XGIMI Elfin Review: 'Is This A Projector Or A Light Cannon?'

By M. David Stone, PCMag- 2022-09

Portable, But Needs a Power Outlet

Testing the Elfin: Good Color Accuracy, High Brightness

Verdict: The Elfin Finds a Sweet Spot

Portable, But Needs a Power Outlet

The Elfin pairs a 1080p DLP chip with a four-color red-green-blue-blue (RGBB) LED light source. More precisely, and importantly, the projector uses one of TI's Manhattan chips, with a rectangular array rather than the diamond array that's common in small projectors. Diamond arrays have low power consumption, but add artifacts to some images. The light source is rated at 25,000 hours.

Image credit: XGIMI

The 600 ISO Lumens rating is particularly notable, especially since the Elfin's actual brightness in my tests was close to what I expect for the rating. Most projectors in this category are rated in LED lumens, which are often significantly inflated and not a standard measurement. (We'll come back to brightness later.)

The Elfin weighs 2 pounds, not including its external AC adapter, and measures 2 by 7.6 by 7.6 inches (HWD), making it easy to carry in a briefcase or backpack. XGIMI doesn't include a protective case, however, so you might want to get one separately if you plan to carry it anywhere beyond one room to another or to the backyard.

Physical setup is easy. Connect an image source to the HDMI port (optional), turn the power on, and adjust the image size, preferably by moving the projector as needed. Focus is automatic, and worked nicely in my tests. Horizontal and vertical keystone correction, as well as digital zoom, are also available, but better avoided since they reduce brightness and can introduce artifacts. There's also an automatic obstacle avoidance feature which can fit the picture to the screen, or a blank section of a wall—to avoid projecting part of the image on a framed picture or light switch for example. However, it's generally better to avoid using it, since it will give you a dimmer image than if you reposition the projector to get the smaller picture size.

Image credit: XGIMI

As is typical for projectors with Android TV, you have to sign in to Google to set up streaming before you can use another video source. There's no Ethernet port, leaving Wi-Fi as the only choice for connecting to your internet-connected network.

The audio is impressive for such a small projector. The dual 3-watt Harman/Kardon speakers take advantage of DTS-HD, DTS-Studio Sound, Dolby Audio, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus to deliver high enough volume for a large family room and sound quality that's a match for many TVs. For even higher quality and volume, you can connect an external sound system using the 3.5mm stereo output, the HDMI port's ARC support, or Bluetooth.

Testing the Elfin: Good Color Accuracy, High Brightness

The Elfin offers five picture modes and five power modes, all of which affect color accuracy. Among the power modes, Standard and Eye Protection delivered the most neutral color, and were roughly equal brightness. For my tests I used Standard, because it's the default setting.

For picture mode, I also chose the default setting—Movie—which was essentially tied with Football, Game, and Custom picture modes for both color accuracy and highest brightness. Each mode offers different options for customizations, and Custom offers the longest list of choices. However, the only changes I found worth making were both available in Movie also. Based on preliminary tests, I boosted brightness just enough to improve shadow detail without raising the black level, and I turned off frame interpolation for watching movies. Frame interpolation smoothes motion, and can improve the look of video, but it also adds what's called a digital video or soap opera effect to filmed material, literally making a movie look like live video.

Image credit: XGIMI

In my 1080p SDR viewing tests, the Elfin delivered good color accuracy, including for flesh tones, and good contrast in bright scenes. It lost some shadow detail, even after I adjusted the brightness properly, but held it well enough for me to easily see what was happening in the dark areas with lights off. In a low level of ambient light, with one floor lamp on, the image was a little washed out, but I could still make out details in dark scenes.

Image credit: XGIMI

For 3D, the projector supports DLP-Link glasses and is limited to top-bottom and side-by-side formats. I didn't see any crosstalk in my tests, and saw just a hint of 3D-related motion artifacts. I measured the input lag in Game mode at 26.8 milliseconds using a Bodnar meter. That's a little slow for serious gaming, but most casual users will find it acceptable.

Using the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standards, 600 ISO Lumens is bright enough for a 130-inch 16:9 image in a dark room using a 1.0 gain screen. In my tests, using Standard power mode and Movie picture mode, which deliver lower brightness than the Elfin's maximum, the image was easily bright enough to light up my 90-inch screen in the dark and in low levels of ambient light. In a family room with lots of windows, it was suitably bright to fill an 80-inch screen in moderate ambient light at night and remain watchable—if somewhat washed out—on a bright afternoon.

Verdict: The Elfin Finds a Sweet Spot

The XGIMI Elfin arguably offers the most bang for the buck we've seen in a mini projector. XGIMI Elfin's better color accuracy and higher brightness makes the Elfin our Editors' Choice honoree for those who need a mini projector for AC power only.

SOURCE PCMAG

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/xgimi-elfin