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Author Topic: Best/worst projector David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 05-15-2008 04:51 PM                        When I was in the 6th grade I loved running those Bell & Howell autothreading 16mm machines. Those were the bomb.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-15-2008 07:44 PM                     quote: I’m tired of these pissing contests: Mikey, Film-Tech has always been this way. Its a mix of some of us helping others when they need it, others having vague arguments and yet others having very definate arguments. All of us here are opinioniated including you. Our discussions are fun and in fact quite a few people I know in the industry love reading the pissing matches that go on here. My feeling is that if you don't like the once in a while pissing match or the opinions of which sprocket is better or not then you should consider going and taking a good dump and get the load off your back! quote: Michael Moore Just take care of what you have and get the most out of it. If only you knew the real world.... You'd know that it was just about the opposite of that! Mark  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 05-15-2008 08:42 PM                     quote: then you should consider going and taking a good dump and get the load off your back! (As Confucious would say: "Take a bran muffin, for one needs a colon cleaning once in a while..." ) ............................................... The early 175 up to the 399 Bell&Howells were the best 16mm around - being all manual thread (and the 202 was a mag/optical variety and the 399 had sapphire jeweled trap runners),but agree with the later 500+ series being as the autoload "shredders". Only thing saved the later models is using the lower wattage halogen bulbs and solid state amplifier circuitry compared to the earlier models with those current drawing, heat creating, short hour 1000w monster bulbs that they used and using tube amplifiers. It took a good 1200w out of the wall to run these earlier machines,. ..and "oh GAG!" how about them Graflex 16mm as being the worst in the 16mm catagory... ...I also like Brenkherts...very well built machine, ..go ahead an kick me for this, but I also liked Motiographs. -Monte  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 05-15-2008 09:29 PM                     "Kinotone Bitches and Christie Sluts". I'm sorry, but I'm STILL laughing at that. I agree that pissing contests are counterproductive, but these can be quite fun to read. I refer to it as "Tech Fight."  |  IP: Logged Michael Moore Expert Film Handler Posts: 188 From: Dover, DE / USA Registered: Jun 2006 posted 05-15-2008 09:39 PM                        ok  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-15-2008 10:24 PM                     Its true....you could find the most god awful piece of crap and there is going to be someone out there that just thinks it is "da bomb." I, personally, much prefer one defending one's "bitches" or "sluts" and touting why they think they are so horney...ah, er good!, than merely saying...yadda, yadda, yadda is a piece of crap and giving no apparent reason why. As to this thread...it is just impossible to state what is the best projector, in general terms. One would have to know the criteria that they are going for. It would be like saying "which is the best car"...An Indy car is pretty important to have if you are going to drive in the Indianapolis 500...a pretty poor choice to drive to work on public roads for a whole slew of reasons...staring with being illegal. Most every projector has its strong and weak points...which ones bother you or please you most and that tends to make what one thinks is the best or worst projector (or any other piece of equipment). As to Cinemeccanicas...I know many a European that think the Vic 5s are just the best thing to have in the world. I've never much cared for them myself...never had a great picture...too many shutter box failures, c/o dousers are beyond slow (but I think only the American companies got that right)...sound drum being out of round too many times...too many solar cells ripped off their brackets (back when those were used)...and the list just keeps going on. Steve  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 05-16-2008 03:01 AM                     Regarding the Strong splicer...Joe, you are probably remembering the splicer we tested and the improvement with the registration pins that Strong swore to us would be immediately forthcoming to solve the issues we had with it. Well, the review went up and Strong dropped the ball and never fixed the issue. Given that issue alone, I would rate it an "F". Interestingly enough, another member did a re-review of the splicer months down the line and found that his splicer did not even punch properly, but damaged the film.  |  IP: Logged Jaime Tuzzio Film Handler Posts: 50 From: Salem, OR, USA Registered: Apr 2008 posted 05-16-2008 08:19 AM                 quote: Joe Redifer Unfortunately there are no games built into the CP650 like there were in the CP500... that I have discovered. What? Where the hell was I?! I've only ever known Simplex projectors: 1060's, Millenium's, and Apogee's. I am trying to be at peace with CP65's after spending the last five years with 500's and 650's. And I am happy to say that I am quickly re-learning the ways in which you can "fix" a 5-star with a Q-tip, appease a CP65 by following a specific order of turning things on and off, and fix an SCDC optical 4 error with a sledge hammer. Or I may have dreamt that last one.