New Paperwhite vs Old Voyage

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I disagree the screen on my PW5 is the clearest I have ever had. That includes the Voyage and the Oasis2.

The Oasis 2 had less than average contrast, so no wonder.

I'd be interested in what the folks say who have both the PW5 and the Oasis 3. How is the real-life contrast and sharpness between the two?

[Pjama]

I have the Oasis 3 and my husband has the PW5 (because I gave him it for Christmas ).

I would say the PW5 has the edge, but they are nigh indistinguishable.

I have set them to the same page, same font and taken a picture so you can see.

They are at the same settings, Bookerly size 4, no bold, light and orange light both 16, in the second photo I changed the orange to 18 on the Oasis so they looked the same in real life.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Pjama

I have the Oasis 3 and my husband has the PW5 (because I gave him it for Christmas ).

I would say the PW5 has the edge, but they are nigh indistinguishable.

I have set them to the same page, same font and taken a picture so you can see.

They are at the same settings, Bookerly size 4, no bold, light and orange light both 16, in the second photo I changed the orange to 18 on the Oasis so they looked the same in real life.

Thank you.

It seems the Sage is a bit sharper than the PW5 then. Not by much, I think, but still.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The Oasis 2 had less than average contrast, so no wonder.

I'd be interested in what the folks say who have both the PW5 and the Oasis 3. How is the real-life contrast and sharpness between the two?

I've seen mixed results and feedback on this on Reddit. I'm glad they upgraded the PW5 screen, though, as the 4 was disappointing to me.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's because we often don't know the reason for the difference, as we're not the ones making the devices. The Oasis 3 and the Libra 1st gen (H2O) should have identical screens, but actually the Oasis has better contrast. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Glass vs plastic?

And to make waters even muddier, the Oasis 3 had better contrast than the Oasis 2. The screens were supposed to be identical, but were not in real life. The reason? No idea.

I think the answer is in the unreliability of people's perceptions, generally. This is a problem I'm very conscious of in high end audio. When people are asked to find differences in nearly identical objects, often they'll invent them even though they don't exist.

There's the definitional problem, as you mentioned in an earlier post the Sage is "sharper" than the PW5. The word sharp connotes resolution even though I think you must be referring to contrast.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

I think the answer is in the unreliability of people's perceptions, generally. This is a problem I'm very conscious of in high end audio. When people are asked to find differences in nearly identical objects, often they'll invent them even though they don't exist.

There's the definitional problem, as you mentioned in an earlier post the Sage is "sharper" than the PW5. The word sharp connotes resolution even though I think you must be referring to contrast.

So your opinion is that we all see nonexistent differences? Sorry, but that's not something I can believe. I know what my eyes see and that's what matters to me. As I've said before, real life experience is vastly more important to most people than the specs on paper. You seem to think that if something is written in the specs, then that is the absolute and highest truth and everything else is an illusion. A very weird belief IMO.

As to the word "sharp", I mean exactly that. I see the text on the Sage is sharper and on the Oasis fuzzier. That's not the same as the contrast. Contrast is different when the text on one is darker than on the other.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

So your opinion is that we all see nonexistent differences? Sorry, but that's not something I can believe. I know what my eyes see and that's what matters to me. As I've said before, real life experience is vastly more important to most people than the specs on paper. You seem to think that if something is written in the specs, then that is the absolute and highest truth and everything else is an illusion. A very weird belief IMO.

As to the word "sharp", I mean exactly that. I see the text on the Sage is sharper and on the Oasis fuzzier. That's not the same as the contrast. Contrast is different when the text on one is darker than on the other.

I don't deny there are real differences between ereader screens. The problem is when there's contradictory information based on anecdotal perceptions of different users.

The example I used was the PW5 and the Oasis 3. You have one poster in this thread claiming there's a major difference between the two screens with the PW5 being inferior. Meanwhile, the general consensus among reviewers who have directly compared them head-to-head have concluded they're virtually indistinguishable.

Being skeptical when someone claims one Carta 1200 screen is clearly superior to another Carta 1200 screen seems reasonable.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

The example I used was the PW5 and the Oasis 3. You have one poster in this thread claiming there's a major difference between the two screens with the PW5 being inferior. Meanwhile, the general consensus among reviewers who have directly compared them head-to-head have concluded they're virtually indistinguishable.

