garageCube

[ianim8]

Good evening folks,

I would like to start experimenting with projection mapping at home and could use some advice on getting setup to do so. Any help with the following questions would be greatly appreciated:

1) Do I need a good camera? Currently I have an iPhone 4 and an older Kodak point and shoot digital camera, no DSLR or anything fancy.

2) What are the minimum suggested specs that I should look for in a projector?

3) Are there any brands of projectors that are more affordable yet still reliable and decent performance for experimenting with and perhaps using on-site for demo purposes if needed?

4) I realize that the lamps are very expensive, are certain types or brands cheaper than others? Do certain types or brands last longer than others?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If there are any good resources or FAQs out there on this topic I would appreciate it too. I apologize if any of this has been covered before but I haven't found much. Thanks in advance.

Glen

[ianim8]

Does the following projector suffice for learning and experimenting with?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6824009285

I seem to recall a recommendation of a minimum of 2500 lumens and 3000:1 contrast ratio, both of which this projector seems to surpass. Is this a reliable brand? Any features that I need to consider?

[deepvisual]

dont think you can go wrong for that money

[MGrinder]

I think you might be a little disappointed with that little guy. It is super cheap so for the money it's not too bad if you're just playing around, but it's low resolution and the optics aren't great. There are quite a few decent Sanyos and Christies on ebay in the $500 and lower range that will give you better lensing options and higher resolution. Remember when you are warping you'll be losing pixels so starting out with a low res 4x3 image can result in some seriously chunky images if you start stretching it around.

[ilan]

If you are just experimenting and testing things out, and you have limited space for doing such things I would recommend a small projector:

http://www.dell.com/us/en/highered/peri ... =65&s=hied

Get a magic arm and easily angle anything the way you want. Cheap, and the lack of a lamp to burn out will last a while.

You can rent a projector for the events.