Eye strains when reading on my Kobo

[bastringue777]

Hi,

It took me a long time before buying an ereader but after reading many reviews and because my public library is closed, I decided to buy a Kobo LIbra H2O.

I think it's fantastic, but... BUT!

For some reason, my eyes hurt when reading for more than 10 minutes, and after that my vision is somehow blurry, like my eyes worked too hard or something alike.

I tried without the frontlight, and I feel like my eyes are straining because it is too dark. I tried with bigger font, and brighter light (but not too bright; I don't want to drain the battery). I tried to read under a lamp with a 40W 12" over my head (there was a glare....). Still the same thing.

This is weird because I read a lot and have no problem with paper books. I can also use my LCD computer screen for hours before I get such symptoms and even then it's not that bad.

Anyone can relate? So far some people told me to go check my eyes by a doctor, but I don't see how that could help if I don't feel bad with a paper book and only on the ereader.

Could it be about flickering or something like it?

Thanks guys

[hobnail]

How old are you? I had trouble with my first ereader and it turned out I had developed presbyopia and needed reading glasses. Can't remember how old I was; late 40s I'd guess.

[Sirtel]

Perhaps the font you're using has too little contrast/is too light. Did you adjust the weight? What font are you using?

Another reason may be that line-spacing or margins are too narrow. Try to increase them.

It took me a little time to get my Libra look the way I wanted and felt comfortable reading (I use a custom font and have my Kobo patched so I can increase its weight - you can't adjust the weight of custom fonts out of the box), but afterwards I've never had any problems with tired eyes (and I have pretty weak eyes).

[ps67]

Also: did You try to regulate the smart light so You can have a warmer light?

[bastringue777]

Originally Posted by hobnail

How old are you? I had trouble with my first ereader and it turned out I had developed presbyopia and needed reading glasses. Can't remember how old I was; late 40s I'd guess.

I am 40 years old. I usually read a lot and have no problem with paper books, so I wonder why the problem would only be with an ereader. What is specific on an ereader that is not on a paper book?

Thanks for the advice and maybe I have presbyopia, but reading an ebook somehow makes my eyes "fuzzy" after a while, having trouble focusing on things, etc. while reading a paper book does not do this...

[bastringue777]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Perhaps the font you're using has too little contrast/is too light. Did you adjust the weight? What font are you using?

Another reason may be that line-spacing or margins are too narrow. Try to increase them.

It took me a little time to get my Libra look the way I wanted and felt comfortable reading (I use a custom font and have my Kobo patched so I can increase its weight - you can't adjust the weight of custom fonts out of the box), but afterwards I've never had any problems with tired eyes (and I have pretty weak eyes).

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I tried the malabar very large and darker, but in the end it wasn't better than Georgia a bit smaller.

What custom font do you use and what settings?

I know I have weaker eyes because light as always been an issue. I have really blue eyes and must have dark glasses even when its grey in winter (because of the snow), but I had no problem with paper books. And I've read many paper books with many fonts and unless its ultra-small font, it wasn't a problem.

[bastringue777]

Originally Posted by ps67

Also: did You try to regulate the smart light so You can have a warmer light?

I will try this.

Would you recommend reading with or without the frontlight? I fear that if I use too much the frontlight there would be a big drain on the battery. I can read 4 hours a day, so it wouldn't last a lot...

[4691mls]

I had eye problems when I tried to read on a phone and I gave up trying. I haven't had any problems reading on e-ink though, either with or without a built-in light.

Others have already suggested the usual things - experiment with different font styles, font size, line spacing, light color and intensity.

The only other thing I can think of is to let someone else try your ereader, and/or you try borrowing another ereader from someone else, to rule out the possibility that your ereader is defective in some way.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by bastringue777

I will try this.

Would you recommend reading with or without the frontlight? I fear that if I use too much the frontlight there would be a big drain on the battery. I can read 4 hours a day, so it wouldn't last a lot...

it should be good for ~2 weeks even reading 4 hours a day with the light

[stumped]

Originally Posted by bastringue777

I will try this.

Would you recommend reading with or without the frontlight? I fear that if I use too much the frontlight there would be a big drain on the battery. I can read 4 hours a day, so it wouldn't last a lot...

it should be good for ~2 weeks even reading 4 hours a day with the light
even if its only 1 week, its no big deal to recharge it overnight, weekly.

better that, than put up with eye strain, surely

[ps67]

Originally Posted by bastringue777

I will try this.

Would you recommend reading with or without the frontlight? I fear that if I use too much the frontlight there would be a big drain on the battery. I can read 4 hours a day, so it wouldn't last a lot...

I do not own a Libra, so I don't know how good is the battery. But You can try, read with the right light and see.

If it is necessary to fire the light depends on were You read, if the room has good light You can read without device light, if there is poor light You have to read with the device light.

But these are very personal things, nobody else can say to You what are Your needs. I often use much light and I often change it (the battery cries but my eyes are more important): intensity and warmness.

[hobnail]

Try the Caecilia font, it's my favorite of the built in ones on the Kobo. I could never read with Georgia. Fonts that have sharp ends and on the serifs, or have a noticeable difference between the thicker and thinner parts don't come out well on an ereader. There's a big difference with how those fonts look when printed versus an ereader.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by bastringue777

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I tried the malabar very large and darker, but in the end it wasn't better than Georgia a bit smaller.

What custom font do you use and what settings?

I know I have weaker eyes because light as always been an issue. I have really blue eyes and must have dark glasses even when its grey in winter (because of the snow), but I had no problem with paper books. And I've read many paper books with many fonts and unless its ultra-small font, it wasn't a problem.

My eyes are quite light-sensitive too (blue-gray color and nocturnal lifestyle for the last 30 years, plus rather extreme myopia since early childhood).

I use LexiaDama. My Kobo is patched, including custom font sizes patch, so the size seen on the photos is not one of the defaults.

I always have the frontlight on. The warm light is on in an artificially lit environment, but off in the daylight.

[Ripplinger]

I'm very farsighted since early childhood and very sensitive to light (always wearing sunglasses outdoors, no matter the season), and LexiaDama is one of my favorite fonts as well. Another that is very close but a bit fatter is RobotoSlab.

Another thing I do is make my favorite fonts display bold always. Simply make a copy of the -Bold and -BoldItalic fonts, rename the copies to the -Regular and -Italic names and the reader will always display the bold fonts.

I agree with Sirtel that you probably just need to find the right font style, thickness and spacing for your eye comfort.

[Frenzie]

Originally Posted by bastringue777

Would you recommend reading with or without the frontlight? I fear that if I use too much the frontlight there would be a big drain on the battery. I can read 4 hours a day, so it wouldn't last a lot...

I don't know about the Libra, but on my H2O the only thing to really worry about with regard to battery life is disabling wifi.