Project Yourself: Leica's Pradovit D-1200 Tested

Written on Friday 06.11.2009 14:54 PM By: Red Bull Illume

Red Bull Illume is all about enlightening the world of action and adventure sports photography, and it looks like Leica's new Pradovit D-1200 is the perfect tool for illumination.

Not content with producing the world's sexiest cameras, the Pradovit had the Red Bull Illume testing team dribbling, but thankfully not on to the 3.6kg, USD12,000 unit.

With dimensions of 268 x 300 x 104mm, Leica's beamer is small and portable, a key plus point, along with its ability to project incredible quality images and maintain clarity up to 15m away.

"We put it through a number of tests," said Markus, a member of the testing team, "and it was definitely a high performer.

"It's light, quiet (28db running noise according to Leica), relatively small and therefore suitable for photographers wanting to travel around and display their images."

The Pradovit has a Vario-Elmarit-P lens and a Philips 220W FusionPlus VIDI UHP bulb inside that can last up to 3000 hours in standard applications and blow up photos to 9.5m wide.

"We tried it onto a number of surfaces, such as a white wall, projector screen and even a wooden wall to see how the picture came up.

"In most cases it was still very clear, even when we had it 10-15m away. Obviously on the white wall was best, but the picture remained good even on the wooden wall.

"We also tested different lighting conditions. In a dark room it was really amazing, almost as if the image was printed onto the wall. As you add more daylight the quality decreases, but the picture stays sharp, colourful and attractive."

To match your location, the Pradovit has multiple menus enabling the user to adjust the colour to suit varying light conditions.

Unfortunately the unit gets extremely hot after a very short period of time. Markus says that as long as you are aware of this, "I can see no other obvious weaknesses."

Usable across a number of sources such as notebooks, camcorders and BluRay DVD players, the Pradovit works well with moving and still images. An extensive terminal at the unit's rear accepts most modern connection and control options.

"We hooked it up to a DVD player and watched Karina Hollekim 20 Seconds Of Joy B.A.S.E. jumping movie," continues Markus. "I don't think it would have looked much better doing it yourself, let alone seeing it in the cinema!"

Check www.leica-camera.com for more information.