Lasershowparts Scanpro 30 review

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/logo.jpg

Lasershowparts Scanpro 30 review

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/new.jpg

Hardware used for this review :
Dac : phoenix / laserworld dac
Software : he_laserscan / Mamba
200 mw red module


The Specs :

Model Number: SCANPRO30
Scan Angle: +/- 20 Degrees
Scan Speed: >30kpps
Power Input
90-265VAC
Signal Input: -5v to +5v differential
Driver Adjustments: LF/HF Damping, Servo Gain, Size
Mirror size: 6x11mm
Mirror Type: Coated Aluminum
Mirror Reflectivity: >98% @ 45 degrees


http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/box.jpg

Whats included in the box :
2 x Scanners
2 x Driver board
1 x Scanner mount
1 x power supply (PSU).
2 x Cables driver to scanner
2 x Cables driver to PSU/input signals
No User manual due to environmental concerns.
i dont want to sound like a tree hugging hippie but but this is a real good thing.

These Galvo’s where shipped with the standard 6x11x0.7 mirrors.
Just slightly bigger and thicker then on the Laserworld scanners.
But there also available with 5x11x0.7 mirrors
According to the manual both should be able to reach 52kpps at 5 degrees scan angle.
First impressions Drivers:

The first thing that caught my eye is that the have a sort of vintage look about them.
No smd parts are visible on the driver and some parts even look if they came from the 80’s ;)
Nevertheless this does not say anything about its performance.
Only looks kind of strange on a high performance driver.
Of course there are also a lot of good things.
These drivers also come with the db9 connector on the driver side.
Personally I think the db9 connectors on the drivers are great.
There easy to connect and the cant come loose accidently when rewiring the projector.
These driver do need to be bolted to the projector case or a heat sink.
But even without heat sink the don’t really get all that hot.
However I would recommend bolting them to a proper heat sink source
Not only because of cooling issues.
But also because heat influences the scanners performance.
These drivers don’t have any type of fuse on them to protect them against over current.
However the power supply does have this feature.

First impressions Galvo’s:

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/galvo1.jpg

Can’t really say a lot about these.
The look like your generic style galvo’s
However they were very well protected during shipping

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/galvo2.jpg

The don’t have the db9 connectors on the galvo only on the driver.
How ever this is handy if u dont have a lot of room in your projector housing.
These galvo’s are outfitted with the standard 6x11x0.7 mirrors
The mirrors have a high efficiently of 98 %.
This was also specified in the manual.
But this was also measured using my coherent laser check and
Using my 100 mw 532 nm Cni test laser I’ve only lost about 5-6 mw of power after all the mirrors.
So that’s pretty good.
The mirrors fitted to these galvo’s are broadband mirrors.
These are coated for a range of between 400 nm -700 nm.
So any visible light laser should work fine with these mirrors with minor losses.
Galvo and driver are matched by serial number so there easy to indentify

The mounting block

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/gblock.jpg

The galvo mounting block has a steady and heavy feel to it
Of course this is exactly what we want.
The mount allows for more then enough adjustments to be made.
And can be screwed to the base plate with 4 screws
Speed table for the 6x11x0.7 mirrors.
Scan angle Speed @ Mirror size
±30°Opt 24Kpps @ 6*11*0.7
±20°Opt 30Kpps @ 6*11*0.7
±15°Opt 38Kpps @ 6*11*0.7
±8°Opt 50Kpps @ 6*11*0.7
±5°Opt 52Kpps @ 6*11*0.7

Now for the important part ;)
I’ll let the pictures do all the talking.
In most of the pictures u will see the ilda pattern.
Since this is still seen as one of the industries standard test frames for turning scanners.
But I’ll try to keep u awake with some other frames to

20 Degrees @ 30 kpps
http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/ild.jpg

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/mt4.jpg

12 Degrees @ 35 kpps


http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/mt5.jpg

5 Degrees 43kpps

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/mt3.jpg

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/mt2.jpg

http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/smil.jpg

Stil very nice clean lines no round edges et etc
These scanners perform very well at all speeds and scan angles.
There are no obvious over or undershoots in the scanned output.
All the lines are perfectly aligned at all speeds and scan angles.
No distortions or over or undershoots are seen when running the scanners on their rated output and scan angles.
Also at 40kpps the scanners and drivers become warm.
But the highest temp I recorded was about 43 degrees.
And this was at 21 degrees room temperature running the amps and galvos for 30 minutes.
In most cases a new set of scanner might require some fine tuning to get everything looking just fine.
But these where already spot on.
For more info regarding Scanner / Galvo tuning see
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ead.php?t=3707
And
http://www.laserfx.com/Backstage.Las...Scanning1.html
Both are excellent guide for tuning your scanners and understanding how they actually work.

