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Digital image projector

I am in the market for a digital image projector. I will mainly use this to replace the old method of "slide shows" done with transparencies. Audiences will vary from small (10-20) to perhaps groups as many as 100. Preliminary research online points to some of the Epson models, in particular the Epson PowerLite 1761W Multimedia Projector, which goes for around $700.00. The price range on these projectors varies tremendously. I admit to being particular about my equipment and in presenting my work, but I can't justify $2500 for a projector. I am very experienced in Photoshop and in preparing digital image files for print, web use, etc. Advice, comments & suggestions are more than welcome, this is new territory for me. Mark Weidman
 

Shashin

Well-known member
You will be more sensitive to the projected image than your audience. Just like a monitor, you really don't have to do much to prepare a projected image, which is basically your monitor view anyway.

We profile our projectors just because our units tend to be green. Depending on your system, that profile might shift your monitor image to the complimentary color, but you can easily have both profiles and switch back and forth.

The big thing with projectors are their power which limits the projection size (but not distance for the same size projection). The brighter, the better. But a budget is a budget and a slightly less idea image is better than no image.
 
Epson POWERLITE 1761W $749

Resolution: WXGA
Brightness: 2600 ANSI lumens
Colors: n/a
Aspect Ratio: 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10
Technology: 3 LCD / 3 chip technology
Contrast Ratio: 2000:1

Epson Home Cinema 8350 Projector
$1300, refurb unit for $900
Resolution: 1080p
Brightness: 2000 ANSI lumens
Colors: Full 10-bit color processing
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 native, 4:3 compat.
Technology: 3LCD, 3-chip optical engine Polysilicon
Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1
Compatibility: Supports up to 1080p (1920 x 1080)

Optoma HD25e Projector $949 (I have never heard of Optoma)
Resolution: 1080p
Brightness: 2800 ANSI lumens
Colors: 1.07 Billion
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Technology: Single 0.65ʺ DC3 DMD DLP
Contrast Ratio: 20000:1
 

routlaw

Member
Optoma has been in business with projectors for a long time and enjoy a good reputation so I wouldn't worry about them as a company. However Epson sets the gold standard for customer service when it comes to these products. As finicky as some of these projectors are this is worth considering.

Of the two Epsons you have listed below assuming you would not be projecting in a large room the 8350 would be more preferable at least to me given the better resolution output 1920x1080p vs 1024x768. The 8350 appears to have a better "color engine" also which might be helpful if you are not able to profile your projector with kits like the i1 Photo Pro or equivalent. The bulbs in all of these projectors will "drift" over time so if you're critical with color this is something to consider also.

Hope this helps.

Rob

Epson POWERLITE 1761W $749

Resolution: WXGA
Brightness: 2600 ANSI lumens
Colors: n/a
Aspect Ratio: 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10
Technology: 3 LCD / 3 chip technology
Contrast Ratio: 2000:1

Epson Home Cinema 8350 Projector
$1300, refurb unit for $900
Resolution: 1080p
Brightness: 2000 ANSI lumens
Colors: Full 10-bit color processing
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 native, 4:3 compat.
Technology: 3LCD, 3-chip optical engine Polysilicon
Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1
Compatibility: Supports up to 1080p (1920 x 1080)

Optoma HD25e Projector $949 (I have never heard of Optoma)
Resolution: 1080p
Brightness: 2800 ANSI lumens
Colors: 1.07 Billion
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Technology: Single 0.65ʺ DC3 DMD DLP
Contrast Ratio: 20000:1
 
Thanks Rob. I bought a refurbished Epson 1850W, directly from Epson, which just arrived a few hours ago. I will let folks on this forum know what I think of it once I have some time to do some testing. Mark
 

fotophil

Member
Our camera club was in a digital projector hunt several years ago and it we found it to be a difficult task. We had members who demanded that the digital projected image be of a quality level of projected slides. We were able to borrow several projectors for evalaution. If possible I suugest that you try evaluating your candidate projectos of the basis of projected image quality. We found little correlation between the published specifications and the actual image quality. We settled on a resolution of 1400 x 1060 because the projected quality didn't seem to improve with higher resolution. The relatively inexpensive projectors had poor color management and often washed out the highlights abd blocked-up the shadows. The result was at that time (2 years ago) that we could not find a projector for less than $2500 that produced image quality that matched to computer screen. I imagine technology has improved over the past 2 years so maybe t he cost has dropped. Bottom line is to evaluate the projected image.
 
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