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Author Topic: SIMPLEX X-L: Perfuct Focus? Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-13-2014 01:58 PM                     Ok and we're back! This might be premature but I may have figured out where I've gone wrong with my newer PR1014 head. When I first got it I swapped out many part's that were newer from my old XL head.This can be a problem if your not careful because not all parts are identical from different eras of the XL. The gate parts were something I noticed and adjusted immediately but only today did I look more closely at the gate trap! It has clear cosmetic differences.The important one which may have caused me problems.Problems I didn't realize I had. In particular the way the gate shoes contact the flexible straps! When gate tension is set correctly,shoes cup the intermittent sprocket just right.Gate shoe runners were not in close contact with straps at the bottom of the gate! This is what I saw upon close inspection. So I switched back to the original gate trap and saw much closer contact with straps at the bottom of gate. I can't check for results on screen for about 10 hours but pray I'm on to something! My luck is not good though.Just bought a iconic Blue Star anamorphic and had to send it away to Century optics in Van Nuys because something is rattling around inside and focus is worse than my Ultrastar HD!  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-13-2014 03:59 PM                     Yeah...but on the up side. You'll get it nice a clean and set up on an optical bench to perfection so it is likely to be better, when all is done, than an off-the-shelf one.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-13-2014 04:13 PM                     Yes and I just got a very pleasant phone call from lens tech John Sioringas from Century Optics saying he found the problem and it's a matter of a single element. A very reasonable price to fix it too!  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-13-2014 09:16 PM                     John is excellent too.  |  IP: Logged Frank Bolkovac Film Handler Posts: 27 From: Monroeville, Pa. USA Registered: Mar 2011 posted 03-16-2014 10:20 PM                     Might be a form of travel ghost if there is a hole somewhere in the shutter's cut off blade.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-19-2014 06:32 PM                     No holes in my shutter blades.If fact I've repainted them a perfect flat black. I have solved almost every focus artifact except for one. This one issue used to be subtle but now looks worse. With the top/bottom/center and sides sharp I have a soft area just left of center. If I focus this I lose top/bottom a bit. I've taken louis's advise and am working the problem with just my prime lenses (5 of them) and they all show the same thing. I've had my Blue Star repaired and it's on it's way back to me. I want to get this thing right before I install it. It's frustrating because it's so close to being great. I think the film is bulging in towards the lamp in that spot. Why? Too much heat? Intermittent out of align? The gate has brand new straps/gate shoes and is adjusted perfectly as I can get it. I have been careful to work one problem at a time but now I'm stuck.  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 03-20-2014 10:31 AM                       Have you tried moving the inner lateral guide roller out of the way with the target film running? You can do this with a little stick or screwdriver. This might help if the film is being pinched. Also, I would move one of the so called studio guides away from the film a bit for the same reason as above. Worth a try.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-20-2014 12:09 PM                      |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-20-2014 12:20 PM                     Hi Sam! It's a curved gate so no studio guides but I was thinking the lateral guide might be a culprit and yes I did move it to release pressure off the film. Problem is from the booth it's hard to see how much that helped. That lateral roller can only be in so many positions where it will still turn freely and do it's job. I do have an update on this. It's fixed! I spent the last week carefully adjusting my reflector to bulb relationship. The super lumex reflector has a threaded rod at the top of the mirror mount which allows forward and back adjustments. This is similar to moving the bulb yolk up or down. Without the alignment kits or lasers I was having a hard time getting this relationship spot on. I figured out a way using straight edges placed across the reflector and bulb and eyeballing a 90 degree angle in true hillbilly with a purpose fashion! It worked! I should have invested more time earlier on this particular point but I thought I had it close enough based on the incredible brightness I was getting. All four corners darkening evenly and so on. I believe it was off just enough to give me great light but shooting off in every direction and causing concentrated heat to that area of the film. So the bottom line is bulb has to be perfectly centered and square with the reflector. The lens assembly is also off and requires shimming but that's easy compared to eyeballing the bulb/reflector. Trying to achieve lens to film alignment without the bulb/reflector alignment perfect is where I was going wrong. As Louis said "chasing two or more problems at the same time. Once I had the lamphouse right the gate and lens assembly adjustments are a piece of cake. I receive my Blue Star anamorphic back from Century optics in a few days but my picture is so good now, you could paint this Ultrastar blue and tell me it's the actual Blue Star! I might fall for it. The lesson here is bulb/reflector = lamp house. Only then do you have a lamp house worth aligning to your projector. Thanks Louis,Steve,Sam,Mark,Tony,Gord and God! Now I can get to work on my left off center projector! Piece of cake.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 03-20-2014 02:45 PM                        Glad that worked. EVERYTHING needs to be on optical center, and when it is, it really really works. Hard to believe that a picture could be that good! Louis  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-26-2014 11:48 AM                     I got the Blue Star lens back from Century Optics. They fixed the rattle but when I displayed my test films it was still not great. I can see it's better but it still performs below my 3 Ultrastar HD lenses. If it was 75% before then it's 90% now. I don't know if I am missing something but I spent 4 hours on it last night and in the end my old Ultrastar HD easily out performed the Blue Star. I need to take a few days rest from it.I will write Century Optics and see what they say. They did tell me it's the hardest lens of all to work on. Otherwise I'm $950.00 poorer on this and have a pretty Blue paper weight to show for it. Not sure what to do? I don't think I've missed anything. I have the Ultrastar HD back in place looking excellent with a showing of T2 on Friday so I'll take a break from it till after that showing and give it another try. I'm exhausted and need a vacation!  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 03-26-2014 06:25 PM                        Uncouple the anamorphic. Put only the prime lens in and focus it. Do not change this setting. Hold the anamorphic in front of the prime lens and adjust only the anamorphic distance setting until focus is good. This may or may not occur at the distance that corresponds to your throw. It doesn't matter if the picture is good. Louis  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-26-2014 07:37 PM                     I'll try that Louis.If your suggesting my distance setting is off? I got very good at adjusting that 20 years ago. Film Tech method or my preferred method of focus knob,distance,focus distance until they converge. That's what I spent so much time doing last night after making sure the prime lens by itself was optimum.The thing I didn't do was hold the anamorphic in front and adjust distance...I went straight to attaching it to the prime. Even if this way you suggest is better,I think it could be.I still think the Blue Star is mis-aligned inside. I hope to be proven wrong. It would be great if this issue is caused by the Blue Star being very finicky before it shows what it can do. I would expect a better lens to be easier to adjust though...  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-27-2014 03:12 PM                     Keep in mind people that the adjustment on an anamorphic projection attachment IS NOT a focus adjustment in the true sense. It is actually an astigmatism adjustment. If you approach it for what it really is then it may be easier to deal with. Mark  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 03-27-2014 04:44 PM                     Indeed Mark! Anyone out there find making these adjustments on a Blue Star anamorphic more difficult and picky than a lessor anamorphic? Century optics has made some suggestions such as sending the Blue Star and 110mm prime lens back to them and they will focus match them together. Which is what is done to a integrated lens. Does that sound like a dream solution or a compromise to the Blue Star or the prime? That's a deep question! Wow! Just after I posted this ,the forum took on a anamorphic stretch!? I kinda Like It!  |  IP: Logged

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