Projectors are getting smaller and smaller with time to the extent that you can find a large variety of portable projectors and miniprojectors in the market. While these started out with mediocre specs, the game has now changed. With much better resolution and brightness now available, portable projectors have gained a lot of popularity with campers who do want to take some tech with them to the great outdoors.
Portable camping projector setups have some important specs over and above regular projectors. Just as important are projector screens that need to be suitable for portability. If you are planning a movie night for your next camping trip, read this full guide to help you select the right projector and screen combination.
To find out more about other types of projectors and details on projector specs read our article on…..
Important Features in an Outdoor Projector for Camping
When you think about portable projectors, the significance of the weight of the projector comes immediately to mind. You don’t want to lug around too much extra weight when hiking, so the lighter the better. But there are other things besides compactness and weight that a good projector needs to have to serve you well. Let’s list them out:
- Portability /light-weight
- Long battery life
- High enough brightness
- Resolution
- Easy Connectivity
- Sound quality of built-in Speakers
We’ll be discussing all these features required of mini or portable projectors for camping in detail.
Portability for Projectors
Portability means lightweight and compactness.
Mini projectors for camping with appropriate brightness and batteries can be found with weights down to somewhat less than 2 lb. On average most good projectors will weigh around 3 lb.
Dimensions and shapes vary a lot. Some are flat boxes, others are tall boxes and yet others are cylinders. Generally, you will find two sides of a portable projector measuring more or less 6 inches with the third dimension quite slim – an excellent size to slip into an internal backpack pocket.
Projectors with Long Battery Life
Projectors with built-in batteries are a no-no for regular use in your home theater. They do not provide enough power to cater to high-level specs like brightness. However, the portability need is high for camping projectors and those with internal batteries are really the ones that are the best option.
Generally, battery powered projectors for camping are provided with power time that can last from 2 hours to 4 hours with movies. Projectors with even 6-hour batteries on a single charge are available in the market. Long battery life is obtained with LED projectors that are not so bright, have lower image quality and are restricted to nighttime viewing. Everything in life is a balancing act!
Projector Brightness
Outdoor movie watching in daylight means that you need a very powerful projector with high lumens, the measure for projector brightness. A low-lumen projector will cause your image to appear washed out – not the best viewing experience.
A 4000-lumen projector is excellent for daylight viewing as it can combat sunlight which is the main factor for making the image appear washed out. You will learn a lot about projectors for daylight viewing in our article on …….
But you’re unlikely to get that sort of lumens for a portable outdoor camping projector at a decent price. Look out for something at 2,500 lumens. This will give you a good image if your screen is not very large, ie around 40 to 60 inches in diagonal length (60 inches is still pretty big for a camping screen in my opinion) and the projector is as near as possible to the screen so that the projector light intensity on the screen is as high as possible.
If you restrict yourself to nighttime viewing or to viewing inside a camping tent, a 1500-lumen projector will do you quite well and is ideal for camping. The lower brightness means that other image quality parameters like contrast ratio will be higher (deeper blacks) and the overall price of the projector will be more affordable.
Projector Resolution
The larger the image you want, the higher the resolution you will need to get for your projectors. Portable projectors are available in the following resolutions:
- 1080 (Full HD)
- 720 (HD Ready)
- 480
Of course, price increases with higher resolutions. If you are a group of four or fewer people, a smaller screen and a 720-resolution projector is an excellent option. However, you may be a movie buff and want to go for 1080 with large screens.
Even though for camping purposes, people consider portability and brightness over resolution, I would personally like to stick with 720 or higher resolutions and not go for the 480 resolution. Modern projectors are getting better and making a purchase with the low spec does not make sense to us. However, nothing is written in stone.
Easy Connectivity
You’ll want your projector to have an HDMI port and a USB port to hook up devices containing videos. These devices may include external storage drives and USB sticks. HDMI ports are useful for MHDL cables that connect with your phone.
But the best connectivity features are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No hassles with carrying or connecting wires. Wirelessly connect your mobile device and stream a movie. Or hook up with Netflix with a few clicks.
Whatever connectivity you prefer, make sure that the projector is compatible with your existing devices. More about different wireless connectivity available in projectors in our article…..
Sound for Portable Projectors
Built-in speakers can be an important feature. You get a whole range of sound volume and quality, ranging from “meh” to pretty good for a small group of people. You’ll have to do some research yourself because what sounds good to some may not be good enough for others.
Again for larger groups or just better sound quality, Bluetooth wireless portable speakers are the way to go. These are also rechargeable and need not be expensive.
Whichever option you select keep in mind that a 4W speaker is a minimum you should go for. But, if possible, check them out before purchase because you may find out you personally prefer stronger and louder ones. Also keep in mind, that what you hear in a store is diluted by external noise. The same speaker will seem louder in the silence of your camping site.
If you’re a loner on a hiking trip, you can consider a good pair of headphones that can connect to the projector. Much more compact and easy to carry.
Pico Projectors
A separate category of projectors called pico or pocket projectors are even smaller than portable or mini projectors. They can weigh less than a pound and can easily be held in the palm of your hand. With one advantage comes many disadvantages. Their size does not allow them to carry high resolution or high lumens specifications – so picture quality is compromised compared to mini projectors. And God forbid, the sound quality! We discuss pico projectors in a separate guide here……….
Camping Projector Screens
What’s a good projector without a good screen? A projector screen is a must-have for any movie night under the stars. A portable projector screen that’s easy to set up and take down lets you enjoy your favorite films anywhere.
Some people prefer to project their videos inside a tent and don’t bother with a separate screen. The images obtained using a projector with the tent wall are okay but not that great. The tent material is really not designed for screening and the likely slope of the tent wall means that the image will not be a rectangle but a trapezium. Keystone correction may be available (but not always so) in your portable projector to correct this shape anomaly. If there are creases on the tent wall, you can’t do much about that either. But all this is okay for some.
If you get hold of a portable projector screen for camping, you’ll find a significant improvement in the quality of the image. A simple screen will not give issues mentioned with tent walls above, like image shape issues and wrinkles. Because the screen material is designed for projectors, the image will have better color saturation and will be more vibrant than using a make-shift alternative.
The frames stretch the screens so they are sturdy and not wrinkled. The screens themselves are suitable for outdoor use and easily washable. You’ll find several foldable screens on the market that can be set up by a single person in less than 5 minutes.
When packed up, the folded screens together with the frame components are quite small and light to carry, possibly 5 lb for a 60-inch screen.
Conclusion
Camping gear is all about portability. Good projectors are all about technology. Portable projectors for camping that deliver a great performance meld these two features together. This guide has gone through the most important qualities – compactness, good image quality specs, connectivity, and sound – that you need to keep foremost to select the portable projector that delivers.