Anyone still projecting?

OlyMan · Oct 17, 2017

I still enjoy doing slide shows the old way using two projectors and a dissolve unit, sync'd to music. The nights are quickly drawing in here in Northern England and my thoughts are turning towards maybe putting on some slideshows again. I have quite a lot of material from my walks through the English Lake District and Yorkshire Moors I took in Spring and Summer that are ripe for compiling into several brief shows, and I'm looking forward to getting my lightbox out again and starting work.

My only concession to modernity is I no longer use tape as a recording medium for my audio and projector control signals, I use a laptop. Sure I could do it all much quicker with a computer and a video projector, but for me, at least half the fun is the effort that goes into it all. Most people can't understand how folks like me still revel in the joys of using such time consuming obsolete methods when there exists digital cameras, iMovie and video projectors, but presumably you guys here 'get it'.

Willyekerslike · Oct 17, 2017

Yes still projecting slides here, 35mm, 6x6 and 6x4.5. The only fly in the ointment is I am the only viewer, I have bored my family with them over the years so that many will come only if I am not inststing on a slide show. I annoyed my sister and her last husband when I put a show together of their house and garden to the Fawlty Towers theme music, no sense of humor some folks, I thought it was quite good.

Now that the light is going earlier in the evening I am going over 35mm slides I took in the 60's.

I find that the slide projectors of old give a much much better picture than the new digital ones so I am sticking with them. So yes I very much 'get it'.

blockend · Oct 17, 2017

Yes, I still project slides. Sitting everyone in the dark and focused on the subject is a treat. The thing to remember is everyone is lending you their time and expecting you to entertain them, so cut down on any filler shots and edit ruthlessly. Don't linger forever on one image or, as old friends of ours did, offer five incrementally different views of the same shot each with a spoken exposition!

You can get away with geeking out if all your audience are fans of a particular hobby, but for a mixed audience less is always more. Think of it as a magic lantern show with the emphasis on magic and lots of evocative sounds as well as images. Putting a compelling slide show together is hard work.

OlyMan · Oct 17, 2017

I've never really done the 'narration thing', I feel it's so clichéd and good pictures speak for themselves other than maybe a title shot to set the scene and context. Chiefly for slideshows I tend to photograph landscapes and locations, and lead the viewer on hopefully an interesting journey. I've never been confident enough to display publicly though, e.g. at photography clubs and competitions, so my audience has always been just myself, my family and friends. Other than lacking confidence I was put off by the formalities of it, e.g. slides have to be numbered and spotted in a certain standard way or else the bearded types with the clipboards will frown and mark me down. Definitely not my scene. Presumably all that's history now, with everyone using a laptop and digital projector.

Marco Gilardetti · Oct 17, 2017

I never really had a projector: I used to print invertibles on Cibachrome / Ilfochrome Classic until it was available; lately I see them through those handheld backlit visors with a lens. But I still roll and project double-8mm movies, enough said!

I fully agree that part of the game is in the gear you use, and I'm sure that many others here agree. Digital stuff puts me off just by looking at it. If I were you I would still be using tapes, but I understand that sometimes one has to give in. (As a side note, being double-8mm movies silent, I usually play along with them one of those specific score records made in the '60s).

If it wasn't for the distance, I'd really like to see one of your projections shows. In the 70's and in the 80's many people over here used to project their summer holydays pictures in fall, and although in many cases they were so-and-so pictures with average people in an unispiring sequence, I still have fond memories of those projections, they were amusing.

bsdunek · Oct 17, 2017

Haven't in a while but have two slide projectors in excellent condition and several replacement bulbs. Hate to see all my slides just sitting on the shelf. Think I will get things out this Winter. I know my Wife always enjoys slide shows and so do my kids and their spouses. I also have two good 8mm projectors and tons of 8mm movies all edited, titled and on 400 ft. reels. Last time I showed movies was of a trip my parents and my in-laws took together over the 1949-50 week. My in-laws enjoyed them immensely. They're gone now but I have a desire to show the old movies too.
Willyekerslike, I agree with you about digital projectors. They just don't have the great color and saturation of a good slide projector, especially with a good old Kodachrome slide!

OlyMan · Oct 17, 2017

Marco Gilardetti said:
If I were you I would still be using tapes, but I understand that sometimes one has to give in.

Over the years I've used various methods really. One track of the tape has to be devoted to the signals. I soon tired of a mono audio track especially with some records which didn't 'fold down' well when mono'd, plus the sound quality suffered because of only using one track of a 1/8" tape for audio. Four track open reel recorders were always prohibitively expensive, so I had to rule those out. When cassette portastudios became common in the late 80s, I thought they would be the answer, but all but the most expensive ones (that I couldn't afford) only had stereo outputs. In the 1990s, HiFi video recorders appeared. I adapted one so that the linear mono sound track could be used for control-signals while the hifi tracks were used for audio, finally giving me stereo sound. I used that system for over a decade before going down the computer route.

Hatchetman · Oct 17, 2017

Couple times/year. More a matter that I don't have time to get out and take the photos!

Sirius Glass · Oct 17, 2017

I have not shown slides in decades.

MattKing · Oct 17, 2017

Yes - 35mm and 6x6/6x4.5.
I don't do sound though.

Alan Gales · Oct 17, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
I have not shown slides in decades.

Me too.

I need to get out the old Kodak projector and look at my Kodachromes again.

OlyMan · Oct 17, 2017

Alan Gales said:
Me too.

I need to get out the old Kodak projector and look at my Kodachromes again.

I guess there's a load of factors involved which may inhibit showing slides on a big screen, not least apathy because there's no getting round the fact that it's a bit of a faff. But I've invested money in good cameras with decent lenses, and I want to see the results six feet wide and four feet tall, not on 6"x4" prints.

LeftCoastKid · Oct 17, 2017

Still projecting on occasion. I inherited my father's Kodak projector/Smith-Victor (light) table and screen as well as his 50+ year archive of Kodachrome/Ektachrome/Fujichrome/Agfachrome collection of slides. While I transferred his archive into Archival Methods slide boxes, I kept eight of the Kodak 80 and 140 slide trays to load up and show when the mood strikes. My own work is kept in a few dozen Archival Methods slide boxes as well as a Logan slide boxes.

Lionel1972 · Oct 17, 2017

I project 35mm, 6x6 and 6x4.5. Love slides either on the lighttable or projected. Let's hope the return of Ektachrome triggers some renewed appreciation for slide film.

AgX · Oct 17, 2017

Sad enough new appreciation of slide film not neccessarily would mean new appreciation for projection.

tomfrh · Oct 17, 2017

Yes I project slides. It's one of the main reason I shoot film. I haven't seen a better image than a projected slide (lightbox + loupe is nice too).

I don't do sound or narration. I find other people's narrations of their holiday images to be quite tedious, so prefer not to inflict it on others. That being said, if I could narrate like this guy I probably would:

JensH · Oct 17, 2017

Hi,

I sometimes do, maybe four evenings a year.
Got me two Zeiss Ikon Royal AV/IR projectors last year, because I wanted a P-Sonnar 90 and a 60 mm Lens...
It's much joy for so little money.

Best
Jens

Sirius Glass · Oct 17, 2017

Alan Gales · Oct 17, 2017

OlyMan said:
I guess there's a load of factors involved which may inhibit showing slides on a big screen, not least apathy because there's no getting round the fact that it's a bit of a faff. But I've invested money in good cameras with decent lenses, and I want to see the results six feet wide and four feet tall, not on 6"x4" prints.

When I started in 35mm it was right before 4x6 prints became popular. I think prints were 3x5? I didn't shoot print film very long before going to Kodachrome. I bought a Kodak projector with a Schneider lens plus a Beseler enlarger. I used to print 8x10 Cibachrome prints in my parent's basement. I agree that 6"x4" prints are on the tiny side.

mshchem · Oct 17, 2017

OH YES, I put up some 6x6 Fujichromes of autumn colors for my wife last year. She had never seen medium format slides, she was amazed. My Dad shot Kodachrome from 1949 to early 80's. I have all those in carousels, I made Ciba prints from these slides years ago, stunning. I have always processed my own E-3 thru E-6.

Key is only mount the best shots don't show more than 1 80 shot carousel at a time. I really love the whole thing about projecting,

If you want prints, or intend to scan shoot negative film. Still the experience of slides is magic. When I am shooting 35 mm with my F5 I always auto bracket. Slide film is unforgiving.

Best Mike

mshchem · Oct 17, 2017

tomfrh said:
Yes I project slides. It's one of the main reason I shoot film. I haven't seen a better image than a projected slide (lightbox + loupe is nice too).

I don't do sound or narration. I find other people's narrations of their holiday images to be quite tedious, so prefer not to inflict it on others. That being said, if I could narrate like this guy I probably would:

Love IT! That's a great clip. That was Kodak's theme for decades!

cooltouch · Oct 17, 2017

I've shot slides almost from the beginning, but I projected them only the first year or so. After that, I've always used a hand-held viewer if I want to examine them. I dunno if there's any validity to it or not, but I decided not to project years ago to save my slides from getting bleached out from being projected. Nowadays it's just a matter of habit -- shoot slides, put them in archival sleeves, put the sleeves in a hanging file. Hohum . . . .

tomfrh · Oct 17, 2017

cooltouch said:
I dunno if there's any validity to it or not, but I decided not to project years ago to save my slides from getting bleached out from being projected.

This reference advocates a maximum of several hours of cumulative projection time. It also refers to kodaks recommendation of maximum of 1 minute at a time (which is to limit overall projection time to several hours).

Dead Link Removed

I haven't noticed any colour shift in my projected slides...

blockend · Oct 18, 2017

Projection time is only a problem for institutions who may have used the same slide projected for minutes on end, on a regular basis. It's a good idea to keep slides in a dark place.

The problem with slides today is they don't easily fit into exhibition streams. They are hard to scan well, group viewing requires setting up time, a darkened room and a portable projector (no one else will have one), and they can be expensive when film, processing and postage are taken into account. They are a niche within an existing film photography niche, with the commitment that entails.

BMbikerider · Oct 18, 2017

I have nit used my slide projector in years. It is a pretty decent Zeiss one and sits there in it's box and really I should get it out, dust it off and put a few slides through it. I also have one that uses 'the other medium' that hasn't been used for at least a year and to be honest the quality and sharpness cannot compete with a colour transparency

Anyone still projecting?

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