E-Readers and Visual Fatigue, compared with iPad

[John.Dorrian]

I was exploring topic of visual fatigue and digital eye strain and found few quite interesting studies.
How would you describe your personal experience with prolonged over five hours per day on daily basis reading on iPads vs ereader?
My primary concern is inability to visualize in colour for ereader devices.
And my primary concern for reading on iPads is visual fatigue. Although with proper brightness adjustment it seems to be greatly ameliorated.
Please share your experience.

Here is the papers for interested parties.
1. Digital eye strain: prevalence, measurement and amelioration
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...018-000146.pdf
2. E-Readers and Visual Fatigue
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...ne.0083676.pdf

I've never owned an iPad, but I have had several Android tablets and phones, and in my experience, there is no contest when it comes to lengthy reading sessions. 3-4 hours at a time on an e-ink device like a Kobo or a Kindle? No problem. On a backlit LCD or OLED device? Aaaargh no!

[DNSB]

I find that I do not suffer when reading on an eInk device for hours. In contrast, using my Ipad, Android tablet, iPhone or laptop for more than 90 minutes of reading results in my eyes starting to have issues focusing on the screen. I suspect for reading, I am concentrating on the screen much more than web browsing, watching videos, etc.

As for visualizing in colour? About the only colour over 99% of my books is the cover and I seldom spend much time looking at the cover.

BTW, you used the same link for both your papers. For the second item, did you mean to use: E-Readers and Visual Fatigue ?

[John.Dorrian]

Thanks David, I have edited my post.
Yes, that’s the link. Although I prefer reading papers in PDF for some reason.

[AnemicOak]

I've had eInk readers since 2007 and been reading mostly on an iPad mini for the past couple of years. I read for long periods of time and have no problems reading on either type of device other than if I'm out and about somewhere sunny, then it's eInk all the way.

[kyrilson]

I use both and have no problems with either method. People are on their phones for literally hours and yet reading on a LCD screen that causes eye fatigue. 😒

Sent from my KFDOWI using Tapatalk

[John.Dorrian]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I find that I do not suffer when reading on an eInk device for hours. In contrast, using my Ipad, Android tablet, iPhone or laptop for more than 90 minutes of reading results in my eyes starting to have issues focusing on the screen. I suspect for reading, I am concentrating on the screen much more than web browsing, watching videos, etc.

Have you tried reducing screen brightness by 60-70% ? Also I find that enabled night shift mode that reduces blue light emission during this time helps tremendously in my case.
Also I use goodreader for my PDF reading which itself has brightness reduction mode.

[Plumadona]

I’ve used several e-ink readers over the years. Aside from the fact that my senior citizen eyes now demand larger and bolder fonts, I’ve never had a problem reading on any of them for hours. On the other hand, I have a 6” Kindle Fire and an 8” Samsung Galaxy Tab A that I use for (3M) Cloud Library books borrowed from my local libraries, and after two or three hours, my eyes tire out, no matter how I adjust the lighting. I’ve also found that an 8” tablet is about as large as I can read on comfortably. I have no problem using an iPad for mail, surfing, even watching a movie once in a while, but for reading, I can only last about an hour or so. Go figure.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Plumadona

On the other hand, I have a 6” Kindle Fire and an 8” Samsung Galaxy Tab A that I use for (3M) Cloud Library books borrowed from my local libraries, and after two or three hours, my eyes tire out, no matter how I adjust the lighting.

if you want i can test this application on my android ebook reader (onyx boox nova, 7.8 inches)

[McGonigle]

Recently I had to read two books on an iPad (borrowed from the local digital library and they don't support e-ink devices here in Denmark). The positive thing I have to say about that experience is that the books contained some very nice colour illustrations. The e-readers I have tried, and I own three of them, all fail to deliver a satisfying result displaying illustrations and images.

My personal favourite for long book reading sessions however remains an E-ink device. Even when experimenting with adjusting the screen light and brightness, I didn't take to the lit screen of the iPad.

I do prefer prefer an iPad or Android device over E-ink for reading PDF and CBR format files such as magazines, newspapers, comics though.

[4691mls]

Summarizing the many previous threads on this issue:

1. Some people report they can read comfortably on LCD devices for long periods.

2. Some of us report that we get eyestrain when using LCD for long periods and thus prefer e-ink.

3. Somebody from Group 1 inevitably comes along to say that the people in Group 2 should experiment with the brightness settings on LCD (like that didn't already occur to us).


I say everybody should just read on whatever device works for them, whether it's e-ink, phone, paper book, or a stone tablet and not worry about what other people are using.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by John.Dorrian

Have you tried reducing screen brightness by 60-70% ? Also I find that enabled night shift mode that reduces blue light emission during this time helps tremendously in my case.
Also I use goodreader for my PDF reading which itself has brightness reduction mode.

I've tried reducing screen brightness and changing the background (sepia, etc.) which didn't seem to help much when reading on an LCD screen. If there was a suggestion that has come along short of dancing sky clad widdershins around an oak tree at midnight, I've probably tried it. I don't seem to be bothered by blue light so I seldom use blue light reduction on my eReaders, tablets, phone or laptop. I'll also sit outside during my breaks when it's isn't raining which makes eInk the best way to go.

Most of my PDF reading is tech manuals where I'm looking up information and not continually reading. For PDFs, my laptop is the goto device with it's CPU, RAM and larger screen. The iPad Pro is the next choice but I keep the manuals on my eReaders as well. They may not be the best device for PDFs but something is better than nothing.

One note is that the weight of the device becomes important when reading for long periods. Of the 3 devices I use most often, the Forma weighs 197g, the Clara HD 204g and the iPad Pro weight 477g. After a couple of hours, that extra weight is very noticeable.

[HarryT]

Many people of course work day in, day out on a laptop or desktop computer with an LCD screen and manage just fine.

[4691mls]

I use a computer at work but I frequently look down at paperwork on my desk, stop to answer the phone, etc .so I am not concentrating on the screen the same way as if I am reading a novel.

[DNSB]

@HarryT I pretty much agree with 4691mls. The only time I really spend hours concentrating on the screen and not looking away is when I am reading. At work, I can spend most of the day in front of a screen but quite a bit of that time is not spent looking at the screen.