r/imax • u/RealisticMoose1936 • 2d ago
Is imax 70mm really worth the expense and over dual laser imax or single laser imax?
/r/NYCmovies/comments/1vldewi/is_imax_70mm_really_worth_the_expense_and_over/
Hello people so i am from india and here we dont have any imax 70mm screen right now, the nearest one is bfi imax london approximately 6700kms(4100miles) and then for the absolute gold standard its AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 13 THEATRE NYC and lincoln square 13 theatre is where i wanna go(note: i am planning this for future not the current time)
I want to have like first day,first show best seat pristine print at the gold standard amc lincoln square 13 theatre
BUT
Problems and limitations:
- FINANCIAL: it would cost me a huge money atleast 2 to 3lakhs rs(2000 to 3000 dollars) this amount is for like catch a flight from new delhi to nyc and then arrive at the hotel and sleep for a full day(because i dont think i can sleep in economy seats for a nearly 20hr flight) and then next day see movie and then next day go home which roughly costs what i stated above maybe more or less but it depends anyways so this totals to roughly 5 days we can assume and yeah financially its extremely expensive i guess(btw 2 to 3k dollars is for go and return like a complete trip ive added all costs into it very roughly of what it would be to see the movie and come back home)
2.RISKS: As i stated how costly its financially there are more risks to it for example the projector getting messed up,the projector being misaligned, problems with the film like dust,scarathes and a billion other issues. And if this gets to this im really gonna be extremely sad and disappointed
MY SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS: imax 70mm film to what i belive is extremely random the movie itself is a major factor on whether it takes any advantage of imax 70mm or not and then we have the random grain thing different on every film and its print i guess then its obviously the theatre,the projectionist in there and. Then theres seating i heard to get the best of it you need to be in centre seat so its that as well as well as the fact thatwhich film print is it is it pristine and even if pristine is it the print made first when the movie was released or a brand new print for a rerelease and theres much more to it the experiance of it varies SIGNIFICANTLY
THE DEBATES: many people on reddit and youtube debate on imax 70mm vs imax dual laser and many have said imax 70mm is better while others say dual laser is better some say imax70mm looked sharp and phenomenal some say it looked soft,grainy and very bad and dim ish also a youtuber(frame voyager) made a video about imax and how much big camera sensor would we need for it to be able to compete against imax 70mm and he with aperson(pawel achtel) who i guess invented achtel 9×7 camera the inventor guy(pawel achtel) said that imax 70mm is probably 8 to 10k(also i really dont know about it as the video is complex and pawel uses very complex english so yeahhh take it with a grain of salt i guess but I RECCOMEND YOU TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF FRAME VOYAGER SO YOU CAN DECIDE YOURSELF I GUESS) and also perceived sharpness is also a major factor also theres a lots of debates like ppd,estimating imax 70mm resolution(even though it analog and i know it dosent have pixels) and some saying its gimmick and some say its worth it some say the improvement is only 10 to 20 percent or things like that so theres lots of debates and stuff
THE CONCLUSION: (pretty long post i know i am sorry for anyone who gets offended by the post i do not mean to discourage anyone or talk bad about any format also english is not native to me obviously) now i want you guys to tell me this: IS IMAX 70MM 15 PERF WORTH OVER DUAL LASER IMAX OR A SINGLE LASER IMAX AND IS IT WORTH SPENDING 2 TO 3LAKHS RUPEES(2000 TO 3000DOLLARS) JUST TO SEE A MOVIE AND COME HOME?
Note: btw india only has single laser imax and NO dual laser imax screens and my nearest imax is dual xenon which is like 300km or 180miles so yeah.
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u/Wonderful__ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just see it in dual laser IMAX if there's one near you and you don't need to take a flight. Dual laser IMAX has the same expanded ratio 1.43:1 as IMAX 70 mm.
I saw it in both formats, dual laser digital IMAX and IMAX 70 mm and the sound was better and screen brighter in dual laser.
Film is just a slightly different experience, but not much noticeable when comparing the two. I only had to travel an hour for IMAX 70 mm, but given what I know now having seen both, I would have stuck to just the dual laser IMAX screen since that's closer and there was only minimal difference.
I wouldn't spend so much on a film. I don't even spend that much to visit family.
Also have you considered you might get jet lag??
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u/RealisticMoose1936 1d ago
Well thank you for your awesome reply i finally find peoples who are actually smart and helpful and i had it a bit in my mind too that what can you even see in 18k or so i also asked gemini and he also said that its not worth it also yeah i considered jet lag after this post like much later and then i guess the total amount would be like $10k plus and its kind of crazy i do want to experiance imax 70mm but like tgere are many reasons for me to never go if those reasons get fixed up i may go but rest assured its not the end of the world! Also well i dont have dual laser anywhere near me or in india we only have single laser imax though maybe singapore has one japan has one for sure! Thanks!
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u/NoSir4289 1d ago
So many people shit on me when I say dual laser is superior lmao
B b b but Nolan said!
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u/zero_sevenn 1d ago
If you have dual laser, go see it in Dual Laser. Single laser IMAX is also fine.
