Dell 2400MP Projector Review - Lens Throw

Posted on July 25, 2006 by Art Feierman

Lens Throw

I'll start by restating here what was mentioned in the overview. The Dell 2400MP has a 1.2:1 zoom ratio. This is the norm for small lightweight projectors in this size class. The lens is a moderate zoo filling a 100" diagonal 4:3 ratio screen from 13.5 to 16.2 feet back (measured to the front of the projector). Many projectors to fill the same size screen will tend to sit a little closer to the screen, and some significantly so.

Light Leakage

The Dell has a huge vent in the front. To allow lots of air to pass through, it's pretty open. As a result a visible amount of light comes out, mostly off angle. It's not a whole lot of light, but more than most projectors shed. If you are considering the 2400MP, for video in dark rooms, you'll see the light, but it shouldn't be a problem. If you need the 2400MP for your home theater - for the brightness in the daytime if you can't fully darken the room, then at night, the light leakage could be a minor annoyance.

Audible Noise

Not the noisiest, nor the quietest, but definitly, on the noiser side of portable projectors. In low power mode the Dell 2400MP, claims 33 db, not much better than the 36 db claimed in full power mode. The small drop is not surprising as the Dell's brightness only diminishes by about 15% in Eco mode, while most other projectors tend to drop about 20% and sometimes more in their low power modes. If you are looking for a quiet projector for a small room at maximum brightness, this isn't it, but then, if you have a small room, even with full lighting, and maybe some daylight pouring in, you should be able to run it in Eco-mode, because it is so bright.

Lamp Life

Not surprising, the 2400MP is rated 2000 hours at full power. What is unusual, is that it only claims 2500 lumens in Eco-mode (most other projectors with 2000 hour lamps in full power, claim 3000 in their eco-modes). Now this makes great sense, since the brightness drops off only 15%, and with most other projectors, the brightness drops 20% - 25%. Of course if you are looking to use low power for big lamp savings, this Dell won't save you much at all.

Other comments:

The Dell 2400MP is a size larger than some of the slightly less powerful DLP projectors like the Optoma TX-700 that is also part of the 6 projector comparison, but it has the power to justify it's larger size. If you are a medium to large room presenter that travels, you will probably find the 2400MP's size to be reasonable enough.