Oasis 3 Brightness

[thatsmyfish]

Hi all,

Coming from a Voyage and a soon-to-be-traded in Oasis 1, I received my Oasis 3 today. It's my understanding the Voyage has 6 lights, the Oasis 1 had 10, and the Oasis 3 has 25, many of them in use for the warm light feature.

The screen on my Oasis 3 is excellent, and on full brightness it's very slightly brighter than the Voyage and Oasis. On most settings however I'm noticing it a bit dimmer, or at least contrasty harder to read. (13 on the Voyage is easy to read in normal situations, but on the Oasis 3 I feel like I need to crank it up to 17 to be comparable.)

I'm comparing it in a vacuum so I don't know if I just got a dud or if the more even display spreads the lights around and this is normal use. Any comparisons out there?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by thatsmyfish

Hi all,

Coming from a Voyage and a soon-to-be-traded in Oasis 1, I received my Oasis 3 today. It's my understanding the Voyage has 6 lights, the Oasis 1 had 10, and the Oasis 3 has 25, many of them in use for the warm light feature.

The screen on my Oasis 3 is excellent, and on full brightness it's very slightly brighter than the Voyage and Oasis. On most settings however I'm noticing it a bit dimmer, or at least contrasty harder to read. (13 on the Voyage is easy to read in normal situations, but on the Oasis 3 I feel like I need to crank it up to 17 to be comparable.)

I'm comparing it in a vacuum so I don't know if I just got a dud or if the more even display spreads the lights around and this is normal use. Any comparisons out there?

I have the same experience. All the Oases, but especially the Oasis 3, have been less bright than the Voyage at middle levels, slighty brighter at full brightness. So I guess it's relatively normal and your Oasis 3 is not a dud.

[cats2books]

Yes, I noticed that the Oasis 3 seems to be less bright and I need to set it to a higher brightness. I just assumed that it was related to my blending in the warm light, making it seem less bright than the all blue lights on my previous Kindles.

[Atunah]

The Voyage, O1 and O2 I used to read on #8 all the time. The O3, I turn to #10 to get about the same brightness. But that also depends on where I set the warm setting. They work in tandem with each other. Doesn't really bother me though if I am now on #10 instead of 8. I have the warm setting on 11. Sometimes I go with light at #11, but never above that. Just the notch before the screen glows for me.

But yes, its a wee bit dimmer on the same setting than the Voyage. And O1 for that matter.

[thatsmyfish]

So as followup, the screen dimness was even when warmth was turned off. I called customer support and got someone who clearly didn’t believe there were any variances in the units. I brought it to an Amazon Book store and their sample unit was much brighter and very white, while mine was dimmer and more yellow. Not my first rodeo. I’ve gone through multiple units before of prior kindles until I got a good one. Paperwhite 1 was the only model where I couldn’t find a good one.

Both salespeople looked at mine and independently told me it was clearly inferior to the sample unit, so nice to know it wasn’t just me. I’ll update when I get the replacement Tuesday.

[Sirtel]

I've never bothered to replace any of my Kindles. It might not even be possible in a country without an Amazon store, but I've never tried, so don't know. None of my Kindles has been so bad as to make me want to jump through those hoops. Generally I'll get a new model every couple of years or so anyway, so why bother, unless there was something seriously wrong.

Of course it's much easier when you've got a physical store nearby, but I would probably not bother even then. All my Kindles have been good enough for me to enjoy reading on them.

[thatsmyfish]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I've never bothered to replace any of my Kindles. It might not even be possible in a country without an Amazon store, but I've never tried, so don't know. None of my Kindles has been so bad to make me want to jump through those hoops. Generally I'll get a new model every couple of years or so anyway, so why bother, unless there was something seriously wrong.

Of course it's much easier when you've got a physical store nearby, but I would probably not bother even then. All my Kindles have been good enough for me to enjoy reading on them.

