Posts: 165
From: Bogota, Colombia
Registered: Mar 2011
posted June 11, 2011 07:07 PM
Hi, I would like to know if there are scope lens available for the ELMO ST1200, what brands, and what would be a reasonable price to pay for one of them if they exist?
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted June 11, 2011 10:18 PM
The nice thing about 'scope lenses is they aren't very projector specific, so any lens with a rear element big enough to pass the entire projected beam will do the job.
-after that the only complicated part is mounting it in front of the machine.
I use a Sankor 16F with all of my machines. It was used by the Royal Navy and an English friend found it for me on Ebay.UK about 5 years ago. I got it for about $55 US, which was pretty cheap. This lens typically goes well over a hundred.
-------------------- All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
Posts: 165
From: Bogota, Colombia
Registered: Mar 2011
posted June 12, 2011 11:17 AM
Thx Steve, correct me if I am wrong, so the scope lens goes over the normal lens it does not replace it and it just has to fit over the original lens?
Posts: 146
From: Montreal, QC
Registered: Jan 2011
posted June 12, 2011 01:29 PM
I don't have one for my Elmo 1200 HD yet, but I know The Reel Image sells scope lens and brackets. The ones that I saw replace the usual lens. You just pop that one out and slide in the scope. It's bigger and heavier, so a bracket helps support it. Steve Osborne's The Reel Image is listed on the forum's "Wanted" page.
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted June 12, 2011 01:50 PM
The ones I've heard of sit in front of the regular projection lens without even touching it. The beam goes in the back element, gets spread out horizontally and then comes out the front.
They can become a little demanding in terms of the geometry of your setup. When I started with scope I had a tripod screen roughly 5 feet wide. With academy format the picture could be over three feet tall. When I went to scope the picture went under two feet high. This looked more "shallow screen" than "wide screen".
I now have a screen about 8 feet wide: much better. I usually project from about 20 feet back and can go 10 feet further. When I put the 'scope lens on the picture spills off the screen if I am any further back than about 15 feet. This means going to 'scope means relocating equipment on top of putting the lens on the machine.
The funny part is a have this entire class of films in my collection that I see much less frequently because I have to set up 'scope to see them. When I do get to seeing them it's usually a whole series of them and quite a treat.
It is a really great way to show films. It takes you a couple more steps away from home movies and towards home cinema.
-------------------- All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
Posts: 146
From: Montreal, QC
Registered: Jan 2011
posted June 12, 2011 03:33 PM
I may have misspoke. I'm looking at one of the scope ads now and it says the scope lens covers and abuts the 1200 lens, with a bracket holding it in place. And like Steve says, then you have to track down specific prints for this already expensive hobby. That being said, I just ordered a scope lens and bracket, lol.
Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004
posted June 12, 2011 03:59 PM
Wittner also offer a scope bracket that fits the ST1200. It's fixed with one screw and although their site is in German, it appears that there are versions for the two common sizes of lens. http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/katalog/07_vorfu/e_halter.php