I (still) love my Mars 3 Pro but I'm considering upgrading to a Saturn once the Mars becomes faulty. I just wish that by then there will be an Elegoo Printer where all the currently-new quality-of-life features are out of their "experimental phase". Tilting vat and self-levelling seem good ideas, but the way they're implemented currently seems less than ideal still.
Once you buy one new ones don't matter as much once you are happy with your prints. There are differences but print quality is good on all modern printers, the rest are just extras
I bought this printer before I found this video and was holding my breath when I started to watch. I can exhale now so thanks for the review. I had 3 fail prints as a newbie but you mentioned getting a heater for the resin which I will now purchase as I live on the East Coast in the US where temperatures vary wildly. Great review.
G'day...Resin tends to like the mid 20c id get the Heater add on from Elegoo tis very beginner friendly just plug and play. It has all been programmed from factory and fits the hole cover on the back...Cheers from Downunder🙃
Ok, Geoff. Firstly, you are OUR trusted source for good, common sense reviews. We love the good AND the potentially bad that you point out in your videos,and your willingness to take a second look at any printer. ALL of us were disappointed by the 4K screen in the Mars 5, but your test show that the resulting prints look crisp, even under magnification and acceptance of the expected layer lines at 4K (compared to 9K). And, yeah, if you want higher resolution, then Elegoo pushes the customer to spend an extra 100 ( pounds or dollars) for the Mars 5 Ultra (or go backwards to a Mars 4 or Mars 4 Ultra, which are great machines for their time - like only a year ago, for god sakes!). Great review, thanks for the time and effort you put into it!).
Thanks for pointing out the adjustable feet! I wasn't aware of those. I just went out and leveled my Saturn 4, which has been sitting on a slight incline.
You know, I still use a 2k resin printer for a lot of prints (Anycubic Photon S with Chitu Mono LCD upgrade) Shock horror! It's good enough for a lot of the less demanding prints I do and takes the strain off my M5SPro. An easy to use 4k printer at a reasonable price makes sense for newcomers. Thanks as always Mr Vog.
I'm deciding between the Mars 4 Ultra and the Mars 5 (base model). I want the Mars 5 Ultra for its features, but the cost of shiping it is almost as much as another one. Is the Mars 5's auto-leveling system a game changer for a beginner, or should I stick with the Mars 4 Ultra? I mainly want to print miniatures, so is the 9K really worth it for all the hassle?
Great informative review. I wonder if Elegoo will release a mars 5 DLP with auto leveling. There may not be enough of a market for it though. Thanks again
I think everything seems to have gone quiet with DLPs. Once Elegoo fitted a 9K LCD in the Mars, it exceeded their DLP. Larger DLP screens are typically much more expensive so right now I'm not sure what the future will bring us.
I love all the features that are becoming more common, particularly the option for easy heating which I've always wanted during winter months. But I don't want an LCD screen ever again, give us a new generation of DLP printers with these features (a bit larger too?) and I'll be there day one to replace my D2!
Honestly, this would need a comparison of the prints from the Mars 3P and the Mars 5. The screen is the same, so here we could see if the light source is acutally better or it's just marketing talk. And having seen the "self-leveling" (which is self-zeroing really) in action of the Saturn 4U, it's okay when it works, but if something is off, there is no easy way to manually level the plate. All I'm seeing here is Elegoo having still a warehouse full of Mars 3 displays that need to go. And because "Mars 3" sounds too old, they took the core features of the new Mars and slapped a new and higher (than the Mars 3 Pro) pricetag on it.
You could get away with that with this Mars, having square pixels, and even the 9K unit on the Ultra. But after that it seems everything has rectangular pixels and I'm not sure it would calculate the same way. Ultimately I think the most practical judge is our own eyes. If it looks good, then we can be happy 😁
G'day Vogman Sir...... I just picked up this model as an upgrade to my Nova3d Whale 2 4K from Black Friday, and yes i wanted a smaller printer that was a little more modern and i was limited to $250Aud. But the ol chook (mum) chucked in $100 as my Xmas pressy so i got it on sale for $271AUD. we are both on Disabilitie pensions, but we help each other out with our hobbys. So this year i got a new New Printer. Cheers for your input and fellow Pom, FauxhHammer on my choice of printer. From A m8 Downunder🙃
Elegoo have always seemed a little reluctant when it comes to the Large printers. I've no idea why. They never seem to put their best foot forward in this range. Right now the Uniformation GK3 Ultra is way out ahead of the competition.
The plates don't auto level, if they locked the corners in place you could say that but it's lterally just loose springs so if it's not perfectly level from factory then as it gets higher the height of each corner will change to that. idk about this one but on the saturn 3 each corner is typically off by about 0.4mm which is just too much. These plates AT BEST auto zero but even then the z height is usually off and can't be adjusted like usual so this printer makes the process of actually getting a level plate with a good z height much much more complicated. Also this printer can't do AA, so the 4 ultra beats it on that alone despite being a only a tad more expensive.
how can you call it a 5 and not have the tilting mechanism? and a lower screen? i dont see anything new with this 5 model. i think its just the outside that changed! tisk tisk!
