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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Philips FP3 or Marin MP30
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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 09-01-2011 07:18 PM
Like Scott, I have no experience with the FP-3, but I own 2 MP-30's. Like most older equipment, if they were maintained and are in good condition they will give you years of trouble free operation with minimal maintenance. If they were not maintained and are in poor condition, they will be nothing but a headache. Both models are long discontinued, and as such parts are hard to come. For the MP-30, the most common thing to break is the main drive belt, but any industrial belting supplier can have these inexpensively made up for you. Same with the lamp fan belt.
To expand what Scott said about the exciter lamp, they originally came with a lamp that is no longer manufactured. The good news is these lamps tend to last forever. At one time there was a modification kit to change it over to a Cinemacanica exciter lamp, but I have never personally seen one.
I modified one of my MP-30's for analog Dolby Stereo. There is no off the shelf kits, it is a pain in the rear. Of course if you are planning to upgrade either projector to a red reader, it will not matter. However, there is no stock red reader upgrade for either.
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Damien Taylor
Master Film Handler
Posts: 493
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2007
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posted 09-02-2011 03:55 AM
Whilst I have been very happy with my FP3, it is not without it's problems.
The soundhead on the Philips is a reverse of the regular Philips soundhead, so nothing made for regular Philips projectors will work. (I would LOVE to be proven wrong here)
When the exciter I am using dies, I'm going to break the glass and solder a star LED where the filament was. Mine has stereo sound added by gluing a stereo cell on the end of the glass light pipe and ditching the photoelectric tube.
You cannot add digital sound to these machines as the spoolbox and projector head form one contiguous unit, and there is no room to mount anything without modifying it to the point where it would be easier to buy something else. Parts are very scarce.
The maximum internal lamp is 1000w incandescent, but the original globes don't exist anymore, so you will need to modify it for something else like a theatrical lamp when they die.
It usually comes with 2000ft spoolbox, but there is a 6000ft one, although it is rarer.
It originally came with an anamorphic lens holder, however mine is missing it. The lens mount is 7cm.
The Philips uses european reel spindles which it's quite hard to find reels for in some parts of the world.
FP3 Soundhead
Silver cover used to house PE cell. You can see the wires of the solar cell running up what was the light pipe. The exciter holder has the lamp alignment pin on the bottom making it incompatible even with JAX.
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Rob J. Buskop
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 111
From: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 09-04-2011 06:42 AM
It's always interesting to read comments about something that you're intimately familiar with.
In this case where it's about the FP-3 and the Marin (from Spain)
projector the above applies.
First: As somebody stated earlier, The FP-3 has no Nitsche ancestry at all. This is utter nonsense. The FP-3 was designed
on a Sunday by my old, late, friend Jan Kotte who was the
designing engineer of all Philips projectors. He's the man of the
DP-70 or Norelco AA as it was called in the U.S.
Mr. Kotte was very fond of the FP-3, and rightly so.
It is extremely quiet, has a picture steadiness that's cannot
be improved upon and it is the most "forgiving" projector around.
It is extremely gentle to film and won't derail with a tear or
other mechanical defects the film might have.
Also the design is very elegant.
Conversion to 36V 400 Watt as a light source can be done elegantly. Have done more than six or seven over the years.
Conversion to stereo is also straightforward. Remove the glass
light rod and replace with small hollow tube of same dimensions
and put stereo cell (nicely at proper angle of course) on tip
of tube and go through alignment process.
The soundhead lay out is exactly the same as Mr. Kotte's later
design, the FP-20
So whether you want to keep it simple or go for example with
BACP, it's all possible and do-able.
Comparing this superbly engineered projector with the Marin,
which is just a projector and nothing more, is like comparing
two different world of engineering. The Marin lacks any
sophistication and is a crudely made thing like a lawn mower that indeed does work but falls miles short of the design sophistication and attention to detail in all departments of the Philips. I can tell you a lot about the FP-3, like the story about the Philips sprockets of Kotte design. They take film shrinkage into consideration. A fact that many are not aware of.
So if quality is your thing this is a no brainer! Go with the Philips.
If all of the above does'nt mean anything to you, please get the Marin and leave the FP-3 for someone who knows....
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