Do you still project slides ?

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<p>I spent many years shooting E6 35mm slides. It was always a treat to view them with friends on a slide projector. As I became more serious though, I was concerned over the issue of degrading the slides from exposure to the heat and bright light inherent with projectors. All the "expert" advice I read warned not to repeatedly project slides. I'm quite surprised nobody has mentioned this. I later relied on a light table and good quality loupe for the vast majority of my viewing/editing. The "experts" also advised to shoot in camera dupes and use one of the extras for projecting. This didn't seem practical to me though, due to the added cost. Anyway, it became an impediment to my enjoyment knowing that the slides would be degraded by projecting them. That didn't stop me from participating in an occasional slide show though. Any comments on this aspect?</p>

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<p>Didier,<br>

Shooting transparency/slide film is 98% of my photography, therefore 98% of my photography end up in the trays/magazines of my Pradovit 250 projector.<br>

There is nothing like "slides viewed on a screen". I use medium format 95% of the time and 645 Velvia slides are phenomenal. As are my 120 Kodachromes.<br>

As viewing slides is my preferred method of seeing my pictures, I would be interested to know if there is a digital projector that offers the same quality from digital files.</p>

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<p>I would be interested to know if there is a digital projector that offers the same quality from digital files.</p>

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<p>I'm sure there isn't and I can't imagine that there ever will be.</p>

<p>Clayton,</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_06_of_20_HiRes_v1a.pdf">This</a> should tell you more than you ever wanted to know. For most E-6 films you don't have to worry too much if you're giving each slide 10-20 seconds of screen time, as you can do that hundreds of times before fading occurs.</p>

<p>Clayton:</p>

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<p>I'm quite surprised nobody has mentioned this. (damage to slides from heat & light)</p>

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<p>Just two days ago I mentioned it <a href="../medium-format-photography-forum/00VOWZ"><strong>here</strong> </a> . I didn't go into it again Clayton, because it's not called for in the question, and repeating info in quick succession can be a tad tedious.</p>

<p>I have been collecting Gepe 6X7 slides with the intention (during retirement) to have about 100 of the "best" slides available for projection at a local school. Years ago, at the same school, I projected some 1/2 frames slides taken with my old Pen F, and the kids seemed to enjoy that. I showed them macro shots of every day things like salt and pepper, and a really old shot of a red English post office box which they could not identify. I had fun doing this.</p>

<p>Occasionally I still take out some Kodachrome, Fujichrome, Agfachrome slide taken in the old days and load them into a Kodak Karousel and procject on screen.<br>

My practice now is load digital photo files into a 250G harddrive attach to Western Digital media player and play on HDTV. I can search out individual photo file, or photo taken in a particular month, etc. Very convenient.<br>

There is no way to go back to old ways of optical projection, the 150000 photos now on my harddrive would fill up 100 Kodak Karousels.</p>

 

<p>Project slides?<br>

Yes, I still love the color saturation and quality of image with slide projection.<br>

I simply haven't yet seen a digital projector that can compare to an analog slide projector. Also,<br>

there is "the experience", a wonderful one, when using analog slide projectors in a room with dimmed lights. It is a whole unique experience onto itself! I also run my projectors through a dissolve unit and have the images leveled. I enjoy using a matt white screen for our projections. It is fun to project<br>

these images and I will always love Kodachrome and Ectachrome....it is pure magic! If you haven't ever developed your own Ectachrome DO IT! When you turn on the lights and see that image you will be<br>

delighted with photography for the rest of your life and more!</p>

<p>My old Carousel is still going strong. My glass bead screen has some duct tape on it these days, but it's still a gas to see my old images from the '60s and '70 projected. Makes me long for my Kodachrome 25 days when you had to nail it in camera to get a good shot. I'm loving the digital age but still miss the time spent in the darkroom watching the "magic".</p>

<p>Yes. I have a rollup Daylite screen mounted above a double door. I project 645 slides from an old Bausch & Lomb projector. Velvia is beautiful this way. I haven't used my 35mm Sawyer in quite awhile though, but I've been thinking about it lately.</p>

<p>I project slides occasionally. I mainly do it infrequently because it accelerates the fading of the slide.<br>

I will say that, in my opinion, nothing beats a slide on a light table through a loupe for image quality. The next best is a projected slide.</p>

<p>I'm still shooting E6 with my Mamiya RB67, and using a Noris projector I've had for 40 years.</p>

<p>Yup, though not as frequently as I used to. Visually, nothing comes even remotely close, to my eyes at least.</p>

<p>Back in my analog day I used to shoot only with Velvia 50 and Kodak E200. Those were my favorites and have plenty of slides. I loved projecting them, but never had a dedicated room for that. <br>

