What do you know about matte boxes?

Somewhere, lost in filmmakers' YouTube, I was convinced that I needed to buy a matte box to make it as an independent creator. Because as we all know, if you don't have a matte box, your footage will be a glaring mess, your shots won't be as cinematic, and nobody will take you seriously.

None of that is true, but yet here we are reviewing the Shape Swing-Away Matte Box, a product that is priced to bridge the gap between the trendy entry-level offerings from companies like Small Rig and Tilta and the more expensive industry tools sold by companies like Wooden Camera and Bright Tangerine.

Construction

Let's start with the construction. You came to the right place if you clicked on this video to see a nice matte box.

The Shape Matte box is one solid piece of kit. The base frame is made from CNC aluminum, and the matte box is made from heavy-duty removable silicone. Some operators like this as it prevents the box from bumping up against objects.

The carbon fibre finish is a nice touch, and the unit comes with Shape's signature red anodized aluminum accents.

Although you may want to tape off some shiny areas if you're worried about reflections.

Quality

At 1.9 lbs., the overall weight is a bit on the heavy side when compared to clip-on offerings I've used from the likes of Bright Tangerine or Wooden Camera — however, with that weight comes a sturdy build that feels as if it would hold up well in a rental environment or the usual jostling on set or location.

I must admit a pattern I've observed when buying shape products. After I make a purchase, I start to second-guess myself. After all, could a product from Shape really be two or three times better than the budget alternative, given the price? But then the product arrives, and I am quickly reminded that shape products for the most part are designed to last a long time. Overall very happy with the construction from Shape.

Mounting Options

If you're looking for versatility, this matte box has it in spades - at least in mounting options. If you go with the fully built version I have here - almost nothing will prevent you from getting this matte-box box onto your camera. In its most basic form, you can use it as a clip-on matte box by attaching a screw on adapter to your lens, and then sliding this ring onto the barrel. You tighten it down using this thumb screw at the top. This is great for stripped-down configurations where rails aren't an option.

If you'd like to add more stability, Shapes optional rod block allows you to mount the matte box to the rods of your camera system. This rod block is great because it allows you to change the matte box's height, allowing it to fit different types of cameras and lenses. For this review, I mostly worked with the Sony FX3 and various prime lenses.

The third mounting option is a swing mechanism which allows you to remove the matte box from the camera without taking it off the rails.

Classic functionality that is typically found on more expensive matte boxes. I really like the mechanism on this swing-away mount. It unlatches the matte box by pulling on this metal tab. To reattach it, the matte box uses magnets which are the perfect mixture of solidly mounted and easily removed. They also give you a satisfying click when the matte box is back in place. And you’re ready to go. They're not going to come undone when you're moving the camera around because of a clever lock that's integrated into the design of the matte box.

I never thought my matte box needed magnets, but now I'm a big fan.

Considerations

My one complaint about the mounting hardware on this matte box system is how difficult it is to adjust the rod block while the swing away arm is on. The adjustment for the block on the rods hits the swing away arm, making it difficult to tighten the matte box on the rods. My solution to this problem is to tighten the block down significantly before pushing it onto the rods with force and then adding that last bit of tightness until the knob meets the rail.

I don't know if this is the intended method, but it works for me. The takeaway here is that if you are using lenses which are a bunch of different lengths, it may be easier pjust to forgo the swing-away arm and slide the matte box back and forth every time you need to swap the lens.

French Flag

The Shape matte box includes a carbon fiber French flag with adjustable tension knobs. This will help you control light into the lens from the top, but if you want to control spill from the sides, you'll have to find a different solution. You can't buy side flags because there's no way to mount them. You can buy accessory flags that clip onto your rig to help with this, I'll put one in the link below, but Shape doesn't sell them. If you really are worried about that Shape sells a more expensive matte box called the mcf456 which is their top tier matte box and it comes with side flags but I haven't gotten my hands on that one yet.

Oh, But watch out if you're handling the flag a lot because the edge is pretty sharp. This is pretty typical of thin carbon carbon fiber, and this is real carbon fiber not a decal so be careful when handling the side of the matte box.

Accessories

The matte box includes a fabric knicker that helps you control the light spill into the matte box and lens. It also includes adapter rings, allowing you to mount several different-sized lenses on the matte box. The smallest adapter ring is 67mm, so if your lens has a smaller filter diameter than that, you're out of luck if you want to clip the matte box onto your lens Because Shape does not make rings smaller than 67 mm. You can, however, still use the fabric knicker. Just watch that it doesn't intrude into your shots. For that reason I personally would I preferred the rubber donut style of light-blocking design because there would be less chance of the fabric intruding on the shot.

Filter Trays

My favorite design element might be one of the smallest physically but among the most important while working. Besides changing lenses, changing filters while using a matte box is it's own challenge in itself.

The 4 x 5.65″ SHAPE filter trays there are two of them — each marked "front" or "rear" — have a handy little red locking mechanism that makes removing filters a breeze. In my opinion All filter trays should have this locking mechanism.

For added safety, you still have a small silver side-locking screw for each tray, but I have to say the red mechanism that locks and unlocks trays is just so satisfying. They click into place with satisfying tactile feedback, which lets you know they aren't going anywhere. It's one of my favourite parts of the design.

Also, note one tray can rotate if you're using a polarizer and trying to find the perfect spot to kill unwanted glare or reflections.

No Circular Filters

Recently there's been a trend at the lower end in allowing users to put circular filters onto their matte boxes. You cannot do this using the shape matte box unless you screw the filers onto your lens before you attach the collar for the matte box. This isn’t a great solution though as changing out the filters will take a lot more time as you will have to remove the entire matte box and mounting collar.

Final Thoughts

So who is this product for? If you are a regular operator who needs a high-quality matte box, this product from Shape offers a lot of value, provided you're okay with only using two stages of filters. If you use 4x5.65 filters, buy this if you want a solid system to help you get the most out of them.

Also if you rent out your gear, I could see potential in renting this out and not having it come back in a bunch of pieces like some other more budget matte boxes.

It's not as light as the Tilta Mirage or matte boxes from a Small Rig, so it could be more challenging to use on a gimbal. You also won't see any of the entry-level convinces that come with these other matte boxes, like a built-in variable nd filter or compatibility for circular filters.

For me, the magnetic locks, the red-locking tray system, and the adjustable base knob alone make this matte box worth the money, you just have to decide if those features and the ones we covered today are worth it for you.

Josh Diaz is a filmmaker and video editor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.