Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Thinking about buying a new anamorphic lens….

….which would mean I no longer need the one I’m using.

I’m not technically selling anything, although one could argue that I am and I’m breaking the rules by posting this. I usually just buy new stuff and then peddle it later, but I’m not real sure at this point if upgrading to a new lens will have much pay back for me from an improved image quality perspective. At this point, I’m just pondering the decision. I’ve seen many posts over the years on this board from folks who want to go with a constant image height set up, but can’t afford to dump several grand on a lens. If I do buy a new lens, folks who have been sitting on the fence could get one at a considerably lower cost, and they don’t have to worry about getting ripped off either. I’d rather provide that opportunity to this community than one of the on-line bulletin boards or worse, EBay.

So…if anyone is interested, shoot me a PM. I suspect the interest will be very low, but figured I’d risk the wrath of the forum sheriffs, incarceration and ask anyway.

The lens I’m using now is a Prismasonic 1400M (manual) with the Front Element Upgrade. It’s basically the FE1500 which they discontinued a year ago when they introduced the HD5000.

The lens I’m looking at is an Isco III.

What about just getting the new Panny 1080 with the built in stretch feature and not use an anamorphic anymore? I know it really is not the same thing like when I use my 600M Prismasonic, but it would be less hasle.

Well it’s all about that never ending quest to get the best image up on the wall as possible (within my $$$ means anyway). Just like some folks who insist on buying two EP800’s and investing money and a lot of time into room treatments…… I am very happy with how my system sounds, but always looking to improve the image. If I could swing it, I'd have a three chip DLP unit. But at about 25K, that's not possible, and even it was, I still would have trouble spending that kind of money on a projector.

I am using a JVC RS-20 and a DVDO VP50pro video processor and a Stewart 2.35 screen. The weak link in the chain now is the lens. While the 1400/FE is very good, the Isco III will leave no room for doubt.

you have definately become our video screen expert.

So, Mike, you have transcended even that nice Panasonic projector that you bought? In what way is the JVC more satisfying? My interest is, unfortunately, purely academic at this point. But I like to learn.

If I had a wider screen (and a job) I'd be interested... But, I don't (have either).... Dang it!

Randy,

I'm hardly an expert on much of anything..... I seam to recall you were the one who educated me on projectors, screens and CIH set ups. I just haven't stop spending money.



The major difference between the Panasonic PT1000 (and all other digital projectors for that matter) and the JVC projectors is native contrast ratio. JVC is the benchmark projector that you will see referenced in reviews when the reviewer starts talking about blacks. Many other projectors will list a CR spec, and it will be as high as the JVC’s, but they fail to note that they achieve that spec with the aid of a dynamic iris. When using a DI, brightness and ANSI CR suffers because the light path is getting pinched. The PT1000 I had, after I calibrated it, had a native CR of 1200/1 and an ANSI CR of 110/1. The JVC RS-20, after calibration, is at 36,000/1 native CR and 260 ANSI CR. What all that means, without writing a book, is that I can now see things in shadows that were nothing but dark grey mush before. Instead of seeing a black coat on the Joker in DK, I now can see the lapels of the jacket. Blacks are now black and not dark grey. I can see bright stars surrounded by black space. The difference between the two is dramatic. The JVC also has a much better lens, which means a much sharper image. There is a misunderstanding by most that if a display is 1080P, then it should be very sharp. This is not true. You do have increased lines of resolution, but they are being shot through a lens. If the lens is of so-so quality, then the image you see will be affected by that. This is why the better anamorphic lenses are so expensive; they are generally of better quality than the projector. Any photographer who has used a kit lens, then a pro-series lens can relate to this. There’s no comparison when you start look at the shots closely. There are other things that the JVC does better than the PT1000 I was using, but one that I appreciate greatly, is noise. The JVC is practically silent. When in Normal lamp mode, I can not hear it. When in High lamp mode, it’s still very quiet. My DVR’s hard drive is louder than the projector. The JVC is also considerably brighter than the PT1000; more than twice as bright. This makes the image look much more punchy, gives it more depth and pop. The Panasonic projectors are great units. I’m not bashing them. They just aren’t in the same league as the RS20. But, if I had not seen the JVC in action, I’d be perfectly content with the Panasonic and I would never have known what I was missing. Now I’m screwed. I will always be wanting something better.

Ignorance is bliss....and less expensive to boot!

Mike your the king man. Yeah I remember giving some advice about constant height setups, I still enjoy mine... I'm glad you've researched this stuff like you have...so much to understand...

That is a great explanation, Mike! Thank you very much for taking the time to educate me.

Are people with square rooms even allowed to have projectors?

Yes!
The bylaws have been amended! But you can't show 16:9, 1:85 or even 4:3 images.

They have to by 4:4.

That certainly explains why why your avatar looks all warped and fishbowled.

Actually... that's........my........REAL...........nose!

::runs away with Runny Nose::

No way dude! I've seen you in your Santa Suit.

::Runs away burning Christmas stockings::

I am reviving this old thread as I finally took the plunge and have a new lens on pre-order.

I hate selling stuff.

However, the offer still stands. If anyone in this wee lil' A/V community wants to get into the 2.35 CIH game, this might be a financially advantageous opportunity for you. I haven't even figured out how much to ask for the lens (prob about 50 cents on the dollar of purchase price). I'm not in a hurry. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

I have a Prismasonic H600 that I never use anymore, I should sell mine as well.

Hmmm, I'd hate to miss a steal, but I'm not ready to look at projectors yet. Can either of you link me to some reading on the subject so I can brush up?

Here is a desctiption of the process, but I'm sure googling will show other sites. Basically, you have to have a projector or dvd player that will stretch the image vertically and reclaim the lost pixels taken up by the black bars, about 33%. This is different that zooming, which only moves the black bars off the screen, and does not reclaim those lost pixels and brightness.

Then, the lens stretches the image back out horizontally, to make it look normal again. Your screen has to be a 2.35 aspect ratio also.

http://www.prismasonic.com/english/intro.shtml

I'll be in the market for one of these, one of these days. I Googled for Prismasonic H600, but I can't find a picture of it. I was just wondering how big it is and what the reviews said about it? Haven't checked AVS forums yet.

mine is an older model, I think it is similar to their current HD500m or HD850M.

Here is some info from my website, need to update it by the way..

http://sites.google.com/site/porterplex/porterplexprojectionequipment