Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser hands-on review: pocketable projector

A brightness of around 2,000 ANSI lumens is generally recommended for a typical home cinema projector. Though the portable Capsule 3 Laser can only go up to 300 ANSI lumens, it is certainly still capable of producing impressive images that are sharp and bright enough in a darkened environment. It is amazing what Nebula has crammed inside the tiny chassis: a laser, Bluetooth speaker and battery all nest securely in the ultra-compact, very well-made metal housing.

That said, €850 (US$930) is a lot to ask for a projector with this level of brightness and Full HD capability. You are paying for the very compact design. Considering its performance, the projector is really surprisingly small and convenient whilst having all the essential features. Those who are ready to fork out the €850 (US$930) will find a highly portable projector suitable for dark environments. But we wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Nebula as a complete home projector due to its limited brightness. The delay over HDMI (when connected to a laptop) is also annoying.

The Nebula Capsule 3 Laser is virtually unmatched in terms of striking a balance between size (similar to a can) and brightness. But this comes at a price.

But there are alternative solutions. If you not absolutely looking for the smallest form factor, a larger, more powerful conventional projector may also be a great option. You can, for instance, use a power station to operate such a projector on the go. Of course, a setup like this is going to be larger and heavier. New portable projectors are also appearing on the market. One such example is the Mars 3 from Nebula itself. Whilst this device is larger, it has longer battery life, comes with better speakers and is able to reach 1,000 ANSI lumens.