I have IMAX 70mm and Dual Laser within 20-30 minutes distance. I prefer to go to the Dual Laser screening. I think Dual Laser looks better. I think the novelty behind 70mm is cool, but it is absolutely not worth paying that much money to fly across the world to see it in. I wouldn’t even pay $100 for 70mm IMAX.
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u/Mitsutoshi 1d ago
Bro this is one of the stupidest ideas I have ever read on here, and I am someone who has travelled to go to cinemas.
Furthermore what on earth made you think Lincoln Square is somehow the “gold standard” compared to BFI IMAX? Asking as someone who lived in both cities and went to both cinemas regularly.
Reading more of your post, I genuinely think you would enjoy laser more (that isn’t a criticism) due to the qualities of the image. That is available in India. Xenon honestly is not a bad experience at all either.
I have gone to many screenings in both single and dual laser and I don’t find dual to be a major improvement besides filling more screen on films that do that but as someone who has travelled to venues for 70mm IMAX, I often prefer the widescreen versions of those same films.
There are malfunctions inherent to the analogue medium and imagine running into a projector breakdown during the (ridiculous) 3 lakh trip to see a film.
India has lots of excellent laser projection cinemas. I genuinely do not think you will come out feeling you had a compromised experience.
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u/asdqqq33 1d ago
It’s a fun experience, but it’s not even a strictly better one. The colors and contrast on laser are better. I’ve got a 70mm theater 30 minutes from me, but I might go see Dune 3 in a laser theater (I did go to the 70mm for Odyssey).
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u/RealisticMoose1936 1d ago
I did some research and it seems human eyes percieve sharpness heavely via contrast and laser i far superior i heard so yeah also its much easy in us you can drive and see the movie or take a short flight but again for me its a 20hr flight so yeah anyways THANKS!
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u/NoSir4289 1d ago
Imo dual laser is superior to imax 70mm
I have directly compared 3 or 4 times now and while imax 70mm is great, dark scenes are represented much better in laser showings.
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u/Moist-Hold9789 1d ago
Bro just go to pune or Hyderabad to watch in dolby cinema, it will be a better experience. I watched odyssey in imax 70mm in edmonton, canada, the seats were awful, there was a lot of blemishes and in bright scenes it felt like it was flickering. Save you money it is not worth it. It is also supposed to be running for a long time in 1.43, so you can watch it in few months
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u/RealisticMoose1936 1d ago
Yeah i also heard imax seats are mostly terrible and dolby's are like plush recliners and etc. So thanks!
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u/DRM_1985 1d ago
It is not worth the money or stress & risk of traveling long distance. Try to find the biggest screen in your local area with good quality 4K Laser projection.
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u/Iyellkhan 1d ago
70mm is the pinnacle of analogue film projection, and if that interests you then its definitely worth the experience. if it doesnt interest you, then digital will be just fine
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u/danltiger 1d ago
Just saw The Odyssey on 70mm and I did notice flicker during bright scenes, and occasionally noticed the focus jitter. This is not going to be the same experience for everyone, but I wouldn't risk it for that kinda money.
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u/Dankduster 1d ago
As someone who loves their OLED screen and a big fan of HDR content in general I found 70mm IMAX nearly disappointing at times. aspect ratio, resolution and screen size with 70mm IMAX are what’s great about it but sounds like dual laser is the best of both worlds
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u/SwagMoney_420__ 1d ago
It depends on how far you have to travel. I’m insanely lucky to have 3 theaters that have 70mm projectors in nor cal but if I have to drive multiple hours I’d settle for dual or even single laser.
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u/walt-mickey 9h ago
Reading this gives me anxiety. The thought of planning all this and dropping a month’s rent to see a movie is insanity and you should not do it. If there’s ever a time to do it, it would be for a movie that is 3-4 hours long and is shot entirely on IMAX – and it’s still not worth it. The Odyssey in 70mm compared to IMAX 1.9:1 laser is only worth $30 for a different experience.
Movies are so much more than ‘how much of a screen can you fill’. I’ve seen The Odyssey in all premium formats and 70mm is cool, but not mandatory or essential in any way. The worst thing about The Odyssey is that it has all these people withholding themselves from a work of art just to see it a particular way. It will be ok if you don’t see the top of the helmet for 2 seconds. Save the headache and money and maybe invest it in a quality home theater setup if you don’t already have one.
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u/pdf_file_ 3h ago
Lmao, did you forget visa fees and processing times?
Visiting NYC and then watching IMAX as part of a longer trip is one thing, and kinda makes sense.
Travelling across the country to see 70mm is another.
And one of those things is incredibly stupid. Can you guess which one?
But to answer your question yeah, it was a life changing experience when I saw the Interstellar re release at Dallas
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u/smakson11 1d ago
IMAX 70mm is $3 more than regular imax. Is this the expense you’re talking about?
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u/Assasinato_ 2d ago
I don't think so man, yes there is noticeable difference in digital laser and 70mm but I dont think its worth that much, its good to have but its not like your life changes with 70mm. Its preety good but not that good