Kindle 3 better for night reading than Paperwhite?

WDeranged · 05-11-2013, 09:48 PM

I got my new Paperwhite today and I've been really impressed with the new features and screen quality in daytime lighting, it's pretty much what Amazon hype it up to be, though I did notice that my Kindle 3 appears to have a purer white background when comparing with the Paperwhite's light all the way down, which looked a little greyer.

It also seems that the Kindle 3's lighted cover gives me a more readable night time result, the Paperwhite's fonts quickly become washed out when you push the light beyond 10, anything below is a bit too dim for my eyes.

I haven't quite decided what to do yet but I'm still very impressed by the daytime operation of the Paperwhite, with the light on it easily beats my Kindle 3 for contrast and white purity, it's just a shame that it doesn't feel as nice at night.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

WDeranged · 05-11-2013, 09:51 PM

Oh, I should mention that my Paperwhite has only a small amount of clouding and the LED spotlights are no where near as awful as some pictures I've seen, certainly not perfect light coverage but then nether is the Kindle 3's lighted cover.

Barty · 05-11-2013, 11:24 PM

For me, the kpw looks better when there is inadequate light. The k3 plus good light (as in, natural light during day and a good lamp, not a book light clip on thingy, at night) looks better than the kpw in any light.

Yes kpw has finer font. However, the screen is grayer. The contrast is worse. I need to put the light at around 6 to get the background lightness to match the k3, but turning up the screen light also makes the text lighter.

The front light is easier on the eyes than backlit LCD, but it's not as easy on my eyes as k3. It's like I'm looking through a layer of something, which of course I am; I'm looking through the diffusion layer / light guide. Remember the first time you saw a kindle and thought the ink was some kind of sticker on the screen? The extra layer takes away some of that.

I'm in the extreme minority, though.

MrDoug · 05-11-2013, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

For me, the kpw looks better when there is inadequate light. The k3 plus good light (as in, natural light during day and a good lamp, not a book light clip on thingy, at night) looks better than the kpw in any light.

Yes kpw has finer font. However, the screen is grayer. The contrast is worse. I need to put the light at around 6 to get the background lightness to match the k3, but turning up the screen light also makes the text lighter.

The front light is easier on the eyes than backlit LCD, but it's not as easy on my eyes as k3. It's like I'm looking through a layer of something, which of course I am; I'm looking through the diffusion layer / light guide. Remember the first time you saw a kindle and thought the ink was some kind of sticker on the screen? The extra layer takes away some of that.

I'm in the extreme minority, though.

I agree with you.

WDeranged · 05-12-2013, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

For me, the kpw looks better when there is inadequate light. The k3 plus good light (as in, natural light during day and a good lamp, not a book light clip on thingy, at night) looks better than the kpw in any light.

In low light the PW is a better read than the K3 without the cover light on but I find that in a totally dark room I prefer the look of the K3 with cover light, by the time I've boosted the PW to a similar brightness the fonts have become wishy washy.

Quote:

Yes kpw has finer font. However, the screen is grayer. The contrast is worse. I need to put the light at around 6 to get the background lightness to match the k3, but turning up the screen light also makes the text lighter.

Agree completely, same experience for me.

Quote:

The front light is easier on the eyes than backlit LCD, but it's not as easy on my eyes as k3. It's like I'm looking through a layer of something, which of course I am; I'm looking through the diffusion layer / light guide. Remember the first time you saw a kindle and thought the ink was some kind of sticker on the screen? The extra layer takes away some of that.

I'm in the extreme minority, though.

Ditto, there's a slight haziness on the PW but it only really bothers me in the evening when I turn up the light, in bright sunlight I think the K3 and PW are pretty damn close.

I'm a bit torn, I really like the improvements to the user interface and the touchscreen is much nicer than I expected but I'm not really feeling the contrast boost that Amazon promised. There's something very readable about my Kindle 3's font since the firmware update made it more bold, also I got lucky with mine as the surface is as close to white as I've seen an ebook get so far.

At least I have a white to decide, Amazon have always been excellent with me when dealing with returns.

HarryT · 05-12-2013, 02:15 PM

I don't agree; for me, reading in bed is where the PW really shines (pun intended

). Having previously used both a K3 and a Touch with lighted covers, I find the PW much easier on the eyes. I do agree, though, that in good light the older Kindkes do have a slight edge in contrast terms.

Katsunami · 05-12-2013, 05:27 PM

I hate lighted covers and clip-on lights. They always create spotlights and a brighter top than bottom. For me, the KPW blows every other lighting solution out of the water, except very bright ambient light.

As I've detailed in some (many?) posts, I don't use the Kindle's light source as the only light. It doesn't work for me, and I dislike it. I use the Kindle's light to brighten the screen to a level that is comfortable to read; it means, that I mix the Kindle's light with the ambient light. If there is so little ambient light that the Kindle becomes the only light source, then I won't read in that place.

