Good deal on Z3? (1 Viewer)

Projector people have the Z3 priced at $1485.00 This looks like a pretty good price to me, and is also a lot lower than most other vendors...

Anybody know if this is a recent sale, or if prices are expected to drop any lower this year?

The savings might just make the trade-off from a P700 worth it.

At that price I would be all over it. I do not believe this projector will ever go much lower than that for quite a while. I own the panasonic 700 and even though I love it for what it is, the sanyo at the prices they are at now make it the one to go with.

I agree with frankinG....Get it NOWWW!! Just make sure before you buy it that it is a new unit and not a refurb. Not that refurbs are bad but the waranty is not the same on a refurb.

It does seem like a very good price, but I have seen in past posts people finding it at $1500-$1600, so it doesn't seem crazy unreal... The P700 is still selling at $1850. So in Canuck bucks that is almost a $500 difference, and another $200 if you count the difference in warranty (1yr vs. 3 yr). I am waiting for a reply from PJPeople...

$700 to me is a lot of money, but I am still a little concerned about a few things....

FrankinG, you say you own both the Z3 and 700AE? I am hesitant about the Z3 because of the lower brightness and the lesser zoom. Sometimes I like to have enough light in my theater room so that my kids can run around while I watch videos etc. Will there be a big difference between the two??

And since I am unsure about what screen size I'll like, I really valued the 2X zoom of the Panasonic. With the Z3 I'll be limited to a 95-120" screen, vs. a 85-150", approximately. I suppose I won't be that hard to move the Z3 mount, since I have a suspended ceiling...

I might be obsessing over trivial issues, but whatever I buy, I will have for a very longg time.

It actually souds like you are "obsessing over trivial issues" LOL!! With either projector I would not want to go over a 120" image. They just are night bright enough to go over that by too much I think. The Panny is ery nice but 700$ is a lot of money..........

I hope I did not confuse anyone from my previous posts (sometimes I even confuse myself), but I only own the 700 but am very familiar with the Z3 as I have seen it in action.

The Z3 does pretty well everything the 700 does but will require a little pre-planing for placement. The suspended ceiling you have is very flexible for projector positioning.

If you can sit back far enough from the screen (about 2 screen widths back), and want a very good projector with a lot of light output so that you can have some ambient light in the room then the Infocus 4805 would be better.

This projector can be had for under a thousand dollars with performance far exceeding the pricetag.

Yes, 120" might be way too big anyway, I guess I am still in the "bigger is better" mentality. I just really don't know what to expect since I've never actually sat down and watched a movie on a PJ like these...

I have considered the 4805, as its price is very attractive compared to $2700. But I don't know if myself or my family might be affected by the rainbows, and I wouldn't know until I tried it. By then its too late it can't be returned. And, I had wanted the higher resolution because I don't know how soon I might want to go high def, and I'll need to keep this pj for a long time. But I'll admit the 4805 would do a great job with DVDs, and the added brightness would be a bonus as well.

I intend to sit about 15' back from an approx 100" image. I don't have any high def sources as of yet, and watch mainly DVDs and a small amount of regular programming and some VHS for the kids. My DVD player is not even progressive scan so a good processor would be great. (Though it wouldn't be a real big deal to upgrade my DVD player someday).

I just saw the Z4 will be possibly coming out in October so I think the price will drop if it is out by then:

http://www.iavi.com/index.asp?CartId...FromFeatured=1

I was looking at the Z2 but if the price is right I will go with the Z3. the price dropped $300 on the Z2 when the Z3 came out so this should hopefully drop as well.

what about the Z2 advertised above for $1045 ??

i think the Z3 is an improvement but dollar for dollar, what's the best value?

z3 for 1485
z2 for 1045

I spoke with a person from Projector people and they told me if I was to upgrade from my Z1 the Z2 would be just as good as the Z3. They said for the price difference the Z3 wasn't worth the $400.....just a thought.

The only real difference between the Z2 and the Z3 is increase in contrast ratio from 1300 to 2000. Other than that the differences are minimal.

The Z2 is priced at $999.. And now that I look closely, there aren't that many differences between it and the Z3. Contrast ratio seems to be the biggest (that I can tell) difference. Maximum resolution is not as high on the Z2 either.

So, this is an obvious question... What difference will the lesser contrast ratio make, in my situation? Will it be just not as bright, or will the blacks be grayer, or both?

And since I am still learning a lot as I go, I will also ask will the lower Max resolution make any difference?

