They say the camera never lies, however the picture of the Viewsonic PJ255D DLP projector doesn't tell the full story either. Although it looks entirely conventional, the PJ255D is quite tiny, with a footprint the same size as a sheet of A5 paper and a weight of just under one kilogram.

It's not as though Viewsonic has done anything dodgy to achieve this size, as the dimensions of 198mm wide by 148mm deep and 57mm high are all in proportion, however the specification does appear to have been compromised by the tiny casing.

The brightness rating of 1,100 lumens, for instance, is perfectly adequate if you're using the Viewsonic in a room with the lights on, so long as there isn't direct sunlight falling onto your projection screen, but for best results you'll want to shade the windows and dim the lights. There are plenty of other projectors on the market at a similar price that have a rating of 1,500 lumens or so, and you can use them in a fairly bright room with no need to mess around with blinds and lights.

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Despite its small size the PJ255D has an XGA resolution (1,024 x 768) when many projectors have a limitation of 800 x 600. Theoretically you can increase the resolution to 1,280 x 1,024 but the picture quality degrades dramatically, so you're best off sticking to the native resolution.

The 200:1 contrast ratio ensures that blacks and whites are accurately represented, and there are no surprises with the output from this DLP (digital light processing) projector. Similarly, colour control is good and we had no complaints about the quality of grey scales.

The operating noise level is relatively high at 36dB, which we assume is due to the small casing as there is little opportunity to duct the cooling air and thus to quieten it down.

On the back of the PJ255D, the range of ports on offer is quite basic, with VGA and S-Video inputs plus RCA. Naturally you get an IR remote, but as projectors go the list of features is fairly basic and it was quite clear to us that the portability of this projector is its major selling point.

It's ideal for a notebook user who may have to give a presentation, or to share the display with an audience at almost any time. The PJ255D is so small and light that you can keep it in a bag, or the glove box of your car, just so you have it to hand.

This is a fairly expensive projector, considering its lowly ANSI lumens rating, so you have to accept that you're paying the thick end of a £500 premium for the privilege of owning a tiny projector. But if you're sick and tired of lugging a bulky projector from meeting to meeting, then you may well consider that a unit this small and light is exactly what you need.