Side by Side screen comparison: 505 & 700

[jerryleejr]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

yes please.

(pilotbob ?? if you like, i'll be the nurse and hand you the tools.
"hot x-acto knife ?" "hot x-acto knife...")

Oh I will be laughing at this one for days!

JJ

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by johnnyr

Where are the pictures?

I'm going to have to see it in person, since the extra glass between you and the e-ink will most certainly make the 700 LOOK less sharp when taking a picture.

I'll let everyone know what I think tomorrow.

yes, please do ; i'll be interested to hear your opinion taking into consideration the previous accounts.

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

Oh I will be laughing at this one for days!

JJ

i aim to please.

(you aim too, please <--spéciale dédicace joke for natch / pshrynk)

[johnnyr]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

yes, please do ; i'll be interested to hear your opinion taking into consideration the previous accounts.

i aim to please.

(you aim too, please <--spéciale dédicace joke for natch / pshrynk)

Ok, I just got back from the Sony Store. Unfortunately, have bad news. Without any doubt, there is a huge difference between the PRS-505 and 700 screens.

The 505 is sharp, clear, and has nice contrast, while the 700 appears to be a more diffused, the text lighter, and not anywhere near as enjoyable to read. The only place the reader looked even close to as good as the 505, was in complete, direct sunlight (from one of the windows in the mall) and even then it still wasn't as sharp.

I stood in the store for 15 min., trying to understand how Sony could mess this up so badly. There is most certainly some piece of glass or plastic between you and the e-ink screen, which diffuses what you see, and makes the contrast appear terrible.

I have no doubt that the e-ink screen ont he 700, without the touchscreen covering (or whatever the piece of plastic or glass is that sits in front of the e-ink screen) would be just as sharp as the 505, but because of this covering, it makes is look woefully inferior to the 505.

The best way I can describe it is It looks like someone put a couple pieces of matte screen protectors over the e-ink screen, and makes the text harder to see, and less sharp.

I asked 2 of the sales people, and they both agreed there was a huge difference, and said they weren't aware of a way to adjust the contrast, and that since they has just gotten the unit in a few weeks ago, it was most likley the production model.

This really makes me mad, because I loved everything else about the 700. But if that is what the 700 is actually like, there is no WAY I would ever purchase it. Mind you I don't own a reader, and was trying to decide between the 505 and 700. Well, the choice was made for me.

Some part of me is still hoping that the actual units that are being shipped to people now will somehow be better, but I just don't see how. I will be anxiously awaiting some impressions from those who have a 505 to compare it to.

John

[MerLock]

Hearing that really bums me out. I really wanted the 700 because of the features but if there is such a huge reduction in contrast between the 505 and 700 I'll probably keep waiting to see if they improve it.

[shopintheusa]

I just got the 700. I compared it side by side in the light and dark with a 505 with ACL. 505 wins handsdown. In the daylight there is no glare on the 505. In the dark...the ACL1 cover has a consistent stream of light. The 700 has 4 light marks similiar............to a Lightwedge.

[pilotbob]

Interesting because I have seen reports on the forum in other threads that the screens are identical.

BOb

[shopintheusa]

They are not identical. They are completely different. In the daylight there is a glare problem and a fuzziness problem.

In the dark the light is more consistent with an ACL1 cover. The 700 has shadows like a lightwedge.

[astra]

I would say wait and see what people who own 505 are going to say about 700 when they receive it.

[johnnyr]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Interesting because I have seen reports on the forum in other threads that the screens are identical.

BOb

I just don't see how anyone could think that. The difference is so incredibly obvious. I'm still hoping that maybe the product that is shipping to people now is somehow better.....

[shopintheusa]

Here are some shots I just took.

[tekchic]

The third photo there on the side-by-side view shopintheusa posted is quite telling. On the other hand, I wonder what it'd look like with the angle the other way, favoring the 700?

*hugging my 505*

[ColdSun]

I saw the other thread where the guy said the 700 was just as good, and I originally saw this thread. I purchased a 505 on the advice of this thread and I'm happy I did. I love it! I like the buttons more than the 700, and the contrast is beautiful. The light works perfectly for me in the dark. After seeing these latest comparison pictures, I'm very happy with my decision.

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by =X=

The degradation in the photograph is caused by the plastic covering the 700. Since the human eye is far superior than most digital cameras the reduction in light absorbed by the plastic cover is captured in the digital camera but not to the naked eye.

=X=

That does not make much sense to me. The amount of light that reaches the human eye will be the same amount that reaches the camera sensors, although eye and camera will have different sensitivities and resolutions. The only way that the image of the PRS-700 would be artificially degraded relative to the PRS-505 in this case is if the light from the PRS-700 is at the sensitivity threshold of the camera, which does not appear to be the case in the photos.

[johnnyr]

Originally Posted by ColdSun

I saw the other thread where the guy said the 700 was just as good, and I originally saw this thread. I purchased a 505 on the advice of this thread and I'm happy I did. I love it! I like the buttons more than the 700, and the contrast is beautiful. The light works perfectly for me in the dark. After seeing these latest comparison pictures, I'm very happy with my decision.

What light?

[dhbailey]

Originally Posted by shopintheusa

Here are some shots I just took.

Looking at the third picture, nothing on the 700 is in focus. Even the model name of the 700 is impossible to read. Are you really telling us that even the model name on the 700 is fuzzy? I doubt it.

The camera was focused on the 505, and at that range, of course everything beyond a very narrow depth of field will be out of focus, including the entire world. Are you saying that's Sony's fault?

Perhaps you could simply turn off the camera's flash and take a picture of each one separately, completely in focus, the only thing in the picture and then post those two pictures so that we can see each reader clearly. Taking side-by-side pictures with a point-and-shoot camera isn't really a very good indicator of anything.