---Original August 14, 2020 review---
I normally don't write reviews immediately, but upon initial inspection and testing, I think that Kodak has something very special in the pico-projector world with the Luma 450. I can confirm that the native resolution is genuinely 1920x1080 (or at least very close to it, I'll never know if I was cheated out of a couple rows of pixels or not). The brightness seems enough to be 200 lumens, but I don't have a way to confirm this. The product size is 1.26"x4.9"x4.9" and appears to have roughly 1.2:1 throw ratio (don't quote me). Time will tell how reliable it is, but I can cautiously recommend this projector to anyone looking for a small/pico 1080p solution.
Long Story: Prior to purchasing the Luma 450, I had two 720p pico-projectors from AAXA, and a third cheapo full-sized Chinese 1080p projector. I have been looking for a pico-projector that runs in 1080p for quite some time, and I had been considering three options: Optoma LH150 (2.25"x7.5"x11"), AAXA M6 (2.1"x7"x7") and the AAXA P7 (2.7"x4.4"x4.7"). All three of these were a bit big for my liking, and the smallest was awfully dim at 70 lumen. Then, seemingly out of nowhere (late July 2020) Kodak quietly put the Luma 450 on the market, having only released 5 other projectors prior that all had very low resolution.
Kodak's claim of 1080p native resolution with 200 lumen seemed unbelievable at the size of the machine, especially when compared to the AAXA P7, but I decided to gamble on the purchase anyways... Kodak as an American company has a bit more to loose by lying than their foreign competitors.
I had some issues connecting the remote control at first, and honestly I couldn't tell you why it did eventually start working. The menu's and settings are fully usable without the controller, however, so no big issue for me. I ran a few images on the display that let me count and measure pixels, and I am very happy to say that the results match what I would expect from a 1080p projector. The response time seems reasonable, the brightness is more than enough at 65" for a dimly lit room, and the noise from the fan is typical of this size of projector.
One interesting note is that it seems to be more sensitive to cabling and signal quality than other displays. When I ran an image through a splitter and extra length of HDMI cables, the quality of the image was significantly degraded compared to my Chinese 1080p projector, which is unusual for digital signals that usually either just work or don't work with no in-between. When the cable is kept short and uninterrupted, the quality of the image is very impressive, and fully replaces all other projectors I have.
I hope this helps someone make a decision to buy or not buy. Like I said, Kodak has something very special with this projector (in it's size and resolution category), and I hope that mine lasts a long time. I will update this review if anything dramatic happens in the first year... outside of further troubleshooting with the remote control. My use-case is several hours every day, but mostly stationary and always plugged in.
---Update for January 13, 2021---
I have used this projector 3-5 times a week for several hours each session since the original purchase. It is pointed upwards at the ceiling with external speakers plugged in. The power is always plugged in, so I have not tested the internal battery at all.
I have had no further issues with the remote - It has reliably worked with no connection issues since I got it working the first time. I have not had to changed the batteries yet.
The focus wheel has kept it's position with no need to periodically adjust (this is a problem for some cheaper projectors).
I have not blown it out yet, or cleaned it in any way, but probably will this month just to avoid an excessive buildup of dust - one of my other AAXA pico projectors, after roughly a year, had such a huge buildup of dust that the device actually sparked and produced a cloud of smoke (it still works), so I've learned to clean them every once in a while. As I've mentioned before, my projector is pointed upwards towards the ceiling, so I'm not using them in a normal way, which contributes to extra buildup of dust depending on where the projector has it's vents pointing.
I can't find anything to complaint about, the projector has worked fine, and I highly recommend this projector to someone looking for a 1080p Pico projector. I hope it lasts another couple of years with no issues.
| Brand Name | KODAK |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 3.1 x 3.1 x 0.87 inches |
| Item model number | RODPJS450 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Special Features | Pico, Rechargeable Battery, Speakers, Internet Ready |
| Speaker Type | Built-In |
