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Trade Tricks: Life With A Digital Projector

  
     
 

SHOW OFF YOUR PHOTOS WITH A THREE-LCD PROJECTOR
FOR EXCELLENT COLOR AND TONAL RANGE

By Rob Sheppard

  
     
  The old slideshow was a venerable tradition at my house while I was growing up, and I suspect it was part of many PCPhoto readers’ youth as well. While the slide projector is rapidly disappearing, taking its place is the digital projector, with bundled computer and slideshow software. Digital slideshows can be done faster, far easier and with more production value, meaning better looking and with superior sound and effects.  
     
   
     
 

Can a digital projector provide the same experience as working with a slide projector of the past? I can’t give you an answer that covers every projector on the market, but let’s take a look at the Epson PowerLite 737c Multi-media Projector, which I was given to use for a few months to see how it fit into my home and photographic life.

The Epson PowerLite 737c seemed like a good choice to try out the idea of living with a projector. It sells for about $1,599, and offers 2,000 lumens, which is excellent brightness for small- to moderate-sized rooms like those in a home or small business. The projector’s resolution is XGA, or 1024 x 768, definitely a good resolution for photography. I used the PowerLite 737c for a variety of shows that I projected to nearly five feet wide onto a quality projection screen.

In addition, the projector uses three LCDs for its images, which offers potentially much higher color and tonal qualities than other projectors in its class. I was very impressed with the images, and my audiences’ response was consistently “Wow!”

This is real world for me. If you get close to the screen, you can tell that the resolution of the projector might not quite match a true slide projector, but on the other hand, the images have such excellent color and image brilliance when viewed from normal distances that most people prefer it to a traditional slide projector. The images look great, my audiences are satisfied, and I can do effective slideshows. That’s the bottom line for me.

Did I like this projector? Absolutely. It made slideshows fun and they looked outstanding. One consistent problem with digital projectors is that they’re rarely optimized for photography. The Epson PowerLite 737c, however, did an excellent job of interpreting the images going from my laptop to the screen. Plus, it does a terrific job with projecting video from any video source (from cable to a DVD player). My son loved the unit for sports events, and the whole family enjoyed it for our at-home movie nights.

Contact: Epson, (800) GO-EPSON, www.epson.com.

 
     
 
Keeping Viewers Awake
Would you rather make great slideshows than those that induce sleep? Here are some tips to follow.

• Edit. Your audience doesn’t want to see every photo you took on your trip! Remove bad shots, all duplicates and close duplicates, then edit down to the important and most attractive images.

• Arrange. Look for ways to arrange your photos that are audience-attractive. Search for themes and stories that come from combinations of photos.

• Add music. Music always adds a professional touch. Be careful about using copyrighted music. Try something like Smart Sound’s software for creating music that doesn’t have that issue (www.smartsound.com).

• Narrate carefully. Whether doing narration live or as an audio track for your slideshow, plan what you’re going to say.

• Choose transitions thoughtfully. If you use too many of these seductive transitions or use them too often, your show will look like a late-night car dealer ad. A good, all-purpose transition is to use a dissolve between photos.
 
     










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