Mitsubishi HC3800 Lens Throw Posted on November 1, 2009 By Art Feierman 1. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Overview2. Mitsubishi HC3800 Special Features - HC3800 Lamp Life - Zoom Lens3. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Appearance - HC3800 Control Panel - Input/Output - HC3800 Menus4. Mitsubishi HC3800 Remote Control5. Mitsubishi HC3800 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Image Quality - Mitsubishi HC3800 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Flesh Tones7. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail9. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 210. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 311. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 412. Shadow Detail Performance13. Shadow Detail Performance 214. Shadow Detail Performance 315. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Overall Color & Picture Quality16. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports17. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Performance - Mitsubishi HC3800 Brightness - Lumen Output for various Gamma modes at 100 IRE, color temp on Medium: - Lumen Output at various Color Temps at 100 IRE, Gamma on Auto - Pre-calibration18. Mitsubishi HC3800 Sharpness19. Mitsubishi HC3800 Sharpness 220. Mitsubishi HC3800: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise21. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Calibration and Settings - Mitsubishi HC3800 Color Temperature - Lumen Output at various Color Temps at 100 IRE, Gamma on Auto: - Mitsubishi HC3800 Basic Settings22. Mitsubishi HC3800 Post Calibration Grayscale - Engineering Sample - Production HC3800 Projector - RGB Settings - Brightest Modes23. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Projector Screens - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Screen Recommendations24. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Competitors - HC3800 vs. Epson Home Cinema 8100 and Home Cinema 8500UB - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC6800 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z70025. Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. BenQ W6000 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Sharp XV-Z15000 - HC3800 vs. Optoma HD2026. Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. BenQ W1000 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300027. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Warranty28. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Review Summary - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - The Bottom Line29. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – The Bottom Line 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the HC3800 projector30. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Pros - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Cons - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Typical Capabilities31. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Specifications The 1.5:1 zoom will let you place the front of the projector as close as 11 feet 1 inch from a 100 inch diagonal, 16:9 screen. Or, the HC3800 can be placed as far back as 16 feet, 5 inches from the same sized screen, and of course, anywhere in between. These numbers are based on preliminary specs but should prove to be accurate within an inch or so. Lens ShiftNo lens shift for the Mitsubishi HC3800, but that’s hardly a surprise for an entry level 1080p DLP projector. The lens offset is significant, though not as great as a lot of DLP home theater projectors over the years. For the usual 100″ diagonal, 16:9 screen, the center of the lens needs to be 16.53 inches above the top of the scren surface, or, if on a table or low shelf, 16.53 inches below the bottom of the screen surface. With that much lens offset, a number of folks will find they can’t use this projector with larger screens (110″ diagonal and larger) in rooms with 8 foot or lower ceilings, or at the least, it will be a close thing. Consider: 8 foot ceiling, 120 inch diagonal screen: Assume the projector is mounted very close to the ceiling, with a drop of 10 inches from ceiling to center of lens. Then, for the 120″ screen, the lens offset is just less than 20 inches. The screen height is about 59 inches. Bottom line: 96 inches (ceiling) – 10, -20, -59 = 7 inches – the bottom of the screen would be just over 7 inches off the floor. That much offset is handy for placing a projector on a table below screen height, but is a challenge in those lower height ceilings. Anamorphic LensThe Mitsubishi HC3800 does support an anamorphic lens. Better still, the HC3800 has support for what Mitsubishi calls Anamorphic Lens Modes 1 and 2. What is especially nice about the HC3800, is that you can choose to go with an anamorphic lens, but not need the usual motorized sled to move it in front of the regular lens when you want 2.35:1, and out of the way, for everything else. The first mode provides the usual required aspect ratio for working with an anamorphic lens for 2.35:1 viewing. The second mode, though, assumes that the anamorphic lens remains in front of the lens for 16:9 and 4:3 viewing, and this mode essentially provides the right adjustments to provide the right aspect ratios for those shapes. For those sold on 2.35:1 without letterboxing, and expected to pay $3000 – $4000+ for an anamorphic lens and sled, this capability should save you about half of that! Mind you, when viewing 16:9, you will no longer have 1:1 pixel mapping, which is preferred, but that should add only the slightest softness, and won’t bother many. Anyone using an anamorphic lens has already given up 1:1 pixel mapping for those Cinemascope movies! 1. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Overview2. Mitsubishi HC3800 Special Features - HC3800 Lamp Life - Zoom Lens3. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Appearance - HC3800 Control Panel - Input/Output - HC3800 Menus4. Mitsubishi HC3800 Remote Control5. Mitsubishi HC3800 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Image Quality - Mitsubishi HC3800 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Flesh Tones7. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail9. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 210. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 311. Mitsubishi HC3800 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 412. Shadow Detail Performance13. Shadow Detail Performance 214. Shadow Detail Performance 315. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Overall Color & Picture Quality16. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports17. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Performance - Mitsubishi HC3800 Brightness - Lumen Output for various Gamma modes at 100 IRE, color temp on Medium: - Lumen Output at various Color Temps at 100 IRE, Gamma on Auto - Pre-calibration18. Mitsubishi HC3800 Sharpness19. Mitsubishi HC3800 Sharpness 220. Mitsubishi HC3800: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise21. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Calibration and Settings - Mitsubishi HC3800 Color Temperature - Lumen Output at various Color Temps at 100 IRE, Gamma on Auto: - Mitsubishi HC3800 Basic Settings22. Mitsubishi HC3800 Post Calibration Grayscale - Engineering Sample - Production HC3800 Projector - RGB Settings - Brightest Modes23. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Projector Screens - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Screen Recommendations24. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Competitors - HC3800 vs. Epson Home Cinema 8100 and Home Cinema 8500UB - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC6800 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z70025. Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. BenQ W6000 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Sharp XV-Z15000 - HC3800 vs. Optoma HD2026. Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. BenQ W1000 - Mitsubishi HC3800 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300027. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Warranty28. Mitsubishi HC3800 – Review Summary - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - The Bottom Line29. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – The Bottom Line 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the HC3800 projector30. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Pros - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Cons - Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector: Typical Capabilities31. Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Specifications Mitsubishi HC3800 Remote Control Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector – Image Quality