Onyx Leaf

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Lbooker

On my Leaf texts are perfectly clear. I did not want a reader with a note taking layer making the texts blurry.

The Lumi 2 officially uses Carta 1250 :
https://shop.boox.com/products/maxlumi2

But not their other readers apparently...damn ! You are right about this !

Thank Nietzsche the light and the software are great, and the screen very good anyway.

That's great re the Lumi 2. Sadly, it's relatively low PPI due to the screen size and also insanely expensive. I'll wait for the next iteration of devices and really hope that they focus on physical buttons and screen clarity - the only two areas where they are still lacking IMO.

I also never read with the frontlight on - maybe that factors into it. Could be I'm more sensitive to contrast/clarity issues as the frontlight seems to counter this somewhat.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The Kobo Sage doesn't have a blurry screen. Not even slightly. Despite the flush screen and the note-taking layer, the text is almost as sharp as that of the Libra 2. The contrast on them is very similar.

The Sage does have a more uneven frontlight, though.

I'll not argue with you on the blurriness, as I haven't seen it in person. But I do think that the screen isn't as good as the Libra 2 based on the pictures I've seen. Here's a good comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icN9J2GQRWA (from 7.32 onwards). The Libra 2 has a much whiter background and sharper/blacker text.

He also compares it to the Kindle Voyage, which, sadly, still looks better!

I can't for the life of me understand why good screen clarity isn't the number one priority on a device meant for reading? Obviously it could be done - as evidenced by the Kindle Voyage. Why are we going downhill in all devices from that point onward? Why not combine an etched screen like on the Voyage with the latest 1250 carta and get something fantastic?

Originally Posted by Renate

Are you sure that you have "High Contrast Text" disabled on the specific app? That setting affects even normal black text, but it really shows up as a bogus border on white text.

Is that an option in the app optimization settings? I'll check and get back to you on that.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I'll not argue with you on the blurriness, as I haven't seen it in person. But I do think that the screen isn't as good as the Libra 2 based on the pictures I've seen. Here's a good comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icN9J2GQRWA (from 7.32 onwards). The Libra 2 has a much whiter background and sharper/blacker text.

Yes, it seems so in the video, but that's not what I see in real life. Well, the Libra 2 background is a bit whiter with the frontlight on, but the difference in contrast/sharpness is much smaller.

As to the Voyage, I sold mine, so can't compare. But to me both new Kobos are practically as good.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, it seems so in the video, but that's not what I see in real life. Well, the Libra 2 background is a bit whiter with the frontlight on, but the difference in contrast/sharpness is much smaller.

As to the Voyage, I sold mine, so can't compare. But to me both new Kobos are practically as good.

I tried to take a few photos of the Sage and the Libra 2. I have no dedicated camera, so had to use my phone. These pictures are more or less what I see with my naked eye. The Libra 2 is slightly better, but the difference is not that big.

The frontlight is at 15 (it's winter and my apartment isn't bright enough to get a good, sharp photo with frontlight off), the same font and the same weight on both. Usually I read with these same font settings, but the frontlight level can vary.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I tried to take a few photos of the Sage and the Libra 2. I have no dedicated camera, so had to use my phone. These pictures are more or less what I see with my naked eye. The Libra 2 is slightly better, but the difference is not that big.

The frontlight is at 15 (it's winter and my apartment isn't bright enough to get a good, sharp photo with frontlight off), the same font and the same weight on both. Usually I read with these same font settings, but the frontlight level can vary.

Much appreciated! On the first photo I imagine I see the same thing as on my Nova 3 (although, possibly, to a lesser degree): a slight veil on top of the screen on the Sage. A sort of almost imperceptible misty layer between me and the screen. On the second photo the screens look practically identical, so hard to tell! It could be my imagination/paranoia playing up

Even the screen on my Nova 3 looks fantastic with sharp lighting or with the backlight on. But same as you I live in a country where that's not the case most of the year, and furthermore I read with the frontlight turned off. It could be that most people read with the frontlight on and/or with better ambient light and therefore don't notice these issues.

I'm aware that the differences between screens are slight, but it does affect my reading. If I'm even slightly tired I feel like I need glasses after reading on the Nova screen for a while. I never feel anything similar on my Kindle Paperwhite 3 or my Hisense A5 Pro.

I'm sure I'd be happy with the screen on the Libra 2 (my PW3 is fine and it ought to be better than that). I'd just prefer something with a stronger processor and better corpus à la Onyx Boox with Android. And maybe a bigger form factor like 10 inches.

I guess I'll have to dream on for a while!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

It could be that most people read with the frontlight on and/or with better ambient light and therefore don't notice these issues.

I do always read with the frontlight on, but not high up usually. Unlit eink screens just look ugly to me, or require very bright ambient light, which I hate (my eyes are sensitive to light).

Everyone's eyes are different. My eyes are so poor that I always read with my glasses on, else I'd have to put my nose against the screen. Perhaps that's the reason I'm not very fussy about slight differences in contrast. I don't see anything very sharply anyway (just like you can't see individual pixels at a certain distance).

[Renate]

Visual is one thing, but you ought to check screen grabs to see if the actual data written is fuzzy.
(Of course) I recommend by AdbGrab.exe (in the sig).
If you see something that looks like JPEG artefacts (but it's not, because it's PNG) that could be the "High Contrast Text".

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I do always read with the frontlight on, but not high up usually. Unlit eink screens just look ugly to me, or require very bright ambient light, which I hate (my eyes are sensitive to light).

Everyone's eyes are different. My eyes are so poor that I always read with my glasses on, else I'd have to put my nose against the screen. Perhaps that's the reason I'm not very fussy about slight differences in contrast. I don't see anything very sharply anyway (just like you can't see individual pixels at a certain distance).

I do sometimes try to turn the frontlight on at night, but it never feels comfortable and as soon as I turn it off my eyes breathe a sigh of relief.

My eyesight is very good and I'm sensitive mostly to lack of sharpness in text (low PPI, for instance). My computer monitor is a 27" 4K monitor, which for me is the lowest usable PPI (somewhere around 160-170 PPI, IIRC, at a distance of 60-80 cm) - anything lower than that starts annoying me.

I don't even know whether it's the lowered contrast so much as the additional layer that disturbs me in these flush e-readers. The extra glass layer could help distribute the frontlight more evenly (just guessing here), but it does tend to degrade the sharpness of the actual e-ink layer underneath. It's like reading a physical book through a slight layer of glass - and if that glass layer has a matte finish it might be slightly distracting.

This just goes to show that everyone is different with vastly different starting points. It makes it difficult when looking up information about these readers (which aren't that popular to begin with!). Seldom do reviewers and the like state how good their eyesight is and what preferences they have for text in general. Obviously, for people with worse eyesight features might be more important: good frontlight, bigger/bolder fonts, etc.. Whereas for some of us the actual screen is key.

I wish there were more comparison reviews of these devices, showing them side to side. Especially the screens. With and without the frontlight at different levels of intensity.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

It's like reading a physical book through a slight layer of glass - and if that glass layer has a matte finish it might be slightly distracting.

Yeah. I've read books with my glasses on for most of my life (true, eyeglasses are not matte, of course). So that's all I know anyhow and frankly I have not the slightest idea what the issue you describe is - because it's the only way I can read something. Without glasses it's all fog.