BeccaPrice · 05-12-2013, 05:37 PM

I always found that my k3 lighted cover faded out toward the bottom of the screen. I much prefer reading on my paperwhite under low light conditions.

I do, however, use one of the alternate fonts from this thread. It's somewhat bolder and darker than the normal paperwhite fonts, and so doesn't wash out at higher light levels.

WDeranged · 05-12-2013, 06:09 PM

Yeah the Kindle Paperwhite's light is far more even than the K3 lighted cover, I probably just need to adjust to the feeling of a glowing screen rather than an illuminated surface, I'm willing to give myself time to adjust so I'll put the K3 away for a few weeks and see how I get on.

It's hard to get a consensus on things like this, our eyes, brains and Kindle screens are all slightly different, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who finds the older screens more contrasty in bright light though. I feel similar to Katsunami in that my Paperwhite seems to look far better when the glow is mixed with a bit of external light, it really does look whiter than anything I've seen from an ebook, under these circumstances the hype is justified.

Thanks to BeccaPrice for the font suggestion but I've already trawled that thread, I settled on the modified CharisSIL

barryem · 05-13-2013, 07:50 PM

I have a Paperwhite and a Touch with a lighted cover and I had a Kindle Keyboard at one time, although not with the cover. I think the Paperwhite is far the easiest to read with because of the light.

I don't like to use it in the dark. I don't really like reading in the dark. I didn't like that with the Touch and it's cover, either. I just like to use the Kindle's light to whiten the background.

In my opinion, if the screen glows, the light is turned up too high. I've played with this quite a bit and I think as the light goes from nearly off to brighter and brighter, contrast increases up to a certain point. When it begins to seem like it's glowing contrast begins to decrease. Where this point is depends on the ambient light.

I'm pretty old (sorry if that sounds like bragging

and I need good contrast and good light. With the Touch and the Keyboard I used to have to adjust my position and the lighting till it was just right. With the Paperwhite I still want decent light but I don't really worry about it. Just about any light will do.

Sitting on the front porch in sunlight, they're all great screens but in situation the Kindle Keyboard is the obvious winner. It is whiter in sunlight where the light doesn't help. But in sunlight the Paperwhite is still excellent and in any other situation it's by far the best.

Barry

TallMomof2 · 05-13-2013, 07:59 PM

It must depend on the PW, mine is far better in any lighting condition than my previous Kindles. When I'm reading in the dark (DH is asleep and the room is dark) I turn the light all the way down and enlarge the font size one increment. The PW also makes a decent light for dodging the cat when I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Jack Tingle · 05-18-2013, 02:50 PM

I have one of each. I bought the PW because the 3 was dying.

The only significant differences I've noted are:
1) KPW is lighter than the K3 especially at night. (No keyboard & no separate book light)
2) The front lit screen + night-time ambient light is more even than the book light + night-time ambient light.
3) The KPW is better balanced and easier to handle than the K3 with the book light. Day-time, meh.
4) I personally liked the dedicated page turn buttons of the K3 better than screen swipes on the KPW.

That's pretty much it. There are puts and takes in various aspects of the devices, but they often cancel out. I'm sure religious arguments can be made over the innate superiority of physical vs. touch keyboards, or faster processors, or higher screen resolutions, but I'm just not interested in them. They don't actually affect my reading.

I can't think of a reason to buy (today) a stock Kindle* or K3 over a PW, other than those above. The K3 was a perfectly adequate reading device. The KPW is slightly (3 out of the 4 above) better.

*...other than the small price difference.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

05-11-2013, 09:48 PM	#1
WDeranged Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Paperwhite	Kindle 3 better for night reading than Paperwhite? I got my new Paperwhite today and I've been really impressed with the new features and screen quality in daytime lighting, it's pretty much what Amazon hype it up to be, though I did notice that my Kindle 3 appears to have a purer white background when comparing with the Paperwhite's light all the way down, which looked a little greyer. It also seems that the Kindle 3's lighted cover gives me a more readable night time result, the Paperwhite's fonts quickly become washed out when you push the light beyond 10, anything below is a bit too dim for my eyes. I haven't quite decided what to do yet but I'm still very impressed by the daytime operation of the Paperwhite, with the light on it easily beats my Kindle 3 for contrast and white purity, it's just a shame that it doesn't feel as nice at night. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

05-12-2013, 06:09 PM	#9
WDeranged Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Paperwhite	Yeah the Kindle Paperwhite's light is far more even than the K3 lighted cover, I probably just need to adjust to the feeling of a glowing screen rather than an illuminated surface, I'm willing to give myself time to adjust so I'll put the K3 away for a few weeks and see how I get on. It's hard to get a consensus on things like this, our eyes, brains and Kindle screens are all slightly different, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who finds the older screens more contrasty in bright light though. I feel similar to Katsunami in that my Paperwhite seems to look far better when the glow is mixed with a bit of external light, it really does look whiter than anything I've seen from an ebook, under these circumstances the hype is justified. Thanks to BeccaPrice for the font suggestion but I've already trawled that thread, I settled on the modified CharisSIL Last edited by WDeranged; 05-12-2013 at 06:13 PM.

