I'm writing this review after using the Epson EF12 projector for about 3 months.
Pros:
1. Good picture quality with natural colors.
2. Sharp lens. The image stays in focus from corner to corner.
3. Laser light source with 20000 hours of long life. It should easily last over 10 years with regular use.
4. Sufficient brightness to watch the movies even in rooms with some ambient light. However, the dark room environment is where it really shines
5. Good sound quality. We can manage without a sound bar if we are not looking for a wide surround sound stage with lot of bass.
6. Low fan noise
7. Low power consumption
8. Minimalistic retro look and compact size
9. Mostly accurate auto focus and auto keystone adjustments with ability to fine tune the settings with remote provides flexibility with projector placement
10. Does not have any ports or vents on the back. It provides ability to project on ceiling. It's a different experience to watch movies on ceiling.
11. Built in Android 11 operating system. You don't need any other external device if you want to watch Amazon Prime Video and most of the other streaming apps.
12. In case you want to use external streaming device, the built is USB port is able to provide enough power to Amazon Fire TV Stick.
13. Made by a well known company - Epson - and the sound system designed by Yamaha. We can expect the projector to last long.
14. Regular firmware updates. Received 2 updates in 3 months so far.
Cons:
1. Not directly mountable on tripod. I thought, we could use the screw mount at the base of the projector for fixing standard tripod quick release plate - not possible. The tripod quick release plate standard screw is bigger than the projector screw mounting. We've to buy a separate mounting plate ELPMB65 which was out of stock everywhere in Canada for long. I was finally able to buy the mounting plate - when it became available briefly - after checking it's availability on epson site daily for more than a month.
Meanwhile, My temporary solution was - I removed the standard screw from my tripod quick release plate; replaced it with M4 12mm screw with a washer and fitted the quick release plate with this screw at the base of the projector with some cardboard padding. The projector could be mounted on tripod with this arrangement. However, I was not very comfortable with this arrangement as the screw mounting at the base of the projector is off it's center of gravity and it's just a small screw holding the projector.
2. The projector LCDs are not able to completely block light outside the configured image area. We can see a halo like area - with dark grey light glow - around the configured image area. It provides lesser than ideal movie watching experience for dark scenes.
3. Projector brightness is not enough for watching it with a fair amount of ambient light. I would have also appreciated a better contrast ratio.
4. As is well known, the projector's native Android operating system doesn't support Netflix app as of now. We need to use an external device like Amazon Fire TV Stick for it.
5. No lens cap.
My solution - I came across a YouTube video with title "Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 lens cover". He has shared links to blender and STL files of the lens cap design. I've got the lens cap 3D printed. Works great.
Issues fixed in the latest firmware update V108
1. The auto keystone adjustment feature now works properly most of the times.
2. We now have the ability to adjust the zoom and image shift digitally. Zoom can be adjusted from 50% to 100% in increments of 5%.
Suggestions to Epson. Hope someone from their team reads the review.
1. Provide the mounting plate along with the projector. As per initial unboxing videos, Epson used to provide the mounting plate along with the projector. Not sure why they stopped doing that. It's priced 13 CAD - only 1% of the projector's price. I'm sure it shouldn't be that hard for Epson to absorb that cost for the completeness of the product offering. It's a non-standard mounting plate and is out of stock everywhere most of the times. At least, make it available for buying. For a portable projector, ability to readily mount it on a tripod is an important feature.
2. Provide a lens cap.
3. Sort out the licensing issue with Netflix so that it's natively supported. Most of the reviewers are knocking off stars from the reviews mainly for this reason.
4. Provide auto object avoidance feature so that the projector can adjust the image size as per the available clear projection area.
5. Improve the contrast ratio.
| Brand | Epson |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Epson |
| Place of Business | LONG BEACH, CA, 90806 US |
| Model | EF12 |
| Model Name | MiniEF12 |
| Model year | 2020 |
| Part Number | EF12 |
| Hardware interface | USB 3.0 Type A, HDMI, 3.5mm Audio |
| Compatible Devices | Television, Smartphone |
| Special features | Lightweight |
| Mounting Hardware | Epson EF-12 Laser Projector, power cord, remote control with AAA batteries, Android TV dongle with remote control and AAA batteries, Quick Setup Guide. |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Display Technology | LCD |
| Standing screen display size | 150 Inches |
| Image brightness | 1000 |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Noise level | 22 dB |
| Voltage | 110 Volts, 220 Volts |
| Wattage | 100 watts |
| Batteries included | No |
| Batteries Required | No |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz |
| Total USB Ports | 1 |
| Connector Type | HDMI |
| Form Factor | Portable |
| Mounting type | Floor Mount |
| Does it contain liquid? | No |
| Includes Remote | Yes |
| Manufacturer | Epson |
| Item model number | EF12 |
| Product Dimensions | 17.5 x 17.5 x 12.8 cm; 2.13 kg |
| ASIN | B08GL4QSFH |
