my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » What is the oldest projector you are running? (Page 3)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Author Topic: What is the oldest projector you are running? Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-13-2008 09:02 AM                        I've got four of the Brenkert BX-60's. One that is in use at the theatre, one in the closet in the office at the theatre to swap out if the other one has a mechanical problem, and two more at home in the garage I use to steal parts from. I was more than pleased with the work Louis and his team did on my machines. The photos I posted above were actually taken by fellow Film-Tech'er "Evans Chriswell" when he dropped in for a visit back in 2003. I paid more for that Schneider lens than I did for the entire projector. Two of my Brenkerts came from the old Woodzo Drive-In up in Newport, TN. They were sitting in the owners garage with Ashcraft Core-Lite lamphouses on the back of the lamp table of the pedestals. I still have the lamphouses, but have no use for them. The rectifiers are long gone.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 11-13-2008 10:14 AM                     quote: Alan Gouger Barry what model anamorphic attachment is that. Does it focus down for short throw? quote: Barry Floyd Not sure of the exact model number, but I do remember it being a REVERSE Anamorphic adapter, meaning instead of it expanding the width of the picture, it squeezes it in to accomodate the screen and throw Interesting answer from Barry. I've never I've never heard of a "reverse anamorphic" projection lens and I'm not totally convinced there is such a thing, but I could be wrong. (It wouldn't be the first time! ) The lens Barry's picture picture sure looks EXACTLY like a standard Schneider Kurezweil CineLux "2x-MC" I have a couple of them around here. The scale on it sez it has an operating range of 17ft-to-infinity. But I I don't know how accurate the scale is. I'm using one at about 70ft. Here's One I've Got: Here's The One Barry's Picture I know you can't judge a book by its' cover or a lens by it's sleeve, but they sure look alike to me.  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 11-13-2008 11:07 AM                        Barry, I was never all that happy with Brenkerts but they were easy to thread and easy to work on but the ones I had, either because of bad projectionist or bad machines, had to be worked on far to often for me! A "reverse anamorphic" projection lens Say What!!! So it squeezes a flat picture?  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-13-2008 12:04 PM                        Stephen--no idea about that vacuum cleaner; I'll check at some point. They also have an upright model, which works well, but is a hideous blue color from the 1970s.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-13-2008 12:16 PM                     What a bunch of newbies...Reverse anamorphics are about as old as CinemaScope As for Schneider's...they are currently calling it a "Tele Anamorphic" Here is the link to their page: Reverse Anamorphic Schneider's page for all of their anamorphics currently has both the conventional WA and the Tele on the same picture...look pretty similar, eh? Schneider Anamorphics But seriously...the Reverse anamorphic goes WAY back. It is the means for doing long focal lengths. If you need a 250mm scope lens...you could either try to find a 250mm prime (none made today by the leading lens companies) and contend with the very low light (once you go above 140mm...forget about f/2 speeds). Or use a 125mm with a reverse anamorphic. For you ISCO fans, they have the Ultra Reverse anamorphic (754.31). The old Kollmorgen KA299 (4" diameter thread) was natively reverse but could litterally be screwed on backwards to function as a regular anamorph. Reverse anamorphics are not great things, as anamorphics go. They serve a purpose (long focal lengths). They are generally of poorer resolution (I don't think anyone has gone beyond 4-elements in them), cost more and they all seem to have a degree of barrel distortion assoicated with them. Steve  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 11-13-2008 01:22 PM                        Steve my comments were a poor attempt at humor. However, you can interpret them any way you want! A Reverse-Anamorphic is still an anamorphic lens it just has a longer throw and yes more light!  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-13-2008 04:27 PM                        I've got to go down to the theatre tonight to turn on the heaters and I'll take a photo of the model number on the side of that lens. Since both of my screens are the same size, and both are the same distance from each projector - I have the same size lenses on each screen. The scope lens for Screen 2 uses an ISCO Reverse Anamorphic Adapter. The Schneider puts a much better picture on the screen.  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-13-2008 09:29 PM                        Here's what I found... Steve was right - it is a Tele-Anamorphic. Where yours says "2X", mine says "0.5X". Here's the ID plate on the front of my Simplex. S/N 11318  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 11-14-2008 03:10 AM                     ...prob that XL was made in the early 80's with that SS# - just a young'un barely broke in. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-14-2008 08:01 AM                     Nope, that is going to be closer to late '60s. It is a PR-1014 (current PR number) yet black crinkle finish. By the '70s they had gone to hammertone blue-ish. Steve  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 11-15-2008 03:33 AM                     Just been helping a country community group re-open a closed Drive In and the machines there are Raycophone CP7 which were made in about 1949. These are Australian made projectors and once thoroughly cleaned and re lubed and a few adjustments made simply purr along. The screen is 18m wide on just around 100m throw and the light on scope was crap... when I calculated the image size on screen with the backing lens installed it was around 21m wide so was over shooting to hell. Previously another operator had set up the place with reverse anamorphics with a 114mm lens but the next operator went back to the 200mm lens...that looked more like a coke bottle and normal anamorphic arrangement. So reversed the Kowa Prominar scope lens in the bracket rotating it 90 deg at same time and slipped the 114mm lens in place and magic... good light and pretty well spot on image width. A bit of a touch here and there aligning the scope lens onto the screen and the resulting image is quite good for a DI. Reverse anamorphic use was very common in WA Australia in the drive ins as we had plenty of them in their days and good screen light was always a challenge and a normal anamorphic works quite well used back to front. 114mm lens for backing on scope and 127mm lens for WS and the scope image is noticeably brighter than the WS image now. Scope before was awful...very very dull. This set up runs 2 machines on changeover with carbon arcs on the back which are also Aust made lamps by Calder of Sydney which are fitted with 14" mirrors. Run 7 & 8mm carbons right up on Max current for them at 70 amps.. often 75amps if the fish fryer is off and the screen light is quite good. Converted both sound heads to red LED's by using a Lumiled 3W unit and thru the reverse scan setup (original 1940's Aust design) the fader is the same as when running conventional tracks with white light source. Purely mono sound going out to the remains of about half the original 150 speakers thru a pair of 50watt amps running 807's in PP. As well the place also feeds the sound out via the AM band on 1350khz with a nice clean AM signal that sounds really great when played thru a car sound system with a bit of class. If it continues to run future plans are to convert to Xenon lamps but remain as changeover as less work for just a couple of shows each month. There are a few other places like this in OZ running equally old gear that just keeps on rolling along.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.