Pictures of 4805 up close? (1 Viewer)

[ericSchirm]

I was about to buy the Panasonic AE700u because of the great reviews and the smoothscreen tech. My front row is going to be really close (9ft from 110" screen). But now that the Infocus 4805 price is dropping I might get that instead (100"screen). I know that everyone recommends 2x distance because of the resolution but my front row will only be used by kids. Will it be watchable for them? Does anyone have pictures of the 4805 from closeup that shows the PQ problems? (I can't find anywhere in the Atlanta area that demos either the 700 or 4805)

My back row is at 15 feet- primary seating.

 

[Paul-D]

So you're looking for someone who has the 4805 with a 100" screen sitting 9' back to take pictures for you of the screen?
Just wanted to make sure we've got your question right.

 

[ericSchirm]

Exactly! I want to see how bad the PQ is at 1x distance. It is only for kids but is it watchable?

 

[Elijah]

Eric,

I am right now doing a side-by-side comparison of the SP4805 and the SP5000 at my house. I got them through Crutchfield.com who has the the perfect 30 no hassle return policy for that.

I will be glad to host some zipped 3.2MP digital photos of the image at 110" from 9ft away however, I will be doing so on a white wall and not a screen (yet : ).

I also was looking for a place to purchase an AE700 with a 30 day return policy, as that is the only other PJ I have been looking at.

So I would be happy to post some pics if you want, and would be REALLY happy if you or anyone else could point me in the right direction for a "no risk" purchase of the AE700.

My thoughts right now though, is that it should be fine, especially for the kids. I have watched several monday night football games (granted they were in HDTV, but the PJ still has the same resolution no matter what) and a movie or two on my friends 4805 as roughly the same size and distance, and it was "definitely better than ok", if I can use such a term.

I have a feeling that I will not keep it though because of the lack of lumens as this is not a dedicated room, and is vulnerable to ambient light.

BTW when I get dont with my 30days I plan on posting a side-by-side review of these projectors with screenshots, noise level measurements, and basic impressions, and would love to include the AE700.

 

[ericSchirm]

Elijah- THANKS for the info. I would really appreciate any pictures that you could post. I am glad to hear that up close the 4805 is good enough for kids.

I can't help you with locating the AE700u. The only places I have found are online with bad return policies. For price try avscience

 

[Elijah]

Eric,

No problem. Any movies specifically? Nemo, LOTR...

BTW it has been calibrated with AVIA.

Also, AVS is 15% restocking. Thanks though, I will keep looking.

 

[terence]

Hi Eric,

I do not have 100" screen only a 88", if you want to pop by for a look see i won't mind. I do think it will be fine for the kids at that distance.

 

[Jeff Meyers]

Elijah,

Have you tried CDW? They carry the AE700 (presently on backorder though) and I don't believe that they charge a restocking fee. At my old employer, we used them frequently for IT purchases because they had good customer service and returns were no problem. Hope this helps.

I'm really curious to see the results of your side-by-side comparison. Good luck.

 

[Elijah]

Jeff,

Awesome I dont know why I wasnt thinking of thenm either. I also work in IT (for a phone company) and we use them quite frequently.

Thanks, I am probably going to order it today, especially if it turns out that they have them on backorder.

 

[ericSchirm]

Elijah- buy.com also sells the 700. I think their return policy is good (need to confirm) and their price is a little better. (On backorder also)

 

[Elijah]

I just got it at ProjectorPeople for 2149.99 shipped and the return policy is, call them any time in the next 7 days to get an RMA# and you can send it back for full refund. You pay return shipping. The 7 days is a little shorter than I had wanted, but should be enough time to see what I think. The only catch, is that the PJ cant have more than 4 hrs on the lamp when you send it back, if it has more than 4, then its a no go on the retun unless it is defective.

So, I mean I have had the other two for a whole week and will have them for another 3 weeks, and am hoping that 4 hours on the AE700 is sufficient to make a proper assesment.

Either way, it was a good price, and I am glad I will have it to look at in comparison to the other two. Results are forthcoming.


**EDIT**
Dont worry Eric, I will still post your pictures of the 4805 : )

 

[ericSchirm]

Thanks for the advise. My main reason for trying the 4805 is the price. After finishing my basement I am tapped out. I think I am going to buy the 4805 and upgrade in about 1-2 years.

NOW- How do I ceiling mount this thing??? My ceilings are 9' high, 15.5 throw, 100" screen(87"x49"). I guess the offset is 27.3%??? How do I do the calculation? Do I mount the projector first then the screen or in reverse?

Elijah- Any pics yet??

 

[Elijah]

Yes sir,

I have not been able to post them from home because of, get this, a 14.4 dialup internet connection : ) Sad from someone who works in IT for a phone company. Oh well, its all about location for me.

The good news is that I am working on a T1 here at work, and have my laptop with the pictures, I will upload them (zipped if that works) and then post the link back here.

I will probably get to that during my lunch break at 12-1 EST. I will also give my impressions of my brief testing period Friday night when I took the pics.

 

[Elijah]

Eric,

At the bottom of this post, you will find a link to the images. The first two zip files contain 2 images each, and the third file, just one image. These are unscaled, unaltered 3.2MP images at 2048*1536 px, with a resolution of 108dpi.

I havnt fooled with this camera enough to get the settings straight for exposure so I think they came out just a little dark, however I think that these serve as an accurate enough representation of the screen images, for your purposes.

You will notice that the images were taken a little lower than the screen position, as the PJ is temp mounted on a table top, as opposed to the ceiling.

The dvd player I used was a Sony777ES 400Disc Megachanger, outputting 480p, through component cables. I was suprised at what I saw when testing this PJ under these specs (9' distance, 110' screen size). I expected, less clarity, and punch from the

 

[Citizen87645]

Another vendor option is CostCo, if you are a member. They have an extremely hassle free return policy. There is a coupon valid the last week of this month that puts the 4805 and a 76" screen at 1000.00.

 

[Evan M.]

Elijah.....the link did not work for me.....I am interested in seeing them as wel. I am kind of in the same situation as Eric. I don't hink the issue is on my end......although I really know nothing about computers LOL!

 

[terence]

Eric,

You can mount and then shoot the picture where you want the screen and go from there. the best caculator i have seen is this one for the 4805.

SP 4805 Caculator!

 

[Miles]

Does anyone know if the Costco's in Canada are selling the 4805 and, if so, at what price?

Thanks,

 

[Travis_R]

I also would like to see elija's pics, but the link doesnt work

 

[Elijah]

Hey, sorry, I know those links died a little bit ago.

Good news though, I just finished 30 days with the SP4805 SP5000, and AE700U (pannasonic).

I took tons of pictures, and will be hosting them on a good site this time. I am writing up a personal review of these three right now, and will post it soon. I will put a link to that thread in this post when I finish it.

BTW, I kept the AE700U, but definitely liked the 4805.

Again sorry about the dead links.