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Topic: 35mm is the best!!!
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 22, 2009 09:19 AM
Though I would be a nut to say that 35MM is not better, its more of a price issue for me.
I've been stunned at some of the films that I have found on optical sound super 8. Though my search for those prints can only go as far back as 1967 and up to 1990, there are some that, to this day, I haven't seen a print of on 16MM, (for instance, the low budget cutie, "Ruckus" starring Dirk Benedict of Battlestar Galactica), or 35MM, but low and behold, there it is on optical sound super 8, and have I mentioned the image quality on optical sound super 8?
Nah, I couldn't have! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
But 35MM is truly the "Gold Standard" only surpassed by 70MM, and even trailers in 70MM are as rare as hens teeth, (and dem is pretty rare, dem is!)
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God
Posts: 2392
From: France
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted June 23, 2009 12:58 PM
For those who are not familiar with 35 mm projection, I want to clarify a few things.
When we say "Portable", it is wiser to say "Transportable" as these machines are most of the time heavier than a dead donkey. The Cinemec PX1600 weighs 29kg (64 pounds), my Kinoton FP23 weighs 49kg (108 pounds). Once set up, you don't move them around much. Or you put them on wheels.
They are not all "self-contained" (ie plug and play). The Cinemec models are, some older portable machines from Proyecson are, the Buysse-Botazzi 35BB is, the most excellent Portacine from Cinemeccanina is. I think there's also one model from Microcine. What do I mean by "self contained"? They feature a small rectifier - providing they use xenon light (which is not always the case) - a sound amplifier and (sometimes) a built-in speaker. Basically, they are/look like overgrown 16mm machines.
Others will need a separate sound system. You can start with a good old home theatre amp but you soon realize this isn't enough. So you get yourself a Dolby processor, 6 channels of amplification and the adequate speakers. Providing your machine is equipped with a stereo cell (which is not always the case).
If you want to be able to project properly recent trailers and films, your sound head will need to be fitted with a red LED/laser system. The new "cyan track" - designed basically to eliminate silver in the printing of optical track - will not play really well with old exciter lamp systems.
After that, you can also go digital (I'm equipped with DTS sound - that requires a special decoder on the projector and a special CD unit - the result is mind blowing)
To work with Xenon light, some projectors like the "portable" Spectra (Chinese machines that can be purchased new - similar to the one pictured above - our friend Robert just bought two) need a separate rectifier/ballast for continuous power.
Then there's the lens (or lenses) as there's no such thing as a simple zoom lens. Only primers in 2.5mm increments. The best ones are from ISCO or Schneider (they are now the same company). For long-throw, you can sometimes attach an adaptor device (the one I have is called a Magnacom) that will either enlarge or reduce slightly the size of your projected image. There are formulas and softwares to help you with the choice of lenses once you know your screen size and projection distance.
For example, I have a 12ft screen for my set-up at 20ft throw. It is a screen meant for video projection, therefore 1.78:1.
I can fill it in "flat" (1.85:1) with a 35mm lens, use a 50mm optic for 1.66:1 and 1.37:1 and create a letterboxed image for cinemascope with a 70mm lens and anamorphic attachment.
Then there's is the film transport... (Robert, I still have spares to build a Cinemeccanica tower...) Most portable machines are able to play 6000ft spools. The Spectra models need to be fitted with special/longer arms. My Kinoton was originally customized with a 6000ft Microcine film transport. I have removed and replaced it with an IDEF tower for up to 15000ft of film (that's more than 3 hours).
There you have it. I think I covered everything. I also want to add that I still run a lot of super 8 and 16
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The Grindcave Cinema Website
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