Optikinetics - why?
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Forum Name: Golden oldies
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Topic: Optikinetics - why?
Posted By: GregM
Subject: Optikinetics - why?
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:18pm
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Guys, Can anybody explain to me why the ols Opti stuff is now so sought after?, I just don't get it.
Like many of us I'm quite partial to a bit of the old school kit - in fact every treasured bit n bob I own can be classed as 'old', being primarily kit I couldn't afford back the when it was new! - I think I'm single handedly keeping the secondhand Pulsar lighting market alive!, let alone the HH and Cirtonic PPX amp markets......I have to stop at some point.
I never had, and still don't have any particular desire for, any of the Opti projector range, but I can't help myself from watching them when they crop up on ebay - I just watched an Opti Solar 250 sell for GBP305..... I don't get it, why are Opti's so sought after?, what do people do with them these days?
Greg
------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
Replies:
Posted By: dylan-penguinmedia
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:27pm
| James Tengo is a big Opti fan - he'll tell you! |
Posted By: ceharden
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:29pm
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Porn wheels |
Posted By: GregM
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:30pm
Queue James...........  ------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
dylan-penguinmedia wrote:Posted By: shagnasty
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:30pm
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Perhaps it has been SO long people have forgotten I) how dim they were and ii) how amazing poor the motor cabling was on the FX!!Lets be honest a good oil wheel with some jizz either side of it is a great effect, but a 250W Halogen lamp never really had the punch, I did get as far a putting an Opti oil wheel in an old 1200-MRG CP Tiger scan, that rocked, loaded a water-glass into the Gobo wheel and everything, amusingly enough the Tiger seemed take longer to heat up the oil than a solar 250.... Plans to load more stuff into the job were binned after a hose came off a 5w argon laser rig and demonstrated a lack of IP rating on a fixture with 2 huge fans!!!!!  |
Posted By: GAZ.
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 10:42pm
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They are nice units the solar 250's I've got a few of them. Unfortunatly mine dont get used these days due to them all needing new focus lenses. Replacements are really expensive and I cant justify spending the money on them at the moment. ------------- 100% Earth Moving Bass |
Posted By: GregM
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 11:06pm
Ah yes 'that' wheel - it seemed all a tad racey at the time (I remember trying very hard not to mesmerised by the one running upstairs at Squires Tufnell Park store) but, really, it wasn't porn was it , loads of perky nips but nowt more - apparently  So, apart from storing them as treasures (and I get that, I have plenty of bits I now own 'because I can'), what are they used for? I'd not be happy with a treasure owing me £300! ------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
Posted By: ceharden
Date Posted: 28 August 2013 at 11:16pm
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I find the biggest problem with the older ones is where the metal tabs holding the lenses seem to have softened with the heat and no longer hold the glass tightly. They were quite good with an oil wheel in and pointing at the ceiling in a student room and blowing smoke through the beam.... They have their uses but not sure they're worth the prices being thrown about here, unless they come with a lot of accessories for that. |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 8:53am
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Solar 250's....i had quite a few of these new back in the day,and they weren't that good,lots of light spill from the top cover vents (really obvious when used near a white ceiling) and optically not great either,the big Hanimax 250w projector had the same A1/223 bulb,but a good one third brighter and sharper than the opti,as was the Rank Tutor,and both were better built and more robust than the Opti. I agree with Greg,i really dont get why they sell for that much money on ebay,i would have thought £75 to £100 would be adequate for a mint condtion one personally....i guess some people have more money than sense to pay £300 for one of these. ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: woody2
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 9:08am
they were mentioned in grand design magazine around 6 months ago with pics |
Posted By: oldskool
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 3:42pm
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Ok its confession time!
I was head of the Optikinetics UK and export sales and marketing teams for a while until March 2009. I launched the Opti Max wheels, V truss and various other things whilst there. Funnily enough its very different working for the organisation rather than being a user of the product. It is easy to buy a brand new Solar 250 at retail for £380.00 including the VAT if you really want one so £300 used seems a bit pointless to me.
