04.09.07
A call for expert help
Does anybody out there reading this blog know anything about digital projectors? I need help deciding what to buy.
I’ve got two new books coming out in the next year, one this December and one in the spring of 2008. They will need a lot of promotion if they are to sell, and unfortunately I dwell at the lowly level of writers who have to assume all the responsibilities of pitching their books. If we don’t get out there to bookstores and libraries to do the job, nobody else will.
Last year I did a library book talk for A Venture into Murder using a library-supplied digital projector and PowerPoint to screen my pitch, embedded in photographs of Upper Peninsula scenes, as I spoke it. Between my remarks Debby, my wife, read from the novel. This worked out very well — we managed to reach everyone who attended the event despite my “deaf speech,” which can be hard for many people to understand. (And they bought quite a few books.)
Perhaps, also, bookstore and library audiences are ripe to be plucked in this way. Readers may be text-driven people, but eye candy very likely adds a novel (ahem!) dimension to the usual author’s talk. Naturally the backgrounds to my pitches include Lake Superior sunsets as well as photos of wolves and deer, geese and mergansers, shipwrecks and abandoned mines.
Still, most bookstores, even the big chain ones, don’t have projectors and screens, nor do many rural libraries. Hence I’ll have to buy my own equipment and hump it there.
This is where I’d like to ask your advice, if any of you have experience with these things.
Renting a projector and screen might be OK for a single event, but since most places charge $200 a day for such devices, the amount spent on four or five rentals would pay for new ones.
My budget is $1,000 — roughly $750-$800 for a projector, plus $125 or so for a good-sized tripod screen, and including tax.
I’ve been looking at budget portable business projectors by Epson, Optoma and Toshiba, all selling for $750 at the big-box stores.
Anyone?
Henry said,
April 10, 2007 at 4:58 am
Not one response to this item! I don’t know whether to be heartened or frightened because the readers of this blog seem to be as ignorant on the subject of digital projectors as I am….
Karen said,
April 10, 2007 at 9:39 am
I’m in the same boat– I need a projector and screen but I haven’t got the money, so I can’t shop just yet!
Henry said,
April 10, 2007 at 12:11 pm
The “budget” projectors that sell for about $750 are pretty good values, according to the reviews. But their lamps cost an arm and a leg and part of a haunch. The lamp for a $750 Toshiba projector I looked at in Best Buy costs $434! And a small portable tripod screen goes for $140, and a folding projector/laptop table costs $130. This adds up in a hurry.
Teresa Dickerson said,
April 10, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Hi Henry-
I am a sales rep for an Audio Visual company so I can offer some advice.
The price of a projector is primarily determined by the brightness (Lumens). If the room will be mostly lighted, you will need more lumens (at least 2500) to project an easily viewable image. If the room lighting can be dimmed, a lower brightness will be fine for your needs (1500-2000). You also need to be aware of the “throw distance” of the projector. This will determine how large the image will be when placed a specific distance from the screen. This is very important in small rooms, because the image is smaller the closer you place the projector to the screen.
Lamps should last 2,000 hours. Assuming you have a presentation every week that lasts 2 hours, the lamp should work for 20 years or so! (you’ll probably need a new projector long before that!)
There are many types of screens, but there is a neat one that’s placed on a tabletop and opens from the side. It works very well in small conference rooms. You will also need a case to carry the projector. I recommend a wheeled case that will carry the projector and laptop to avoid another trip to the car!
Good Luck!
Henry said,
April 10, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Thanks, Tessa! All that is very helpful.
Chuck Hakkarinen said,
April 12, 2007 at 5:13 pm
You can get around some of the limitations of throw distance if you get a projector with a zoom lens. In fact, I can’t imagine purchasing a projector these days without a zoom lens. It is also very helpful to get a projector with a “keystone adjustment” capability, so that you can make a trapezoidal image look square (actually, rectangular), when you have to project on an angle, rather than having the projector at the same elevation as the horizontal centerline of your screen.
Henry said,
April 12, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Thanks, Chuck. The models I’m looking at have keystone adjustment and modest zoom lenses — the longer-throw zooms are costly. I’ll settle on the exact model in a day or two and then let everyone know how I fared.
The Reluctant Blogger » Two other shoes drop said,
April 15, 2007 at 9:25 am
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