Conclusion:

So in conclusion.
These scanners seem to do the job perfectly without any problems
The price is 650 aud so with the current exchange rate that’s
467 Us dollars or 354 euro’s
And that’s pretty good considering u still have to pay in access of 1200 dollars for a proper cti set.
Scanner performance is as advertised with the 6x11x0.7 mirrors installed.
The drivers work great but do need proper cooling.
So overall I can recommend this set to anybody.
And it can compete just fine with the other top performers like the dt40 and Laserworld set

http://lasershowparts.com

Good review. Thanks!
Might be purchasing these for my next set :P The 40s are not that much more tho... Hmmm

Which galvo's were included? I see two different types in your pictures...?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ledfreak3d

There are no markings on the galvo’s to identify what is the X galvo and what is Y.
Since both the drivers and galvo’s are tuned specifically to work together.
Connecting the wrong galvo to the wrong driver.
Will give u very poor performance.
I found this out by trial and error.
But might be a good idea to label the galvo’s in the future.

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Umm, each galvo has a serial number on it, each scan amp has a serial number to match the galvo, you simple match up the serial numbers as stated in the manual ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dave

Umm, each galvo has a serial number on it, each scan amp has a serial number to match the galvo, you simple match up the serial numbers as stated in the manual ;)

Nice review BTW :)

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Ahh yes u are totaly right dave,

Stupid me.
probably stil blinded by that lightning strike

<Zitat>
Hardware used for this review :
Dac : phoenix / laserworld dac
Software : he_laserscan / Mamba
200 mw red module
</Zitat>

Weder Mamba noch HE-Laserscann sind ohne richtige Einstellungen Testtauglich für die Ilda Testbilder.
Bitte zeige mal die Einstellungen der Software.

Uneingeschränkt Ilda Testtauglich ist LD2000.
Bei jeder anderen Software werden Zwischenpunkte und Extra Linebegin / End Punkte eingefügt.(Interpolation)

Wenn Du schreibst : 15 Degrees @ 35 kpps
Das klingt sehr Unglaubwüdig.
Aussagekräftige Frames beziehen sich auf 8 Grad.

Schafft ein Scanner 35 K bei 8 Grad was sehr gut ist ,schafft er bestimmt nur knapp 25 K bei 15 Drad.

So gesehen betrachte ich Deinen ""Test""" als Witz . von jemanden der keine Ahnung hat.

Gento

p.s @All sorry meines Deutschen Textes

Test 16.5.2009

Du bist herzlich eingeladen @ledfreak3d

http://www.laserfreak.net/forum/view...155339#p155339

Gento

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ledfreak3d

Now for the important part ;)
I’ll let the pictures do all the talking.
In most of the pictures u will see the ilda pattern.
Since this is still seen as one of the industries standard test frames for turning scanners.
But I’ll try to keep u awake with some other frames to

20 Degrees @ 30 kpps
http://members.quicknet.nl/m.vos2/ild.jpg

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I have to say, 20 degrees at 30K??? :eek: My 6215s don't have the circle outside of the box at 15 degrees at 30K... :confused: Can I request a Math check, please?

Interpolation if is the magic word + Extra Points

Gento

sorry all the figures are correct the actualy do the ilda frame at 35 k @15 degrees without mutch problems.

there is a very good scan angle reference on the pangolin website so ive used that to calculate the angles

http://www.pangolin.com/userhelp/scanangles.htm

took me some time (4 hours of tuning) to get them at that speed
but the figures are correct.

he_laserscan and mamba might be debatable but thats all i have at the moment
if anyone has a proper pangolin dac + software
i would be glad to retest them

the ilda patern looks perfedct on 30kpps @ 20 degrees.
also according to the manufacturer (Sonima)

these can even do 54k @ 5 degrees when properly tuned with 6*11*0.7 mirrors

there is even a set (sm2815)that is suposed to do 80k @ 5 degrees

http://www.sonima.com.cn/SM2815.asp

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ledfreak3d

http://www.sonima.com.cn/SM2815.asp

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They are the 50k scanners we sell

±30°optical, is that 30° total or 30°+ and 30°- ?

