Kindle Voyage vs. other ereaders: screen comparison at 0 brightness

[leifan89]

I recently acquired a gently used Kindle Voyage from a kind seller on eBay, at a very reasonable price and, to my amazement, arrived in great cosmetic condition and even came with an OEM origami case (synthetic, not leather).

After comparing it with my various existing ereaders, I came away with two impressions.

First on brightness/warmth of the screen, at 0 brightness on all devices (caveat below). Ranked from brightest/warmest to darkest/grayest:

- Kindle Voyage
- Kindle Oasis 10 (almost on par with KV)
- reMarkable 2
- Kobo Libra 2
- Hisense A9

Caveat: I later learned that the KV does not fully turn off its lights at 0 brightness, lending it a slight advantage. In KOReader, the light can be fully turned off.

Second on ghosting: ranking from least ghosting to most ghosting:

- Kindle Oasis 10
- Kobo Libra 2
- Kindle Voyage
- reMarkable 2
- Hisense A9

Overall I'm pretty happy with the purchase. No wonder there seems to be a cult around the KV - having held it in my own hands and compared it to everything else, I can see why it's so hyped up.

Personally, I still prefer the design of the Oasis/Libra 2 that is more friendly for one-handed holding (with pop sockets) - I'm less of a fan of the design of the KV/PWs that I never know how to hold properly.

[Sirtel]

I sold my Voyage a few years ago. Yeah, the contrast was great, but I no longer wanted to read on a 6'' screen and the lack of warm light was a dealbreaker. Its shape and ergonomics didn't suit me either - like you, I prefer the lopsided shape. So it was just gathering dust.

I also sold my Oasis 10th gen. last year. It too was gathering dust since I bought my latest Kobos. It was a good ereader, but I grew to dislike the Kindle software a while ago.

As to which screen is brightest with the light off, that's irrelevant to me. I never read with the light off. So I prefer comparisons where the light is on (doesn't have to be at full blast).

[JSWolf]

It's not a fair comparison as Kindle's do not actually shut off the light.

[cerem0ny]

Is anyone elses experiencing really awful ghosting on their Oasis 10 (the latest one?) I literally have to manually refresh the page every ten pages or so because the ghosting is SO bad... Nothing like on my Scribe... Update it already!!!!

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by leifan89

After comparing it with my various existing ereaders, I came away with two impressions.

This is totally unscientific. You are not comparing lighting properly and ghosting claim is dependent on many factors.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Quoth

This is totally unscientific. You are not comparing lighting properly and ghosting claim is dependent on many factors.

It doesn't have to be scientific; it's just an user's impressions. If we demanded that all comparisons be scientific, we'd have zero user reviews and photos here.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's not a fair comparison as Kindle's do not actually shut off the light.

Newer Kindles do, e.g. the Oasis.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It doesn't have to be scientific; it's just an user's impressions. If we demanded that all comparisons be scientific, we'd have zero user reviews and photos here.

Certainly not very many. Perhaps none on some other sites!

The differences with capacitive touch and similar generation of e-ink panel between models is marginal.

I've load of eink and had or borrowed others. I've ranked the screens but qualified it by pointing out you need them absolutely side by side to see a difference unless they are very old, when there was about 3 different jumps of easy to see difference even without a side by side.

Also the voyage was very expensive compared to a PW3, and hardly better in real life. Now it's gone. An Oasis gen2 is likely a better value S/H buy with 7″ screen and buttons, if not buying a brand new Libra 2.

Of course some people are "wedded" to Kindle/Amazon and it suits them better than a Kobo. I've used multiple generations of both.

I think ultimately the comparison / review helps the OP more than being very useful to someone wanting to buy an ereader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Newer Kindles do, e.g. the Oasis.

The Voyage is not one of them. So the photos are not valid as the Voyage as the light on the the others do not.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Voyage is not one of them. So the photos are not valid as the Voyage as the light on the the others do not.

They're just as valid as most user photos, which generally have different fonts, different light levels, different angles and so on. None of them are scientifically or technically valid, but then they're not meant to be. User photos are just that, user photos and nothing more. If you want an exact, scientifically valid comparison, you'll have to either ask a scientist or a technical specialist to do it, or do it yourself.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by cerem0ny

Is anyone elses experiencing really awful ghosting on their Oasis 10 (the latest one?) I literally have to manually refresh the page every ten pages or so because the ghosting is SO bad... Nothing like on my Scribe... Update it already!!!!

Ghosting can vary between individual devices more than across models, generations, and brands. My Oasis 3 (the latest one), manufactured about a year after release, has the most severe ghosting I have ever experienced with e-ink when it is "cold", even when it is set to refresh every page. As my Oasis 3 "warms up" with use, the ghosting reduces until it is gone. If the ambient temperature is above 25C or I have prewarmed it under my sweater there is no ghosting. By severe ghosting, I mean ghosting elements that persist at least 2 page turns with refresh. My Voyage, PW3, and Oasis 2 have always been set to the minimum refresh setting without ghosting.

It might be that the Oasis 3 is more prone to ghosting, but not all Oasis 3 devices have a severe ghosting problem. Sirtel always sets her devices to maximum refresh because otherwise the ghosting that most people can not even see makes for a bad reading experience. She never called out the Oasis 3 as having ghosting worse than other devices or having ghosting that was bad for a while after initial turn on.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

It might be that the Oasis 3 is more prone to ghosting, but not all Oasis 3 devices have a severe ghosting problem. Sirtel always sets her devices to maximum refresh because otherwise the ghosting that most people can not even see makes for a bad reading experience. She never called out the Oasis 3 as having ghosting worse than other devices or having ghosting that was bad for a while after initial turn on.

You're right, I don't remember my Oasis 3 having had any ghosting issues, but then I did have it set to refresh every page.

As to some devices being worse when "cold", I remember this from my Oasis 2. It used to have noticeably worse contrast at the beginning of the reading session and got better after a while. I haven't noticed this phenomenon with any other ereader (possibly it's still there, but to a much smaller degree than on the Oasis 2 and so goes mostly unnoticed).

So yeah, there certainly are differences between individual devices.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

They're just as valid as most user photos, which generally have different fonts, different light levels, different angles and so on. None of them are scientifically or technically valid, but then they're not meant to be. User photos are just that, user photos and nothing more. If you want an exact, scientifically valid comparison, you'll have to either ask a scientist or a technical specialist to do it, or do it yourself.

To be able to see how dark/light the background of the screen is, it has to have the exact same light coming at it from the different Readers. So the other Readers need the light on to the same level as the Voyage.

I'm not asking for the exact same text or font. But I am asking for the exact same light levels.

[j.p.s]

If there is enough ambient light to read on e-ink without other light, it is not possible to see any difference between a Voyage with the frontlight set to 0 and with the frontlight turned off. (The frontlight can be turned off on jailbroken kindles.) I have never been able to see the frontlight on a Voyage set to 0 except in a completely dark room.

For a comparison of screen brightness between a Voyage and an Oasis 2 in a completely dark room see the thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=292336

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

If there is enough ambient light to read on e-ink without other light, it is not possible to see any difference between a Voyage with the frontlight set to 0 and with the frontlight turned off. (The frontlight can be turned off on jailbroken kindles.) I have never been able to see the frontlight on a Voyage set to 0 except in a completely dark room.

It's true for a PW3 also.