Well, after months of construction, etc... I finally got to watch my very first movie @ 2.35:1 in my new theater room.

When i first started reading people saying stuff like "once you try it you wont go back" i didnt beleive it....Well i was sooo wrong. I can't imagine watching a normal movie now!

Special thanks to Jason @ AVS for helping me with some of my gear, i strongly recommend anyone buying anything to contact AVS FIRST...Their prices and expertise are hard to beat!!

I'll post some pictures once i finish a few things up!

Oh, and anyone considering getting a Panamorph UH380...DO IT!


Optoma HD81
10' Wide SMX Screen
Klipsch THX Ultra2 Inwalls + 2 Klipsch THX Subs
Panamorph UH380 + M380
Pioneer Elite VSX-49txi

I have a 120" wide SMX screen as well and the Optoma H77 and I have been zooming to almost fit the screen till now, my UH380 just came today and have not had time to do anything with it yet.
I just wondered if before you had the lens if you also zoomed to fill your screen and if there is a huge difference now with the scaled and expanded image?

Guess I will know for myself once Husband returns this weekend and we try to set this lens up for a tryout.

Having just finished this room i never really did try it in Zoom mode...but i could give it a test tonight when i get home from work and try to take some pics.

I would also like to know how much difference will be there between zooming and using anamorphic lens & Vertical Stretch setup.

Thanks

I will also post our results when we get it all set up.

Take a quick pic too guys if it is not too much trouble.

so......

Mine won't be set up before the weekend at least.

The difference is too great to write about here. You need to see it for yourself...
and trust me, you won't go back...

Mark

I agree, i did a little testing last night and they are just different animals...Get a lens and dont look back!

PICTURES!!!! We need pictures hehe

Laters,
Jeff

As soon as my wife finishes the curtains i'll take some pics!

I recalled Scot mentioned that the difference was minimal.

He mentioned He thought it was minimal with a specific set up. It is certainly not minimal in all cases.

So if it could be minimal in certain setup what would that be? I've a vc lense and it provides a little brightness and fewer adjustment to do 2.35 other than that I see no other advantage.

I have a 127" by 54" CIH setup using an Infocus 333/777 3 chip DLP, a Prismasonic 1400 lens and a DVDO VP30 processor.

Before getting the lens I zoomed to switch between the aspect ratios - the pj was carefully positioned to cover both formats with its zoom range. The pj has remote controlled zoom and lens position so tweaks can be done from the viewing position.

Some things that were bugging me were:

when zoomed for 2.35, the "black bars" at the top and bottom - especially at the top - caused some distracting shadows from a ceiling light.

I had to reposition the image when zoomed - a pain since the pj menus were off screen at times.

I had to refocus slightly when changing aspect ratios.

I could see the image lose brightness as I zoomed.

Screen door effect is more visible when zoomed.


The lens reduced or eliminated each of those problems. However, in order to use the lens I ended up buying a processor to vertically stretch HD content - the pj does 480i but not HD formats. Of course the processor is handy for many other things.

Having had it in service for a couple of months now, I too wouldn't want to go back. However, its still not ideal:

There is some loss of sharpness when in the 2.35 mode. Not major but not as sharp as the zoomed image either. Prismasonic is suppose to come out with a correction for this - for another few hundred dollars.


There is also some pincushion distortion - as often pointed out, it can be masked - but its still aggravating.



My bottom line is that the image quality is better in some respects - worse in others. The areas where it is worse can largely be ignored. But, its much more convenient than zooming. I program my remote to change the masking, change the lens between pass through and stretch modes and change the scaling - all with one button push.

Each individual needs to decide if its "worth it". Overall, if I include the cost of the lens and the processor, and for our viewing habits, its costing me somewhere around 8 or 10 dollars additional per 2.35 movie viewing. YMMV

Andy / Gary,
Thank you for your post. Most of your concern can be overcome by: 1. DLP PJ 2. motorized zoom 3. lens shift if available. Reflection can be overcomed by light absorbing border.
The one advantage that an HC lense in my application is I can project a much bigger image without increasing the distance between the PJ & Screen.