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**mnovikov** · 10-21-2010, 11:13 PM

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Guys,
I am not sure it's the right place to post the question, but if you don't mind, what's the best way of presenting 645 size slides without breaking the bank?
I enjoy my new (old :-) ) 645 system, but couldn't decide what to do with the slides.
Thank you,
Maxim

Clicker · 10-22-2010, 05:24 AM

Scanning and monitor presentation but only if you have a scanner for MF already?

**mnovikov** · 10-23-2010, 07:14 PM

thank you. But how's about some analog devices - real projector, large viewer (you know, the one which projects from behind a mattle screen with say 10x magnification - etc? I know about hand-held viewers, but it's only for individual use and I would like to share it with several people in real time.

Steinback · 10-23-2010, 07:48 PM

The only medium format projector I've seen was at a photographic auction earlier this year and despite not being in great condition it still went for $600 plus (lots of old guys with extensive medium format slide collections around I guess).

Have you tried an overhead transparency projector? I don't know about image quality but they're cheap second hand.

I have also run into a large number of 35mm slide projectors being given away for free or thrown out. Modifying one by extending the lamp to slide distance and then projecting the image through one of your medium format lenses instead of the much smaller original lens might work.

Along the same lines, building your own projector using a medium format lens, something to hold the slide, and a projection lamp would be a possibility. Heat dissipation for the lamp and wiring the electrical contacts safely would be important.

A magic lantern style projector from the 1800s and early 1900s may be able to project medium format slides if you can find one of the larger ones.

I'm looking at the problem as a design challenge as I don't own any medium format slides.

**mnovikov** · 10-23-2010, 08:44 PM

thank you. I have started thinking along the same lines. The cheapest 645 lens would be 75/2.8 and I have couple. Lamp should be LED which would probably solve the heat dissipation problem and provide better light output - if I can find a higher power LED working at 110v. (BTW, who can tell me, why I can buy 6W LED flashlight in any Target store, but no money can buy a decent (any, actually) 110V lamp rated at more that 3W, and I am not even sure they are rated right?). I'm afraid I'll have to build my own panel with multiple LEDs or get several 3W flashlight bulbs and a transformer. A cardboard tube lined with aluminum foil, some home-made rails for the slides cut in the middle of the tube... Should be doable, with lots of epoxy I guess... rear cap for 645 lens with the base cut off should hold the lens alright... Hmmm sounds interesting.

Steinback · 10-24-2010, 12:42 AM

I was thinking of projecting light through a slide and remembered that both of my enlargers can handle 6x4.5 frames. Tomorrow night I'll take a shot at aiming one at a wall with a 35mm slide to see how it looks and if it will focus at a reasonable distance. I imagine the enlarger bulb would need a cooling fan if it were being run for very long. If it works, lower end enlargers are essentially being given away for free.

Steinback · 10-24-2010, 07:06 PM

My enlarger projected a 35mm slide fine, but with a 75mm lens it looks like it would only be able to project a 645 frame about 10 inches wide from a distance of ~3 feet before running out of focusing travel. To project a larger image it would need a wider lens or the focus travel modified to bring the lens closer to the slide frame. The bulb would also need cooling if it were being run for very long.

Wheatfield · 10-24-2010, 09:48 PM

Look for an old Mamiya Cabin projector.
Mounts are going to be a problem.

Isis · 10-25-2010, 11:36 PM

Mount are available at freestyle, B&H etc. In 6x4.5/6x6 and 6x7

drougge · 10-26-2010, 07:36 AM

I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in Sweden I had no problem buying a 6x6 projector (which of course works fine for 645 as well) for something like 200SEK (about 30USD).

It's very old and not that great, but I'm pretty sure it's better than something I built myself. If you want something fancy built in the last 50 years I'm sure that would be more expensive.

