What . . . We ain't got no slide projecting forum?

wakarimasen said:
B&W slides? :eek: I need to know more!
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By all accounts, and amazingly, reversed B&W film seems to have even more detail than in it's negative form. More details about the films that work well can be found on this site:

http://www.dr5.com/

These guys are setting up their lab after a move, so you should be able to get slides created commercially again soon.
 
rfaspen said:
A projection subforum makes a lot of sense. It could be set up to include all manner of displayed image systems (large screen digital, digital projection, analog projection, ???).

I used to project slides rather often. But with digital and all..... Anyway, I kept my projector (Kodak carousel 650H or something like that) and just a few trays. I donated the remaining 10-20 carousels to the local thrift store. I needed the space and I haven't shown slides for a while now.

Now, I actually like the idea of projecting again from time to time (obviously, I kept the projector and a few trays), but I'm not enamored with the quality of my projection. I'm fairly certain this is because of the lens. I've never attempted to locate a better lens for my projector because I don't know where to start.

Are there standard "mounts" for projector lenses? Can I actually use a high quality lens on my lowly Kodak 650H? Assuming I could find such a thing, are there nice Schneider, Zeiss, Leitz, etc. lenses that I could use instead of the Kodak whatever that came with my projector? What would I look for. Where to start?

Hmmm.
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I projected 35mm slides for years in teaching, and became acquainted with the different qualities of projectors and lenses. Both Schneider and Navitar made high end lenses for Kodak Carousel and Ektagraphic projectors, and they tend be larger f stop lenses, 2.8 versus 3.5. I bought a Schneider zoom lens that provides far higher resolution, brightness and minimized light fall-off in the corners than the normal Kodak lenses. But Kodak also made a more expensive and higher quality range of lenses - you should be able to find this information, and I suspect the very good lenses are available for reasonable prices. They really make a difference.
 
rumbliegeos said:
Both Schneider and Navitar made high end lenses for Kodak Carousel and Ektagraphic projectors..... But Kodak also made a more expensive and higher quality range of lenses - you should be able to find this information, and I suspect the very good lenses are available for reasonable prices.
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Thanks for the motivation. I suppose a round of "internet research" is in order. You mentioned one characteristic of my current lens that drives me nuts.....falloff (or vignetting). But also sharpness/resolution. I'm guessing prime lenses are superior to zoom.

Last night I peeked in the closet. Yup, the projector and a few carousels are still there, along with a Da-Lite screen (but my flat white wall seems to work better).
 
I love projecting slides. Straight-tray projectors are popular in NZ, so I decided to concentrate on Leitz models. I mostly use a Pradovit P150 with a Colorplan-P2 90mm f/2.5. The Hektor-P2 85mm that P150's come with has so much field curvature that it's really only good for keeping out dust.

I sometimes use a pair of Pradovit Color 150's also with Colorplan 90's - one is an early type with the earlier 46mm polished alloy tube, another with the later black 42.5mm tube.

I prefer the quietness of the P150, but the Color 150's are superb quality machines and the earlier Colorplan 90's have a flatter field than the later P2 type.

I have a Pradovit C2500 with a Colorplan 90 and Elmaron 200mm but no hand control. It's a solid commercial-grade machine, but noisy. They were the standard slide projector at universities here for decades.

From the early 1960's I also have 4x Pradovit-n and 2x Pradovit-f. One Pradovit-n belonged to my father.

There is also a late 1950's Prado 500 with Hector 2.8/250mm & Dimar 4.0/25cm, plus a Prado-SM with a 2.5/12cm Hektor. The "Pradoseum" site has good pages on the ancient stuff:

http://www.pradoseum.eu/englisch-version/schauraum-en.html

The early Pradovit-n's are a thing of electro-mechanical beauty with the lovely snick-snick of the slide change mechanism, but the 12v tungsten bulbs are pretty dim compared to any modern halogen projector. The ancient Prado's are brighter, but run at frightening temperatures.

For medium format I have a Noris Trumph Halogen and a Rollei P66A. The Rollei at least takes 6x6 slide trays.

I used to shoot K64 & K200, but unfortunately Kodak decided otherwise. Perhaps Kodak's recent change of heart with regard to the profitability of film production will extend to re-introducing Kodachrome?

Their recent statement to the Times of India talked about promoting the "archival" qualities of film and Kodachrome is the only material to meet that criteria (under certain conditions).

