The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 is a long-throw 1080p 3LCD projector using a laser-phosphor light engine. It runs Google TV with Chromecast built in and supports HDR10 and HLG. Setup features include autofocus and auto-keystone (manual controls available). The fixed ~1.03:1 throw covers 16:9 images from about 40–150 inches, which corresponds to roughly 3.0 ft (40") to 11.2 ft (150"). Connectivity includes dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1 (audio out and Bluetooth-speaker mode), one HDMI with ARC, USB-A, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Audio is handled by stereo 5W × 2 speakers. It accepts up to 1080p @ 60Hz and doesn't support 3D. The chassis has an internal power supply, an adjustable front foot, and a tripod mount, and it's sold in multiple colorways (White, Beige Rose, and Smoke Ice Green).
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
Our Verdict
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 is mediocre for movies. The projector's brightness is unimpressive, so it washes out quickly when a few lights are on. Inversely, its contrast is disappointing, so blacks are raised no matter how bright the scene is, which is most noticeable in dark rooms. This means that the projector doesn't excel in any room context. It is, however, decently portable, especially with its fully featured smart OS and image adjustment features, and its colors are nicely saturated in SDR, if not very bright. Out of the box, accuracy is great and improves with a quick touch‑up, and screen uniformity is solid, so there aren't too many distracting hot spots.
Accurate right out of the box.
Fully featured smart OS.
Easy to install due to its numerous image correction features.
Isn't bright enough to deal with any ambient lighting.
Blacks are raised in all scenes.
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 is definitely not a gaming‑first projector. It's limited to 1080p @ 60Hz, and input lag is extremely high, to the point that even slow single-player games feel sluggish. It does accept 1080p 4:4:4 for crisp text, which is fine for computer use, but your mouse cursor will feel quite laggy as you slide it across the screen. When it comes to how good your games look, it fares a little better, but not much more. Its brightness is unimpressive, and its contrast is disappointing, so it doesn't look good in any room context, but it's functional. Thankfully, it's pretty accurate right out of the box.
Accurate right out of the box.
Easy to install due to its numerous image correction features.
Isn't bright enough to deal with any ambient lighting.
Blacks are raised in all scenes.
Feels sluggish due to its very high input lag.
Limited resolution support.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The EpiqVision EF21 is part of Epson's compact long-throw 1080p laser lineup. It sits alongside the EF22, which adds a swivel gimbal stand and uses an external AC adapter, while the earlier EF12 is the previous-generation model on Android TV with Yamaha-tuned audio.
| Model | Platform | Stand / Placement | Power | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EF21 | Google TV | Fixed body, adjustable front foot; tripod socket | Internal PSU | Stereo 5W × 2 |
| EF22 | Google TV | Built-in swivel/gimbal stand with tilt | External AC adapter (connects to stand) | Stereo 5W × 2 (revised enclosure w/ passive radiator) |
| EF12 (previous gen) | Android TV | Fixed body; no gimbal | Internal PSU | Stereo 5W × 2 (Yamaha-voiced) |
Our unit was manufactured in the Philippines.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 is a mediocre and somewhat portable projector. It's not a bad value at its price point, as it's very accurate out of the box, with unremarkable but functional brightness, but there are better options. If you're really itching for a portable projector, the XGIMI Halo+ is a better option, as it's far more portable, has much better contrast, and can double as a cheap on-the-go gaming projector for slower single-player gaming. Inversely, the NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3) is far cheaper than the Epson, but delivers comparable image quality. Finally, if you already own the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12, then the EF21 isn't much of an upgrade, as they perform similarly.
Check out our recommendations for the best portable projectors and the best outdoor projectors. If you'd prefer to shop for another product in the same price range, look up the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The XGIMI Halo+ is better than the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21, except perhaps for those who care about accuracy, as the XGIMI is very inaccurate out of the box. Otherwise, the XGIMI has much better contrast than the Epson, is way more portable due to its size and integrated battery, and has lower input lag, making it better for gaming.
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 and the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 are very similar projectors, with little to differentiate them. While the newer EF21 is a bit brighter, the older EF12, in turn, has slightly better contrast. The EF21 has an optical zoom, making setup a bit easier, while the EF12 has a fixed zoom, so the only way to adjust the image is to move the unit. The older model had an advantage over the EF21: it has two HDMI ports, so it can act as a passthrough hub for audio through ARC.
The LG CineBeam Q is better than the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21. The LG is even more portable due to its smaller size and integrated handle. While it's a bit dimmer than the Epson, it compensates with far superior contrast, making it look much better in dark rooms. Neither projector is a good option for gaming, but if forced against a wall, the LG has slightly faster input lag due to the inclusion of a Game Mode.
