Resolume Forum

I like the idea of cheaper short tho projectors but they get no love in the forum.. my only intent is for stage visuals. Yes they have a lower 3000 to 4000 lumens but when used at the short distance ..projector mapping also. I see no reason to use long throw. Any input is appreciated.

the throw ratio only matters for placement of the projector.
4k lumens is the same brightness wether you use short or long throw lens,
so use the one you can rig better if 4k is bright enough for your application.

Short throw projectors have many benefits and a few problems. The more you pay for the projector and more importantly lens the better the results.

Pro :
Obvious, put the PJ really close to your projection surface!

Cons :

A) When using for rear projection the hot spot is worse.

B) Image distortion and keystone correction become problematic. Placement of the projector actually become more important with short throw. Offsetting the projector from the center of the projection surface creates greater image distortion with less offset. With a cheaper projector you will have fewer options (rigging, internal warping) to correct this. Can be done with Resolume sometimes. Almost any correction will create some level of jagged edges on video content where major warping occurs.

I do show with everything from 3.5k to 40,000k projectors everything from LCD to Solid State DLP. For my little club shows my Optima 3.5K with a 0.5-1 lens has been great. I warp the hell out of the image sometimes to stay out of the way on stage. For these shows jaggies just don't matter, I see em but nobody else does. For a corporate event or something with a production manager who might care another product would be best.