contrast on kindle 3

[LDBoblo]

I took comparison photos comparing very directly E-Ink versus paperback versus hardcover. It's a shame that either nobody has seen them or nobody cares.

I'm going to post them in this thread too, in hopes of being helpful (not trying to get attention, but this is a common topic and my pictures address it very realistically).

E-Ink is not close to hardcover print in terms of contrast. It now compares somewhat well with cheaper mass-market paperbacks, and exceeds lower-quality newsprint in some ways. The white reflectance (the background whiteness) is lower than most printed paper, but the darkness of the capsules is significantly better than it was on first and second generation E-Ink. Font rendering seems to be improved for most fonts as well, to the point where heavier-weight fonts are not as critical for readability (this is largely a software thing though, not a hardware one).

If you came into E-Ink like I did during the second generation (Vizplex on the K2 and PRS-505), the current generation (Pearl on the K3 and PRS-*50) is a very welcome improvement, bringing it closer to the book experience. If you're coming in from hardcovers or higher-contrast viewing media, you'll still probably be disappointed. It's not there yet. It is a suitable substitute for cheaper paperbacks.

[angi]

I finally went with sony after not liking the contrast either and pretty happy with it so far, can't wait for christmas to come and get some gift certificates and buy some new books.

[TheKindleWorm]

Originally Posted by angi

I finally went with sony after not liking the contrast either and pretty happy with it so far, can't wait for christmas to come and get some gift certificates and buy some new books.

I find that odd since I thought the new Sony and the latest Kindle both share exactly the same Pearl e-ink screen! Therefore the contrast should be the same.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I took comparison photos comparing very directly E-Ink versus paperback versus hardcover. It's a shame that either nobody has seen them or nobody cares.

I'm going to post them in this thread too, in hopes of being helpful (not trying to get attention, but this is a common topic and my pictures address it very realistically).

Thanks for posting that image. Whenever these things come up I always have this lingering doubt that perhaps my K3 is defective. But nope, looks just like that.

Was going to try posting a photo myself, but if I hold my camera and take pictures of stuff like that, it always gets blurred

[Tiersten]

Strange that you're seeing such a difference. My Kindle 3 doesn't look anything like your photo of the text and is significantly darker.

I don't have a Sony PRS so I can't compare and this is just a photo of the default font on the home screen but I don't see how it could be as faded as your screenshots show. Its just a quick photo with my compact digital camera so probably not the best ever. You sure your Kindle isn't faulty?

[LUW]

Mine is definitively not black on white, but black on a light cream, just like "regular" book paper. And AFAIK, that's how it's supposed to be, and I have the impression I'm actually reading a DTB. The contrast is very good on my unit, but I did see a slight improvement when I upgraded from firmware 3.02 to 3.03.

[amytug]

ty for the pictures, it was helpful indeed. Mine looks like both of the images shown. ty all1

[pchrist7]

I like my K3, but found that the type of light source and angles are very important for contrast/background etc. I'm maybe wrong, but try to experiment a bit.

[TheKindleWorm]

Originally Posted by pchrist7

I like my K3, but found that the type of light source and angles are very important for contrast/background etc. I'm maybe wrong, but try to experiment a bit.

No you're right. The light source can make a big difference. My preferred reading location is sitting in our big bay window. On a sunny day, the background of the e-ink K3 screen appears almost white (normally looks a light grey) and the text is very dark and crisp.

I just wish we had more sunny days in the UK as the Kindle really works so well in the sun

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Tiersten

Strange that you're seeing such a difference. My Kindle 3 doesn't look anything like your photo of the text and is significantly darker.

I don't have a Sony PRS so I can't compare and this is just a photo of the default font on the home screen but I don't see how it could be as faded as your screenshots show. Its just a quick photo with my compact digital camera so probably not the best ever. You sure your Kindle isn't faulty?

To whose pictures are you referring? Mine are quite accurate, but a few people who contacted me about them somehow did not realize that the bottom-left was the Kindle, and not the bottom-right, which was the older PRS-505.

Your photo looks very similar to mine, though mine displays a font that is likely both smaller than yours (it is 11pt, as the caption says, sized to match the paper books), and a different font which is not as blocky and bold as Caecilia (Palatino, as the caption says, chosen to match the paper books).

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Caecilia, and much prefer other fonts. I don't even like Palatino really, but it was the only easy font I could find at home that I had in both Hardcover and paperback at the same size for comparison.

My preference for fonts on E-Ink will remain Arno Pro (SmText), Chaparral Pro (Caption), and Garamond Premier Pro (Caption), but in slightly larger sizes, I can also use standard weights of both of those fonts, along with other fonts I enjoy like Maiola, Jenson, and Warnock. I'll have to wait until the resolution goes up before I can use Centaur MT and other such fonts, but many of those I listed here were just not really readable enough for me to tolerate on older Vizplex, so Pearl has has really allowed me to diversify my PDF typesetting choices.

addendum: I checked both my snap and yours, comparing the average of the text against the background. Adjusted for overall luminosity, the contrast between the background and text is almost exactly the same.

[Tiersten]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

To whose pictures are you referring? Mine are quite accurate, but a few people who contacted me about them somehow did not realize that the bottom-left was the Kindle, and not the bottom-right, which was the older PRS-505.

Ahh okay. Same here then! Sorry. My bad.

-1 for my reading comprehension.

[julian1982]

i had a kindle 2 and now I have a kindle 3. the diference is notable but you must accept that we are away from the real paper and the real books. maybe some years to come we will have the paper like eink!

[SteveEisenberg]

Contrast is better with a paper book, but readability is higher on my K3 because I use a larger font size.

P.S. An exception is that in true direct sunlight, the K3 background goes from grey to white, at least the way my eye and brain process, while the print remains black. This is just a curiosity for me as I do not like being in the sun.

[amytug]

I notice, now that I've been using it A TON, that if i angle it with the top of thekindle away from my eye (not parallel to my face) the contrast seems better, for me.

I'm keeping it yall, for sure! Ordered the hot pink leather cover/case off amazon last night too! I didn't get the one with a booklight cuz I'm cheap. I'll buy my own for 8 bucks lol

[pboss]

Makes me wonder how much UV the screen actually reflects compared to regular paper books. It may not be the brightest idea to read on it in direct sunlight.