Hi all,

I'm rather new to 35mm - I've got a couple of super 8mm projectors which I occasionally use for showing family films, and the rare feature. I'm wanting to get a 35mm projector and am looking for a bit of advice regarding prices. My first port of call for buying anything is always ebay, however I'm aware that ebay prices (especially for oddities such as film and projectors) can be a bit mad, but for me just starting out I'm not sure what's mad and what's reasonable!

So my question is: how much is a "good"/reasonable price for a working 35mm projector? I'm looking more at the more "modern" stuff - Kinotons in particular as I've heard they are reliable and kind on film. The one I'm looking at at the moment is a FP23, which is the portable once (which suits me as I don't have that much space!), so if you've bought/sold/seen one for sale recently, I'd be very interested to know the price.

Thanks!
David

You can buy brand new ones here. Cost a bit, but I reallywould love to own a portable one someday
http://www.cinemec.it/prodotti.html?fbcl...t3JWrWj1xNqNEFg

Because most of the cinemas used the "bulkier", non-portable ones, and collectors prefer portable 35mm projectors, normal projectors are very cheap. In contrast portable projectors still retain some of their original value.

In Europe you can get a used non-portable projector with the lamphouse, lenses and various accessories for around 300-600€ (depending on what's included).
I'm sure it is possible to find a very good deal on a portable projector, but generally the price is more in the thousands than in the hundreds.

If space is really a problem, a nice idea you could try is to find a old projector head and build the rest around it yourself so it doesn't use much space. The "mechanical" part in a 35mm projector isn't that big generally, and it is definitely smaller on old projectors. You can look in this link at what this person did with old projector heads. The 5th photo is a nice example of a space efficient setup.
http://projecteur.cinema.pagesperso-orange.fr/adaptperso.htm

I have to agree with Tomek on this one. Commercial projector mechanics are being thrown out by the thousands right now but the ones I used in my theater were Simplex Standards. The projector heads themselves were only a foot and a half wide by 3 foot tall at the most. They aren't very big even with a sound head which is only a couple feel across. You will just have to find a way to mount them and attatch a working motor. In a houshold setup you will probably have to find a way to mount them but they shouldn't be expensive. Once you break down a theater projector there really isn't much there. The reel holders depend on how many times you want to change reels but the arms are out there for cheap. I personally use a DeVry portable sound 35mm but it was sold for one reel at a time in a suitcase design. It was heavily modified and now uses a stereo solar cell. I removed the exiter lamp and replaced it with a high-brightness LED lamp and I extended the arms to recieve 5000' reels. It can be done but it takes a bit of work and can be done cheap.