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Author Topic: Portable 35mm Projector? Andrew McCrea Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 645 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-03-2004 01:15 PM                        Does this actually exist? What kind of wiring, ventilation, lamp (xenon, wattage), etc. does it require? Price range? Thank-you!  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 02-03-2004 01:41 PM                     There is a picture of one of my MP-30's here: MP30 Portable 35mm Projector On eBay now (not my auction): Westar Portable 35mm Projector Projectors such as these normally go for between $1500 and $2500. /Mitchell  |  IP: Logged Luciano Brigite Master Film Handler Posts: 277 From: Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-03-2004 02:04 PM                     I know about 3 portable 35mm projectors -Zeiss Jena -Philips (FP2 orFP3, don't remember model right now) -AVE/shinkio (Don't know wich one came first and wich one is the clone, both looks just the same to me) There is also a Russian portable that is nearly a clone of hte Zeiss Jena. All of these projectors uses halogen bulbs ( like the ones used in 16m/m machines) and have separate sound system, originally a tube amp and photocell, converted to solid state by most of the owners. the Zeiss can be converted to stereo without too much trouble ( did that before for a friend),not sure about the AVE and the Philips. Zeiss and philips have the bulb on the non operating side of it, the ave/shinkio on the back. I'm not sure if they can handle Xenon because the position of the lamphouse being on the side of the projector, and the ave/shinkio for having a shutter made of a material that looks like hard plastic. These are the ones I know as being real portable projectors ( tho they're a bit heavy). There's the DeVry also, but they're bigger than these 3 I mentioned and many won't take that as a portable machine.If I remeber it right, Kinoton has a portable- like machine in their line also Wassman and Proyecson (SP??)  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-03-2004 03:47 PM                     Cinemecanica Prevost Veronesse Tokiwa also make portables  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-03-2004 04:22 PM                     There are also some older portables, they do turn up for sale from time to time, fairly cheaply, but they tend to be very heavy, and not very bright. Simplex made a portable long ago, DeVry ones are still quite common, and there was the GBN. These normally used tungsten lamps, not halogen, though they could probably be converted, but bolt-on carbon arc lamphouses were available as an optional extra; this was before the days of xenon. I know somebody who still uses a DeVry portable, and parts for it were still available the last I heard, about three or four years ago. If you want something that you really can move around fairly easily, you would be better off with something more modern. The Chineese made machines are good, and are available with halogen or xenon illumination, but they only have 2000 foot spool boxes, I'm not sure how easy they would be to convert to take something larger, I haven't looked at one that closely. You could probably adapt one to run with a tower or platter, but then the whole thing wouldn't be very portable. There were several other modern portable machines available in the '70s when I worked in A.V., most of these took 6000 foot spools, and had small xenon lamps. Portable 35mm machines were never very popular; in nitrate days portable projection wasn't easy to do, and by the time safety film became universal, and the fire regulations were relaxed, 16mm was well established for portable use. Far more portable 16mm machines were made than 35mm.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Sisemore Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day! Posts: 3061 From: Rockwall TX USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-03-2004 04:52 PM                     There is also the Microcine/Rangertone portable 35 machine. Most 35 portables are incandescent lit, a few come stock with xenon lamps, still others have xenon as an option. All will take a 2000' reel, some can fit 6000' reels as well. Many are quite heavy (especially those with a Xenon and standard non-switching power supply), compared to a 16mm. -Aaron  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-03-2004 06:51 PM                     Have yet to see a good decent portable 35mm machine and have seen them all. We have two of the Prevost machines at work....they are only so-so. I once owed a Tokiwa T60, it was a real piece of junk, VERY hard on film. The best portable is to take a full size theatre projector with you where ever you need it. Either a Century or Simplex. My experience has been as such.... A toy machine will only give you so-so and inconsistant results but a pro machine will give you pro results! Its not that much work to move a pro machine around. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 02-03-2004 10:25 PM                     Check with ICECO. They have a number of portables. Some new some from the 40s and 50s. www.iceco.com  |  IP: Logged Mike Bianchi Film Handler Posts: 40 From: Independence, KY, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 02-03-2004 11:48 PM                        I had a Simplex portable, but I gave it up like giving a puppy to a "good home". It was from the '30s or earlier, I don't recall the model number. It was basically a big box, with a supply magazine (2000 ft.) bolted on top and the take-up magazine inside the box. It had a 1000w incandescent bulb. I checked with a local supplier and they could only locate two bulbs in the country that would work in it. It was an interesting piece, but not something you'd want to put any film through that mattered. I used it to run "Teen Wolf" on the side of my neighbor's house every holloween. Like I said - not something to run a film that you actually care about. I finally gave it to another operator friend of mine who I knew would appreciate it.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-04-2004 12:30 AM                     Well, it is my understanding that DeVry made one for the military service. I had the displeasure of running one when I was in MPO school in San Diego in 1967. It was a POS. It had a free-wheeling holdback sprocket that was supposedly adjustable, and if it went on the fritz, it would just rip the living pergetory out of the sprocket perfs. Now many swore at them, and some swore by them. To me, it was a real hunk of crap. Even Bell and Howell could have done better than that....as far as I was concerned, they all belonged in the trash masher. I would be the first to toss them there....and light a stick of dynamite to blow that sucker to you-know-where.  