New Design of Super 8 Matte Box

[Matthew W. Phillips]

Hello again,

 

I finally made my own personal Matte Box which I had neglected for some time since I'm going to need it for my shoot in December. Im proud to report that I've sold three boxes to date. I hope to sell more once this new design is made public.

 

I took a look at my previous designs and noted some things...

 

1) Threaded rods dont look as good as Aluminum, and they are heavier

 

2) Wood is not liked very much by people for Matte Boxes because it's believed it's too heavy

 

3) My French flag was too short and didnt look "imperial" enough.

 

I decided to kill all these birds at once with my own personal Matte Box which is also a prototype for my new box.

 

It now uses 8mm Aluminum rods instead of 1/4" threaded Zinc rods. It also uses Ultra-light weight Balsa wood for the box, the filter holder, and the French flag instead of using MDF Panelboard, Hardwood panel, and Plexiglas which are far heavier. Balsa is notoriously strong for being so light...it's also a more expensive wood as well, but much easier to work with. The French Flag has also made larger, as the previous depth was 3" and now it's 4". It makes it more aesthetically pleasing.

 

Of course none of this is complete without pics, so here goes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please comment on the new design! Whether you like it, hate it, or can recommend further improvements for future designs (Please limit improvement ideas to something Im capable of, not "Well, could you add a focus puller", etc.)

[Paul Vanderhoof]

What you have in mind looks pretty good in general, but I would suggest using sheet ABS (black) instead of balsa. Probbably cheaper, easier to handle and work, lightweight, stronger. Also, I would glue thin black velvet or similar material to the inside surface since both ABS and painted black surfaces still reflect some light back into the lens. This would increase the cost, but if I buy one I would do this on my own. My 2 cents.

 

http://www.professionalplastics.com/cgi-bi...eneral-Purpose)

http://www.k-mac-plastics.net/abs-sheet.htm

http://www.interstateplastics.com/detail.a...SsheetGP-SB1012

 

 

Paul

[Paul Vanderhoof]

What you have in mind looks pretty good in general, but I would suggest using sheet ABS (black) instead of balsa. Probably cheaper, easier to handle and work, lightweight, stronger. Also, I would glue thin black velvet or similar material to the inside surface since both ABS and painted black surfaces still reflect some light back into the lens. This would increase the cost, but if I buy one I would do this on my own. My 2 cents.

 

http://www.professionalplastics.com/cgi-bi...eneral-Purpose)

http://www.k-mac-plastics.net/abs-sheet.htm

http://www.interstateplastics.com/detail.a...SsheetGP-SB1012

 

 

Paul

 

 

Also, looking at your design again, with ABS, you could use thicker pieces in place of the previous metal or wood mounts, standards, etc. You don't want shiny metal bolts and nuts inside the matte box, reflection issues, and you could probably eliminate some of those anyway by gluing the ABS parts. Glued ABS is very, very strong, and lighter than metal bolts / nuts.

 

Paul

[Dan Salzmann]

Yes it doesn't seem like balsa would stand up to field conditions very well.

All surfaces should be as matte as possible.

The new rods look like a substantial improvement.

The French flag should be more detachable.

How much more difficult would it be if all camera support blocks were aluminium instead of wood?

All in all your design has progressed quite a lot and your dedication to the project is commendable.

[alexandros petin]

Hey Matthew W. Phillips!!!

Very good results once again.

but are you sure balsa is strong?I used it for models back when i was in architecture school and it was like butter.maybe it has to do with variety of balsas i dont know.

Also i have the same question like Dan Salzmann, about the aluminium support blocks.

Maybe its not so difficult, expensive to consider another prototype with aluminium.

 

Good job there and keep us posted