wilderness

For the last thirty years I've been going all over New England giving slide shows promoting protecting our public lands as Wilderness. I've been using a Leitz Pradolux projector with a Schneider lens which as you can imagine gives a great image. Sadly the 21st century is catching up to me and I need to start doing digital slide shows (for the last 3 years I've been shooting with a Nikon D 750). I'm totally confused as to what type (multi-media versus home cinema) and what brand/model projector I should get. I know that image quality is important to me so am looking at those that project 1920x1080 are needed. Can anyone offer any help/suggestions? Thank you in advance

jim quist Loc: Missouri

My wife and I both use Epson projectors for presentations. Can't say enough good things about them. https://epson.com/projectors-and-displays

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Check out the ASUS projectors

hammond

I love my Epson: got it on Amazon "refurbished" but works and looks like new... I spent about $450 on it and it's powerful enough to be viewed with the lights on (of course off is better, but in some cases you can't get a room dark).
I also use it to watch movies and sports events streamed off my laptop: basically a movie screen.
And yeah, you can use it for slide shows too.

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

There are quite a few good projectors available. For public presentations in large rooms and auditoriums, you will find that it pays to pay primary attention to the light output of whatever you select. Most inexpensive projectors are too dim for the job except in very dark rooms - read and compare the specifications as you research what to buy.
I too have selected Epson, but they too make at least one that is too weak for your planned useage.

GED Loc: North central Pa

I faced the same situation a few years ago, looking for a digital projector that would give me the quality I had previously. It took a while but finally found one that surpassed what I had before as well as anything I used at any venues where I gave presentations. I purchased a Canon WUX5000 projector. I believe there is a newer version out now the WUX6000. The Canon gives me the same quality image on a ten foot screen as I have on my monitor. The projector has adjustments available for everything imaginable.

It is not the smallest, lightest, or least expensive. The lenses are purchased separately, you may purchase the lens that best suits your requirements. I would recommend trying several different brands and models if possible, particularly in various lighting conditions. After I did that and used the Canon there was no question which one I would purchase, I did not see anything else that came close. Good luck with your search wilderness.

BebuLamar

I found that a slide projector can project a portrait orientation image just as well an a landscape orientation image. With digital projector it's good only for 1 way.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

Currently using an Epson projector which lights up a 10' screen in a lighted room with no problems. Have used Canon and ASUS in the past. With ASUS I had problems with the bulb burning out and having to replace them With the Canon and Epson have not had that problem with over 1,000 hours of usage on the bulbs.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I don't have a recommendation, but thank you for your efforts at protecting our dwindling natural resources.

cdayton

We used multiple Epson video projectors for adult Ed classes in Green Valley, AZ. They were heavily used by many different instructors and we never had an issue, including bulb failure, in the 6 years I served as the AV person for the courses - they seem bulletproof. Sorry I can’t provide model numbers but they would be outdated now anyway.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You don't state a budget, but based on my several decades of AV presentation experience, I think this one is about the MINIMUM I would respect as a suitable replacement for an optical slide projector:

https://epson.com/For-Work/Projectors/Meeting-Room/PowerLite-1286-Wireless-WUXGA-3LCD-Projector/p/V11H846120

It's about $800. For that, you get a 100" (8'4") diagonal image. It accepts 1920x1080 via HDMI.

There is a VERY cool calculator on the Epson site that lets you see what each projector is capable of.

Do know that MOST larger churches, lecture halls, convention hotels, and auditoriums either have "industrial strength" video projectors, screens, and audio systems installed already, or they have AV companies on contract to provide such equipment for a nominal charge. It's always worth calling ahead and speaking to a knowledgeable person at the venue, to see what they have.

In the summer of 2017, for example, Davidson College had a reunion weekend for several classes, including members of my class (1977). I created a "slide show" from hundreds of submitted photos from class members, using iMovie and an Epson scanner. The result was a 40-minute retrospective of our lives on campus in the mid-'70s. It ran on a 20' wide projector in one of the college dining halls that was set up permanently for reunion dinners, special guest lectures, and other special occasions. I connected my iMac to the projector via a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, and the 2000-Watt sound system's control board, using an 1/8 stereo mini plug to RCA Phono plugs cable. Playback was immaculate. I just set the ICC profile on the iMac to HD 709-A (REC 709 equivalent). The color was a reasonably close match to my calibrated iMac monitor.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

At this point in time, I think I would be looking at UHD projectors and processing my images to match. There is also progress in expanding the dynamic range. Although it doesn't mean the same thing as in post processing, they are calling it "HDR".

Reducing digital images to the HD standard of 1920x1080 is 2 megapixels. 8 seems like it should be a lot better for projection.

I would like to try one of these: "BenQ TK800 HDR XPR UHD DLP Home Theater Projector"

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

UHD is great, but often involves a compromise of lower brightness per dollar.

More lumens generally beat more resolution when the image is 8' or larger on the diagonal.

Consider viewing distance, and the *relative size of the image to the viewer.* Few people will sit as close as 8' to an 8' diagonal image. At that distance, very few people can see additional detail from higher resolution. That's like looking at an 8"x4.5" print of the same 1920x1080 pixel image from a distance of one foot. UHD is like looking at a 16"x9" print from two feet away. To see more detail, you COULD move in to as close as one foot away, but then you would have trouble seeing the whole print at one time.

However... Making larger and larger projections requires more and more light, and the brighter the room, the more light you need. Remember the inverse-square law, where all radiation dissipates as the inverse of the square of the distance from the source. A 50" image will be four times brighter than a 100" image from the same projector. But it also has half the standard viewing distance.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

A friend of mine has a digital projector, according to him its a top notch model (it better be at that price, I think he paid over 6 grand for it). But that thing weighs a ton ( its easy over 60 lbs), and the image quality sucks, at least when directlty compared to my film projector. If it was me, I would stick with film!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Poor quality from a digital projector that large probably means it's OLD. Some of the latest models are used in theaters to project "films." Commercial theaters use video now.