E-Readers and Visual Fatigue, compared with iPad

[Rbneader]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

That could prove interesting. I'm one of those who can read for extended periods of time on any screen type with no physical discomfort. My eink devices have all been retired, but my time spent reading has remained consistent. I will note the brightness settings of my devices are all near the lowest they can go at all times (bright sunlight is not where I do my reading--ever). I don't have perfect vision, but need no glasses/contacts for reading (nearsighted).

Brightness is important for me also.

That said, reading on non-eInk screens is more tiring. I can do it for long periods but only if I pace myself. I am also a programmer, and there have been times when I had to find work I could do on paper to give my eyes a break and stay productive.

Higher resolution and higher quality monitors both help a great deal, so I suspect the cause is related to flicker and my eyes processing pixels into smooth images.

[4691mls]

In my case, it probably doesn't help that I read mostly library books and the Overdrive app doesn't have as many adjustments as some other reading apps. There's a choice of white on black, sepia, or black on white. I don't like white on black. Sepia seems like a good idea, but the contrast is poor and there's no adjustment other than brightness level or changing the font. That leaves me with black on white. Unless I adjust it so dim I can barely read it, I feel like I am continuously looking at white light. Also, it just doesn't feel like I'm looking at something solid, while my e-ink reader does appear solid, more like reading on paper.

[Fbone]

I don't read for more than an hour a day so I can use my ipad/iphone exclusively. I'm not sure if I could read on them for several hours. To me syncing location is very important so I needed to switch to a tablet/phone to read.

[DiapDealer]

I'm not a programmer by trade, but I do a lot of programming in my downtime as a hobbyist. At work, I spend the majority of my time preparing documents for print, documents for projection, and documents for online display. By preparing, I mean reading/proofing/editing. All of this is done on a computer screen. In my spare, spare time (outside of my programming), I read ebooks on tablets/phones, and I read a lot on this forum I volunteer to moderate on tablets/phones. I have no doubt that some people suffer from eye strain RE LCD, but it's just not something I can relate to. My eyes stare at LCD screens for extended periods of time from the time I wake up until the time I fall asleep (have for years). It's just never occurred to me that my eyes should be troubled about this. *shrug*

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm not a programmer by trade, but I do a lot of programming in my downtime as a hobbyist. At work, I spend the majority of my time preparing documents for print, documents for projection, and documents for online display. By preparing, I mean reading/proofing/editing. All of this is done on a computer screen. In my spare, spare time (outside of my programming), I read ebooks on tablets/phones, and I read a lot on this forum I volunteer to moderate on tablets/phones. I have no doubt that some people suffer from eye strain RE LCD, but it's just not something I can relate to. My eyes stare at LCD screens for extended periods of time from the time I wake up until the time I fall asleep (have for years). It's just never occurred to me that my eyes should be troubled about this. *shrug*

Plenty of other people here seem to have no problem spending lots of time on LCD - it's apparent you are not alone. I really wonder if there is a difference in people's eyes that causes some of us to have issues.

[MarjaE]

I can't use iPads or other tablets.

I've tried a few and even at minimum brightness they're like looking directly into the sun, but with added flashing and animation. It's too bright to actually see anything, but not too bright to get sick from my strobe and visual motion sensitivities.

I have a couple older e-readers and can use them without eye strain.

I've tried a newer e-reader which used touch controls as well as buttons, but I lack the coordination to avoid accidental tapping and gestures, and zooming would set off my visual motion sensitivity.

P.S. As far as eyes go, nearsightedness and astigmatism. As far as brain goes, I'm autistic to begin with, and I've had much more trouble since developing some kind of fm/cfs/me like chronic illness. I also have issues with noise.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I really wonder if there is a difference in people's eyes that causes some of us to have issues.

There HAS to be something. What it is, I have no idea. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because my eyes are just bad enough for it to not really matter. Whenever I look at an LCD screen, the brightness is adjusted to be hardly different (to my eyes) than staring at a cream-colored wall.

[4691mls]

Nearsightedness and astigmatism are so common that I doubt they alone are the cause. I'm nearsighted with astigmatism. I read without my glasses and typically hold reading material about a foot from my face. I like a really small font.

I remember in one of our past LCD vs e-ink discussions one person reported he/she was extremely nearsighted and held a phone or tablet at about 6 inches with no problem.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

There HAS to be something. What it is, I have no idea. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because my eyes are just bad enough for it to not really matter.

