Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality Posted on July 28, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Review - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Highlights - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Overview2. Sony VPL-VW95ES Special Features - Dynamic Iris - VPL-VW95ES 3D Abilities - Let's talk 3D active glasses - 2D to Simulated 3D on the VPL-VW95ES3. Sony VPL-VW95ES Special Features 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Gamma Modes - CFI - Sony MotionFlow - Sony SXRD panels - (LCoS) - Individual SXRD panel adjustment4. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Physical Tour - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - Appearance - Sony VPL-VW95ES Control Panel - Input/Output5. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Menus - Sony VPL-VW95ES Remote Control - Sony VPL-VW95ES Lens Throw - VW95 Lens Shift - VPL-VW95ES Anamorphic Lens, Lens Memory6. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality - VPL-VW95ES "Out of the Box" Picture Quality - VPL-VW95ES Projector - Flesh Tones7. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 2 - VPL-VW95ES Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison8. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison9. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 4 - Sony VPL-VW95ES - Overall Color & Picture Quality - The bottom line on overall picture quality10. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 5 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Bottom line for HDTV on the Sony VPL-VW95ES Home Theater Projector11. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Performance - Sony VPL-VW95ES Brightness12. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Performance 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - Post Calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images - Sony VPL-VW95ES: Bottom Line Sharpness - VW95 Light Leakage - VPL-VW95ES Image Noise - Sony VPL-VW95ES Audible Noise13. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Calibration and Settings - Sony VPL-VW95ES Basic Settings - Pre-calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Color Temperature - Calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Post Calibration Grayscale: User 2 (based on Cinema 3) "Best" - Notes14. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Screen Recommendations15. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Competitors16. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Warranty17. Sony VPL-VW95ES Home Cinema Projector – Review Summary - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - The Bottom Line - The Very Bottom Line on the VPL-VW95ES projector - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Pros - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Cons18. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Full Specifications All of the Sony VPL-VW95ES screen image photos below are from either Blu-ray or HDTV source material. In truth, virtually all projectors, including this VPL-VW95ES, will look a lot better projecting on to your screen, than in these pictures. Although the images can reveal some things and support some points I make, they are mostly for “entertainment” for the following reasons: These Sony VPL-VW95ES projector images come to you, through a Canon 60D dSLR camera, software, browsers, your computer’s graphic card, and even your monitor, all with their own color and contrast inaccuracies. There are color shifts, saturation differences, etc. Take them all, “with a grain (no, make that a kilo) of salt”. For this series of photos, I found that the VPL-VW95ES images end up with a slight yellowish pink? caste. Last year I reported yellow-orange. The real, projected image definitely looks more natural. The images of the Sony VPL-VW95ES are provided to support the commentary, but keep in mind all these major limitations when trying to compare images from the VPL-VW95ES with other home theater projectors, when it comes to color accuracy. VPL-VW95ES "Out of the Box" Picture QualityThere are a lot of different preset modes, but the ones closest to an ideal 6500K are all up around 7000K when measuring white. As such, the image on modes like Cinema 3 which we based “best” mode on, are a touch cool. All considered, the general color and skin tones in several modes are really good for right out of the box. One thing of note, is the Dynamic mode. Interestingly, the default is extremely cool – over 10,000K. Yet by using Color Temp 5 instead of its default setting, it not only improves the “brightest” mode’s color, but it also yields an extra 10% brightness. Check out our recommended settings for items like Brightness, Color, etc. on the Calibration page of this review. Click Image to EnlargeVPL-VW95ES Projector - Flesh TonesThe flesh tones of the VW95ES projector are one of its great strengths. Perhaps it’s the accurate color gamut Mike has pointed out, but the Sony does really great on skin tones on bright scenes. Running the Sony side by side against the lower cost Epson Home Cinema 5010, resulted in the Epson looking really good, but the Sony was just more natural. On the other hand, in darker scenes, the skin tones are picking up a touch too much red, which I believe ties to the redish coloring of the Sony’s idea of pure black. As described elsewhere, this seems to be a background problem, and those tend to be gone by the time full production versions are hitting the street. Note, most projectors have some slight shift in their backgrounds from neutral black, including, sometimes, shifting from one color to another – such as from red to blue – going from left to right of a screen. Thus, it’s not unusual, but the significant amount here, will likely, mostly or completely, go away. We shall see. VPL-VW95ES Image Quality Slideshow SKIN TONES Lord of the Rings: Gandalf SKIN TONES Lord of the Rings: Arwen SKIN TONES Lucy, from Narnia: The Dawn Treader SKIN TONES Leeloo SKIN TONES NFL SKIN TONES RED Lady Gaga SKIN TONES The Fifth Element SKIN TONES "Rhodey" in Iron Man 2 1. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Review - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Highlights - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Overview2. Sony VPL-VW95ES Special Features - Dynamic Iris - VPL-VW95ES 3D Abilities - Let's talk 3D active glasses - 2D to Simulated 3D on the VPL-VW95ES3. Sony VPL-VW95ES Special Features 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Gamma Modes - CFI - Sony MotionFlow - Sony SXRD panels - (LCoS) - Individual SXRD panel adjustment4. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Physical Tour - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - Appearance - Sony VPL-VW95ES Control Panel - Input/Output5. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Menus - Sony VPL-VW95ES Remote Control - Sony VPL-VW95ES Lens Throw - VW95 Lens Shift - VPL-VW95ES Anamorphic Lens, Lens Memory6. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality - VPL-VW95ES "Out of the Box" Picture Quality - VPL-VW95ES Projector - Flesh Tones7. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 2 - VPL-VW95ES Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison8. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison9. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 4 - Sony VPL-VW95ES - Overall Color & Picture Quality - The bottom line on overall picture quality10. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 5 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Bottom line for HDTV on the Sony VPL-VW95ES Home Theater Projector11. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Performance - Sony VPL-VW95ES Brightness12. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Performance 2 - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - Post Calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images - Sony VPL-VW95ES: Bottom Line Sharpness - VW95 Light Leakage - VPL-VW95ES Image Noise - Sony VPL-VW95ES Audible Noise13. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Calibration and Settings - Sony VPL-VW95ES Basic Settings - Pre-calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Color Temperature - Calibration - Sony VPL-VW95ES Post Calibration Grayscale: User 2 (based on Cinema 3) "Best" - Notes14. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Screen Recommendations15. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Competitors16. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector Warranty17. Sony VPL-VW95ES Home Cinema Projector – Review Summary - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector - The Bottom Line - The Very Bottom Line on the VPL-VW95ES projector - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Pros - Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector: Cons18. Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Full Specifications Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Physical Tour 2 Sony VPL-VW95ES Projector – Image Quality 2