Slower scanspeed (15-20K) with big scan angle (about 60° total) is still what I'm after..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JeroenVDV

±30°optical, is that 30° total or 30°+ and 30°- ?

Slower scanspeed (15-20K) with big scan angle (about 60° total) is still what I'm after..

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Sorry to hijack the thread slightly but still on the subject of scanners - Jeroen, I know you work with Hugo, how do you achieve the blade effect seen here (not a very good capture - Click to enlarge):

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5011/bladey.th.jpg

I've seen it in others videos so think it is a standard Pangolin effect but most users only seem to achieve it as a ripple through a solid fan projection whereas Hugo gets it as a distinct blade with no surrounding fan to spoil the effect.

Is this an ulatra high scan speed or is it actually a very slow scan speed and can it be achieved with ordinary scanners such as the Scan Pros?

To be honest, I have no idea how that is achieved. I'll ask Hugo. Almost has to be a camera illusion (light beams can't "bend"). Maybe I don't get what you mean (do you have a piece of video showing the effect?)

For sure it's not an "ultra high scanspeed", most of those beamshows run at 15-20K:D

You can see it in this "Tidy" video at Magna right from the beginning. I've also seen Hugo do it at Awakenings with OPSL yellow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LCD...eature=related

The main difference between this and the home users I've seen do it in Pangolin, is in their videos its a continuous fan with a curved line where there's a break in the scan running through it - there's no real separation between the scans to make a proper blade effect as can be seen here. Its just a 1 line break through a continuous fan unlike the blade here.

Another example besides Awakenings and Tidy can be seen in some versions of Basshunters "Walk on Water" stage show video.

My set worked marvels too! I loved it! The mirrors work surprisingly well for 405nm.

That picture would be purely camera effects. I have accidently discovered that in a beamshot I took a while back, but not really any way to achieve that effect enough to be noticeable in real life.

/offtopic

Those scanpro's look pretty nice :)

Only thing I would have to pick at is the distortion on "retardo", unless thats just your softwares frame optimization.

TBH Things I'm sceptical it is a camera effect. I've seen it from multiple shows with different cameras and with video, unlike stills, I'm struggling to think of a way the camera could create the illusion as all the vidoes are at full speed not slowed. Only way I think you could achieve seperation would be if the effect was scanned so fast the 30 fps of a video camera created gaps between frames. However, I've never seen this happen with any effect I've ever seen videod no matter how fast plus some of those blade effects eg. The ones at Tidy at Magna don't look that fast. You can see the crowd moving in real time but the blade is relatively slow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by White-Light

You can see it in this "Tidy" video at Magna right from the beginning. I've also seen Hugo do it at Awakenings with OPSL yellow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LCD...eature=related

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It's an artifact caused by the fact that the camera sensor reads out in a sequential order; the "shutter" on the pixels at the top "closes" significantly before the ones at the bottom (or vice-versa, depending on the camera).

It's the same effect that causes diagonally-tilted light poles when you shoot video sideways from a moving car.

Rolling shutter yeah but that's assuming they were shot on a CMOS camera and not a CCD. Pity no one has posted camera details so we could look up the type of sensor inside and thus know for definite if its a camera issue or if its really possible to project beams in that way.

It's impossible to project beams that way! Light travels in a straight line. You're not going to bend it in air like that. (Well, unless you've got a pocket-sized black hole hanging in front of the projector!)

I've seen the same sort of image distortion when shooting video with my FLIP camera. (Yeah, it's cheap, but it gets the job done when I'm in a hurry.) However, I do not see those artifacts when I use either my hi-8 camcorder or my digital camera to shoot laser video.

Bottom line - it's an artifact of the camera. It doesn't look that way in real life.

Adam

in the video its an optical illusion...
you can clearly see the absolutely straight beams of light.. it seems that the beams are terminating in mid air or stopping and starting again. Thats because the beam is being moved very quickly from one place to another.

Remember the is only 1 beam. thats it. anything else has to do with persistence of vision/capture speed of the camera.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by keeperx

in the video its an optical illusion...
you can clearly see the absolutely straight beams of light.. it seems that the beams are terminating in mid air or stopping and starting again. Thats because the beam is being moved very quickly from one place to another.

Remember the is only 1 beam. thats it. anything else has to do with persistence of vision/capture speed of the camera.

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It's caused by the camera being in long integration mode; note how low the frame rate is in all the videos that show this artifact. Long integration mode plus shutterless sensor -> bend and cutoff motion artifacts.

ok well there ya go...
i'd believe that .. sounds good to me..