AE100/general projector queries

Hi there,

I have been looking at getting a projector for a while (my Sony KP41-DS1 doesn't do it for me anymore) and am particularly interested in the Panny AE100 driven possibly by a HCPC.

I have been reading on here for a few days and visiting some of you guys' home-pages/Yahoo photos but I still have some burning questions.... so here goes.

a) I have a fairly small room and am looking at ceiling mounting the pj 3.2m away from the screen. Using a 92" 16:9 Draper Luma screen this would put the centre of the image around 87cm from the ceiling. The pj can only come down to about 30 cm or so from the ceiling so as not to bang people's heads. If I've done my sums right that is all possible my question is will the nessesary key-stone adjust really mess with the image quality.

b) Is 92" a reasonable size to go with the AE100 or is it a bit large? I want a substantially larger image than my 41" telly but I don't want hideous chicken wire.

c) Just how dark do I need to get the room with this pj? Should I aim for complete black-out?

d) Mainly to Shockabuku - What does the Hoya FL-D 55m filter do? Does is smooth the image?

Thanks in advance for any help, sorry if I've asked anything stoopid, I did try and have a look round first.

Andy Trump

 

a) You should avoid keystone correction if at all possible. The problem I find is that the projector emits light around the corrected picture which affects the contrast. After saying that it sound like you might need a little, and thats liveable with.
b)The panny can handle huge pictures, I ran it 10 feet across once and it looked great!
c) The room needs to be dark - very dark, I use black out curtains, it really does make a difference with contrast. Contrast is the main problem with LCD projectors and the panny is no exception. The darker, the better. My room is almost totally dark. I am using a dedicated small room now as my main lounge although 2.5 times as large was impossible to darken.

Azzo

 

The AE100 will project the top of its image 10cm from the centre of its lense. So If your projector lense is 30cm from the ceiling, the projected image will start 40cm from your ceiling.

This is with no keystone (optimum)

 

The problem I have is that there is no back wall to mount it on at the ideal height as there is a sort of arch halfway though the room.

Looking at the manual I think the start of the image varies with the screen width Richard, in which case it would be about 6cm in my case. So the middle of the projector lense would need to come down to 81cm from the ceiling when in use to avoid using the keystone altogether.

Does anyone know if there's some kind of ceiling mount that can lower the pj into place (hopefully my family is smart enough not to walk into a switched on pj ) that could then be raised up after use?

Or are we saying the amount of keystone I would need to use would not cause any problems?

Thanks for the help so far guys,

Andy Trump

 

Hi Andy. The Hoya FL-D filter increases perceived contrast and cuts down green in favour of red. Imho, it creates a much more filmic picture, and helps with screen door a little. You do, of course, need to make sure ou tweak the AE100 accordingly...the settings are very different from those without the filter. I wouldn't be without it.

Cheers,

Mark.

 

What size filter mm is it for the panny and what are the tweaks needed with it in place?

Cheers
Bry

 

The thread you're after is 55mm. It doesn't fit exactly though coz the thread on the Panny is recessed. I use electrical tape to keep it in place...non-gooey & prevents any light leeking out the sides.

Once the filter is fitted, you'll need to play around with the picture & colour settings on the Panny. Best bet is to get hold of a copy of Avia.

Cheers,

Mark.

 

alot of people on avs are using the 52mm, looking at yours Shockabuku do you think it would fit ??

 

I'd be surprised if the 52mm fits...too small I'd imagine. 55mm should fit, but it doesn't due to the recessed thread on the AE100 lens.