The XGIMI Horizon S Max is vastly superior to the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21. The XGIMI is brighter, has far better contrast, is more colorful, and is sharper due to its pixel-shifted image. It's also far superior for gaming, as its input lag is low enough for pleasant single-player titles. While the Epson has the edge when it comes to portability, mostly due to its smaller size, the XGIMI does have a fully rotating gimbal stand, making it easier to adjust its viewing angle.
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Test Results
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 portable smart laser projector's brightness is unremarkable. It's comfortably bright for dark room viewing, but quickly washes out in rooms with any ambient lights. It is, however, very uniform, keeping dark corners to a minimum.
Native contrast on the unit is disappointing. Blacks look elevated in all content, no matter how bright, and shadow detail looks flat. It does a bit better in very bright scenes, but it's still middling.
Out of the box, the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 is very accurate. Grayscale tracks a touch warm, with a slight red bias in most mid-grays, but skin tones look believable, and there aren't distracting hue swings from color to color. Gamma rides close enough to the target that SDR doesn't look washed out, although very bright scenes are a bit too bright. As for colors, they're mostly as they should be, although saturated shades, especially blues, greens, and yellows, tend to veer off track.
The 'Natural' and 'Custom' picture modes are identical out of the box, but 'Natural' locks out some picture settings.
A quick white-balance trim is all it takes to snap the Epson EF21 to neutral, tightening the grayscale and removing the mild warmth you see out of the box. The projector doesn't have any color adjustments, so you won't chase perfection on every saturated point here, but you don't need to: once grayscale is corrected, colors mostly fall into place, and the image looks clean and cohesive. Still, the unit's saturated blues, greens, and yellows still struggle, but most people won't notice it.
The Epson EF21 is solid for SDR, as it covers almost all of Rec. 709. For HDR, it's a different story; the projector only reaches a little over half of the Rec. 2020 color space, and it really struggles with deep greens, cyans, reds, and blues. If you care about extra HDR punch in highly saturated scenes, you'll need a brighter, wider-gamut model, like the LG CineBeam Q or the XGIMI Horizon S Max, if you're willing to go for something a little bigger.
Epson’s 3-chip LCD engine has no DLP rainbow artifacts, so sensitive viewers won’t see color flashes on subtitles or high-contrast edges. Plus, the laser-phosphor light source is quick to start, has very little maintenance, and keeps color stable over time compared to aging lamps.
Placement is straightforward because the Epson EF21 uses a fixed-focus lens, with a digital zoom. That makes it easy to size your image by just sliding the projector closer or farther, and using the zoom to do final adjustments. The unit also has options for manual focusing and manual keystoning, but they still impact image quality if you use them. Here are some typical distances for a 16:9 screen:
- 70″ image: 5.1–9.2 ft from the screen
- 80″: 5.8–10.5 ft
- 90″: 6.5–11.8 ft
- 100″: 7.3–13.1 ft
- 110″: 8.0–14.5 ft
- 120″: 8.7–15.8 ft
- 130″: 9.4–17.1 ft
- 150″: 10.9–19.7 ft
The Epson EF21 is relatively easy to live with if you plan to move it from room to room. It’s a compact cube with an internal power supply, a small adjustable front foot, and a tripod socket, so it’s simple to plunk down on a coffee table or light stand and get a square image quickly. There’s no built-in battery and no rain protection, so it's not the best projector to bring camping with you, unless you have access to an outlet.
Setup is fast: autofocus snaps in within seconds and auto-keystone gets you watchable alignment right away; once you’ve found your spot, switch keystone off and level the chassis for the sharpest result.
At maximum brightness, the fan noise fades into background content at normal listening levels; you'll only really hear it when no audio is playing.
One HDMI (with ARC) covers both streaming sticks and consoles, plus USB-A for basic media and a headphone jack for quick audio outs. There's a mini USB port, but it's only for servicing. The unit supports Bluetooth 5.1.
This projector is limited to just 1080p @ 60Hz, although it supports legacy resolutions like 720p and 480p.
The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF21 portable smart laser projector's input lag is terrible, as it has no Game Mode; it's not fast enough even for slow single player titles.
Treat the Epson EF21 as a display, not an HDMI hub. It has a single HDMI port with ARC. That port must connect to your soundbar or AVR’s HDMI ARC output if you want audio from the projector’s own Google TV apps to play on your speakers. In that setup, all external sources (PS5, Apple TV, Blu-ray, etc.) should plug into the soundbar/AVR, which then sends video up to the projector and handles audio locally.
If you instead plug a source directly into the projector, you lose the ARC link, as there’s only one HDMI. Your only audio options then are the projector’s internal speakers, Bluetooth out, or the 3.5 mm jack.
The projector runs Google TV with Chromecast built-in, so you can cast from phones and run the usual streaming apps, including Netflix, without an external box. Audio comes from stereo 5W ×2 speakers. You can also pair Bluetooth headphones/speakers, or switch to Bluetooth Speaker Mode to play audio to the projector from your phone when you’re not watching video.