Poor Man's Matte Box at DVinfo.net

Chris Swanberg · January 19th, 2008, 08:12 PM

Well... like many here I have been astounded at the prices of matte boxes. I had recently had the pleasure of buying some barn doors from one of our members (www.coollightsbiz.com) with the idea of putting them on quartz worklights for which they were designed. (I did add one set and am very happy with the result btw.)

Well, curiousity got the best of me and instead of mounting the second set I bought on a quartz worklight, instead I mounted them on a Cokin P series lens shade designed (with appropriate adapter ring) to mount onto the Z-1 lens - 72mm.

I used 4-40 nuts bolts and washers to assemble the shebang.

Now remember that the flags he offers are steel, and hence the entire unit is a little heavy, especially to hang on a 72mm lens mount (though not terrible, just more weight than I like) but the steel flags will make nice templates for lighter plastic or aluminum ones for the next step. (Looking back the bottom flag is probably not necessary which will help.)

The side flags may need a little more engineering on my part, which I plan to do as I build them out of lighter material, but I have to tell you for under $50 this matte box idea - fully adjustable... is even better than I imagined. Who knows maybe rail support is not far off.

I wish I could post pix, but I still new enough they don't yet trust me to do that yet, though I have some to show you all of this little project

Anyway, there are simply DIY solutions to some of these issues... just as we have seen from other members. As soon as I can post, I'll add pics here.

Ervin Farkas · January 20th, 2008, 12:46 AM

PM me and if you e-mail me the pix, I'll post them.

Ervin Farkas · January 22nd, 2008, 06:31 AM

Chris e-mailed me two pictures of his DIY matte box - here they are.

Robert Stoneman · January 23rd, 2008, 08:10 PM

Is the website down that you provided?

David Tindale · January 26th, 2008, 08:43 AM

"Chris e-mailed me two pictures of his DIY matte box - here they are"

Is it possible to get a couple more pics showing a bit more detail of the mount system?

thanks

David

Ervin Farkas · January 28th, 2008, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Stoneman

Is the website down that you provided?

Yes, unfortunately that website is only working intermittently.

Chris Swanberg · January 29th, 2008, 07:23 PM

David, I will take a few more and send them to my good friend to post. May be a day or two.

Chris

John McManimie · January 29th, 2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Stoneman

Is the website down that you provided?

Try: http://www.coollights.biz

Robert Stoneman · January 29th, 2008, 08:09 PM

Thanks John.

January 19th, 2008, 08:12 PM	#1
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Poor Man's Matte Box Well... like many here I have been astounded at the prices of matte boxes. I had recently had the pleasure of buying some barn doors from one of our members (www.coollightsbiz.com) with the idea of putting them on quartz worklights for which they were designed. (I did add one set and am very happy with the result btw.) Well, curiousity got the best of me and instead of mounting the second set I bought on a quartz worklight, instead I mounted them on a Cokin P series lens shade designed (with appropriate adapter ring) to mount onto the Z-1 lens - 72mm. I used 4-40 nuts bolts and washers to assemble the shebang. Now remember that the flags he offers are steel, and hence the entire unit is a little heavy, especially to hang on a 72mm lens mount (though not terrible, just more weight than I like) but the steel flags will make nice templates for lighter plastic or aluminum ones for the next step. (Looking back the bottom flag is probably not necessary which will help.) The side flags may need a little more engineering on my part, which I plan to do as I build them out of lighter material, but I have to tell you for under $50 this matte box idea - fully adjustable... is even better than I imagined. Who knows maybe rail support is not far off. I wish I could post pix, but I still new enough they don't yet trust me to do that yet, though I have some to show you all of this little project Anyway, there are simply DIY solutions to some of these issues... just as we have seen from other members. As soon as I can post, I'll add pics here. Last edited by Chris Swanberg; January 20th, 2008 at 03:29 AM.

January 20th, 2008, 12:46 AM	#2
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	PM me and if you e-mail me the pix, I'll post them. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

January 22nd, 2008, 06:31 AM	#3
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Matte box pictures Chris e-mailed me two pictures of his DIY matte box - here they are. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

January 23rd, 2008, 08:10 PM	#4
Robert Stoneman New Boot Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: England Posts: 12	Is the website down that you provided?

January 26th, 2008, 08:43 AM	#5
David Tindale Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lismore, New South Wales Posts: 31	"Chris e-mailed me two pictures of his DIY matte box - here they are" Is it possible to get a couple more pics showing a bit more detail of the mount system? thanks David

January 29th, 2008, 07:23 PM	#7
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	David, I will take a few more and send them to my good friend to post. May be a day or two. Chris

January 29th, 2008, 08:09 PM	#9
Robert Stoneman New Boot Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: England Posts: 12	Thanks John.