I would expect enlargers to project very dim images, and generally not be very good for this.

faramirq · 10-26-2010, 09:11 PM

Medium Format Projectors were quite common in the eighties and nineties. Maybe less so now. It's easy to use such a projector for 645 slides as they were designed for 6x6 and smaller. Just get the right kind of mounts and they are readily available. Getting a projector for 6x7 transparencies is a much more difficult proposition. Anyway, here is a nice Hasselblad solution you might get for a few hundred dollars....

Hasselblad PCP80 medium format 6x6 Projector 250mm lens

auction ending in 4 days on ebay (item number 330487367100). There is also an auction for a 6x7 projector. Happy hunting - Frank

**mnovikov** · 10-27-2010, 06:19 PM

Thank you!!!

hsteeves · 10-29-2010, 01:51 PM

you could also look for an old Rollei 66 projector; they used a hand operated slide system to move the slides into position. I've got one, works okay for the price.

hsteeves · 10-29-2010, 01:53 PM

try this:
Rollei Dual Format Slide Projector, 120 and 35mm - eBay (item 310260143447 end time Nov-08-10 16:49:24 PST)

aeros · 10-30-2010, 06:01 PM

Hi everyone, this is Canada calling, just joined your group a couple of minutes ago. I have been to a Camera convention this a.m. and ordered the new Pentax 645D. I'm very excited about being able to print from Adobe CS5 on my large format printer. Anyway, the reason to post was about 645 projectors. I still have mine (Almost 20 years with the Pentax 645) its a "Fotoflex" and still going strong on a fifteen year old lamp.

If I was without a projector, I would have a lab scan my 645 slides and negs to CD, tweek them in Photoshop and save them again as .TFF files. A laptop computer connected to an LCD projector will do a good job. However, I feel the original slides in a projector will out perform an LCD projector by many times. It's just another alternative should you be able to satisfy youself with the LCD option.

Just experiment with a handfull of slides scanned to CD and check the results.

10-21-2010, 11:13 PM	#1
mnovikov Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 37	645 slide projector Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. Guys, I am not sure it's the right place to post the question, but if you don't mind, what's the best way of presenting 645 size slides without breaking the bank? I enjoy my new (old :-) ) 645 system, but couldn't decide what to do with the slides. Thank you, Maxim

10-26-2010, 09:11 PM	#11
faramirq Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 3	Medium Format Projectors Medium Format Projectors were quite common in the eighties and nineties. Maybe less so now. It's easy to use such a projector for 645 slides as they were designed for 6x6 and smaller. Just get the right kind of mounts and they are readily available. Getting a projector for 6x7 transparencies is a much more difficult proposition. Anyway, here is a nice Hasselblad solution you might get for a few hundred dollars.... Hasselblad PCP80 medium format 6x6 Projector 250mm lens auction ending in 4 days on ebay (item number 330487367100). There is also an auction for a 6x7 projector. Happy hunting - Frank

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10-22-2010, 05:24 AM	#2
Clicker Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,241	Scanning and monitor presentation but only if you have a scanner for MF already?

10-23-2010, 07:14 PM	#3
mnovikov Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 37 Original Poster	thank you. But how's about some analog devices - real projector, large viewer (you know, the one which projects from behind a mattle screen with say 10x magnification - etc? I know about hand-held viewers, but it's only for individual use and I would like to share it with several people in real time.

10-23-2010, 07:48 PM	#4
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	The only medium format projector I've seen was at a photographic auction earlier this year and despite not being in great condition it still went for $600 plus (lots of old guys with extensive medium format slide collections around I guess). Have you tried an overhead transparency projector? I don't know about image quality but they're cheap second hand. I have also run into a large number of 35mm slide projectors being given away for free or thrown out. Modifying one by extending the lamp to slide distance and then projecting the image through one of your medium format lenses instead of the much smaller original lens might work. Along the same lines, building your own projector using a medium format lens, something to hold the slide, and a projection lamp would be a possibility. Heat dissipation for the lamp and wiring the electrical contacts safely would be important. A magic lantern style projector from the 1800s and early 1900s may be able to project medium format slides if you can find one of the larger ones. I'm looking at the problem as a design challenge as I don't own any medium format slides.