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 05-16-2008 08:54 AM                        Steve is right; the best projector is. . . . . . the one you can most "deal with." All have some kind of "issue." I was once asked during questions from the floor which projector I liked best? My answer; which problem can you most accept? Louis  |  IP: Logged Chad M Calpito Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 05-16-2008 09:19 AM                        The equipment that I've been working with so far are the Simplex 35's with the 5-Star Soundhead, Christie SLC Consoles with the AM-10 Automation and, of course, the awesome Christie AW3R Platters. I also use the Kelmar Build Table as well. Of course, I dealt with others like the Strong AP Platters (don't like these), Strong Millenium Projectors (these are okay) and the Big Sky Industries Lamphouses & Series II Automation. I used to use the Century JJ Projector at Grossmont Center 10 before I transferred to Gaslamp 15. A projector that I could not stand was the Christie Projector that I used at the Ultra Star Poway 10 many years ago. Anyway, I'm sure that there are other projectors that are better than what I'm working with currently.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 05-16-2008 10:14 AM                        Dont get me wrong, I am not saying that Cinemeccanicas are my favorite projector, or that I enjoy working on them. I was just saying that I think Joe's abviously exagerated statement that the only way to compensate for unsteadiness is to be in an earthquake. I beleive with the right maintenance and care these machines will run well. For how long? Thats another story. Same thing with the PRO-35. I have been able to get a great picture out of these, how long it stays that way after I walk out the door is another issue. Those two are probaby some of my least favortie machines. All I am saying is that it is possible to get a decent picture out of them at least for a little while! BTW, I beleive that debate strengthens the mind, and helps to keep one sharp much in the same way that teaching does. I find that sometimes I will have a vague understanding of something until I try to explain it to someone else and then all of a sudden it clicks in and I "get it" better than I did before. Whenever I am confronted with a problem that I don't understand right away I will call up one of my friends (regardless of wether they know what im talking about) and start to explain the problem to them, and the process I am thinking about using to troubleshoot it. Most of the time I will get halfway through the explanation and something will "click" and I will have the answer then I'll say "Gotta Go!" and hang up leaving them sitting there scratching thier heads! I see constructive debate in the same way, arguing your opinion's can lead to you having a better understanding of why you have that opinion, and you can also always learn something from the person you are arguing with. I have found that if you want to learn from someone who may be hesitant to share thier knowledge that if you trick them into a debate or argument with you they will end up giving away that knowledge to win the argument and then, who really won?  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 05-16-2008 10:52 AM                        quote: Brad Miller Regarding the Strong splicer...Joe, you are probably remembering the splicer we tested and the improvement with the registration pins that Strong swore to us would be immediately forthcoming to solve the issues we had with it. I said it was in a super-distant second place, but I believe I have only used three different types of splicers. The registration pins on the Strong are ASS! Also pathetic is the way it holds a roll of tape. When the roll gets less than half full, the tape becomes extremely hard to pull. Also the cutting arm is way too damned stiff. It does not make very clean cuts, either. Strong has always been a company who has been asleep at the wheel in the design department. They're not like Christie or Pennywise who will work with you to improve their products.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-16-2008 11:20 AM                        Sean--out of curiousity, who has PRO-35s in this area? I've never seen any in this region and am curious as to what chain/theatre bought them. From what I have seen, this seems to be basically a Simplex/Century town, with Cinemeccanicas in ex-GCC installations from the 1980s and 1990s. Kinotons are also common in recent BL&S installations. There is also the occasional Norelco installation. Have I missed out on anything exciting in this region?  |  IP: Logged David Zylstra Master Film Handler Posts: 432 From: Novi, MI, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 05-16-2008 11:48 AM                     I've always been partial to the Century, but admittedly it is because I "grew up" running them. I also personally like the ORC platter (NOT the one reviewed here but a late '80s generation) almost as much as the Christie, but again it is mostly because that is what we ran in my booth and we learned to live with the quirks so they did not seem that bad (Like the $100 potentiometer replacements). Strong's platters were OK but I never liked the idea of the take up governing pay out, if memory serves the Xetron platters were similar in operation to Christie. The CFS Rentec ESP platter had a horrible feed plate - decent concept but they did not have enough time to perfect their feed plate design before closing the business, the second generation was better than the first but it still needed work - I'd say if you are stuck with one of the 1st gen ESP platters you are in maintenance hell keeping them running. I think some opinions (including mine) are colored by what generation equipment one learned on or used most frequently - i.e. if I had started with the Strong made Century my opinion would definitely be different. On splicers - we used the Hollywood HFC tape splicer that used pre-perforated tape, I came from using a Neumade and today I would still prefer the HFC (it did take me a while to warm up and get adept at using it) . . . . . only problem is the tape is very expensive.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 05-17-2008 03:24 PM                        Scott, The theatre I serviced with the Pro-35's was way up in newhampshire on the vermont border.  |  IP: Logged

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