Sony VPL-VW85 Projector – Performance

Sony VPL-VW85 Brightness

The Sony VPL-VW85 Brightness is better than the older VW70 it replaces.

Interestingly, last year, in measuring the VW70, Mike found that it wasn’t measuring as bright when the dynamic iris was engaged. That wasn’t a very good thing, since in best mode viewing you’ll normally want the dynamic iris on, for better blacks.

This year, however, the VPL-VW85 doesn’t seem to lose any lumens when Auto 1 or Auto 2 – the two dynamic iris choices are engaged.

Last year, the VW70 measured 362 lumens with iris engaged and 555 without. This year, the projector measured post calibration, 598 lumens with the iris off, and, pre-calibration, just slightly higer with the iris engaged. Use the 598 lumen number for best mode brightness.

In addition, in terms of brightest mode, the VW85 manages a below average 725 lumens, but that’s still better than last year’s VW70’s 636 lumens.

In other words, this year’s Sony VPL-VW85 is, overall a small step up in overall brightness, with the VW85 being slightly brighter than average in “best mode” but still var below average in “brightest mode”. That translates nicely into a projector for movie enthusiasts, who aren’t worried about viewing with some ambient light present, as would be the case for HDTV and sports.

The measured brightness of each mode (pre-calibration): Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom):

Color Temp over IRE Range (Best Mode, Pre calibration):