I have another exclusive for your website: a very nice looking new little stabilizer from the famous company Beaulieu. I haven't tested it yet but should be able to fairly soon.

In french:
http://www.beaulieu-images.com/fluidcam.htm

In german:
http://www.beaulieu.de/pages/fluidcam.html

Very good price, too (compared to GlideCam in Europe).

Charles King · March 22nd, 2003, 04:15 AM

Thanks for your reply Steven. I'll check the links you posted. No. I too have been trying to get in touch with him but to no avail. His e-mail is also not valid any more. I'll get back to you.

Charles King · March 22nd, 2003, 04:35 AM

Steven, I must have missed something but there is no how-to article or plans at the link you gave me.

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 22nd, 2003, 04:49 AM

Sorry, you're right. I confused two links.
I know I saw a page with plans very recently but I just can't seem to find the link again right now...
Maybe someone else has it. I'll keep looking.

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 22nd, 2003, 04:56 AM

Maybe it was this article (from the original DIY series):
http://www.super8mm.org/pdf/v9n1.pdf

A bit old but I can't seem to find anything else in my archived links right now.

Charles King · March 22nd, 2003, 04:58 AM

Thanks. I'll keep looking

Cosmin Rotaru · March 28th, 2003, 08:41 AM

So, is it done, yet? The matte box, I mean!

Actualy, just wanted to say "Hi!" to an old friend! :)

Charles King · March 28th, 2003, 08:47 AM

Hi there Cosmin. Cool to see you here as well. Yep, almost done. I'll post it on the site when it's done.

Charles King · March 29th, 2003, 01:30 AM

Here's the link to the my homebuilt/kitbashed mattebox cosmin:

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/mattebox.html

Dylan Couper · March 29th, 2003, 03:39 AM

Looks cool!
What did you make the bellows out of and how long did it take?

Charles King · March 29th, 2003, 05:13 AM

I got the bellows from a photography store that sold it to me cheap. So that part was not that hard to put together. Like I mentioned it is a kitbash/homebuilt model. The 'flags' were taken from an old spot-light. I sand-blasted the parts after long hours of removing the paint, which were terribly stuck together and spray-painted it a base color before painting it black. The flags could have also been made from thin aluminum sheets which is easier to cut into profiles.
I incerted new screws making the flags easier to adjust. The rod that the flags are attached to are pre-bent for that rectangular look.
The black Mask at the front end of the matte box was done from cutting out a thin piece of poster board bought from a stationary store. I had to lend support to the entire box by attaching a 2mm steel plate under the camera that holds both the matte box and the camera in place for more studiness. So there you have it.

Christopher Go · March 29th, 2003, 07:13 AM

I'm impressed, that looks great - very professional looking and well made. You could probably sell it and get a good price too. About how long and how much did you invest to create it?

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 29th, 2003, 07:23 AM

Yup, great design as usual, Charles ! :-)

(You might want to change XL-2 to XM-2 in your text or else you'll probably start yet another rumor and get inundated with email asking you about it ;-))

One question though, does your design allow you to change the distance between the lens front and the filter? And if not, aren't the bellows mainly cosmetic?

Charles King · March 29th, 2003, 08:34 AM

"About how long and how much did you invest to create it?"

Thanks for the kind remark Christopher. I invested about a 100 dollars. Not bad considering what those professional ones cost. It took me two days to make. If I want something, I want it now. :)

Steven-Marc ,

"(You might want to change XL-2 to XM-2 in your text or else you'll probably start yet another rumor and get inundated with email asking you about it ;-))"

I was referring to the XL-2. You probably misunderstood the sentence. I was referring to the pic of the XL-2 mounted on a handheld support grip like the link below: http://www.cavision.com/Mattbox/for_canon.htm

...and yes Steven-Marc, the distance between the lens front and the filter can be adjusted.

