The $137,000 projector only just beat the curtain before its premiere at the 2013 New Zealand International Film Festival next month.
''I'm very impressed with it,'' Mr Campbell said.
''It's pretty exciting at my age to be involved in digital.''
''What sold me was seeing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the film festival last year. It was such a beautiful print and so sharp. It was, maybe, even better quality than when the film came out in 1953.''
Mr Campbell (69) began as a projectionist at the Embassy (later Odeon) Cinema in 1960 and has been involved with the film festival since it started in 1995.
The digital cinema presentation (DCP) was obtained only after an 18-month fundraising campaign, which included significant donations from the Otago Community Trust ($20,000), Callis Charitable Trust ($15,000), Perpetual Trust ($10,000) and Regent 24-Hour Book Sale ($86,000).
''It's fantastic to have it here. Now we have security of tenure for the film festival,'' Regent general manager Sarah Anderson said.
Festival director Bill Gosden said adapting to DCP technology had become a priority for New Zealand cinemas, as most films in the film festival programme were not available in 35mm. The 2013 New Zealand International Film Festival runs in Dunedin from August 8 to 25.