10-23-2010, 08:44 PM	#5
mnovikov Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 37 Original Poster	thank you. I have started thinking along the same lines. The cheapest 645 lens would be 75/2.8 and I have couple. Lamp should be LED which would probably solve the heat dissipation problem and provide better light output - if I can find a higher power LED working at 110v. (BTW, who can tell me, why I can buy 6W LED flashlight in any Target store, but no money can buy a decent (any, actually) 110V lamp rated at more that 3W, and I am not even sure they are rated right?). I'm afraid I'll have to build my own panel with multiple LEDs or get several 3W flashlight bulbs and a transformer. A cardboard tube lined with aluminum foil, some home-made rails for the slides cut in the middle of the tube... Should be doable, with lots of epoxy I guess... rear cap for 645 lens with the base cut off should hold the lens alright... Hmmm sounds interesting.

10-24-2010, 12:42 AM	#6
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	I was thinking of projecting light through a slide and remembered that both of my enlargers can handle 6x4.5 frames. Tomorrow night I'll take a shot at aiming one at a wall with a 35mm slide to see how it looks and if it will focus at a reasonable distance. I imagine the enlarger bulb would need a cooling fan if it were being run for very long. If it works, lower end enlargers are essentially being given away for free.

10-24-2010, 07:06 PM	#7
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	My enlarger projected a 35mm slide fine, but with a 75mm lens it looks like it would only be able to project a 645 frame about 10 inches wide from a distance of ~3 feet before running out of focusing travel. To project a larger image it would need a wider lens or the focus travel modified to bring the lens closer to the slide frame. The bulb would also need cooling if it were being run for very long.

10-24-2010, 09:48 PM	#8
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,991	Look for an old Mamiya Cabin projector. Mounts are going to be a problem.

10-25-2010, 11:36 PM	#9
Isis Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne Posts: 32	Mount are available at freestyle, B&H etc. In 6x4.5/6x6 and 6x7

10-26-2010, 07:36 AM	#10
drougge Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Malmö Photos: Gallery Posts: 787	I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in Sweden I had no problem buying a 6x6 projector (which of course works fine for 645 as well) for something like 200SEK (about 30USD). It's very old and not that great, but I'm pretty sure it's better than something I built myself. If you want something fancy built in the last 50 years I'm sure that would be more expensive. I would expect enlargers to project very dim images, and generally not be very good for this.

10-27-2010, 06:19 PM	#12
mnovikov Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 37 Original Poster	Thank you!!!

10-29-2010, 01:51 PM	#13
hsteeves Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 256	you could also look for an old Rollei 66 projector; they used a hand operated slide system to move the slides into position. I've got one, works okay for the price.

10-29-2010, 01:53 PM	#14
hsteeves Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 256	try this: Rollei Dual Format Slide Projector, 120 and 35mm - eBay (item 310260143447 end time Nov-08-10 16:49:24 PST)

10-30-2010, 06:01 PM	#15
aeros Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: EDMONTON Posts: 105	Hi everyone, this is Canada calling, just joined your group a couple of minutes ago. I have been to a Camera convention this a.m. and ordered the new Pentax 645D. I'm very excited about being able to print from Adobe CS5 on my large format printer. Anyway, the reason to post was about 645 projectors. I still have mine (Almost 20 years with the Pentax 645) its a "Fotoflex" and still going strong on a fifteen year old lamp. If I was without a projector, I would have a lab scan my 645 slides and negs to CD, tweek them in Photoshop and save them again as .TFF files. A laptop computer connected to an LCD projector will do a good job. However, I feel the original slides in a projector will out perform an LCD projector by many times. It's just another alternative should you be able to satisfy youself with the LCD option. Just experiment with a handfull of slides scanned to CD and check the results.

645 slide projector

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