High quality pics of the Voyage display

[cruff]

I found the display of my Voyage to have pretty consistent lighting across the display, and no indication of the LEDs is obvious even at full brightness.

These images were taken with a 50mm macro lens with the camera mounted on a tripod. All images have been downsized to 800x1200 pixels from the originals, as those would exceed the upload limits. The first image (IMG_3559.JPG) was taken with the room lights on, and those reflections are obvious, causing discolorations due to the reflected light. The remaining images were taken with the room lights off.

Third image from the right shows obvious blue tint at the bottom and gradually changing to cream color (or even yellow) at the top. Not very consistent lighting at all, IMO. It looks like my Voyage, and unfortunately most of the ones I've seen photos of in these forums.

[soondai]

As discussed often back during the original Paperwhite release, I think people's sensitivity to the colors varies a lot. Most of the pics of Voyage screens look OK to me. But I can see some color fluctuation if I really look for it.

Likewise, I got one of the very first Paperwhites and I know it has some coloration. My wife can see it better than I can. I don't even notice it unless I really look for it.

But I strongly suspect it is one of the "bad" ones that the more sensitive types would have sent back. Doesn't bother me in the least though. But everyone has their sensitivities. I get very distracted at movies if people around me are chewing popcorn.

Maybe I can pick one of these returned units down the line at a more palatable price.

Gotta be a bummer to get a new one and have instant buyers remorse. And at 200 bucks I am sympathetic to those who demand their devices work as described and depicted in the ads.

[disconnected]

Is it just me or does that first picture have a pinkish/yellowish blob at the bottom right?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by soondai

Gotta be a bummer to get a new one and have instant buyers remorse. And at 200 bucks I am sympathetic to those who demand their devices work as described and depicted in the ads.

I agree, but I think Amazon will get this straightened out. I wonder if they rushed these out a little too fast and the light layer hasn't "cured" (if that's the right word) properly. I remember there was (I believe) an iPad model that had issues with some of its earliest units and it was mentioned that the glue (or whatever they use) wasn't completely "cured" or dry.

Then again I could be (and probably am) completely wrong on this.

What I can see is that the fonts are really sharp. So once they get the lighting issues cleared up I think this is going to be a really nice reader.

[David58117]

Can definitely see color gradient on these.

However - I think this issue all together is very minor and I still very much enjoy my voyage (that looks like yours).

[Drew0020]

I think it's a major problem. It looks worse than a LCD screen with the varying color temperatures. About the only other benefit of e-ink is the minimal reflections but I cannot deal with it.

My replacement comes today. If it had the same problem then I will wait till next year and read on my iPad Air 2 for the time being.

[cruff]

Originally Posted by disconnected

Is it just me or does that first picture have a pinkish/yellowish blob at the bottom right?

Yes, that is an ambient light reflection, which is why the other pics were taken with the room lights off. That effect was mentioned in the post.

[cruff]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Third image from the right shows obvious blue tint at the bottom and gradually changing to cream color (or even yellow) at the top.

It is very subtle. I expect you are good at picking out those kinds of variations if you are an astrophotography enthusiast. In the attachment to this reply, I ran the third image through the GIMP posterize filter, which exaggerates that effect by reducing the number of colors in an image, to demonstrate what jswinden is seeing. Please don't panic, this is not what it looks like in real life!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by disconnected

Is it just me or does that first picture have a pinkish/yellowish blob at the bottom right?

It also looks darker at the top even with the light on full.

[MickeyMark]

One of the things I noticed last night with my Voyage is that if I look at the screen without my glasses on, the two tone thing is really bad looking. It would drive me crazy if it was that bad when I looked at the screen with my glasses on.

The good news is that I can't read a damn thing without my glasses anymore.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It also looks darker at the top even with the light on full.

They all are I think. When I first turned my new Voyage on to do the initial setup, it displayed the iconic Kindle scene of person reading under a tree. The bottom half of the image is all black. I tilted the Voyage all around to look at the inside bevel edges to see where the LCDs were located. I saw a slight reflection of 6 LCDs across the bottom of the bezel, but none anywhere else. I have not been able to see them with just text displayed. But my point is that the screen is lit from the bottom upward. That is NEVER going to work well as the light is going to dissipate on the way to the top leaving the bottom bright and blue tinted and the top dim and cream or yellow tinted. The light layer also causes a shadowy or cloudy effect on about the upper 1/3 of the screen. It is much better than the random splotching of the PW1, about the same as the PW2, but way below the level Amazon should have achieved on their third attempt. Perhaps lighting an eInk screen is never going to work well since it has to be front lit rather than back lit. I don't know, but I am frustrated that my Nexus 7 and iPad mini Retina and iPhone 5 all look good anywhere on the screens, but eInks that are front lit look like poop.

....

[TallMomof2]

Mine definitely has the yellow to blue fade but I have to look for it to see it. I don't notice it at all reading in a dark room. I've spent the last year reading mostly on the iPad Air and since I switched to the Voyage my eyes are much better. Not as dry and itchy. I know there are a lot of people who aren't bothered by reading on a tablet but I'm one who is.

I've owned every generation of Kindle and am delighted that the contrast is still improving. It is a different experience from reading on a tablet but that's due to the physics of front lighting. Considering how much time I spend reading, I'd still rather use the Voyage than my iPad Air.

[mewmartigan]

Mine also has the yellow to blue fade and I actually notice it most in a dark room when the screen is down around 7 or 8. When the room is brighter or the light is brighter it washes out the gradient.

I don't notice it much as I read and I just eBay'd my PW2 for $90 anyway.

I really like the Voyage from the increased contrast to reduced size and even the pagepress buttons. Little pricey but overall its great!

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I agree, but I think Amazon will get this straightened out. I wonder if they rushed these out a little too fast and the light layer hasn't "cured" (if that's the right word) properly. I remember there was (I believe) an iPad model that had issues with some of its earliest units and it was mentioned that the glue (or whatever they use) wasn't completely "cured" or dry.

Then again I could be (and probably am) completely wrong on this.

What I can see is that the fonts are really sharp. So once they get the lighting issues cleared up I think this is going to be a really nice reader.

Oh, I think it is pretty reasonable. The PW1 also had a lot of complaints early on, which eventually resolved themselves. It seems Amazon has quality control issues during the first big rush when a new device technology comes out and they are rushing to fulfill the release date orders.
PW2 did not have these issues, I guess since they didn't really do anything new...

I imagine it will be like the PW1: a lot of people will complain about the color in the first couple months, some will return it and some will get a replacement model which looks fine, and by January the problem will be gone, never to be seen again. But people will still be spreading FUD about it (the PW1 specifically) two years later.