[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Greetings!

I have been pondering the idea of the ND2 filter but seeing that my image is 124" diagonal I may end up with a too dim image. Anyone one using the ND2 with a comparable screen size that can offer some feedback please?

Regards

 

[Ja Phule]

I'd do it if my screen was 2+ gain.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Mine is unknown...is blackout cloth.Of course it will be at best 1.0. Probably will get some Parkland board but I am waiting ro receive a sample first. Then again, maybe I could use High power mode but that will shorten lamp life and may leave me back where I started.

 

[Ja Phule]

At 124", you're already close to the movie recommended lamp brightness of 12ftl. An ND2 filter would bring down to 6 ftl.

 

[Hughman]

Louis,


Are there aspects of your image which you feel a reduction of light output would improve?

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Well...I am not sure. You know how tweakers are...we always think we can improve the image a bit more dont we?

I think the best thing I can do for my image is cover my ceiling or at least a couple of feets from where it meets the screen and my buying a dark rug dont you think?

Regards

 

[Ja Phule]

Some masking should help too.


I'm thinking of just buying some black cardboard and taping it onto my ceiling.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ja Phule Some masking should help too. I'm thinking of just buying some black cardboard and taping it onto my ceiling.

Yeah I am sure my wife would love that idea!

You lucky man!

Regards

 

[hdkhang]

I highly doubt blackout cloth is 1.0 gain.


Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

lower or higher?

 

[Hughman]

Problem with tweaking is it's difficult to stop, even after everything looks great that one last tweak usually screws it all up again and again and again....


You might as well forget about the ND2 filter idea, blackout cloth can be less than one gain and the numbers indicate you are either presently at or less than minimum recommended foot lamberts.


Concentrating on your room will pay-off however, treating early reflection points will reduce backwash and help minimize contrast ratio loss. The more you treat the better it gets.


I've created a 52" shadow box around my screen and just today completely substituted my previous arrangement of black felt and black paint with 17 meters of black velvet, and wow a shocking difference in blackness literally looks like a black hole.

 

[hdkhang]

My guess is that it is definitely sub 1.0 gain. Very few everyday household items that are white are actually 1.0 gain. 6ftL isn't unwatchable, I'm sure I'd be able to live with it, that being said, my opinion would be to not bother, there is some light loss with filtering and in your case since your blacks should be reasonable (best case scenario of 0.005 ftL if you adhere to 12ftL), your bulb will eventually dim to 6ish ftL so if you have the ND2 lying around you can see what it will eventually look like. I know preferences will be the determining factor, but reducing blacks without really increasing contrast beyond the point of 10-12ftL can be problematic on certain movies. Better to spend your efforts in tweaking trying to improve shadow detail instead of absolute black levels... here ISF services may come in handy if you can afford it. Otherwise I have no real advice to give on grayscale tracking as I don't have the knowledge or equipment to expand on it. I'm not really sure it is something that can be done without the equipment. (My guess is that it can't)


Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang