Thursday, May 16, 2019

Projector & Projection Screen Reviews

As I have gotten more into teaching quilting (you can find all of my lectures and workshops here), I have decided to purchase a projector and projection screen so I do not have to rely on guilds to provide them.

A few quilters have seen my setup and asked about my equipment, so I thought I would share them on the blog in hopes that they help someone else.  I think that these recommendations would also work well for a guild.



After much research, I went with a ViewSonic PA503S 3600 Lumens SVGA High Brightness Projector. There are so many projectors on the market from $50 to $5,000, it was difficult to figure out what type of projector I needed. The ViewSonic was middle of the price range (it was $280 when I purchased it), a brand name in the projector world, and had really good reviews. A lot of the reviews mentioned how easy it was to set up, how good it was for presentations, and how it displayed colors well.

After using the projector many times now, I am very pleased with it. It is nice and light and travels well in the case I bought for it. The projector is bright enough that I do not need to dim the lights and hooks up easily with an HDMI cord to my laptop (I had to buy a HDMI cord separately).

You can find the ViewSonic projector on my Amazon page.







I bought a projection screen recently because I decided that I wanted more control over my equipment for presenting.  It reduces my teaching nerves when I know how to set up my equipment and know that everything will be how I am used to it.

I did a lot of research into projection screens and found that most of the 80"-100" diagonal screens, folded up, are over 7 feet long and 30 pounds.  I needed something that would fit into my Civic so all of those were out.  I finally found this very interesting screen by Celexon.  It is basically a tripod system (you can see the back in the picture above) and a canvas that fits into the 4 hooks that go to the corners.  At $79.99 it was the perfect price too!  The full product name was Celexon 90" Tripod Projector Screen Ultra Lightweight, 4:3 Format, 11 lbs Weight, Projector Screen Size: 72’’ x 54’’ and it is also included on my Amazon page.

The whole system has a nice carrying bag and fits in the backseat of my Civic (it does not fit in the trunk) and weighs less than 11 pounds!  The projection screen is perfect for my needs and is super easy to set up and take down (I can do it by myself in just a few minutes).  It is super light so I would definitely not recommend using it outside where there is wind.  Here is a picture of the screen in my front hallway so you can see how big it really is.

(Don't mind the mess behind the projection screen, we were getting new carpet upstairs so everything from the bedrooms was downstairs.)


You can find these and other items I recommend in my 



5 comments:

  1. Thanks for publishing the reviews. My Guy gets asked to present his pictures to several of the garden and birding groups, he could use a set up like that.

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  2. This is really great! I know that the shop where I'll be teaching in August has its own projector and screen, but I'll need to bring my own computer, but I'm immediately bookmarking this projector. :D

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  3. Very useful information! Thanks, Cheryl!

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  4. Looks like good purchases - have always wanted a projector but no real need for it right now. I do know where to go to find a great recommendation.

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  5. This is a great review, Cheryl! Though I don't want to invest in my own equipment because I give programs only two to three times a year, it's really good information for quilt guilds. Thank you for sharing!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!