hi this is my first post and after reading through quite a lot of plogs i am hooked, gonna build this projector.

Basicly i think iam going to go with a vertical design similar to the punisher no001 projector which seems like a sound design to me, i love the new version being worked on at the moment also.

I was just curious as to the feasability of using a 17"lcd coupled with the frenzels that usualy come with the pro lens kit on a standard lens?, also do i need an equivelent size mirror?

ive also seen condencers on sale from a french website that seem quite resonably priced also, could one of these be integrated into a projector coprised of a standard triplet? and would the effect be noticable?

Basicly i love the idea of a pro lens kit but the price is a bit high for the (student)budget iam on at the moment. any help on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

The collimating fresnels for both standard and pro sets have a FL of 220mm so you get the "pro" 220mm as it is large enough to cover the 17" panel. However, for the field fresnel (collector), you want the FL to be matched with the FL of the triplet you are using. If you plan to use the standard triplet (FL = 320mm) you will need a comparible fresnel. The pro field fresnel has a FL of 650mm, which is too much for use with the standard triplet, and since the standard fresnels (FL=317mm) are not big enough to cover a 17" LCD, you will need to find them elsewhere if you plan to go that route. There are places you can find fresnels with a 330mm FL for use with the standard triplet, I personally had used one from 3dens, but there are other companies as well.

Have you determined what size screen you want, sitting position, and the throw you will get using a 17" LCD with standard optics ? The throw on a 17" LCD w/ standard optics is very short... keystoning along with the standard triplet will make corners pretty unfocused... in case you haven't considered this.

cheers,
gs