Ken Rockwell Falls In Love With His Slide Projector

I'm gonna have to chime in here with a vote for carousel projectors. I bought an S-AV 2000-something this year, but had to buy a supplementary lens as the one that came with it had bits of plastic floating around in it and projected a "pagoda-like" shape rather than a rectangle. I got a Navitar lens - beautifully made (in the USA) and just superb optics and I can't notice any color cast at all.

Great to see you here, Ken. Always informative and entertaining (and did you get the $5 I sent?). BTW I agree with you completely on your review of the M6TTL! Love it!

BTW re Leica vs Nikon lenses (as someone brought it up) I was playing around testing my Nikon 105mm f2.5 lens against my Leica Summicron-R 90 just for fun today on my Olympus E3. I found that, at f2.5 the Nikon was sharper, but that after f4 they were remarkably similar. I had always considered the "Afghan Girl" lens to be the most Leica-like Nikon I'd experienced, and this confirmed it. Not sure how this is relevant to anything but there you go.

Best regards,
 
Last edited:
I recently bought my first slide projector, the Leitz CA 2500: it's one hefty beast. The (non-LKM) straight trays are quite common from eBay. Now I need that obscure device to mount slides into Leica-Dia glass carriers. 🙂
 
wakarimasen said:
Any recommendations for slide projectors for here in the UK?
Click to expand...

Despite what Ken has found, the Kodak S-AV Carousel projectors are very good if you get a good lens. The Vario-Retinar that came with my S-AV 1010 was pretty awful for non-glass mounted slides but a decent lens like the 102mm f/2.8 CF (curved-field) lens is inexpensive and decent enough for home use.

I've also had no problems with my Pradovit P-150 'toy' 🙂 -- no jams and reliable. Again I'm using it for home use so it's very good. The slides look wonderful projected and Colorplan lenses for the Pradovits are cheap for the quality they produce.

There isn't much need to blow a lot of money on a projector as eBay prices can be quite expensive.

I purchased my S-AV 1010 (a backup projector) for £10 with the Vario-Retinar locally and my Pradovit P-150 for £25 locally through the Friday Ad. Most P-150s will have a Hektor 85mm f/2.8 which Ken referred to as a dog -- it's not that bad and it will do but you can do better; it's certainly better than the 70-120mm Vario-Retinar.

I think Kodak numbered their projectors differently in the US compared to the UK/Europe so searching for "Kodak S-AV" or "Kodak SAV" might yield better results.

My S-AV 1010 is probably that bit better made than my P-150 (not that its flimsy trash itself) but like cameras, it's the lenses that make it.

Vicky
 
wakarimasen said:
Any recommendations for slide projectors for here in the UK?
Click to expand...
Ffordes have a good selection of second hand projectors.I bought a Pradovit P600 from them with a Colourplan lens.Stuck some Foamboard on the study wall and it`s always ready to go. Nothing better. Others seem to think so too, you need to be quick if you see one for sale.
 
I had thought about setting up a permanent screen and sharing it with both a slide projector and video projector. The different aspect ratios and apparent need for the video projector to have a black border would make it a bit complicated. Has anyone tried that?
 
Jim: I would simply choose a screen size which works with whichever projector throws the biggest image (longest dimension), and leave it at that. No one screen is going to perfect for multiple projection formats, so I think this idea works best.


- Barrett
 
Barrett, I had a large square screen in mind. What I'm concerned with is the video noise on the edges of the image from some projectors which can be pretty annoying. IDK if that's true of all video projectors, though (seems like it would be easy to mask in the projector).

I may be better off just getting a large flat panel for movies, and a pull-down screen in front for slides.
 
Jim: I've seen that problem on everything short of the crazy-expensive models for industrial/business use (and some of those left something to be desired to my eyes, sometimes). I guess the key is getting a screen that's large but not too large.

Of course, for video, a decent flat-screen model offers far more bang-for-the-buck, so you might be better off just getting one of those and get a pull-down screen for slides. Cheaper and better all-round.


- Barrett
 
amateriat said:
Of course, for video, a decent flat-screen model offers far more bang-for-the-buck, so you might be better off just getting one of those and get a pull-down screen for slides. Cheaper and better all-round.