@@vogman was going to get my first resin printer this month but unfortunately my house got flooded and priorities changed . maybe after the renovations
its not auto level it just zeros the plate its same as the saturn 4 ultra I have just got the saturn 4 utra there entry-level price and easy to use makes it a good buy also have the prusa mk3 turned mk4s lol since 2018 still nice review
It's absolutely insane to me that the strain gauge (I assume) is sensitive enough to detect resin contact. I have a Saturn 2 8K and I'm considering updating it to the Saturn 4 Ultra, but at the same time, I feel like by the time it gets here, they're going to have a Saturn 5 out and I'll be left behind again! This feels very much like how the computer world felt in the mid-late 90s. "You've had your laptop for more than a week? Throw that junk away, man, it's an antique!" - Weird Al.
2:44 For me, that is quite small obstacle to resin printing. The biggest obstacle is resin itself. It is nasty smelling, toxic and annoying to deal with like cleaning, washing and curing.
I never have either, but ask those that "support" resin printing issues and apparently amongst newcomers, plate levelling is the major cause of problems. But even though I love the results, like you I hate the mess. Nothing stays clean 😁
Every other day I think about getting 3D printer, and every other day a new one comes to the market.
Get one, you’ll love it.
I (still) love my Mars 3 Pro but I'm considering upgrading to a Saturn once the Mars becomes faulty.
I just wish that by then there will be an Elegoo Printer where all the currently-new quality-of-life features are out of their "experimental phase". Tilting vat and self-levelling seem good ideas, but the way they're implemented currently seems less than ideal still.
Once you buy one new ones don't matter as much once you are happy with your prints. There are differences but print quality is good on all modern printers, the rest are just extras
I bought this printer before I found this video and was holding my breath when I started to watch. I can exhale now so thanks for the review. I had 3 fail prints as a newbie but you mentioned getting a heater for the resin which I will now purchase as I live on the East Coast in the US where temperatures vary wildly. Great review.
G'day...Resin tends to like the mid 20c id get the Heater add on from Elegoo tis very beginner friendly just plug and play. It has all been programmed from factory and fits the hole cover on the back...Cheers from Downunder🙃
Ok, Geoff. Firstly, you are OUR trusted source for good, common sense reviews. We love the good AND the potentially bad that you point out in your videos,and your willingness to take a second look at any printer. ALL of us were disappointed by the 4K screen in the Mars 5, but your test show that the resulting prints look crisp, even under magnification and acceptance of the expected layer lines at 4K (compared to 9K). And, yeah, if you want higher resolution, then Elegoo pushes the customer to spend an extra 100 ( pounds or dollars) for the Mars 5 Ultra (or go backwards to a Mars 4 or Mars 4 Ultra, which are great machines for their time - like only a year ago, for god sakes!). Great review, thanks for the time and effort you put into it!).
Thanks for pointing out the adjustable feet! I wasn't aware of those. I just went out and leveled my Saturn 4, which has been sitting on a slight incline.
The little things are what gets you.
You know, I still use a 2k resin printer for a lot of prints (Anycubic Photon S with Chitu Mono LCD upgrade) Shock horror!
It's good enough for a lot of the less demanding prints I do and takes the strain off my M5SPro.
An easy to use 4k printer at a reasonable price makes sense for newcomers.
Thanks as always Mr Vog.
At 0:52 the data is wrong, print volume is same as dimensions. Love your vids btw! Thanks for the great reviews 😁
Ha! You're right. It's a rare video where I get everything correct 😁😁😁
@@vogmanit's just a small mistake, I'd have every video full of silly mistakes if I did them! 😂 Still a great review!
I'm deciding between the Mars 4 Ultra and the Mars 5 (base model). I want the Mars 5 Ultra for its features, but the cost of shiping it is almost as much as another one. Is the Mars 5's auto-leveling system a game changer for a beginner, or should I stick with the Mars 4 Ultra? I mainly want to print miniatures, so is the 9K really worth it for all the hassle?
Great informative review. I wonder if Elegoo will release a mars 5 DLP with auto leveling. There may not be enough of a market for it though. Thanks again
I think everything seems to have gone quiet with DLPs. Once Elegoo fitted a 9K LCD in the Mars, it exceeded their DLP. Larger DLP screens are typically much more expensive so right now I'm not sure what the future will bring us.
I love all the features that are becoming more common, particularly the option for easy heating which I've always wanted during winter months. But I don't want an LCD screen ever again, give us a new generation of DLP printers with these features (a bit larger too?) and I'll be there day one to replace my D2!
