Why does anything cost what it costs?

I really can't give you a concise, final answer - I never studied economics. But I suspect it's a matter of supply and demand. A matte box is a highly specialised piece of equipment that very vew people in the world use.

Maybe when a matte box becomes standard on every video camera the price will drop.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

I agree the cost is high because of the small numbers that are sold. I also think there are a few other reasons. Many matte boxes accept filters, so the mounting has to be precision to make sure that light doesn't incorrectly enter the sleave. Also, most well made matte boxes are extremely durable, so they can withstand abuse, sand, dirt, etc. without cracking or allowing light punctures to ruin the picture. It can be expensive to use these materials in the construction.

If you're interested in making you own matte box, it isn't that difficult with foam-core board. I have complete instructions in my book ("Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"), but if you're handy, you should be able to make it yourself from the picture I have in table of contents here:

http://www.cvisual.com/film-books/nuts-and-bolts-filmmaking-table-of-contents.asp

Hope that helps.

Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
http://www.cvisual.com

what the hell is a matte box and what is its purpose/benfefit?

Matte boxes get their name from the mattes used as inserts at the outside end of a boxed lens shade. The matte inserts are used in combination with french flags to keep direct light off of the lens, eliminating or drastically reducing flare. Slots are added in the body of the device allowing the insertion of filters. More recent traditional matte boxes have rotatable filter holders which allow the filters to be positioned just so in the unit. Mounting a traditional matte box on a lens is accomplished with the use of a base plate and rails or by attaching it directly to the camera body as is done with the Arriflex M and S. A marked improvement and a great boon to hand held shooting has been the advent of the internal focus lens and the invention of the clip-on matte box.
?url? http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/broadcast/matteboxes_&_sunshades/?/url?
?url? http://www.dvshop.ca/camera/matteboxes.html?/url?
?url? http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/cendvmatbox.html?/url?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)