Coolcameragirl Loc: Bradenton, FL

Our camera club is in dire need of a new projector for digital images. We don't have a huge budget, maybe $1600 tops. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Take 5 Cinema Loc: Canoe BC

The best resolution you can get is HD of 1920 x 1080 - so look there first - don't even consider lesser mortals such as 720p or SD. You cameras are capable of insane resolution of 6,000 x 4,000 -so this HD standard is the way to go.

Epson has a great reputation. I have the Home Cinema 8350 - it is BIG. But the reputation is stellar. it is not exactly compact to be uber portable, but the image is astounding.

They can be had on eBay for under $1,000. Make damn sure that the seller has decent low time on the bulb or it will cost you $300. They claim 4,000 hours, but the real world at full brightness is more like 2,500. So shop around for 400 hrs or so. I bought mine and it had 2,100 hrs on it and the bulb was shot - so I got burned on that one. Just a warning for any used purchase. and if you have to get a bulb, make sure it is NOT from China. The colors, temp and brightness are not that good. Osram, Philips or japanese bulbs are best.

Cheers,
Take 5

Trevor Dennis Loc: New Zealand (South Island)

I'm guessing Simsbury CT is in America? What is the current standard for projected images for PSA affiliated clubs, and is there any likelihood of it changing in the future?

If you don't have the latter info, then perhaps drop Dennis Hirning a line and ask.

http://www.psa-photo.org/divisions/pid/
dchirning@msn.com

The PSNZ changed from XGA (1024x768) to HD 1080 (1920x1080) last year, but we had a few hick ups when people got upset over 1080's 16:9 aspect ratio. So there was talk of changing back to 4:3 with UXGA (1600x1400).

Wikipedia has a list of video standards here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vector_Video_Standards2.svg

I am sure they had not thought it through, and made a strong recommendation to the PSNZ council to look at the relative projector costs. As you can imagine, economy of scale meant that the widely used 1080 standard is way cheaper than UXGA. But you obviously need to know that a projector your club buys today is not going to become obsolete later this year!

Incidentally, my club is hosting the PSNZ National Convention in April 2014, and our budget for projector and screen hire is a whopping NZ$10,000! That’s 10% of our entire budget for a four day event. We are trying to arrange loaners from either Canon or Epsom, but the shape of the Convention center we are using means we need two projectors and two screens, and just the screens will cost a fortune.

I’m producing the promotional video for our Convention, and shooting everything in 1080p, so I hope the standard will stick.

mainshipper Loc: Hernando, Florida

We are in the process of getting a projector for our club as well and have settled on an Epson 915W http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?sku=V11H388020 that has a resolution of 1280X800 (SXGA) and presents itself in a 16:9 aspect ratio. This unit can be attached via wireless connection which will simplify meeting hookups. We currently use a nice 60 in TV that runs at 1920X1080 and presents our competition images nicely but is too small to view from a distance. Because of the fact this will be shared by many groups apart from the camera club we like the 16:9 aspect ratio for its ability to better play videos.

Coolcameragirl Loc: Bradenton, FL

Thanks for the information. I have always used Epson printers and have been pleased. I will look into this.

Coolcameragirl Loc: Bradenton, FL

Thanks, Trevor. Our club is a member of PSA so I will do some investigating there. Simsbury, CT is on the East Coast of the United States (2 hours from either Boston or NY). And good luck with the convention!

Coolcameragirl Loc: Bradenton, FL

Thanks for this information. I printed out the info on the Powerlite and will bring it to our Board meeting.