| Studio Experience 50HD |
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[Editor's note: this review is excerpted from John's write-up of the 2004 Projector Expo.] This was the last projector we evaluated Saturday afternoon and unfortunately many people did not get to see it (we didn't get finished until 7:30 pm, and many people had already left for dinner). The 50HD had an image similar in brightness and overall look to the BenQ 8700 - that is, deeper blacks and a smooth overall picture. Colors, I thought, were superior to the BenQ, without the red/orange push and with very good greys. Image detail and sharpness were on a par with any of the other HD2s, without the intensity of color of the Infocus or Optoma pieces. Some people actually preferred the laid back image of the 50HD, which had a smooth easy-on-the-eyes quality that was appealing. Contrast was good, again on a par with the BenQ. The 50HD was not the best at dealing with ambient light. It did pretty well when paired with the Firehawk, but on the white it washed out almost completely when any ambient light was added (as did just about all of the projectors, except for the 7205 or 5700, as you might expect). |