Canon REALiS SX7 Mark II

The Canon SX7 Mark II is a powerful projector with some great features. Its main feature is an absurdly high screen brightness. It was twice as bright as most of the other projectors we’ve reviewed so far, such as the Optoma HD66, the Canon LV 8310, and the ViewSonic PJD6531w. The TV also had an excellent throw distance: it only had trouble when we attempted to fill a 140-inch screen in a bright room.

The SX7 Mark II did have a few problem areas, however. Like most projectors, it wasn’t able to maintain its black level when most of the screen was bright. It had a bit more trouble than other projectors, but that’s understandable since it outputs so much more light. The projector’s color representation also wasn’t as accurate as what you’d find on a TV, but it wasn’t bad compared to other projectors. Two areas where the SX7 Mark II really didn’t impress us were motion performance and resolution scaling. Motion was blurry and often prone to artifacting, and there were a ton of strobing artifacts when the projector attempted to display non-native content.

Downsides included, the Canon SX7 is still a great projector. In terms of light output, it’s easily one of the best we’ve reviewed so far, and it performed well above average on the majority of our tests. The problem is that it’s functionality definitely comes at a price. If you’re just looking for a decent projector, we’re not sure we’d recommend the SX7 Mark II: you can get an adequate projector for far less money. If you’ve tried other projectors and you know you need something with a lot of flexibility in its throw distance, or you know you’ll often be displaying content in a bright room, the Canon SX7 might be worth the investment.