I want to spend around 1100.00 to 1200.00 on a projector. I heard the infocus 4805 is real good but it has a low amount of lumes.

Can you suggest something better for the same price?


Thanks Travis

[PJTX100]

I'm unsure if you are speaking euros, dollars or pounds?

If the latter, with that sort of budget (or not much more), I'd expect the new crop of LCD projectors Z4 / TX200 / AE900 and the Epson TWsomething to have a better picture performance than the 4805, not least because they are much more recent machines. Technology moves on apace in the PJ world as many others.

...PJ

[ZippyCat]

You need to be careful when looking at projector specifications; lumen output only really comes into effect for commercial / data presentations when the ambient light is high. For home cinema use the lumen output of the SP4805 is ideal, any brighter and you will run the risk of eyestrain especially with DLP. The specification that plays most importance is the contrast ratio, the higher the better. However take the advertised specifications with a pinch of salt, they are usually over exaggerated and not measured from typical applications.

[paulmcp2403]

the panasonic ae700 !!! - under £1000

i viewed alot of projectors around the 1k price range, the panasonic the sanyo, toshiba, optoma, and a few others. in the end i went for the 4805 and could not be happier, i am not bothered about hd for the next year or 2 so and resolultion was not an issue. for me i thought it had the best picture by far without spending over 2k.

[stryker]

Lumens was very important to me. I wanted the option of using the PJ with ambient light present. Ok so when I watch a new movie I have the lights off, but if my PJ was one of the 800lums crop then I'd not be able to use it half what I do.....

[ZippyCat]

The points I was trying to make were:

a) A projector calibrated for ambient light use will inevitably be far too bright for darkened room applications.

b) Quoted lumen outputs are often over exaggerated and do not resemble real world levels. For example a 500 lumens difference on paper may only be 50 lumens difference in practice

[The_Munter]

Originally Posted by Travise

I want to spend around 1100.00 to 1200.00 on a projector. I heard the infocus 4805 is real good but it has a low amount of lumes.

Can you suggest something better for the same price?


Thanks Travis

I love my panny 700! HD ready too + it has a HDMI connection ready for HD SKY box...

[gingercat]

I'd be tempted by a 700 myself, but it doesn't have the same range in the lens shift as the newer PJs (AE900, Z4 etc) (or the Z3 for that matter). I'll need maximum versatility from my AE100 replacement so I don't end up with a PJ I can't set up in a new house in future.