Casio Green Slim XJ-A250

Casio Green Slim XJ-A250

The Casio Green Slim XJ-A250 ($1,399.99 direct), is one of Casio's second wave of Green Slim projectors, part of the same generation as the Casio Green Slim XJ-A145U ($999.99 direct, 3.5 stars), but improved over the first models. With the XJ-A145U, the hybrid light source - both mercury free and designed to last the life of the projector, unlike traditional lamps - was the primary attraction. With the XJ-250, the light source remains a key feature, but it also helps that the projector is brighter than the first models and offers noticeably better image quality than the XJ-A145U in particular. Aside from the light source, the XJ-A250 is a fairly typical lightweight WXGA (1,280 by 800) projector. It weighs in at 5 pounds, measures 1.7 by 11.7 by 8.3 inches (HWD), and even comes with a soft cover suitable for protecting the projector if you stuff it into your briefcase. Like most lightweight projectors, it's built around a DLP chip. Instead of using a color wheel, however, it produces red with LEDs, blue with a laser, and green by shining the blue laser light on a phosphor. (For details on the technology see Casio's Green Slim Projector Hybrid Light Engine.)