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05-11-2013, 09:51 PM	#2
WDeranged Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Paperwhite	Oh, I should mention that my Paperwhite has only a small amount of clouding and the LED spotlights are no where near as awful as some pictures I've seen, certainly not perfect light coverage but then nether is the Kindle 3's lighted cover.

05-11-2013, 11:24 PM	#3
Barty doofus Posts: 2,543 Karma: 13089041 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	For me, the kpw looks better when there is inadequate light. The k3 plus good light (as in, natural light during day and a good lamp, not a book light clip on thingy, at night) looks better than the kpw in any light. Yes kpw has finer font. However, the screen is grayer. The contrast is worse. I need to put the light at around 6 to get the background lightness to match the k3, but turning up the screen light also makes the text lighter. The front light is easier on the eyes than backlit LCD, but it's not as easy on my eyes as k3. It's like I'm looking through a layer of something, which of course I am; I'm looking through the diffusion layer / light guide. Remember the first time you saw a kindle and thought the ink was some kind of sticker on the screen? The extra layer takes away some of that. I'm in the extreme minority, though.

05-12-2013, 02:15 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I don't agree; for me, reading in bed is where the PW really shines (pun intended ). Having previously used both a K3 and a Touch with lighted covers, I find the PW much easier on the eyes. I do agree, though, that in good light the older Kindkes do have a slight edge in contrast terms.

05-12-2013, 05:27 PM	#7
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	I hate lighted covers and clip-on lights. They always create spotlights and a brighter top than bottom. For me, the KPW blows every other lighting solution out of the water, except very bright ambient light. As I've detailed in some (many?) posts, I don't use the Kindle's light source as the only light. It doesn't work for me, and I dislike it. I use the Kindle's light to brighten the screen to a level that is comfortable to read; it means, that I mix the Kindle's light with the ambient light. If there is so little ambient light that the Kindle becomes the only light source, then I won't read in that place.

05-12-2013, 05:37 PM	#8
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,146 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	I always found that my k3 lighted cover faded out toward the bottom of the screen. I much prefer reading on my paperwhite under low light conditions. I do, however, use one of the alternate fonts from this thread. It's somewhat bolder and darker than the normal paperwhite fonts, and so doesn't wash out at higher light levels.

05-13-2013, 07:50 PM	#10
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	I have a Paperwhite and a Touch with a lighted cover and I had a Kindle Keyboard at one time, although not with the cover. I think the Paperwhite is far the easiest to read with because of the light. I don't like to use it in the dark. I don't really like reading in the dark. I didn't like that with the Touch and it's cover, either. I just like to use the Kindle's light to whiten the background. In my opinion, if the screen glows, the light is turned up too high. I've played with this quite a bit and I think as the light goes from nearly off to brighter and brighter, contrast increases up to a certain point. When it begins to seem like it's glowing contrast begins to decrease. Where this point is depends on the ambient light. I'm pretty old (sorry if that sounds like bragging and I need good contrast and good light. With the Touch and the Keyboard I used to have to adjust my position and the lighting till it was just right. With the Paperwhite I still want decent light but I don't really worry about it. Just about any light will do. Sitting on the front porch in sunlight, they're all great screens but in situation the Kindle Keyboard is the obvious winner. It is whiter in sunlight where the light doesn't help. But in sunlight the Paperwhite is still excellent and in any other situation it's by far the best. Barry

05-13-2013, 07:59 PM	#11
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	It must depend on the PW, mine is far better in any lighting condition than my previous Kindles. When I'm reading in the dark (DH is asleep and the room is dark) I turn the light all the way down and enlarge the font size one increment. The PW also makes a decent light for dodging the cat when I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

05-18-2013, 02:50 PM	#12
Jack Tingle Punctuation Fetishist Posts: 557 Karma: 1070000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Bluest Commonwealth In East America Device: Kindle PW, Nexus 7 (2013), Galaxy S5 phone, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0	I have one of each. I bought the PW because the 3 was dying. The only significant differences I've noted are: 1) KPW is lighter than the K3 especially at night. (No keyboard & no separate book light) 2) The front lit screen + night-time ambient light is more even than the book light + night-time ambient light. 3) The KPW is better balanced and easier to handle than the K3 with the book light. Day-time, meh. 4) I personally liked the dedicated page turn buttons of the K3 better than screen swipes on the KPW. That's pretty much it. There are puts and takes in various aspects of the devices, but they often cancel out. I'm sure religious arguments can be made over the innate superiority of physical vs. touch keyboards, or faster processors, or higher screen resolutions, but I'm just not interested in them. They don't actually affect my reading. I can't think of a reason to buy (today) a stock Kindle* or K3 over a PW, other than those above. The K3 was a perfectly adequate reading device. The KPW is slightly (3 out of the 4 above) better. *...other than the small price difference. Regards, Jack Tingle

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