- Barrett
Click to expand...
That's the conclusion I'm coming to. The price of flat screens are dropping like a rock whereas projectors are staying quite high. What I dislike about roll-up screens is that they all seem to curl toward you on the edges after awhile throwing the sides out of focus.
 
amateriat said:
... Of course, for video, a decent flat-screen model offers far more bang-for-the-buck, so you might be better off just getting one of those and get a pull-down screen for slides. Cheaper and better all-round.
Click to expand...
Of course that depends on the size of the audience. I use digital projectors in classroom settings, and no way could we afford a flat panel display big enough for a medium sized (~60) classroom. It would look nice!

I wonder about those devices they use as daylight billboards these days ...
 
I had a Leica projector and was sorry I did. The auto-focus was atrocious, and that is a serious problem with a projector. I always wished I had a Carousel. The ones I used at work were great. I guess I got suckered by the brand. At the time, it was the only "Leica" thing I could afford to own. That said, I do not miss my projector at all. I much prefer viewing images on a computer screen, even if the images aren't as large as with a projector. I guess I'm just a digital pimp.

/T
 
Got my newly purchased S-AV 1000 Carousel today (£20 from an internet auction site) so had my first viewing of my slides through it this evening and wow - I'm going to enjoy this a lot, and learn from it to.

I've been using slide film for ages actually but for some reason (probably cost) never quite got round to getting a proper projector. Strange I know but I've always been satisfied with hand-held displays or scanning them in the past.

This is the best tip I've been inspired to take up on this forum since someone pointed out how good and cheap secondhand 135mm lenses are. Neither option is something I would have pursued if paying full price in the good old days but they've both come in reach in these modern times.
 
Re: Kodak slide projectors

Re: Kodak slide projectors

wakarimasen said:
Any recommendations for slide projectors for here in the UK?
Click to expand...

I recommend a Kodak Ektapro with Navitar lenses.

A year ago I've got a wonderful Ektapro 5020 on eBay, for 80 (!!!!) Euros (with 5 trays, IR remote control & carrying case). I think it's one of the best projectors ever made (along with the S/AV 2050 and the Leica).

Then, still on eBay, from a U.S. seller, I've got a Golden Navitar KC 50mm f/2.8 (with PC - perspective control, for parallax correction)... for 28 dollars; it's awesome!!!!!

I'm really happy; I suggest you any Ektapro - 4010/4020, 5010/20, etc.

Regarding Ken Rockwell, I think he's too limited to the U.S. market & experience - the european Kodak projectors are much better than you think, dear Ken... expecially with third-party lenses (U.S. & German ones).
Sometimes Ken speaks too much, and with too much confidence, I'm sorry 🙄


Best regards from Luca Fiaccavento
(Rome, Italy)

www.lucafiaccavento.net
www.flickr.com/lucafiaccavento
 
Last edited:
Ken has turned out to be a 'one hit wonder'. If you check his forum profile you will see this:

Last Activity: 2 Weeks Ago 22:12

Shame really ... I was hoping for a little more input from him!
 
earendil69 said:
I recommend a Kodak Ektapro with Navitar lenses.

A year ago I've got a wonderful Ektapro 5020 on eBay, for 80 (!!!!) Euros (with 5 trays, IR remote control & carrying case). I think it's one of the best projectors ever made (along with the S/AV 2050 and the Leica).

Then, still on eBay, from a U.S. seller, I've got a Golden Navitar KC 50mm f/2.8 (with PC - perspective control, for parallax correction)... for 28 dollars; it's awesome!!!!!

I'm really happy; I suggest you any Ektapro - 4010/4020, 5010/20, etc.

Regarding Ken Rockwell, I think he's too limited to the U.S. market & experience - the european Kodak projectors are much better than you think, dear Ken... expecially with third-party lenses (U.S. & German ones).
Sometimes Ken speaks too much, and with too much confidence, I'm sorry 🙄


Best regards from Luca Fiaccavento
(Rome, Italy)

www.lucafiaccavento.net
www.flickr.com/lucafiaccavento
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip - I'll start looking!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom