原文： I'll start this review by making it clear that if your goal is to get the best projector for the price, either for home use or anywhere there is ambient lighting, then you can do better. But if you want something that is ultra-portable and still very good in a dark room, this projector is great.
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I have used both the Smartbeam and Celluon Picopro. If you use these projectors in their intended application, you will be happy. The best environment is a DARK room. Pitch black. Bedroom at night. Any light coming in will degrade the image. A phone screen, a nightlight, fireplace going...those will all wash out the image. That's not a fault of the projectors per se, just a limitation for projectors this small. However, in a dark room I'm using this to project to an 8 foot screen and the brightness is perfectly fine. Once your eyes adjust you will probably be happy. I'm using a bed sheet as a projection screen which loses some light due to bleed through. If you have a proper screen it will be even brighter. But again, if you're after a BRIGHT image and not ultra-portability, you can do better for the price. Despite the higher lumen rating on the Smartbeam, the Celluon and Sony are about the same brightness if not brighter, and with better contrast. The image quality is excellent, you will marvel at how something so tiny can make such a high quality image.
Both the Sony and Celluon use the same optical engine, so I will start by comparing the laser scanning tech of the Sony/Celluon vs. the Smartbeam (LCOS).
The Smartbeam is a good projector, but has a few dings against it. The image is good contrast and resolution, but less of both than the Sony/Celluon. The vertical offset is nice, something neither the Sony/Celluon have. Vertical offset means that if you put the projector on a table, the image is uniformly shifted up so that the bottom of the image is still above the table surface. This is built into the optical system and not adjustable. With the Sony/Celluon, the table will cut off half the image.
However, the Smartbeam has no adjustments of any kind so you really need to get a third party mount/tripod in order to put the image in the right place. The LCOS technology also suffers a little from light bleed. When the projector is on, there is a faint amount of light that bleeds through to the blacks and a bit around the image due to the optical engine. The Sony/Celluon do not have this problem. Think of an LCD vs an OLED screen, same sort of thing. On the other hand, the Smartbeam suffers less from the rainbow effect since it is not scanning a laser across the screen like the Sony/Celluon. I can notice this if I move the projector quickly, wave my hand in front of it, etc... But that isn't how I use the projector. I don't notice it when watching anything and scanning my eyes across the screen. But - some people are very sensitive to this so YMMV.
The Celluon projector is quite nice, and comes with an included stand which is a big plus. However, vs. the Smartbeam the image has some minor registration problems. Lines that should be crisp and black (I watch a lot of Archer) are tinted and fuzzy due to the lasers not quite lining up correctly. There is no adjustment for this with the Celluon.
Enter the Sony. Not only does it come in a fantastically sleek, aluminum package, but it has a breadth of menu adjustments. You can flip the image horizontally and vertically, adjust keystoning horizontally and vertically (up to 30 degrees either way), adjust the laser registration to eliminate the fuzziness I spoke of above, and more. It's an excellent interface. The Smartbeam/Celluon have no menu system whatsoever. The quality Sony has been known for in (most) of their products comes through here. The USB charging port for your phone or what have you, and full sized HDMI port (vs. microHDMI on the other two) are very welcome. One less adapter. Although I suppose the cable is a little bulkier if you are after ultra portability. Up to you to decide.
The Sony also has no tripod mount so you'd need a 3rd party mount, but the keystone adjustments more than make up for this in most situations. Even with a tripod it can be hard to get a straight image without keystone adjustments. That feature alone makes the Sony a winner, considering it has the same optical engine as the Celluon with even better image quality. And it is slightly smaller than the PicoPro.
All of these projectors are very similar, but the Sony takes the cake. I will be returning the Smartbeam and Celluon in favor of the Sony. Consider the Sony to be the same projector as the Celluon, for the same price, with better image quality, tons of adjustment options, and a sleeker, better looking package.
Highly recommended.
