Epson EX5230 Portable Business Projector Review - Summary

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Art Feierman

The Epson EX5230 provides a bright, sharp image with good color accuracy, in some of the available color modes. It is easy to set up with its 1.2:1 zoom lens plus vertical and horizontal keystone correction adjustments. It offers some very bright modes that will allow it to used in a business setting (e.g. conference room) with moderately bright lighting. Since this is considered a portable projector it will normally be table mounted, but can be ceiling mounted with an optional ceiling mount. From a weight standpoint traveling with the EX5230 would be no more trouble than carrying a typical laptop PC.

Pros

very sharp display with good focus over the entire image
only minor color fringing visible on displayed text, even when viewed up close, indicating good alignment of LCD panels and also good optics with a low level of chromatic aberration
excellent readability of text and presentation graphics limited only by this projector's 1024 x 768 native resolution
excellent scaling from higher resolution inputs down to the native display resolution
can display photos or slide shows directly from a USB flash drive
high light output (approx. 2400 lumens) possible even in modes with good color accuracy and even brighter modes available with greater than 3000 lumens of light output
content from mobile devices can be directly displayed by the EX5230 (requires optional wireless network adapter)
has both automatic/manual vertical and manual horizontal keystone correction adjustments for when the projector cannot be positioned at the ideal location relative to the screen.
long lamp life with up to 5000 hours in normal mode and 6000 hours in eco mode

Cons

remote can be difficult to operate in a dark room, since it has no backlight
dust filter that must be maintained
a moderately high black level and a modest contrast ratio means that while suitable for viewing typical business presentations, the EX5230 is not the ideal choice for more critical viewing when used in a darkened room with good light control (i.e., such as might be desired for viewing high quality photos or video).
moderately high fan noise level when operated in normal mode
the uniformity of brightness and color on the unit reviewed was a little below average for this class of projector
even though this projector has enough light output for use with larger screen sizes frequently found in a large conference room, the small 2 watt built-in speaker provides only adequate audio for use in smaller size conference room
there are no built-in network connectors provided on the projector, thus forcing the purchase of the optional Epson wireless adapter if network support is needed

This projector review is included in our 2014-2015 Best Classroom Projectors Report, which is sponsored by Epson America.