Clara HD Next Kobo Model - Kobo Clara HD - Page 39

haydnfan · 06-21-2018, 11:35 AM

Well it has been a couple of weeks now. It is time to update my impressions.

The back is not as grippy as the previous Kobo models, and I have a problem with sweat that I don't have with other ereaders (Kobo and Kindle).

For long periods of time it is not comfortable to hold the side edge bezel, and it is much easier to hold the bottom of the device. But if I hold the bottom it is harder to turn pages. That being said it is the lightest ereader that I've ever owned. I did not really appreciate how light it was for awhile. It is actually lighter than the basic Kindle 4!

The native contrast on the screen is great. I initially observed that it was better than the Aura Ed. 2 and H2O Ed. 2. But it is more than that it, it is the best I've seen on an ereader since the Voyage.

The page turns are very fast. Sometimes I can't even see it change, and I have to process for a moment to realize that I'm looking at the next page. This is a big win for Kobo.

I made a big deal about the lack of ghosting on my first impressions. I can now say that you can see the usual uneven boldness on fainter fonts like Georgia. It's not bulletproof but it is harder to see on bolder fonts like Malabar. I set it to do a full refresh every 5 pages instead of every chapter and with those two settings I don't see any ghosting. I definitely overhyped this in my initial impressions.

The light is both better and worse than I initially thought. It took me awhile to end up in conditions where I needed to use it. And then I saw it has a bit of bleed on the edges and doesn't seem as uniform as literally every other Kobo model that I've owned. If you use the light frequently and especially at a high setting I would just avoid this device. This has to be said it is a critical design flaw that should put some people off of buying the Clara HD.

The way in which the light is better than I thought is that I cranked up the natural light setting last night and discovered that instead of looking orange, it looks really good under the warm light of my lamp. It perfectly blended with it so that the screen looked like a warm white.

Every single ereader that I've owned has at least one critical failing. In the Clara HD it is the uniformity of the light. If that is important to you, don't buy it. Else I highly recommend it.

It complements the Aura H2O Ed. 2 because it has one critical failing of having poor native contrast. So if you use the light extensively the H2O provides the better reading experience, but if you don't the Clara HD provides the better reading experience.

RobertJSawyer · 06-21-2018, 12:26 PM

Update much appreciated, @haydnfan! Thank you!

CH23 · 06-22-2018, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anacreon

I've had the Clara since Monday. I read mostly with light at 100% during the day, and the bleeding doesn't bother me, I completely forget it while reading. But then I like a margin around the page and read only kepubs with a header and a footer. I understand it might bother someone reading full-page epubs, with no margins at all.

On the other hand looking at the Clara while writing this post, the light bleed on the right hand-side is no wider than the shadow of the edge on the left hand-side, which is probably less obvious thanks to the bleed.

why do you have the light on during the day? this has no advantage and will only drain the battery more.

I have uneven light as well,
It's more noticable on the 2 lowest LEDs on right and left

anacreon · 06-22-2018, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CH23

why do you have the light on during the day? this has no advantage and will only drain the battery more.

I have uneven light as well,
It's more noticable on the 2 lowest LEDs on right and left

To my eyes at least, the page is whiter with the light on, except in the sun, and I prefer it. At night I set the natural light slider at some 75% and lower the top slider to 15-25% depending on the room lights. I never read in the dark. Recharging the battery is not a problem: I have the plug next to my bed, and plug the reader in just before turning off the light

meeera · 06-22-2018, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CH23

why do you have the light on during the day? this has no advantage and will only drain the battery more.

There's no particular advantage in direct sun, but in indoors lighting it improves the contrast greatly. The brightness should be set not so that the device appears to "glow", but so that the background appears whiter than it does unlit. Battery drain is minimal.

haydnfan · 06-22-2018, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CH23

why do you have the light on during the day? this has no advantage and will only drain the battery more.

I have uneven light as well,
It's more noticable on the 2 lowest LEDs on right and left

When I read outside and I'm either in the shade or it is overcast there will be glare on the screen and the front light can cut through it. That makes it easier to read even outside during the day. The only time in which the light provides no advantage is reading under direct sunlight.

davidfor · 06-22-2018, 10:19 PM

@CH23: I'm with the others. It just looks better. I adjust the light frequently based on what I seems best at the time. I haven't turned the light of for any length of time for a long time.

koboy · 06-22-2018, 11:26 PM

@CH23: i'm with you. i only put the light on when it's needed (dark in other words) as far as i'm concerned i want the screen to look (resemble) as close as it possibly can to reading a physical book.

i believe that experience is best achieved by having any ereader light switched off. when the light is on it's more like a tablet albeit not as intensely bright.

of course the light does come in very useful occasionally for when it's pitch black

best wishes koboy

meeera · 06-23-2018, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koboy

@CH23: i'm with you. i only put the light on when it's needed (dark in other words) as far as i'm concerned i want the screen to look (resemble) as close as it possibly can to reading a physical book.

i believe that experience is best achieved by having any ereader light switched off. when the light is on it's more like a tablet albeit not as intensely bright.

