Customer Reviews

Project - A - ScopeŽ Image Projector

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this scope from Quint Graphics. I really liked the design. My mother had an excellent one that she used for 20 years when I was younger, so I was really excited about this one.

The description says 15x projection. However, the box says 5x projection when you receive it. It does ok for a scope. I have outlined some pictures for some art work and it works alright.

When I contacted Quint Graphics, I didn't receive a response... to all three e-mails. Apparently, they are having trouble receiving e-mails from Amazon, odd, but I'll take it. After two phone calls, I finally talked with the someone on the phone. If you deal with this seller, definitely call them. They are very courteous and helpful on the phone. The seller said that the original creator of the project-a-scope description has to change it. They are unable to edit it and Amazon won't allow them to create a new item for the same thing. He says that they sell hundreds and have never gotten a complaint before.

FYI, you can get a 5x projector at Michael's for the same price, but you can use a 40% off coupon. If I'd known I was getting the lower projection, I would have saved myself the trouble of paying more money for it, plus shipping.

It's functional but is difficult to actually do what I want. As an artist, my purpose was to project photos to a canvas and be able to trace the outlines for a quicker painting process. It does project but once my hand goes up to trace the lines, I cannot see what I am doing. And, while doing this, the background goes out of focus too because the canvas moves due to the pressure of my hand. It is not the fault of the projector. The projector does well, can create a sharp picture, but is not good for my purpose. If a person simply wants to project items for view it would be fine.

Note:This might also apply to the "Autograph Tracer Junior Projector, which is similar.

I am a retired lifelong artist, a painter in oils, and also a retired commercial illustrator. In the business we always kept a "morgue file" of stuff we liked and might need for future reference. Like musicians, we frequently copied ideas from each other. It was expected and nobody took offense or thought anything about it. We often worked from a photograph or took a photograph ourselves to translate into artwork. No big deal. Efficiency of action and quick professional results were the objectives.

I recently had need to raise money for dental work and decided to come out of retirement and do a series of oil paintings to sell. Western genera subjects sell well in my area, so that's what I decided on as subject matter. Library books and magazines proved insufficient as a source of photos and illustrations so I decided to turn to the cinema where big bucks were spent on locations and great photographic vistas. I was impressed with several scenes from "And Came A Horseman" so I bought the DVD, stopped action on the shots I liked, and photographed the screen. I took these shots to WalMart and had the digital images from the camera memory chip converted to 4 X 5 color photographs that can be projected via my Project-A-Scope onto a canvas. ... beginning to get the idea? These were superb, well planned shots by professional photographers, made in great Colorado landscape settings, with dramatic skys and cowboy action.

On checking out my used Project-A-Scope from Amazon I found, like everyone else, that it is OK but pretty dim and has to be used at night or in a darkened room. It also gets hot. I solved the heat problem easily by installing a max brightness flourescent bulb. The enclosure around the illuminated picture is made of dark plastic and very inefficient for max use of the bulb. instead of lining the inside walls of the enclosure with reflective aluminum foil (my first thought) I have decided to modify the unit by cutting away the end of the enclosure and either installing a mirror to reflect more light from the bulb onto the copy picture or install a second bulb opposite the present one. I will extend the forward sides of the projector with a thin plywood enclosure, screwed in place on the existing sides, and mount a second bulb socket from the hardware store. The internal sides will be lined with reflective aluminum foil. With fluorescent bulbs heat won't be a problem.

I might also lengthen the lens tube for longer focus if needed. The original focus assembly is just a loose slip-fit, with no thread focusing. It falls out easily. The lens itself is a simple one-element meniscus type. I'm thinking of making a simple platform for the projector using an adjustable photo tripod. The base would be a square of thin plywood or perhaps a clipboard secured by the camera mount screw. A clipboard might be useful for holding the picture to be projected.

I ordered a second used Project-A-Scope to modify, keeping the first one original as a usable relic. None of these modifications are really necessary if you only need the scope for occasional sketching. A low-heat flourescent bulb is a cheap way to beat the heat problem. Just as it is I give it four stars as a great little device for very little money.

Hope this gives you some useful ideas.

I bought mine at Michael's, but it appears to be the exact same product as listed here. As others have mentioned, the box states that the product will only magnify up to 5X. What no one has mentioned, however, is that the product will not do slight enlargements. In other words, if you are hoping to project 3x3" image on to a 9x12 drawing surface, you might find getting a clear image to be rather difficult. Also, the image window where you place your original image to be enlarged is very, very, small, only 3.5"x3.5", so if you have a regular 4x6" photo, for instance, you will not be able to enlarge the entire image. In fact, you will not be able to enlarge any entire original image unless you make a tiny copy that will fit in the window.

I was hoping to project sketches from my sketchbook when drafting my paintings to save some time. I thought I would be able to work with sections of the original drawing, but I've found that to be nearly impossible. Once the projector, original drawing, or canvas have been moved, getting everything lined up and in focus again is just about impossible. To make it work, I have to scan the sketches and make itty bitty prints of them, which causes some of the detail to get lost.

On the bright side, I have found the projectascope to produce an adequately crisp image, and I do not need to be in a completely darkened room to use it. I was also surprised by the clarity of the projection, despite using such a tiny copy of the original image.

I wouldn't say this product is useless, and though it's not as good as I hoped, I think I will keep it anyway. It was inexpensive, and gets the job done, albeit in a rather tedious fashion. I don't like having to go through the extra step of scanning and printing my orginals, but it is slightly less time consuming than gridding or redrawing. I also figure my daughter will like playing with it when she gets a little older.

I bought this for an art project, but ended up using a digital projector instead. However, I am giving this to my niece for Christmas, as she is 9 and LOVES to draw, especially horses. It is very easy to use, for a child, and will allow her to draw great pictures!! The pictures get a bit blurry if you try to make them too large, but again, for kids who want to draw pictures, this is AWESOME!! I wish I had one when I was a kid. I am very happy with it, and recommend this to other parents who may have a budding artist in the family!!

This product has a wonderful concept behind it but has too many flaws!

1. Its over heats so fast you burn your self if you touch it!
2. Made so poorly that the plastic isn't smooth so it wobbles.
3. Its incredibly difficult to adjust the sizing to exactly what you need! The scope falls off if you try to zoom out too much. I needed a very specific size and it was not possible to get that.

I do not recommend this for anyone honestly. Save your money up and buy a real projector instead.