If you are on a budget I would recommend getting a Leitz Pradovit Color 150 or 250 with the superb Colorplan 2.5-90mm lens. Many have survived and Leica can still fix them.

Any of the more modern Leica units, i.e. the P150, P300 or P600 would also be good, but you pay a lot more money for them. You can also find "IR" versions of these later models which is handy if you like to walk around the room when showing slides.
 
Medium Format Projector

Medium Format Projector

I have a Leitz CA 2500 for 35mm and would like to find a good quality projector for MF 6 X 6.

If I can locate a good projector, I intend to start shooting Velvia transparency in my Hasselblad 503CX.

Doing some research shows that although no one seems to mount MF slides any longer, actual slide holders, both glassed and non-glassed, are available from a larger eastern photo store.

Yes - I would be interested in a Projector Forum.
 
AZPhotog said:
I have a Leitz CA 2500 for 35mm and would like to find a good quality projector for MF 6 X 6.

If I can locate a good projector, I intend to start shooting Velvia transparency in my Hasselblad 503CX.

Doing some research shows that although no one seems to mount MF slides any longer, actual slide holders, both glassed and non-glassed, are available from a larger eastern photo store.

Yes - I would be interested in a Projector Forum.
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I have used both the Hasselblad PCP80 projector, and a Rollei MF projector. Both are good. The Hasselblad has a perspective control lens, and its rotary tray has a larger capacity. The Rollei takes a more compact, easier to store tray.

One of these days, maybe the mods will see their way clear to our own forum!
 
Peter de Waal said:
I prefer the quietness of the P150, but the Color 150's are superb quality machines and the earlier Colorplan 90's have a flatter field than the later P2 type.

I have a Pradovit C2500 with a Colorplan 90 and Elmaron 200mm but no hand control. It's a solid commercial-grade machine, but noisy. They were the standard slide projector at universities here for decades.
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I have the big brother of Color 150, the Color 250, and they have the rock-solid construction of that Leitz era. The C2500/CA2500 family is higher end, but not better built. I'm fortunate to them both. As for the noise, well, it comes with the territory. :)
 
Help! So far I have found Kodak lenses for Carousel type projectors with seven different names:
Slide Projection
Ektanar C
Projection Ektanar
Projection Ektanon
Projection Ektagraphic
Ektapro Projection
Ektapro Select Projection
I know the Ektapro Select Projection is the best, but I don't know the quality order of the other lenses. Can anyone arrange thus list in order of quality? If you can, thanks.
 
http://kxcamera.com/pro-lenses.html

I have no financial connection to this person outside of sending him money now and then, but have found him to be helpful and knowledgeable in the past.
He seems to be a good source of information along the lines of what lens is better than which other lens, and I have felt that he has been honest with me regarding all things projection.
FWIW
 
The "C" in "Ektanar C" is for (C)urved field. This lens is used to correct for the curvature of a slide that has "popped" on account of the heat from the projection lamp. "Popping" is a normal thing when projecting slides that are in cardboard mounts, or glassless plastic mounts. It is due to the unequal expansion, from heat, of the emulsion and non-emulsion sides of the film. Glass mounting prevents this. For other mounts, a "C" lens may help to maintain focus across the field.
 
John inglis said:
would be nice to have a forum here with so many knowledgable people.
Short of that this is a great thread
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Yes, we are still waiting. All things come to he who waits ...

And Waits ...

Meanwhile, I've been toying with the idea of replacing my Ektagraphic projectors with Leitz RT300s. I have two RT300s so far, holding off buying a third; but I may do that. Directly comparing an Ektagraphic with an RT300, the color is better with the RT300. So why do I hesitate? My Golden Navitar Perspective Control lenses will not fit in the narrow tunnel of the RT300. I could use my Schneider PC lenses, but they are still tricky to adjust inside the lens tunnel. Not impossible, but tricky. A little sheet metal work with a tinsnips might solve the problem. But do I really want to do that to an RT300? One other thing: I would have to build yet another projector stand. But I think I'm going to do that.

From a sound level standpoint, they are about even. The Ektagraphic makes more noise when changing slides, but has a quieter fan. You can change bulbs in the RT300 without disturbing the position of the projector. Overall, I think the RT300 wins.
 