This is not the case if you have the light adjusted correctly. It is much more like a paper book when the light is on and correct, because the background is less grey/whiter and the contrast more akin to print-on-paper. If it glows like a tablet with indoors daytime reading, you've set it too bright.

LucyOne · 06-23-2018, 12:10 PM

How wide are the bezels at the sides and below the screen?

jackie_w · 06-23-2018, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LucyOne

How wide are the bezels at the sides and below the screen?

Side bezels: 9.5mm
Bottom bezel: 23mm

koboy · 06-23-2018, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

This is not the case if you have the light adjusted correctly. It is much more like a paper book when the light is on and correct, because the background is less grey/whiter and the contrast more akin to print-on-paper. If it glows like a tablet with indoors daytime reading, you've set it too bright.

it might not be the case for you, hence the words i believe.

best wishes koboy

jlynton · 06-25-2018, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koboy

oh dear this looks like it could be another (lack of) quality control/problem for Kobo.

best wishes koboy

I would say it is a design fault!

haydnfan · 06-25-2018, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkrzok

I too thought that the front was glued on. It was merely taped. I'm very happy with the fix. Now if we could only find the firmware download so we can patch the Clara...

I'm also happy with the fix. There is adhesive but it is just between the tape and the front plate.

anacreon · 06-25-2018, 12:16 PM

I'm on the road, and find the Clara sleep cover very convenient for reading while lunching in rest stops.

06-25-2018, 12:16 PM	#585
anacreon Guru Posts: 960 Karma: 3475832 Join Date: May 2012 Location: France Device: Elipsa, Sage	Clara cover I'm on the road, and find the Clara sleep cover very convenient for reading while lunching in rest stops.

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06-21-2018, 11:35 AM	#571
haydnfan Guru Posts: 649 Karma: 5632362 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle PW 4, Oasis 2	Well it has been a couple of weeks now. It is time to update my impressions. The back is not as grippy as the previous Kobo models, and I have a problem with sweat that I don't have with other ereaders (Kobo and Kindle). For long periods of time it is not comfortable to hold the side edge bezel, and it is much easier to hold the bottom of the device. But if I hold the bottom it is harder to turn pages. That being said it is the lightest ereader that I've ever owned. I did not really appreciate how light it was for awhile. It is actually lighter than the basic Kindle 4! The native contrast on the screen is great. I initially observed that it was better than the Aura Ed. 2 and H2O Ed. 2. But it is more than that it, it is the best I've seen on an ereader since the Voyage. The page turns are very fast. Sometimes I can't even see it change, and I have to process for a moment to realize that I'm looking at the next page. This is a big win for Kobo. I made a big deal about the lack of ghosting on my first impressions. I can now say that you can see the usual uneven boldness on fainter fonts like Georgia. It's not bulletproof but it is harder to see on bolder fonts like Malabar. I set it to do a full refresh every 5 pages instead of every chapter and with those two settings I don't see any ghosting. I definitely overhyped this in my initial impressions. The light is both better and worse than I initially thought. It took me awhile to end up in conditions where I needed to use it. And then I saw it has a bit of bleed on the edges and doesn't seem as uniform as literally every other Kobo model that I've owned. If you use the light frequently and especially at a high setting I would just avoid this device. This has to be said it is a critical design flaw that should put some people off of buying the Clara HD. The way in which the light is better than I thought is that I cranked up the natural light setting last night and discovered that instead of looking orange, it looks really good under the warm light of my lamp. It perfectly blended with it so that the screen looked like a warm white. Every single ereader that I've owned has at least one critical failing. In the Clara HD it is the uniformity of the light. If that is important to you, don't buy it. Else I highly recommend it. It complements the Aura H2O Ed. 2 because it has one critical failing of having poor native contrast. So if you use the light extensively the H2O provides the better reading experience, but if you don't the Clara HD provides the better reading experience.

06-21-2018, 12:26 PM	#572
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 730 Karma: 3871570 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Update much appreciated, @haydnfan! Thank you!

06-22-2018, 10:19 PM	#577
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	@CH23: I'm with the others. It just looks better. I adjust the light frequently based on what I seems best at the time. I haven't turned the light of for any length of time for a long time.

06-22-2018, 11:26 PM	#578
koboy Wizard Posts: 1,197 Karma: 4027538 Join Date: May 2014 Device: Kobo Aura, Mini, Touch, Amazon Kindle.	@CH23: i'm with you. i only put the light on when it's needed (dark in other words) as far as i'm concerned i want the screen to look (resemble) as close as it possibly can to reading a physical book. i believe that experience is best achieved by having any ereader light switched off. when the light is on it's more like a tablet albeit not as intensely bright. of course the light does come in very useful occasionally for when it's pitch black best wishes koboy

06-23-2018, 12:10 PM	#580
LucyOne Librocubicularist Posts: 617 Karma: 11908623 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Germany Device: PocketBook InkPad 3 & Touch HD 3, Kobo Clara HD, Kindle Paperwhite 5	How wide are the bezels at the sides and below the screen?

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