JTZ DP30 Mattebox Review

Here’s our last review, on the JTZ DP30 Mattebox:

All right, so if you’ve watched our video and you’re reading this, it’s obviously because you need a mattebox!

We talked about the JTZ company earlier this year, being the Pro Line of Fotga. Well, this mattebox actually delivers what you would expect from a Pro Line. It’s definitively not the 100$ plastic type of mattebox you can find online. This one is a real carbon fiber body, with aircraft grade aluminum, precisely CNC machined. This is, what you would call, a professional mattebox. Now, the only other “professional” mattebox I’ve ever used, is the RedRock Micro Mattebox. This one sells for roughly 900$ while the JTZ starts at roughly 500$.

If I compare the mechanisms of both models, the JTZ wins hands down. The swing away mechanism is, as mentionned in the video, really well designed and machined. It’s stiff, precise and robust.

One cool thing is, not only the fact that it’s height adjustable, but because it is adjustable with a thumbscrew:

Once you have unlocked the two screws, you can use the thumbscrew to adjust the vertical position of the mattbox, to fit the center of your lens. This is a nice feature because you can do a precise alignement when you adjust:

The top handle is also a very nice feature. First time I saw one and I’m still impressed how handy this can be. It can save a lot of time when manipulating the mattebox when installing or removing it from a rig. The fact that is has 5 threaded holes on it is also very handy.

You can attach multiple types of items on it, like magic arms, cold shoe adapters, etc.

The only downside or negative thing I’ve actually experienced, is the fact that if the rods doesn’t end fits with the 15mm bracket, the rotating filter can’t fully rotate up to 360°. Really not a big issue, but still, worth mentioning.

Other than this, I’m totally in love with the flexible donut that comes with the package! Really, it’s perfect for pretty much any type of lenses.

I’ve simply added a simple stepup ring in front of my old Pentax M42 lenses, and the flexible donut holds in place without problem, allowing the lens to breath when focused.

In conclusion of this brief article, I can’t recommend more that Mattebox. I’ve used other brands and model in the past. Some were really good, but this one actually beats pretty much every other models so far. JTZ is definitively a brand to look for in the upcoming months. Their products are really well made, of excellent quality and worth the money you spend on them!

I hope you enjoyed this review, stay tuned for some more reviews on the way!
And again, if you have any comments or questions, leave them in the comments section below!