ROCHESTER, NEW YORK — December 2, 2009 – Navitar, a global leader in optical technology, introduced today their new HemiStar projection lens, a 180 degree projection lens developed specifically for dome presentation applications.  

Navitar has leapfrogged the current dome lens optical technologies to offer a single lens dome presentation solution for customers that require higher resolution on screen. The new Navitar 6.75 mm HemiStar projection lens is designed to project a full 180 degree image onto a hemispherical dome surface in combination with a LCD or single chip DLP projector of up to 1.3” format. Navitar also offers custom projection solutions for applications requiring different focal lengths and formats.   

Characteristics of the HemiStar lens include:

·   180 degrees field of view

·   6.75 mm focal length

·   F# 3.05

·   95% center to edge relative illumination

·   1:1 throw ratio achieved when used with 1.3” format

·   Optimal projection distance of 15 inches to infinity

The HemiStar lens is compatible with 1.3” format or smaller LCD and single chip DLP projectors with resolution of 1024 x 768 XGA, such as the Christie LX-700 LCD projection with 7000 lumens and 90% brightness uniformity. The lens was designed to be used on-axis to the dome surface; however, due to the outstanding depth of focus characteristics of this lens, it can also be placed off-axis to a dome surface and maintain resolution. 

Julian Goldstein, Co-president of Navitar comments, “Presentation of images onto a dome surface has been around for many years, but until now projector and lens combination options fell short of both th