MarshallHarrington wrote:Mike,
Thanks for posting these up. I've go to agree that I also like what you've got here. Obviously we cannot see the build quality from these shots but all the comments are pretty favorable. Actually not a person has had anything to say that isn't very positive as to how well they are built.
One question on the matte-box? Will it allow you to rotate the filter 90 degrees so that you could use a 4X5.65 grad that is in the vertical orientation, as are most of the grad's that were made for stills?
The filter stage that rotates does rotate 90 degrees, but the actual filter holder itself doesn't look to me like it would securely hold anything other than a 4x4 (I haven't tried). I think they have a new mattebox out now that does bigger filters, though.
Yeah, tough to judge build specifically in pics. Is there anything you want me to snap a close up of? I would say that in general, everything is aluminum or CF, well made, feels good and solid, lines up well. Most of the fasteners (for loosening rods and such) are ratcheting so they can face any direction when tight.
One thing I *do* specifically like is that the FF, monitor arm, a lens support piece I have, and the universal handles that go on the bottom rods all have a quick disconnect setup so that if you want to remove them, you don't need to slide all the other items on the rods off first. And yet, they connect solidly.
I'm actually removing the blue cage pieces right now to see what I think. I'll likely prefer it that way since I have an iris lever that *barely* fits in place and makes contact with the iris gears when those pieces are in place.