I always had an FDM Printer, but would love to get a budget resin 3D printer for some miniatures I only fear for the display resolution :/
I wish I could just get one of these printers to play around with I wanna get into 3d printing but everything is so expensive when added up.
Could you compare the print speed?
Does it actually self level or just springs in the plate?
Honestly, this would need a comparison of the prints from the Mars 3P and the Mars 5. The screen is the same, so here we could see if the light source is acutally better or it's just marketing talk.
And having seen the "self-leveling" (which is self-zeroing really) in action of the Saturn 4U, it's okay when it works, but if something is off, there is no easy way to manually level the plate.
All I'm seeing here is Elegoo having still a warehouse full of Mars 3 displays that need to go. And because "Mars 3" sounds too old, they took the core features of the new Mars and slapped a new and higher (than the Mars 3 Pro) pricetag on it.
Very good review, Geoff.
You should determine resolution by pixels per square cm. Not by overall screen size..
You could get away with that with this Mars, having square pixels, and even the 9K unit on the Ultra. But after that it seems everything has rectangular pixels and I'm not sure it would calculate the same way.
Ultimately I think the most practical judge is our own eyes. If it looks good, then we can be happy 😁
No complaints about mine so far :)
G'day Vogman Sir...... I just picked up this model as an upgrade to my Nova3d Whale 2 4K from Black Friday, and yes i wanted a smaller printer that was a little more modern and i was limited to $250Aud. But the ol chook (mum) chucked in $100 as my Xmas pressy so i got it on sale for $271AUD. we are both on Disabilitie pensions, but we help each other out with our hobbys. So this year i got a new New Printer. Cheers for your input and fellow Pom, FauxhHammer on my choice of printer. From A m8 Downunder🙃
Happy printing buddy. Do it safely and enjoy it. 😁😁😁
When is the Jupiter Series going to get the kind of love the Ultras have been getting.
Elegoo have always seemed a little reluctant when it comes to the Large printers. I've no idea why. They never seem to put their best foot forward in this range. Right now the Uniformation GK3 Ultra is way out ahead of the competition.
This a great review. Thanks vog
Many thanks 😁
The plates don't auto level, if they locked the corners in place you could say that but it's lterally just loose springs so if it's not perfectly level from factory then as it gets higher the height of each corner will change to that. idk about this one but on the saturn 3 each corner is typically off by about 0.4mm which is just too much. These plates AT BEST auto zero but even then the z height is usually off and can't be adjusted like usual so this printer makes the process of actually getting a level plate with a good z height much much more complicated.
Also this printer can't do AA, so the 4 ultra beats it on that alone despite being a only a tad more expensive.
how can you call it a 5 and not have the tilting mechanism? and a lower screen? i dont see anything new with this 5 model. i think its just the outside that changed! tisk tisk!
Ahh you love the green because you love the Uniformation. HeHe 😅 No pun intended.
That could be it 😁😁😁
next to bambu sunlu is my favorite go to filament
Well I've really enjoyed this resin 😁
@@vogman was going to get my first resin printer this month but unfortunately my house got flooded and priorities changed . maybe after the renovations
Sorry to hear that buddy. You take care of your home and renovations. The printers will still be here when you're ready 😁
Bambu filament is garbage. It gets wet even at the factory, is super easy to get clogs from...and its way overpriced
its not auto level it just zeros the plate its same as the saturn 4 ultra I have just got the saturn 4 utra there entry-level price and easy to use makes it a good buy also have the prusa mk3 turned mk4s lol since 2018 still nice review
It's absolutely insane to me that the strain gauge (I assume) is sensitive enough to detect resin contact. I have a Saturn 2 8K and I'm considering updating it to the Saturn 4 Ultra, but at the same time, I feel like by the time it gets here, they're going to have a Saturn 5 out and I'll be left behind again!
This feels very much like how the computer world felt in the mid-late 90s. "You've had your laptop for more than a week? Throw that junk away, man, it's an antique!" - Weird Al.
good looking machine
It is 😁😁😁
I love your content, you are a great journalist in the 3d printing and jewelry space.
Wow, thank you! That's very kind 😁
#LLVM Pretty machine, just looked at the cost of the 5 and wow, on sale right now for US 180. That is crazy low.
I wasn't expecting to like it, but the prints speak for themselves and as you say, the price is good right now 😁
@@vogman Even normal price of $225 isn't bad at all.
2:44 For me, that is quite small obstacle to resin printing. The biggest obstacle is resin itself. It is nasty smelling, toxic and annoying to deal with like cleaning, washing and curing.
I never have either, but ask those that "support" resin printing issues and apparently amongst newcomers, plate levelling is the major cause of problems.
But even though I love the results, like you I hate the mess. Nothing stays clean 😁
4K wth?
It does seem a step backwards, but the print results are impressive 😁
elegoo design this gen is really ugly
Yeah. Trying too hard I think 😁