Being skeptical when someone claims one Carta 1200 screen is clearly superior to another Carta 1200 screen seems reasonable.

Well, the poster claiming that doesn't own either device, so I don't take his opinion as a fact. I can well believe they're indistinguishable, but the thing is, the PW5 should be sharper/more contrasty, not the same, as it uses a newer screen. The Oasis 3 doesn't have a Carta 1200 screen. Why the PW5 isn't clearly better is anyone's guess.

[Strether]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I disagree the screen on my PW5 is the clearest I have ever had. That includes the Voyage and the Oasis2.

I agree with this and wonder if it’s because it’s so white. In comparison, the Oasis 3 is yellower and the Libra 2 is grayer, and the whiteness may affect my perception about the screen’s clarity. I certainly don’t find the text “muddy.”

Jim

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, the poster claiming that doesn't own either device, so I don't take his opinion as a fact.

Hey,was I 'that poster'? Because I never claimed any screen was better than any other. I'm just hypothesizing on why the Libra 2 is seen as sharper than the Paperwhite 5 when they both use the same screen.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Hey,was I 'that poster'? Because I never claimed any screen was better than any other. I'm just hypothesizing on why the Libra 2 is seen as sharper than the Paperwhite 5 when they both use the same screen.

No, it was JSWolf. His claim was that the Oasis 3 has a much better screen than the PW5.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, the poster claiming that doesn't own either device, so I don't take his opinion as a fact. I can well believe they're indistinguishable, but the thing is, the PW5 should be sharper/more contrasty, not the same, as it uses a newer screen. The Oasis 3 doesn't have a Carta 1200 screen. Why the PW5 isn't clearly better is anyone's guess.

The Libra 2 has the new Carta screen and is supposedly better than the PW5 with the same Carta 1200. The Oasis 3 vs PW5 comparison was just an example from this thread.

In theory, the ereaders with the Carta 1200 screen should all be better than any model using an older e-ink version.

It's why I was skeptical when it was just assumed the Voyage is still better than the newly released devices.

Nothing Kobo or Amazon do can alter the fundamental performance characteristics of the e-ink panel itself.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

The Libra 2 has the new Carta screen and is supposedly better than the PW5 with the same Carta 1200. The Oasis 3 vs PW5 comparison was just an example from this thread.

In theory, the ereaders with the Carta 1200 screen should all be better than any model using an older e-ink version.

It's why I was skeptical when it was just assumed the Voyage is still better than the newly released devices.

Nothing Kobo or Amazon do can alter the fundamental performance characteristics of the e-ink panel itself.

Re the Voyage: it was not just assumed. People who had both the Voyage and one of the new screens compared them side by side and even posted photos. The claim about the Oasis 3 being better than the PW5 was indeed just assumed, as the claimer has seen neither with his own eyes. But the Voyage claims were well proven.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No, it was JSWolf. His claim was that the Oasis 3 has a much better screen than the PW5.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

In theory, the ereaders with the Carta 1200 screen should all be better than any model using an older e-ink version.

Sure. But it is all in how you implement it.

Nothing Kobo or Amazon do can alter the fundamental performance characteristics of the e-ink panel itself.

No, they can't alter the performance characteristics of the screen. But they can obscure the screen behind extra layers which can impact the experience.

Read through these boards over the years. IR touch vs. capacitive touch. Sunken screen vs. flush screen. Screen with front lighting vs. screens with no lighting. Each improvement involves adding another obscuring layer on top of the screen.

Many people here will say the old screens that did not have any lighting looked clearer than most current screens.

I have a Nook Glowlight 3 and a Kobo Clara HD. Both use the exact same 6" Carta screen. But the Glowlight 3 using IR does look better than the Clara using capacitive touch. Not mindbogglingly better. But enough that several posters who own both have commented on it.

Also, look at the complaints about the Paperwhite 4 vs. the Paperwhite 3. Both used the same screens. But the 3 had a sunken screen and the 4 had a flush screen.