I was lucky and found a Rollei P66 for cheap at a thrift store. I haven't shot much for 6x6, much less slides historically so I need to shoot more but from what I have and what vintage slides came with the projector, it is one of my favorite ways to view photographs.

Quite incredible, compared to viewing photos on an LCD screen. Even if the quality was the same, taking the time to set up a tray of slides and really view them intently vs flicking through 10x or 100x more photos, the end result is very different.
 
Still waiting for that slide projector forum. What about making it about both film and digital projectors? I'm sure there are members who use digital projectors to display their wonderful high resolution Monochrom files to an audience. And of course there must be still others who want to project their Nikon files, Fuji digital photos, and so on! A forum named, "Projectors, Digital and Film" would be a good place to swap info on selecting and using both kinds. There's a lot to know, especially about digital projectors!

Still waiting . . .
 
Looks like all we are ever going to get is a slide projector thread, not a slide projector forum. If the semi-mythical “resurgence of film” ever manages to get off the ground, then maybe somewhere in the world there would be enough critical mass for a projector forum to appear out of necessity.
Not holding my breath.
Transparency film is no longer the go to medium for publishing. Which leaves only one real reason to purchase and shoot transparencies: projection. There exists this total logical disconnect between the very nature of the film, and what people these days tend to do with it. “It’s transparent, I wonder what we could do with it? Duh, I don’t know. Scan it and print it?” Sure, you can do that, I do, and find that useful as a side use, but what a missed opportunity.
But, you’ll need a proper screen to understand what all the fuss is about when people go on and on about the beauty of, say, medium format projection. If all you are doing is projecting on a bedsheet or a wall, it’s not going to be that impressive, not enough to justify the cost and effort at any rate. But that would be like rejecting the use of telephones if all you had ever experienced was two tin cans connected by a string.

Anyway.
Slide projection is more than a little worthwhile in 2019, especially medium format, but it appears to be quite dead at this point, for all the wrong reasons.
 
Rob-F said:
Still waiting for that slide projector forum. What about making it about both film and digital projectors? I'm sure there are members who use digital projectors to display their wonderful high resolution Monochrom files to an audience. And of course there must be still others who want to project their Nikon files, Fuji digital photos, and so on! A forum named, "Projectors, Digital and Film" would be a good place to swap info on selecting and using both kinds. There's a lot to know, especially about digital projectors!

Still waiting . . .
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I can see it now: My XXXX slide projector can beat the viewing-satisfaction-capability of your XXZZ digital whatever viewing experience. So There!

Larry Cloetta said:
Looks like all we are ever going to get is a slide projector thread, not a slide projector forum. If the semi-mythical “resurgence of film” ever manages to get off the ground, then maybe somewhere in the world there would be enough critical mass for a projector forum to appear out of necessity.
Not holding my breath.
Transparency film is no longer the go to medium for publishing. Which leaves only one real reason to purchase and shoot transparencies: projection. There exists this total logical disconnect between the very nature of the film, and what people these days tend to do with it. “It’s transparent, I wonder what we could do with it? Duh, I don’t know. Scan it and print it?” Sure, you can do that, I do, and find that useful as a side use, but what a missed opportunity.
But, you’ll need a proper screen to understand what all the fuss is about when people go on and on about the beauty of, say, medium format projection. If all you are doing is projecting on a bedsheet or a wall, it’s not going to be that impressive, not enough to justify the cost and effort at any rate. But that would be like rejecting the use of telephones if all you had ever experienced was two tin cans connected by a string.

Anyway.
Slide projection is more than a little worthwhile in 2019, especially medium format, but it appears to be quite dead at this point, for all the wrong reasons.
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It has been 3 or 4 years since I last used my Vivitar slide projector. And that just to see if it still worked. It did. But nobody really seemed interested in seeing any slide shows. Sad.

I do have the problem that about 30 years ago, most of my slides (maybe 8000 or so) and negatives (16,000 or more) were damaged or destroyed in a house fire. Seeing damaged slides of favorite photos takes a lot of fun out of the experience.

As to different slide projectors or lenses, it is just like camera brands and lenses: some I am satisfied with, or even think quite good, may seem like trash to others. I do know that before the fire, I could get amazing quality with Kodachrome projections. Maybe just my eyes? :rolleyes:
 
I shot a roll of slide film during our summer holiday this year, in Cornwall UK. Hands down, better colour than anything I’ve shot digitally before: more vibrant and 3D.....and more ‘keepers.’
 
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