Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this product a few years back, so maybe the new ones are better, but the one I have is somewhat difficult to use for long periods of time. The way it is constructed, the bottom is a square hollow tube, with a light bulb only a few inches away from the opening. You place the tracer on top of whatever opaque photograph or paper you intend to trace. Then, after only a few minutes, the Tracer (because of the light bulb trapped inside its plastic body) heats up to extraordinary temperatures. Within five to ten minutes, it will curl a photograph and turn a printed out picture into a strangely wrinkled landscape because of the extreme heat. DO NOT use originals for tracing that you want to preserve!!!! Make a photocopy!! Also you can only enlarge a sketch that is about 4" by 4", because that is the size of the square opening on the bottom. It has inadequate ventilation (no fans, just a few slits), because vents would make more light escape and make the projection image dimmer. The projection strength is already a little weak because a lot of the light escapes through the few small vents on the top. If you prop the Tracer up on pencils or something to give your photograph room to breathe (so it won't fry), even more light escapes and it becomes really hard to see the tracer projection on the wall. Must use in a totally black room: I had to use mine in a closet, and I had to turn it off every five or ten minutes to let it cool down for about twenty. This can be frustrating when you're on a roll. If you don't use a normal light bulb, but something that burns cooler like a fluorescent, this might work better. Other than all that, for a relatively cheap projector, it will do the trick. It enlarges very well; I made a tiny little one-inch sketch the size of a poster. If you just plan to use this infrequently, and only for short periods of time, it's fine. If you plan to make a career out of tracing small sketches onto large canvasses or something, get a more expensive projector.