First test
PRICE: £999.99
EPSON.CO.UK
Epson EF-100W Enjoy your photographs – and the latest blockbuster – big on your wall or ceiling with this high quality and versatile LED projector
Epson’s EF-100 is the first portable laser projector from the brand and has a feature set that gives it broad family appeal. It’s compact, smart, user-friendly and versatile. It will project onto almost any surface and its design means you can project onto the ceiling, while vertical/ horizontal keystoning means you get geometrically correct images. Add its bright, 2000-lumens output and you have lovely, contrasty images enjoyable even in brightly lit rooms, plus there's a built-in loudspeaker and Bluetooth connectivity. All in all, this is a versatile unit that’s at home showing off your great images, or displaying the latest movie or computer game. Set-up is simple enough. Removing the rear cover reveals the USB 2.0 Type A and HMDI leads and the USB 2.0 Type socket. On the outside is the mains socket and a stereo mini-jack headphone out. When you have plugged in your source, replacing the cover means you can stand it up for ceiling projection.
Over the years, as a keen photographer you’ll buy several cameras and any number of lenses – but howmany projectors will go through your hands? One perhaps, but for many it will be none at all. Projectors don’t get the consideration they deserve because most photographers are content with seeing their images on their monitors, or even their tablets or smartphones. Maybe they have been put off by past experiences, when slide film projectors weren’t terribly convenient – they needed a darkened room, and ran hot and costly lamps that blew with frustrating regularity. But that’s a pity because the modern projector means enjoying your images big in your living room, and they’re no longer just for photographers, either. You can play games and watch TV and movies on them, and you don’t need a darkened room. In the case of the Epson EF-100 you don’t even need a wall because you can use your white ceiling.
SPECS
I connected up a MacBook Pro with an HDMI lead and the projector had no issues detecting it was connected. I also tried watching content from an Xbox, Apple iPad Pro and an Amazon Fire TV Stick, again via HDMI, and again there was instant connection. Start time is quick, about eight seconds, with a wizard walking you through set-up the first time. Power off is instant. There’s no warm up time like you get with some light sources and the unit is up and running straight away. To adjust output and colour you need the supplied remote control; for the zoom setting and keystoning you can use the remote or buttons on top of the projector. The only two physical controls are a manual focusing lever and a basic foot to adjust height when the projector is used conventionally. Light control is adjustable from full power to 50%. There is a cooling fan and this is very quiet running up to 80% lamp brightness; it gets louder at higher outputs but it shouldn't spoil your viewing enjoyment. I tried the projector in a sunlit room and the viewing image was fine, with no need to pull the curtains. The 3LCD laser has a 2000-lumens output with a quoted contrast range of 2,500,000 to 1, and I have to say I had no issues with brightness or contrast, and the image looked great regardless of the source I used. Unless you are lucky with your room set-up you will have to adjust the image with the projector’s keystoning feature to get a geometrically correct image. There’s an automatic vertical keystoning set-up option, and manually there’s vertical control to +/-90 and horizontal to +/- 80; these are arbitrary figures but in practice give greater control. There is a Quick Corner function, too, but I didn't find it much quicker, and doing it manually does give full control. Obviously you need the projector positioned as square as possible to the projection surface, but as a rough guide, the projector placed at 25° to 30° to the screen keystoning still gets you a decent viewing image. Keystoning is achieved digitally rather than optically
by physically moving the lens, so there is an impact on ultimate image quality. Sound quality from the internal speakers is good and should have enough output for most tastes. If you want more there’s an external output, or you can use Bluetooth to hook up to your sound bar. If you’re projecting in a small room, it is remarkably impressive how big an image you can get. At two metres from the screen, the wide setting gave an image roughly 188cm across and 117cm deep, while at the telephoto setting the image measures 140cm by 87cm. Move out to three metres and the wide-angle image is 275cm across and 170cm deep, while 199cm by 123cm at the telephoto setting. The EF-100 produces a bright image with very even illumination, and I had no issues with colour, either. If there is a downside it is the unit’s resolution, which is HD and 1280x720, and you can see the individual cells when you move in close to the screen. If you want better image quality than this, then you’ll need a Full HD or 4K projector. WC
› Price EF-100W£999.99 EF-100B (bronze and black) £999.99 › In the box Projector, mains lead, remote control and batteries › Features Horizontal and vertical keystone correction, instant on/off, quick corner, long light source, colour modes (dynamic, natural, cinema, bright cinema) › Output 2000 lumens › Projection system 3LCD technology › Lens Optical zoom, digital factor, 1.35, manual focus, › Image size 30in to 150in › Light source Laser, 20,000 hours life › Contrast ratio 2,500,000:1 › Interfaces USB 2.0Type A, USB 2.0Type B, HDMI in, stereomini jack for headphones, Bluetooth › Loudspeaker Built-in, 5Woutput › Dimensions (wxdxh) 21x22.7x9.2cm › Weight 2.7kg › Contact epson.co.uk
ON TEST
Verdict The Epson EF-100Whas a guide price of £999.99, so we’re talking a significant investment here – online we found it for £830 so it pays to shop around. If your aim is ultimate projection quality of your photomasterpieces then you’ll need a Full HD/4K projector and in this case the EF-100W is not for you.That said, with its feature set, portability, performance and long life light source this smart unit represents very good value for money, and the EF-100W(or the EF-100B) would suit many photographers – and their families – with its versatility and all-round appeal. PROS Easy to use, bright, versatile, fast start up CONS Only HD resolution, no manual zoom control, getting at the USB sockets is fiddly
The zoom is optical and adjustable via the remote control
The EF-100W’s design means you can connect up your device, pop on its back cover and then project onto the ceiling
In the menu, digital keystoning helps to get your image nice and square and there’s an optical zoom, too – and all controllable with the supplied remote control
The EF-100W’s top panel has a few controls including manual focusing, keystoning and volume control
82 Photography News | Issue 72
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