News

Announcing the Elite Matte Box

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Genus is please to announce the Elite Matte Box!

The Elite Matte Box is a versatile production matte box. The GE-MK/1 features two filter stages. The front filter tray is fixed and the rear filter tray rotates 360 degrees, making it suitable for polarizing and graduated filters. The rotating filter tray can be locked to a set position.

The matte box accommodates a wide range of filter sizes making it one of the most versatile matte boxes on the market. The following filter sizes are supported 4x4”, 4x5.65” P size, 5.65x5.65” P size square, 4x4” / PV Combi and 5x5” / PV Combi.

A wide range of donuts are available for the matte box, ranging from 88mm to 121mm, so you can easily match it to the lens of your choice.

The matte box is designed to be supported by 15mm lightweight standard rods. An optional 15mm support bracket means the height can be easily adjusted both horizontally and vertically via the support bracket.

To give maximum light control, the Elite Matte Box features both a foldable French Flag and Side Flags.

For added flexibility an optional swing away bracket is also available.

The Elite Matte Box is the perfect companion to the new generation of larger sensor cameras, as well as broadcast and film cameras with various lenses.

Philip Bloom, Panasonic GH1 and Genus Matte Box

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Genus had the pleasure of meeting Director of Photography and blogger extraordinaire, Philip Bloom (philipbloom.net) at NAB.

Philip is an incredibly busy guy, travelling the world, shooting and blogging as he goes. While shooting in Hawaii, Philip blogged about his experience with the new yet to be released Panasonic GH1 and the Genus Matte Box. We believe Philip is the first person to post pictures on the net of a GH1 rigged with a matte box and we are honored he chose a Genus Matte Box.

Here is a little of what Philip Bloom had to say. "This is a really affordable set up…most Matte Boxes and supports cost a lot of money and are often out of the price range of the keen amateur or indie film maker, but they really are essentially in many situations..." Read more of what Philip has to say and see more pictures of the Genus Matte Box in action with the Panasonic Lumix GH1 on his blog.

Ric Kasnoff Streamlines His Gear for Travel

Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Professional photographer Ric Kasnoff, very often travels around the world for his work. Recently he went on a personal challenge to simplify the baggage and equipment he takes with him so it will all safely travel with him with minimal extra baggage fees from the airlines. To do this, he needed to put together a kit of essential equipment (full photo and video setup) so he would have everything he needed to get the job done – but still fit in a small amount of luggage space.

One piece of gear Ric was looking for was a compact should rig. He met up with technical consultant Mark Blaker at PhotoPlus to discuss his needs. As he writes in his blog:

I was already familiar with [Genus] through my use of their amazing “Fader ND” variable ND filter. After looking at a prototype of a Genus Tech field rig that they were about to release, I fell in instant lust… Small and light, it was more of a gunstock-type device than a traditional shoulder rig, developed especially for the HD-SLR market. Traditional 15mm rods, adjustable hand grips and a special HD-SLR base plate formed the core of the rig, while a seemingly infinitely adjustable shoulder/chest piece provided another point of contact and stabilization.

Mounting a D7000 fitted with the gold-standard Zacuto Z finder Pro3 loupe and their very cool Bravo follow focus gave me yet another point of contact — four points, to be exact. But the entire setup was still lightweight and, when all the pieces were assembled, very sturdy. Better yet, when it was broken down, it was equivalent to the size of a Quantum Trio Speedlight and a 2×2 battery pack in my camera bag. I wanted one.

Although the projected release date for the prototype was to be well after my PhotoSafari to Japan, the kind folks at Genus Tech decided that the unit needed to be “field tested” some more and arranged for me to get a pre-production test unit before my trip.

Read about the rest of Ric’s super kits (he actually made 3 kits, each for different types of journeys) and his quest for the right equipment on his blog: rickasnoff.com.