Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions?
by Bill Paris
on
Jul 28, 2007 at 8:38:10 pm
I'm on the fence about which Sunshade/Matte Box to purchase for my F900 with Fujinon 4.5 HD wide lens. Anyone have experience with Vocas gear? My primary purpose for the sunshade is to be able to use a polarizer and grads. I'm trying to keep the weight down as much as possible since I do alot of hand held ENG style production. Any insights would be appreciated!
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by tmvc on Jul 29, 2007 at 3:02:02 am
buy the biggest one - regular matteboxes will not allow the fujinon to go full wide...chrosziel works of course - it's just expensive for what it is...
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by Nigel Cooper on Jul 29, 2007 at 2:21:19 pm
I've owned/used both and I prefer the Chrosziel personally. Vocal are great matte boxes, but the Chrosziel just feel slightly better made and are 'silkier' in operation, very smooth rotating trays. Thay are also a bit lighter than the Vocas system. Chrosziel are a bit more expensive than Vocas, but not much.
I prefer the way the side-flags attach/work on Chrosziel system; better design and thought out. German engineering and design at it's best; the Mercedes of matte boxes.
Try both and see which you are happy with. Chrosziel are the industry standard though; and for good reason in my opionion.
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by Digital Antics on Jul 30, 2007 at 12:46:09 am
I second Nigel's comments on Chrosziel. I own three and am very happy with my selection, never had a problem with them. You should be able to find a fairly lightweight clamp on 4X5 matte box, if you want to go bare bones. Good luck and keep on shooting.
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by Tip McPartland on Jul 31, 2007 at 9:21:52 pm
Be careful of a 4x5 with a lens as wide as yours. No problem until you're at or close to full wide and you rotate your polarizing filter 90 degress and suddenly your 5" wide frame is only 4" wide. Or at other angles corners will vignette. 5x5 or larger will probably work better.
By the way, there is a third high quality choice which is Petroff -- well worth checking out their gear.
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by Simon Wyndham on Aug 6, 2007 at 2:46:16 pm
I own a Petroff 4x5.
It gets the job done, but it is very clunky compared to the Chrosziel and Vocas models. The Petroff is made of plastic. The filter trays rotate, but unlike the Vocas and Chrosziels they are not smooth in operation. Certainly the Petroff is very tough, but it feels very cheap compared to the others.
Re: Vocas vs. Chrosziel...Opinions? by Tip McPartland on Aug 6, 2007 at 9:08:23 pm
I used to have the 4x5 but it wouldn't work with my wide lens. The 5x5 I have now is generally a more substantial piece. I don't think either is exactly tough, but they are beautifully made and I wouldn't agree that they look cheap, that is Cavision's territory!
