Practicing film photography in this era can be an expensive hobby. There’s the constantly increasing cost of film stock. Then you have the extra premium you need to pay towards getting mint condition film cameras. Of course, you can’t just shoot them and leave the negatives aside; there’s always the need to scan them into digital files to share with the world. If you’re someone who enjoys shooting positive film, what good are they when kept in a box; you need to showcase them to friends and family when they visit, right? Making the last two activities a lot more affordable for you to experience is the ElevanChan EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector Kit. This device is one of the coolest gadgets I’ve seen in the last few years, which is catered towards film photography enthusiasts. It’s more than just a conversation starter; it delivers exactly what’s promised.
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The Big Picture: EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector Kit Conclusions
The EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector Kit does more than project your old 35mm slides onto a wall. It also doubles as a base for scanning your film negatives and positives. And it does all this without having to be plugged into a power outlet, thanks to the very capable built-in rechargeable battery. What makes it even more of a superstar is its portability. The EMP 4.0 seamlessly pairs with 14 medium format film cameras to make the perfect alliance, working as a slide projector that can be easily carried around to impress your fellow photographers. The whole process and the ingenuity of it, is one that will undoubtedly make you smile as you swap one slide after another. But that’s not all – slap on the appropriate film stock holder and you can flip that back into a light source for scanning your negatives. Elevan Chan and his team have come up with a solution that film photographers are bound to lust after to add to their collection.
For being a really cool gadget that performs a dual role while being priced only as much as one accessory, I’m giving the EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector Kit a whole five stars.
Pros
- The innovative adapter system is compatible with 14 different types of medium format film cameras to work as a projector
- Don’t have a film camera yet? You can use an extra attachment anyway to project your slides up to 100 inches in size
- Currently supports projection of 6 film formats (6×7, 6×6, 6×4.5, 6×3, Xpan, 135)
- Comes with film holders for 9 types of mounted and unmounted film scanning
- Also included are a pair of white gloves, a USB recharging cable, and a couple of clear filters
- Built-in rechargeable battery that lasts around 40 minutes
- CRI LED light source
- Inbuilt cooling control system
- 3D printed but quite durable. I accidentally dropped the 135mm slide holder, and it didn’t crack or break
- Totally silent operation
- You don’t need to modify anything on your cameras for this to work with it
- Fun. So much fun to use
Cons
- You will struggle with mounting the back onto your camera at times, as the latch system can be different from the one your film back has
- At times the slide fell off the holder into the back, and I had to remove the back to retrieve the slide.
Who Should Buy the EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector Kit?
If you had a slide projector at some point in your life, you know how much fun it was to use one of these. It’s not easy to find one these days. In fact, I could only locate some on Etsy and on Amazon, which were close to $250; used, not new. Of course, film scanning accessories aren’t cheap either these days, so when you consider the EMP4.0 does both these at just $249, it’s hard to not want to buy one if you have loads of film negatives and slide positives lying around the house. It’s also a great gift to give the analog photographer in your family or friends circle.
Gear Used
- Elevan Chan EMP4.0 All In One Slide Projector back with Hasselblad 500cm mount
- My Hasselblad 500cm
- My Hasselblad Zeiss 80mm Planar Chrome lens
- My Leofoto Mr Q tripod
- Loads of granddad’s old slide positives
- All the various attachments that came with the EMP4.0, including the EMP67 projector attachment
Build Quality and Ergonomics
The exterior and attachments appear to be entirely 3D printed. They are extremely lightweight, and while they might feel flimsy at times, they are anything but this. All slide holders stood up to 2 days of rigorous usage and didn’t exhibit any signs of wear and tear, even after I dropped one of them.
Ease of Use
Here’s where I felt the projector’s back could be slightly improved on. Well, not so much the back as the camera adapter plate that goes on to the back. In my case, it was the latch that is used to mount the back onto the Hasselblad 500cm. On my compatible film backs, it’s a simple matter of sliding the V button to one side and then releasing it once the back is in place. On the EMP4.0 for Hasselblad, I had to keep the latch firmly moved to one side in order to make sure the projector was safely mounted to my 500cm.
This latch itself is quite tight and difficult to hold down in order to engage the pins to the Hasselblad. In no time, I found my thumb aching. Once you’ve managed to get the back on there, it’s pretty easy to continue with the fun part of the projector.
Pick out the appropriate holder, in my case the carefully designed 135 model, and place your slide (upside down) into it. Then drop the pair carefully into the slot at the top of the projector back. Add one of the two provided filters onto your lens, in order to be able to project the image up to 72 inches on a wall. Without these filters, you can only clearly project an image that’s 35 inches across the diagonal.
Use the lens’s Bulb mode, and go as wide as possible on the aperture. We were recommended to use an 80mm f2.8 lens for this projector, and luckily, I had the same in my arsenal. Don’t forget to set the release mode to T (not O) for time exposure lock, and press the shutter.
It’s a Special Kind Of Magic
When that first slide gets projected onto the wall, all sorts of nostalgic feels will hit you from inside. An outpouring of emotions made its way to my mind and lips when an old photo taken by my granddad, full of classic film colors, was displayed. Transparency film is great to shoot, but is enjoyed most in such moments, when viewed on a white wall amongst those whose company you love. Sure, it was slightly out of focus and the tripod needed to be straightened slightly, but everyone’s eyes lit up instantly to see a piece of history.
The battery on the EMP4.0 is rated to last around 35 minutes, but I found it lasted nearly 45 minutes the first time I tried it out. The lamp’s color didn’t change throughout this period.
If you already have a medium format camera, the purchase will be lighter on your pocket. If you still want to experience this kit to view all those slides you have at home, but don’t have a compatible camera, then you’ll have to purchase the EMP67 lens addon, which attaches directly to the back.
Finding Limitless Joy In An Analog Experience
Think about it. That set of glorious Kodachrome slides sitting inside a biscuit tin in your attic deserves to be viewed again. But this time, instead of holding it up to the light with a loupe over your eyes, why not use the EMP4.0 Slide Projector Kit. I don’t think anyone manufactures carousel slide projectors anymore, and you’d end up paying quite a bit for a new or even mint condition one today if you’re lucky enough to source one. Even if this unit requires you to manually intervene for each slide change, it’s not a process you’d get tired of. That’s because each time a new photo comes up in such a large size on your wall, your soul is soothed.
Wouldn’t it be easier to scan all these slides and digitize them, then watch them on your 55-inch smart TV instead? That would take the joy out of the process completely. This kit enables you to reconnect with the analog joy that film photography brings to the world. A projector like this is the authentic intended way for you to enjoy viewing film slides. It’s tactile and way more immersive than occasional glancing at your screen while your brain and eyes are glued to your smartphone (this is you, admit it).
The EMP4.0 has made me want to shoot more and more color positive film so that I can make viewing moments of my life easier for future generations, just like my granddad did. This is the analog photographer’s ASMR; the deliberate physical interaction it requires is something that scrolling through a digital album can never replicate, no matter how large the monitor or TV screen is. I’d love to see a carousel version of this projector some day made by Elevan Chan and his team.
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