In still photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 and video, a matte box is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare

Lens flare

Lens flare is the light scattered in lens systems through generally unwanted image formation mechanisms, such as internal reflection and scattering from material inhomogeneities in the lens. These mechanisms differ from the intended image formation mechanism that depends on refraction of the image...

. It performs essentially the same function as a lens hood

Lens hood

In photography, a lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare....

 and also mounts in front of the lens, but usually includes adjustable fins called French flags.

Another purpose of a matte box is to hold glass or plastic filters

Filter (optics)

Optical filters are devices which selectively transmit light of different wavelengths, usually implemented as plane glass or plastic devices in the optical path which are either dyed in the mass or have interference coatings....

 in place in front of the lens. Today, matte boxes are made for DV cameras

DV

DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....

 and HD cameras

High-definition video

High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...

 for the same reasons as for film cameras. Some are supported by two rods that run the length of the camera, while others are supported by the lens itself.

A matte box may have a bellows, a rigid sunshade or both, where the bellows is positioned within the rigid sunshade, having a mask which may be adjusted forward or back to suit the angle of view

Angle of view

In photography, angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view....

 of the camera system.

Further reading

to Roger C. Field

Roger C. Field

Roger C. Field is an inventor with over 100 patents, an award winning industrial designer and a guitarist.He is best known as the inventor of the Foldaxe folding electric guitar. He has also been written about in Playboy magazine in ten countries and in Penthouse magazine four times in Europe...

for a matte box having an adjustable mask with a bellows within a rigid sunshade. This has been manufactured by Chrosziel Filmtechnik near Munich for many years.