Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: bshaw on April 18, 2014, 01:14:48 am

Title: Matte Boxes:Is cheap okay? Or, do 'you get what you pay for'? +unrelated humor
Post by: bshaw on April 18, 2014, 01:14:48 am
I'm considering getting a Matte Box.  I doesn't have to be fancy.  It just has to accommodate some 4x6 ND Grads. For example, most recently, I used dark, thick hotel brochures, rubber-banded to my lens, protruding past the lens and filters, flared-out, as a makeshift matte box.  Although that worked in a pinch, I'm considering buying (or building) an actual Matte Box.

I've notice a great variation of prices for even the most basic Matte Boxes.  For example, on Amazon, there are a few basic ones that cost ~ 20USD and some others, seemingly similar, basic Matte Boxes that cost ~170USD.  (It reminds me of the great variation of prices for Grad ND filters on Amazon; in which I learned, first hand, that the cheap ones are poorly made.)

Does anyone have hands-on experience with some of the cheaper Matte Boxes?  Should I stay away?  Or, are the other more costly ones priced too high in a global market?   What features/aspects should I seek in a Matte Box?  What things should I avoid?

Any thoughts welcome.

r/

B.

PS.  To somehow pay for the time you take responding, I've attached a link to a bit of unrelated, family safe, humor: Excerpts from BBC One's 'Walk on the Wild Side' (quite funny - my favorite is the Marmot trying to get Alan's attention). Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/-ssXJtzFOjA