Best projector to get for $500-$900

[Collider]

Greetings,

This is a new field for me so I need some suggestions on which projectors I should consider.

This primarily will be used for business presentations (data, graphs, etc.) but for video as well. After doing some reading it appears to be a tradeoff between the two stills or video (LCD vs DLP).

I need something that will be good for mixed use, easy to transport.
If possible something that will project onto any flat surface, w/o the use of projection screen.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Kaido]

I have a 4:3 Optoma EzPro745 that I use for work and a 16:9 Mitsubishi HD1000u that I use for fun. The Optoma is a light canon, but the color - especially for movies - is much better on the Mitsubishi. The Optoma is XGA (1024x768) and the Mitsubishi is 720p (1280x720). Both are DLPs, but the Mitsu is built for home theater applications while the Optoma is more on the PowerPoint side. Both are lightweight and easy to carry.

One question to ask yourself is, do you want standard or widescreen? More PowerPoint presentations fit standard, but you can make really nice layouts with widescreen, which is also great for movies. Are you mostly going to be using PowerPoint via a laptop?

Second question is, what kind of lighting situations will you have to deal with? The Optoma I have is really powerful for not-so-dark situations, but no projector is going to give you full daylight capabilities (well, not without spending a billion dollars on a Runco DLP and Firehawk screen, haha).