powerpoint lectures

**"* P* <r*@richpomerantz.com>**

I spoke at the Boston Flower Show last week (actually the New England Flower Show) & since my talk was about garden photography of course I had a digitally projected program, NOT a Power point program, as Power Point is a software program and I do not use it. As C.L. mentions, she uses either PowerPoint or Keynote, which are software programs that reside on a computer, and which are projected using a digital projector. I happen to use a program called Pro Show Gold, as it gives me a whole lot more flexibility than PowerPoint, as does Keynote, a slideshow program that comes with the Apple computers. 

Jo Ellen, as many people do, calls the projection of a digital software program a PowerPoint presentation, which is like calling a Canon or a Minolta photocopier a Xerox, or calling any tissue a Kleenex. I am frequently asked when preparing to speak if I will need a "PowerPoint projector", when of course, there is no such thing!   There are digital projectors, of many makes, models and capabilities. Let's please try to use the correct terminology so we all know we are discussing the same thing.  Jo Ellen wrote: "I absolutely hate PowerPoint garden programs w/ text on the screen."  Well Jo Ellen, do you mean PowerPoint or digitally projected? If I present a Pro Show Gold or a Keynote program to you with text, will you hate it less? (I'm not picking on Jo Ellen, just trying to make a point) 

Jo Ellen (if I may continue to use your comments, please let me know if I overstep!) continued "And, I still go back to my main complaint about PowerPoints for plants and that 
is, most of the time, the colors are very washed out. Also, I think PowerPoints are a lot more susceptible to ambient light than slides."

Of course, neither of these problems has anything to do with PowerPoint! And neither problem should be true for any digital presentation done correctly. Washed out colors come from improper management and handling of the digital photograph files. PowerPoint, as a software program with it's own color management logarithms, may contribute to the color issues, but my bet is on the mismanagement of the color before anyone ever puts the image into the PowerPoint software program. The ambient light issue goes to the heart of C.L's query. If the projector has enough lumens, it can project bright, clear visuals in a room even with window or other light that cannot be blocked. I suspect Jo Ellen's experiences with digital shows have been with weaker, more low end projectors, which just did not have the "oomph" necessary to overcome the ambient light. My slide presentations were never as bright and clear as my digital presentations done with my InFocus brand LP540 projector. It has 170
 0 lumens. 

Lumens is the characteristic to look for C.L. When I was shopping projectors I decided that I needed no less than 1500 lumens to feel confident that my images would be clearly seen in most any room that would hold up to 350 people, even with some ambient light coming in. 2000 lumens was what I hoped to get, but my budget ceiling seemed to be reached by every manufacturer at around 1700 lumens. This projector is now 20% cheaper than it was two years ago.  I have not been disappointed by it either - it is fabulous. InFocus is supposed to be one of the top manufacturers of digital projectors.

Epson's projectors have an excellent reputation  - they also have lots of models, so my advice is to go to www.projectorreviews.com and read the reviews there. www.projectorcentral.com is a sales site, but they also have reviews and lots of information about every projector out there. I bought mine from them but I am not affiliated with either site. 

Rich Pomerantz
rich@richpomerantz.com
www.richpomerantz.com
(860)355-3356
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