A color light projector utilizes color light-emitting diodes (120, 140Y, and 140Z or 320X, 320Y, and 320Z) as light sources. Digital light modulators (124 and 144 or 324X, 324Y, and 324Z), typically digital micromirror devices, perform reflective color light modulation. In one implementation, light of three or more colors is modulated efficiently with only two modulators so that the component count and cost are low. In another implementation, each of three different colors is modulated with a separate modulator. A beam combiner (104 or 304) combines the digitally modulated beams (136* and 156* or 336X*, 336Y*, and 336Z*) of color light to produce a composite beam (166 or 346) of the different colors. A projection lens device (106) projects the composite color beam.