I am thinking if I go ahead with the Z2, I will be in good shape to buy a new DVD player! The Oppo 971 looks like a pretty good machine, and will definitely improve my picture quality. Also has DVD Audio (but not SACD) which I have wanted for years but never could justify the upgrade. Is the Oppo still a good unit? (haven't heard about it for a while)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys!

The Z2 is a 720p projector just as the z3 is. Resolution is identical. I know because I work on them for a living and have had both models in our shop

The z3 is almost twice the contrast ratio and while the z2 is a good unit, the z3 performes better in the shadow detail department.

Get the panasonic dvd s97 as this player is much better than the oppo I switched from. Too many firmware and software issues on the oppo which are not apparent on the panny.

Thanks for the input FrankinG.

So do you think the $486 difference between the two is justified? Is twice the contrast worth an additional 1/3 the price?

Also, anybody know what kind of video processing ability the Z2/Z3 have? Will it upconvert my DVDs to its native resolution anyway even without a progressive scan DVD player? If so, what kind of quality will the conversion be?

Looks like I could get the Panny s77 for (about) the same price here as the Oppo. The s97 seems to be discontinued, so I'll assume the s77 is the newer model and is not a step down in quality?

Just to follow up, I ordered the Z3 from my local dealer... Cost me $300 more than the cheapest price I could find, but they threw in a ceiling mount.

And since I am from Canada, if I bought from the US, the PJ would have to ship back to the US for repair (or so the rep told me anyway).

I just ordered cables so I'll wait and see what shows up this week! My theater room is going to need a major workover to accomodate the new picture!

Thanks for all the advise and direction guys!

Not too familiar with the 77 but if it has the genesis chip it will probably be the same. So many movies have difficult dark scenes for a digital projector to reproduce that the highest contrast ratio a projector can initiate will bring out more shadow detail.I feel the Z3 and especially the Z4 will perform better. If you can afford the Z4 then get it.

I would definately wait to see what the prices of the z3 and ae700 do in the next few weeks/months. The z4 and ae900 will be out in days. The ae900 looks incredible for the $. I would hold out and buy the ae900 if the performance to cost ratio proves to be as good as they say. It is supposed to be in the $2500-$3000 range. I don't think they have given a price on the z4 yet. If you want the older models, hold out til the prices adjust. They will certainly drop in the coming weeks. You will be able to pick these older models up even cheaper. Good luck, I am sure you will be happy w/ either option.

I considered that Demian, but at $1500 how much lower would the Z3 really go? Most retailers are still selling it for more than that. From what I've read, the Z2 price dropped about $150 when the Z3 came out. Also, the price on the Z3 fits my budget quite well. Besides, I am sometimes impatient and have waited long enough!

I have my Z3 now, and am not going to research PJs anymore (hopefully). I'm sure the Z4 is better with its astronomical contrast ratio but there is always something better!

I am quite impressed with my Z3. The colors are beautiful, as good as any display I've seen. The blacks look quite good to me, certainly no worse than my old CRT. Tons of features, very cool. Standard definition TV doesn't even look too bad... It has some jaggies, but so did my last cheap tv, and your eyes adjust to it. Besides, its easy to make the screen size smaller to provide better resolution.

I will admit, it is a lot of work to get it set up in the room, or to even make room (for the screen) for that matter. Equipment has to move, cables and wires need to move and be very long, etc. Lots of work but the end result will be phenominal.

Hey Paul, well, I am dropping the ball and ordering my Z3 from ProjectorPeople today, it should arrive mid-next week.

One of the big changes from the Z2 to the Z3 is the dust blob issue. They redesigned the venting and added a dust blower to greatly reduce dust blobs, something the Z2 has an issue with. This alone justifies the additional Franklins for the Z3 in my book. The higher contrast rating is a big plus as well, my Panny is rated at 700. Going from this to 2000 should be quite nice.


From what I've heard from vendors that I've talked with, there won't be much, if any, price drop. The 900 and Z4's are pre-selling like crazy so I've been told there will be no short-term price drop, long-term sure, as is always the case. But, one could keep waiting for that great deal but why. Pay now and enjoy now.

It's funny how there's no stopping the ball once it gets rolling hey Ron?

Let us know how it compares to your Panny.

What do you mean I picked a great PJ for my "first" one?? You mean I will have to buy another in 2+ years? :frowning:

I hope this one lasts me a long time, I put a lot of effort into it, and it is somewhat "future proof" considering I don't have any HD sources as of yet. But I would sure love to see some HD material splashed up on my wall.