I freely admit I think the Tutor 2 is a better projector and the Solar 250 has its faults but lets not forget the Solar 250 was designed for DJs back then and is the easiest projector to use and keep swapping effects around on. Mr Nasty is right, the original terminations on the Crouzet motors were a joke, always snapping at the entry point and no way of repairing them but they did improve.
I think these days a 250 watt M33 halogen capsule with 1200 lumens at lens is lacking in brightness and if adding liquid wheels to my rig would use the GoBoPro. Its a 250 watt metal halide jobbie with 2800 lumens at lens and as projectors go much better than a Solar 250 but very expensive in comparison.
On the other hand, every single spare part for the Solar 250 can be bought, Opti are very good at keeping parts available for the longest possible time, you would not believe the things we had in the old sheds. So those spring clips for the lenses should be available for a few pennies and it might be worth talking to me about the lenses too.
Its funny, Opti has a whole range of fans who just love the stuff and used to come and spend time at the factory talking about the good old days. Even I am not that mad about Opti gear but do get rather more passionate about my ASS Concert cabs, which I suppose is no different to an opti nut or even an Eddie Stobart follower getting dreamy eyed about their favourite things
 Oh and dont get me started about the Grand Designs project
 ------------- Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies |
Posted By: GregM
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 5:04pm
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Wow, now there's some insight I hadn't imagined this question ever receiving - thanks Oldskool. ------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
Posted By: oldskool
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 5:31pm
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Greg. I could waffle on for page after page. Like you I am a Pulsar freak (need a few more jumbo strobes to complete my quad rainbow strobe setup) and need more PPXs on a permanent basis. Much as I had endless fun setting up huge shows with the opti gear, including a load of special effects we never made public, I have never felt the need to have much of the stuff, although do have a couple of projectors and a customised clock attachment. ------------- Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies |
Posted By: GregM
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 7:46pm
Oh, I think I'm in love.....  Seriously, should we compare our Pulsar 'wants' vs our Pulsar 'got surplus'?------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
Posted By: djeddie
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 9:36pm
Just had a look at "Flesh"... and all I can see is pubic hair. Lots and lots and lots of pubic hair. I think I saw a nipple but it may have been a mark on the plastic. ------------- Chas n Dave : it's like Drum and Bass but with beards. E=mc² ±3dB |
Posted By: GregM
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 9:45pm
 ------------- Remember, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 10:17pm
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Well it was the 1970's,shagpile was very popular back then! ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: woody2
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 11:06pm
we used to sell lots in the 80s and 90s |
Posted By: James Tengo
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 12:41am
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I can't explain it, you just wouldn't understand. They are poor compared to other projectors that were available at the time, but there is just something.... My real shame is my love of the 100b's. Dimmer than the 250, but no fan and less light spill. Film companies love them for their silent running, and low colour temperature. My little collection have earnt their living tens of times over going out to shoots. Just added a n.o.s. splode pump to the collection, cost me just £20! Time to make a new chamber |
Posted By: James Tengo
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 12:43am
| Oh and Greg ive got a mint analog patch bay you might be interested in, drop me a pm for details, I'm at electric picnic in Ireland till Monday so will take a while to reply |
Posted By: chunkydj
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 12:01pm
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Surely for £300 you'd be better off buying a 2700 Lumens Benq or optoma projector and an SD card media player?! ------------- http://www.maxmarcusevents.co.uk" rel="nofollow - http://www.maxmarcusevents.co.uk |
Posted By: oldskool
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 12:31pm
------------- Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies |
Posted By: norty303
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 4:14pm
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It's the simplicity that makes them what they are in my opinion. You just need somewhere to stand/hang it, and a few amps of power, and away you go - what was a previously a boring flat room now has a lot of movement and colour in it. No (comparatively) complex control systems or media 'feed' required. People who aren't 'into' lighting still comment far more on the cool Opti fx than they do on a load of movers. And real moire is much better than computer moire imho. ------------- My laser stuff: http://www.facebook.com/SubsonicSystems" rel="nofollow - Frikkin Lasers |