Polaroid Pro Palette 8000 experience?

[pyr]

AFAIK it's still pretty much the only realistic way at present to output digital files to camera (color) film that's sort of within reach of small-scale users and amateurs. I think that makes all other considerations pretty much moot - although they can be a cause of concern.
As to burnt CRT's - I'm sure some kind of CRT must have burned out somewhere, sometime. But as electronics go, CRT's are pretty robust. Common failures around CRT's are the high-voltage circuitry, in particular deflection transformers. Those are/were notorious failure items on e.g. computer monitors.

Thank you Koraks. Are the transformers easy to replace and do you think it is wise to buy one recorder and then another one when it surfaces for spares ?

In other words, are they repairable by electronicians when you have spare parts ?

How much would you pay for a used one considering the « risks »?

NB I have used a lasergraphics recorder recently and the results were good though they needed colour correction in the slide projector. Also maybe 8k would be better for 35mm slides as 4K is good but a bit soft compared to « native in-camera » slides.

 

[koraks]

I can't comment in specifics, but in general, repairing circuitry around CRT's is a specialized line of work, preferably complete technical documentation should be available for the device and there should be access to spare parts. It's also a dying art since CRT's have of course gone out of fashion for the most part. Moreover, defects around the CRT are just one caterhiy out of several failure points.

Realistically, I think in most cases if a machine like this dies, it's best assumed to be a lost cause.

If this is for protection of native digital or 'hybrid' images, I'd forego the whole film recording stage and look at digital projection instead.

 

[clift_d]

I think koraks has it right - if one of these unit dies then the only option is likely to be to source a working replacement. There are repair manuals available but most of the components inside look to be Polaroid proprietary assemblies for which replacements will obviously not be available, and while these manuals also include printed schematics for the various boards in the units, these would obviously only cover simple replaceable components, and would not cover things like the contents of EPROMs, etc.

 

[Ulrix]

ProPallette 8000s seem to be quite sturdy. I have two, and they still work. As so do the MacBook G4 Lombard. That’s the one to get. It has native scsi. I fire them up once a year, when someone asked for digital slides or negatives. I can’t really see the difference bt. 4K and 8K though. If I need something high res I’d go for an LVT negative or CRT from an Agfa Alto.

 

[LomoSnap]

Can anyone with an HR6000 upload some film scans?
I just bought an HR6000, but I'm a bit skeptical about its sharpness. I printed out a resolution chart and some test images, and the sharpness is poor. I can only accept such negatives enlarged to 5x7 paper.
Is this the performance of the HR6000? Or do I need to calibrate it? (eg optical focus, CRT focus adjustment collimation)