Lens Shift vs Keystone: Best Settings To Adjust The Projected Image

March 07, 2020

Setting up your video projector along with the screen is pretty challenging if you don't know the trick. Many projectors come with their own settings and controls for zoom and focus on keeping the image projection in the right size as well as sharpness. You can use the adjustment feet of your projectors to get the job done for you.

Another easy way to achieve this is by moving your ceiling mount to ensure that the image falls where you want it. You can also use the keystone correction and lens shift controls to adjust the display. Both techniques can correct your display, but they both also serve different objectives.

For the basics, we are going to list down some of the important points associated with them both so you can differentiate between them conveniently.

Lens Shift vs. Keystone Correction

Both keystone correction and lens shift enable you to alter the location and shape of the image without repositioning the projector. Now, if the projector is adequately (perpendicularly) aligned with the screen, you can easily solve the problem with the lens shift. However, if your projector is sitting at an odd angle and the display is narrow or wide from one side, then you need to go for the keystone correction.

Lens Shift

• This technique will move the lens assembly in any direction you want. You can center the image right on the projection screen.
• It can fix off-center as well as uneven images.

Lens shift allows you to move the lens assembly of the projector physically. You can move it up or down as well as side-to-side and in any direction as per your requirements. The good thing is that you won't have to move the projector.

With this setting, you can move the lens with the help of a knob or a dial. Some of the high-end models feature remote control settings. You can use that remote control to adjust the lens.

Keystone Correction

• This correction can digitally alter the projected image to make sure you get a rectangular and even projection.
• It can fix all images that are either narrow or wide from one side.

Keystone correction tends digital manipulation of the image before it goes through the lens. This setting is right for the circumstances where your projector is not fully perpendicular to your screen. It will result in an uneven trapezoidal image.

This correction setting will alter the image's source for the creation of a rectangular and even image. You can access this setting with the menu on the screen or a dedicated button on the remote control of the projector.

Adjusting Image on a Projector

High-end systems have their own visually dynamic factor. These projectors have a price tag that puts them close to any high-end television.

Many people get that wow-factor from a mid-range projector. And the best thing is that most of the hardware that you find on the market is very easy to set up.

However, if you are having some trouble in correcting your image, then here are a few steps that you need to follow to get the job done.

• You need to first turn on the projector so that the image is displayed.
• Now use the lens shift or feet for adjustment of the image's angle.
• Then use the keystone correction for adjusting the image's shapes.
• You can zoom in/out to fit it to the screen.
• Now repeat all of the above steps as needed to set the image according to your screen.

These steps might seem too simple to elaborate, but they prove to be a bit too much for some people. Many people find these steps so difficult that they scare themselves off from using these projectors.

Adjusting the Projector's Angle

Once you are done with the installation process of your projector, there are chances that it will not line up with the screen properly. Now you need to do some fiddling.

A rectangle light is coming from the front lens of your projector. Setting an angle is key to getting a square-image on the wall. Some digital tools are available at your disposal to get these things right.

Getting the Hardware Right

Before you open control through software, you need to make sure that all your hardware settings are right. You need to at the feet and the angle of the mounted projector. The feet of your projector will only be there if it is not a ceiling mounted model.

When adjusting the screen, make sure the top corners of the screen are in a straight line, and for this, you need to adjust the feet and level the projector up. Your entire focus needs to be on the top two corners and their lining up. It would help if you got this done before you move on to the next step.

Adjusting the Angle of the Ceiling Mount

If you have a ceiling mount, you won't need to fiddle with the feet to level both the top two corners. But a ceiling mount will have its adjustment setting to deal with this issue. You can adjust the projector by adjusting the joint that holds the projector.

These settings will allow you to make adjustments to the angle. If there is no such setting, then you can use the lens shift or keystone correction methods to get the angle right.

The following text elaborates them both in brief detail.

Angle Adjustment with Lens Shift

It would be best if you saw whether your projector has any lens shift controls which you can use to correct the angle digitally. You won't have to move the entire projector by feet or by moving the mount. Just move the lens assembly.

Movement of this lens assembly is not a common feature in most budget-friendly projectors. But you can see your projector's user manual to see if it has this feature or not. With this feature, you will be able to modify your lens's actual position. It will allow you to align those two corners as well.

If your projector is adequately aligned with your screen with a perpendicular angle, then you can fix the issue of the odd angle with lens shift.

It will result in an image rendering that is either narrow or wide from the bottom/top or sides. Here you can use the keystone correction to fix the problem once and for all.

Adjusting with Keystone Correction

Lens shift will enable you to get both your top corners aligned, but you still have to align and straighten the bottom corners. And for that, you will need to use keystone correction. It comes in handy when two corners are either narrower or wider than the other two.

Your keystone correction will come in handy when the image is a trapezoid. It happens because the projector is not placed right in the center of that screen. The projector is somewhere below the screen or above, which makes the light hit the screen at an angle, and you will have that one side wider than the other.

This issue is pretty common with the projectors; therefore, the manufacturers now include keystone correction as a standard feature.

This feature alters the display for fixing the angle. Just by the push of the buttons, you can see the progress. The angles will be fixed in the projection. You can keep on fiddling with the buttons until you see the light rectangle is perfect in its shape. Basically, the top two corners and the bottom two corners, as well as the corners on the sides need to align with each other.

You may have a vertical keystone or horizontal keystone. You need to see where your projector has the buttons or controls for these two types of keystone corrections.

In both, you need to make sure that all corners on top, bottom, and sides align with each other, and you can keep fiddling with them until they don't align.

Zoom and Iteration Adjustment

After you are done with the angle, the rectangle image might still overlap with the screen edges. To fix this, you need to find the zoom function that your projector has. Dial it down/up so that the image gets the right fit to the screen.

You might have to deal with iteration because you have to adjust the top and bottom of the image. Zoom will set things right from right to left. From top to bottom, you will have to use iteration.

Final Word

Keystone correction and lens shift are useful tools when it comes to correct the image display from your projector. But they are not available in all models. Before using these tools, make sure that you have installed your projector correctly without any alignment issues.

If you're buying a new projector, you should look for the right tools and features to tackle such issues. Low budget projectors won't have such features. And you will have to fiddle with the mounts and feet of these projectors.

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