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 02-04-2004 01:48 AM                  Holy Shit Paul! I think there will be umpteen people that will disagree with you on that one. There are MANY DeVry projectors STILL in service in many screening rooms. While NOT my favorite projector, they certainly have positively contributed to all the American GI's film enjoyment worldwide over the years. That post sure sounds off-base and very bitter. >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 02-04-2004 04:21 AM                     I hired a pair of JGS portables to do 8 sessions of Japanese Story at Newman (1200 kms north of Perth West Oz) in September. These are of Chinese manufacture and performed very credibly even down to full blown stereo sound from the optical track. Each had a 1kw xenon lamp with 2000' spool boxes and all packed into 6 foam boxes for safe travelling and were quite easy to setup and dismantle. Image on screen very good, sound was quite surprising considering the tiny exciter lamp like about 4v 1 amp sized filament and change was very slick: A single press button behind the upper spool box just needed one press on change cue and over they went. Usual start motor on motor cue as per normal. The button switched the exciter over, snuffed the running xenon and fired the waiting xenon both being switched from the common power supply. The down side was: 1. Noise... each lamp house had 2 fans and as soon as the system was powered up all 4 fans came on creating quite a drone. Really have to be in a bio box of some sort or in our case we fired out from a storeroom and we set up some office privacy screens as sound baffles and shot the image over the top. Most noise was kept back there. 2. Changes get a bit ragged as the lamps age as you rely upon the xenon firing first time every time for a smooth change over. Had no problems ourselves and the lamps had done a few hours and getting a bit dark. Power pak is adjustable for each xenon so you can up the current for a cranky one on start then wind back a bit for running the reel. 3. No change shutter or dowser so IF the end of the outgoing reel has something other than BLACK leader on it as the outgoing lamp dies away you get to see the tail leader of the ending machine... you wonder what the heck is going on first time you see that. Positives were good steady image which in our case was in scope on almost a 6m sized pix and really was as good as the old (1927)Simplex machines I used to use in the outdoor. Easy to thread although a bit unconventional from the intermittent holdback sprocket to the sound drum but once done a few times no worries at all. All parts easy to get at for lubing or cleaning. Even the Xenon could be changed in about 10 mins flat and they are more or less prefocussed so I would not be worried about doing one on the run between reels if need be and then if reqd giving it a tweak or two later on.. has an interlock on the door so reasonably safe. New projectors come with a nice little box of spares in a quite sturdy wooden box. The ones I used had been used with a platter in a small cinema in Perth for a few weeks whilst the normal machine was repaired from a major failure and apart from going through a few lamps with the more or less continuos running it performed fautlessly. New price here in OZ last time I heard was around $18K Aust $$ but I have seen good S/H ones advertised here for as low as $10k. Parts do not seem to be a problem as the factory in China is still churning them out but they are so simple providing they are kept clean and lubed should last for ages. The intermittent also appears to be of quite a high standard for its quite small size.IF I can work this "Upload Image thingo" I will try to post a pix of the machine use at Newman. The Producer (Sue Maslin) and Director (Sue Brooks) of the film were present at the first screening and were quite impressed by the image and sound we managed to squeeze out of these... so they cannot be all that bad. But very portable and very easy to use and did no damage to the print after about 10 sessions it went onto Broome Sun Pictures for some sneaks up there. If I ever have to do another similar show will use those again as I was considering taking the Century CC and MUT to do the showings.. glad I did not as these were a breeze to use. Best part was it all packed into the back of the station wagon, projectors, sound gear and film plus all our clothing etc Lindsay  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-04-2004 07:11 AM                        I ran a pair of MP30s a couple of weeks ago. They're decent enough. Not my favorite machines to work with, but they don't damage film. I'd be nervous about running 6000' reels on them, however. They don't have standard metal changeover shutters; the ones that I used simply switch the exciter bulb and halogen bulb at every changeover, so it's impossible to put on a perfectly seamless show (the halogens take a second or so to fade and come up to full brightness). You could get a platter, but that would pretty much defeat the purpose of having portable projectors. I would second the recommendation of getting a full-size machine, though. A Century or Simplex will take up only a little more space if you get a 5-point base and a small lamphouse. The machines can also be moved fairly easily by one person: the bases come apart into several pieces, the lamphouse comes off the base, the reel arms come off, the projector head and motor come off the soundhead, etc. You don't get the same nice easy-to-setup package, but the overall quality of the machine is better.  |  IP: Logged Edward Jurich Master Film Handler Posts: 305 From: Las Vegas USA Registered: Jul 2003 posted 02-04-2004 08:08 AM                     My Holmes (an ongoing project) has run film sveral times without any film damage. In fact the film path has no sound drum so nothing touches the picture area. These can be bought for around $500 when they pop up but may require a lot of work to get into decent shape. http://www.angelfire.com/film/shutterblade/holmes/holmes.html  |  IP: Logged Bruce McGee Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1776 From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular. Registered: Aug 1999 posted 02-04-2004 08:13 AM                     I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned the Holmes portable 35's. My 3 machines are over 60 years old, and running well... for now. They do have drawbacks, like: Low light output. Nearly non-existant replacement parts. Non-standard magazines. Tight threading path. Totally original sound pick-up ideas. Why did Bell & Howell not build a 35mm? Judging by the 16's they built, it would have been a winner. EDIT: Ed got here first! Thanks, Ed! Holmes owners gotta stick together! [ 02-04-2004, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Bruce McGee ]  |  IP: Logged

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