Fletch, I was addressing your comment " pumpkins do not have much detail to project. you can get good results from a mini from china" I was saying they actually do have a lot of detail, so much so that my real pumpkins that were around the singing pumpkins blended in perfectly, almost hard to tell real from projection. I used a Viewsonic PJD5533W that I got off eBay for a little over $300, the best part is I can use it for Halloween and in the off season it is my home theater projector and displays movies in near BluRay quality and looks amazing in both applications. I also have a Dell MH410HD I got off ebay for a little over $200 that I use for the portraits, it doesnt look as good as the Viewsonic tho but works great for the portraits.
Maybe the OP can use those models as a base to start from
Of course if your just using the projector for Halloween and "good enough" is good enough then a cheap projector from China is just fine but I wanted one I could use for Halloween and enjoy all year around watching movies, I mean if you're gonna get one, why not get one you can use for other things as well right?