I offered to compare it to another model before requesting an exchange and used the physical store for that. I processed the exchange online. It was noticeable to both employees so I felt better that I wasn’t imagining it. I figure I’m staring at the device long enough that the screen should be acceptable. I think I went through three Voyages and three Oasis 1s before getting a solid screen. I went through five Paperwhite 1s and all were splotchy. I bought my friend a Paperwhite and it had a hole in the screen. I try not to be excessively picky but I’m discerning.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by thatsmyfish

Hi all,

Coming from a Voyage and a soon-to-be-traded in Oasis 1, I received my Oasis 3 today. It's my understanding the Voyage has 6 lights, the Oasis 1 had 10, and the Oasis 3 has 25, many of them in use for the warm light feature.

The screen on my Oasis 3 is excellent, and on full brightness it's very slightly brighter than the Voyage and Oasis. On most settings however I'm noticing it a bit dimmer, or at least contrasty harder to read. (13 on the Voyage is easy to read in normal situations, but on the Oasis 3 I feel like I need to crank it up to 17 to be comparable.)

I'm comparing it in a vacuum so I don't know if I just got a dud or if the more even display spreads the lights around and this is normal use. Any comparisons out there?

Most likely larger screen needs more power to light. I find I need to read at 15-18 as well. I do not see how people read at level 10. To me it is too dark it drives me nuts

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by HLS

Most likely larger screen needs more power to light. I find I need to read at 15-18 as well. I do not see how people read at level 10. To me it is too dark it drives me nuts

I usually read my Oasis at level 9, unless it's broad daylight, then I might crank the light up to the level 13-14. Almost never higher. 18 would be way too bright for me in almost any light.

But then, people's sensitivity to light varies pretty wildly. I live in a northern country, with relatively little sunlight. Also I'm pretty nocturnal. So my eyes are probably more sensitive to light than average. I can't stand to be in direct sunlight at all, my eyes start to hurt immediately. I'd guess that people who live in a sunny country and spend a lot of time in sunlight prefer brighter screens, because their eyes are more accustomed to bright light.

Another factor is age. Close to sixty, there may well be cataracts developing and people need more light. I'm not quite there yet.

[thatsmyfish]

Just to provide an update...

The Kindle Oasis display unit at the Amazon store had a perfect screen.

The Oasis I received was uniform, but dimmer and yellower. The staff at the store recommended I order a replacement.

The replacement arrived today. It was notably dimmer and yellower than the first unit I received.

The staff at the Amazon store suggested I purchase another unit at their store and return it if it didn't have an acceptable screen. It was slightly more dim and more yellow than the first unit I received.

I contacted Amazon to request a return label for the replacement they mailed me, and they processed me for yet another replacement. If people can't order these things, it's because they're all at my place. Fourth time will be the charm, one way or another.

Either they very carefully selected all of the display units, or running at full brightness all day long somehow makes them whiter.

[Avwriter]

Originally Posted by thatsmyfish

Just to provide an update...

The Kindle Oasis display unit at the Amazon store had a perfect screen.

The Oasis I received was uniform, but dimmer and yellower. The staff at the store recommended I order a replacement.

The replacement arrived today. It was notably dimmer and yellower than the first unit I received.

The staff at the Amazon store suggested I purchase another unit at their store and return it if it didn't have an acceptable screen. It was slightly more dim and more yellow than the first unit I received.

I contacted Amazon to request a return label for the replacement they mailed me, and they processed me for yet another replacement. If people can't order these things, it's because they're all at my place. Fourth time will be the charm, one way or another.

Either they very carefully selected all of the display units, or running at full brightness all day long somehow makes them whiter.

Not very likely, but I wonder if possibly this could be because the display units are always plugged in to mains power. try plugging your Oasis 3 into the wall, and see if it is any brighter than normal. In the past, I have encounters a few electronic devices that automatically engaged power saving modes when not on mains. I doubt that this is the case with the Oasis 3, since it would be unusual for someone to read while plugged into the wall, but it is probably worth checking.