Epson PowerLite L610W Laser Projector - Performance

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Art Feierman

Epson PowerLite L610W Laser Projector Review – Performance: Brightness, Contrast, Audible Noise

Brightness

Color Mode	Lumens
Dynamic	5947
Presentation	4500
Cinema	3780
sRGB	3881
DICOM SIM	3951
Multi-Projection	4481

The Epson PowerLite L610 W simply put, performed excellently. No surprise given Epson’s track record. While I was certainly expecting a bright projector at 6,000 lumens, I was a bit taken aback by the blinding anytime I faced the projector. It is bright! Have no fear about ambient light when using the L610W, odds are the projector will cut right through and show up bold and bright on the screen.

Conducting the light test, the PowerLite L610W clocked in a hair below the stated manufacturer claim of 6,000 lumens. On wide-zoom, in Dynamic Mode, the brightest possible settings, the L610W measured 5,947 Lumens. It doesn’t get much closer than that, and Epson hits the mark again. Going back through the other color modes, we will see significant drops in lumens but not by much, there is still plenty of brightness packed into these lower light, higher color quality modes.

In mid-zoom, on the brightest lamp setting and Dynamic mode, ,the Epson PowerLite L610W hit 5,468 lumens, only a 9% reduction from the manufacturer claim of 6,000 lumens. In Presentation mode, the L610W still put out 4,410 lumens, more than enough brightness to power right through any ambient light you might be dealing with. Cinema mode dips below 4,000 lumens, at about 3,700 lumens and again, this setting is plenty bright even in a well-lit room.

Rounding out the rest of the measurements, sRGB Mode measured in at 3,881 lumens. DICOM SIM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine), a standard for handling, storing, printing and transmitting medical imaging information, i.e. x-rays, projected 3,951 lumens. Multi Projection Mode, best for projecting from multiple projectors (reduces the color tone difference between images), came in at 4,481 lumens.

And last but not least, I discovered only after my light meter battery died that there was an Eco mode of sorts. By going into the system settings and further into brightness settings, you can set the device on quiet mode, reducing the brightness to the device’s baseline output of 4,200 lumens, and significantly reducing the projector noise. You can also customize the amount of brightness in the brightness settings, but you cannot go lower than 70% of whatever color mode you are in. Dynamic mode specifically would get down to about 4,200 lumens according to Epson..

Contrast

Epson has their claim of 2,500,000 : 1 contrast ratio, which appears to be a fairly normal range for projectors in this price range and specifically in this series of Epsons. While it sounds great, we try to avoid to making too much of the number as it just doesn't tell you as much as your eyes do when it comes to black levels and depth in the images you're seeing.

I thought this shot from "Han" demonstrates pretty well the capabilities of this compact, industrial quality projector. I really wasn't expecting crazy good performance here if only because I expect greater performance on that front for home theater projectors. But this was comparable to my Epson 5020UB and I came away super impressed with the performance.

Epson BrightLink 710Ui Journey to Space Satellite Rendering

Audible Noise

Epson claims 39 dB in normal mode and 29 dB in Eco mode. It was certainly loud in normal mode but not loud enough that it would likely make a big difference in a large setting. And while sometimes you may need the extra power for the brightness, my experience tells me that in most situations and settings, the Eco brightness setting (Quiet Light Source Mode) is significantly quieter and will deliver more than enough brightness (4,200 lumens) to give your audience the clear images they need. I certainly appreciated the quieter operation in my family room!

Epson PowerLite L610W Laser Projector Review – Performance: Brightness, Contrast, Audible Noise

Brightness

Color Mode	Lumens
Dynamic	5947
Presentation	4500
Cinema	3780
sRGB	3881
DICOM SIM	3951
Multi-Projection	4481

The Epson PowerLite L610 W simply put, performed excellently. No surprise given Epson’s track record. While I was certainly expecting a bright projector at 6,000 lumens, I was a bit taken aback by the blinding anytime I faced the projector. It is bright! Have no fear about ambient light when using the L610W, odds are the projector will cut right through and show up bold and bright on the screen.

Conducting the light test, the PowerLite L610W clocked in a hair below the stated manufacturer claim of 6,000 lumens. On wide-zoom, in Dynamic Mode, the brightest possible settings, the L610W measured 5,947 Lumens. It doesn’t get much closer than that, and Epson hits the mark again. Going back through the other color modes, we will see significant drops in lumens but not by much, there is still plenty of brightness packed into these lower light, higher color quality modes.

In mid-zoom, on the brightest lamp setting and Dynamic mode, ,the Epson PowerLite L610W hit 5,468 lumens, only a 9% reduction from the manufacturer claim of 6,000 lumens. In Presentation mode, the L610W still put out 4,410 lumens, more than enough brightness to power right through any ambient light you might be dealing with. Cinema mode dips below 4,000 lumens, at about 3,700 lumens and again, this setting is plenty bright even in a well-lit room.

Rounding out the rest of the measurements, sRGB Mode measured in at 3,881 lumens. DICOM SIM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine), a standard for handling, storing, printing and transmitting medical imaging information, i.e. x-rays, projected 3,951 lumens. Multi Projection Mode, best for projecting from multiple projectors (reduces the color tone difference between images), came in at 4,481 lumens.

And last but not least, I discovered only after my light meter battery died that there was an Eco mode of sorts. By going into the system settings and further into brightness settings, you can set the device on quiet mode, reducing the brightness to the device’s baseline output of 4,200 lumens, and significantly reducing the projector noise. You can also customize the amount of brightness in the brightness settings, but you cannot go lower than 70% of whatever color mode you are in. Dynamic mode specifically would get down to about 4,200 lumens according to Epson..

Contrast

Epson has their claim of 2,500,000 : 1 contrast ratio, which appears to be a fairly normal range for projectors in this price range and specifically in this series of Epsons. While it sounds great, we try to avoid to making too much of the number as it just doesn't tell you as much as your eyes do when it comes to black levels and depth in the images you're seeing.

I thought this shot from "Han" demonstrates pretty well the capabilities of this compact, industrial quality projector. I really wasn't expecting crazy good performance here if only because I expect greater performance on that front for home theater projectors. But this was comparable to my Epson 5020UB and I came away super impressed with the performance.

Audible Noise

Epson claims 39 dB in normal mode and 29 dB in Eco mode. It was certainly loud in normal mode but not loud enough that it would likely make a big difference in a large setting. And while sometimes you may need the extra power for the brightness, my experience tells me that in most situations and settings, the Eco brightness setting (Quiet Light Source Mode) is significantly quieter and will deliver more than enough brightness (4,200 lumens) to give your audience the clear images they need. I certainly appreciated the quieter operation in my family room!