March 21st, 2003, 05:24 PM	#1
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Home-made dv matte box was wondering if anyone know of any links to sites that have drawings/plans on building a nice matte box for dv cameras? Thanks __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 22nd, 2003, 03:38 AM	#2
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Hello Charles ! Nice to see you here (seems we all end up on dvinfo.net)... As it so happens there is an article on a home-made DV matte box right here on this site: http://www.dvinfo.net/dvarticles/production/berube1.htm BTW: Do you have any news about Ron Peperkamp? His webpage is down and I can't seem to reach him. Oh, and I have another exclusive for your website: a very nice looking new little stabilizer from the famous company Beaulieu. I haven't tested it yet but should be able to fairly soon. In french: http://www.beaulieu-images.com/fluidcam.htm In german: http://www.beaulieu.de/pages/fluidcam.html Very good price, too (compared to GlideCam in Europe). __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 22nd, 2003, 04:15 AM	#3
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	matte box Thanks for your reply Steven. I'll check the links you posted. No. I too have been trying to get in touch with him but to no avail. His e-mail is also not valid any more. I'll get back to you. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 22nd, 2003, 04:35 AM	#4
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	matte box Steven, I must have missed something but there is no how-to article or plans at the link you gave me. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 22nd, 2003, 04:49 AM	#5
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Sorry, you're right. I confused two links. I know I saw a page with plans very recently but I just can't seem to find the link again right now... Maybe someone else has it. I'll keep looking. __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 22nd, 2003, 04:56 AM	#6
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Maybe it was this article (from the original DIY series): http://www.super8mm.org/pdf/v9n1.pdf A bit old but I can't seem to find anything else in my archived links right now. __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 22nd, 2003, 04:58 AM	#7
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Thanks. I'll keep looking __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 28th, 2003, 08:41 AM	#8
Cosmin Rotaru Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Romania, Timisoara Posts: 453	Hi Charles! So, is it done, yet? The matte box, I mean! Actualy, just wanted to say "Hi!" to an old friend! :)

March 28th, 2003, 08:47 AM	#9
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	matte box Hi there Cosmin. Cool to see you here as well. Yep, almost done. I'll post it on the site when it's done. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 29th, 2003, 01:30 AM	#10
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	matte box up Here's the link to the my homebuilt/kitbashed mattebox cosmin: http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/mattebox.html __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 29th, 2003, 03:39 AM	#11
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Looks cool! What did you make the bellows out of and how long did it take? __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

March 29th, 2003, 05:13 AM	#12
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	matte box I got the bellows from a photography store that sold it to me cheap. So that part was not that hard to put together. Like I mentioned it is a kitbash/homebuilt model. The 'flags' were taken from an old spot-light. I sand-blasted the parts after long hours of removing the paint, which were terribly stuck together and spray-painted it a base color before painting it black. The flags could have also been made from thin aluminum sheets which is easier to cut into profiles. I incerted new screws making the flags easier to adjust. The rod that the flags are attached to are pre-bent for that rectangular look. The black Mask at the front end of the matte box was done from cutting out a thin piece of poster board bought from a stationary store. I had to lend support to the entire box by attaching a 2mm steel plate under the camera that holds both the matte box and the camera in place for more studiness. So there you have it. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

March 29th, 2003, 07:13 AM	#13
Christopher Go Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 429	I'm impressed, that looks great - very professional looking and well made. You could probably sell it and get a good price too. About how long and how much did you invest to create it?

March 29th, 2003, 07:23 AM	#14
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Yup, great design as usual, Charles ! :-) (You might want to change XL-2 to XM-2 in your text or else you'll probably start yet another rumor and get inundated with email asking you about it ;-)) One question though, does your design allow you to change the distance between the lens front and the filter? And if not, aren't the bellows mainly cosmetic? __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 29th, 2003, 08:34 AM	#15
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	"About how long and how much did you invest to create it?" Thanks for the kind remark Christopher. I invested about a 100 dollars. Not bad considering what those professional ones cost. It took me two days to make. If I want something, I want it now. :) Steven-Marc , "(You might want to change XL-2 to XM-2 in your text or else you'll probably start yet another rumor and get inundated with email asking you about it ;-))" I was referring to the XL-2. You probably misunderstood the sentence. I was referring to the pic of the XL-2 mounted on a handheld support grip like the link below: http://www.cavision.com/Mattbox/for_canon.htm ...and yes Steven-Marc, the distance between the lens front and the filter can be adjusted. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'