I don't really miss those days. Digital is extremely convenient. "Slide shows" on monitors aren't that bad. Of course projecting is more beautiful, but my PC is always right there. No need to setup projection screens, trying to find the right place for the projector (so that is level with the screen and it's lens perpendicular in order to have a perfect focus).<br>

Soon, I'm buying a full-HD TV and want to see how my pictures are going to appear there. If it's good enough, I guess I'll never setup my projector again. </p>

<p>I have not projected any slides for many years now. I have instead started a scanning project so I can save and view them electronically.</p>

<p>My daughter has saved money for some time now, and has finally managed to buy a 42" TV, which we received yesterday. I might sneak into her room from now on, so I can see my images on a large screen again! ;)</p>

<p>I take predominatly slides but also some digital too. There is quite simply nothing to compare with a landscape taken on Velvia projected through a quality projector (Leica with colorplan lens). The richness of colour, depth and crispness is stunning and something I have never seen with digital. THere is also the knowledge that the picture has not been tweaked to improve it or remove imperfections which seems to have become the norm with digital. Both technologies have their place but for me slides are a more satisfying medium. LEt us hope that both film and processing facilities continue to be readily available for some time.</p>

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<p>Digital is extremely convenient.</p>

 

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<p>For me, and many others, photography is a hobby which we do because we enjoy it. Convenience shouldn't really be a factor.</p>

 

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<p>"Slide shows" on monitors aren't that bad.</p>

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<p>No. They're much worse!</p>

<p>I must confess I shoot over 99 % of my work digitally, and all my clients demand only digital (or at least seem happier with digital images), and yet I've never given up on my trusty eos 1, nor have i packed up my old leica p150 slide projector. Once a year, at least, and always at xmas, the family gets together and has a couple of evening slide shows... ranging from shots of when we were kids, in the sixties, to the various holidays we made together, in the seventies... Yes, there is a certain amount of mould eating away at some of them, but in terms of detail and colour saturation, they just can't be beaten (particularly the Kodak 25 asa, and Fuji velvia 50 asa). The experience alone far outweighs anything I've ever experienced on a screen.<br>

Karl<br>

www.karlblackwell.com</p><div></div>

<p>Yes, I project slides. I use 3 Leica projectors for slide shows.<br />I love the color saturation and the image quality on screen. Slide projection is unbeatable. Now I use mainly a DSLR and sometimes an ASLR for slide film.<br>

John.</p>

 

<p>I still shoot film and mostly slide film and I have my projector and screen set up as I am submitting this message.</p>

<p>I sure as heck do. I have two functioning projectors and a dissolve unit. The now defunct Minnesota Center for Photography would have visiting artists do a lecture and they used digital projection and it always looked like crap. No one seemed to mind. I quit going. I like to think it's one factor in their closing. Digital projection is not inspiring. I'm even surprised the visiting artists would use it, but as the saying goes, there's no accounting for taste [or lack of it]. I'd love to get a MF projector but haven't found one I can afford yet.</p>

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<p>I'm sure there isn't and I can't imagine that there ever will be.</p>

 

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<p>No, there isn't anything yet, but this is too strong a statement. Technology keeps advancing. The question is how long it will take. And then the questions is how long will it take to become affordable. That second part will keep equal-quality projection out of most of our hands for years.</p>

<p>I've spent a fair amount of time in dark rooms with slide and digital projectors. I appreciate the relative ease of the digital projector, its quiet, and that it stays in focus from edge to edge and from picture to picture. A lot of people appreciate how much easier it is to create slideshows that do more than it is for most people to do with slide projectors. I wouldn't say I prefer them from an absolute quality standpoint - at least not as compared to a well set-up slide projection, but at least they work.</p>

<p>Yes, I still use the carousel. In fact, I gott'a get me a spare ELH - burned mine out last time I projected.</p>

<p>Sure!! I love seeing them on the wall ( I don't have a screen ) . I still find it amazing to look at that big colorful image !! I also scan the slides , but I keep and handle my projector very carefully.</p>

<p>I started out shooting strictly digital and only recently became interested in film. I picked up a Hasselblad 500cm, and the slides look so brilliant when viewed on a light table, I just had to see them bigger. Most of the slide projectors for 6X6 are extremely expensive, so I kept looking until I found one on craigslist this morning for $35!!! Just got it home and hurriedly mounted a slide, and the results were better than I had imagined. Brilliant colors and sharp focus that totally blows away anything I've seen! It's an old Prinz, built like a tank, and only takes one slide at a time but for the price I really can't complain.</p>