My eyes are pretty bad too, but I cannot read a book on LCD for more than an hour or so without feeling the strain. I'm so nearsighted that I read with my glasses on, otherwise I'd have to hold my reading material about 3-4 inches from my face or make the font huge.

I can do other activities on LCD screens for hours, but not read a book. And it's certainly not the brightness (I know how to use dimming apps when necessary). Perhaps it's psychological. I don't really care. All I know is I enjoy reading on eink vastly more than on tablets/phones/laptops. I don't think that reading on LCD is somehow more harmful to one's eyes. For me it's just a personal preference.

[Dan23]

I have done most of my reading on eink devices since they first came out in the US. A year or two back I instead started doing most of my reading on my tab s2 8.0 (amoled) using fbreader. I swipe to adjust the brightness to what looks right at the time (usually a fairly low setting) and have been running the twilight app to reduce blue light (not sure if it matters or if it actually does). I have not noticed any additional eyestrain. I do notice the lower ppi on some eink devices like dpt-s1 and can no longer read on the lower ppi devices.

I did dislike reading on my older tablet which was not an amoled screen, but did not use it enough to test eyestrain.

[harriska2]

My husband fell asleep the other night reading his iPad 12.9 inch. The next morning I asked him about the marks by his eyebrow The first time I smacked my nose falling asleep I went back to the Kindle PW. Not doing that again. I can read hours on the Kindle, not worry about running out of charge, glare, or sunlight. Recently I've been reading it naked with a slip cover for travel. It is super thin and light so I can read in bed on my side!

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by Dan23

... I have not noticed any additional eyestrain. I do notice the lower ppi on some eink devices like dpt-s1 and can no longer read on the lower ppi devices...

I have noticed something similar but due to the low (in comparison) contrast of E Ink displays.

As an example of the effect of contrast in another field, it is a common practice in photography to use contrast to make parts of the photo more distinctive ("clearer", "pops out"). For example with a photo of a bird one may when developing the image (in Lightroom, for example) one increases the contrast of that part of the photo that is the bird. This does 2 things, the bird becomes more distinctive against the background and the various parts of the bird (feathers, eyes, etc.) become more distinctive on the bird.

This same effect applies to fonts on displays. So, I find that with LCD/AMOLED displays I can read easily much more delicate and smaller fonts on them that on the much lower contrast E Ink displays. Also, I find that I also can read "normal" fonts in much lower light levels on them. The much better contrast makes them more distinctive.

Not much of a problem for "normal" fonts and size with a novel, but even so quite noticeable when used to more competent displays.

[barryem]

People have been discussing issues like this since there have been e-ink screens and it's always been the same. Some people are just fine reading an LCD screen and have no issues at all. Others can do it if they adjust various things. And others have to limit their contiguous reading time on backlit screens.

I'm in the latter group and I've done a lot of experimenting over the years and found what works best for me. I adjust the backlight so it's as dim as it can be so I can read comfortably. I use a sepia background. I can read a bit longer if I reverse the text but I don't enjoy that so I rarely do it. I prefer to take breaks.

If I take a minute or two break every 15 or 20 minutes on an LCD screen I can read as much as I want. On my phone with it's OLED screen I can read 25 or 30 minutes and take a break for a minute or two. On both if I don't take that break I'm soon unable to read for a few hours.

In the past I could read as long as I like on my Kindle. In recent years that's changed and I have to take a break about every hour. Given my reading habits these days all of these methods work well for me. At home I use my Kindle and I rarely read more than an hour. If I do I just need a short break and (I'm 78) I have to take enough bathroom breaks that that's nearly automatic.

Away from home I read on my phone while waiting in the doctor's office or in line at the grocery store, etc. It's unusual to have a chance to read more than 20 or so minutes then.

In my younger days I would sometimes read from the time I got up to the time I went to bed. It almost never bothered me. I'd walk to the park and sit under a tree on a summer day and read till i was hungry. I'm pretty sure that picture on the Kindle start up screen was inspired by me.

If you can read all day I'm happy for you. i wish I still could. But I can read enough that I'm okay.

A few years ago there was a woman in my retirement home who loved to read. She would come to the community room and sit and read and drink coffee and spend hours every day. Then when she began to lose her vision I helped her get going with audiobooks. She was doing that when she moved out into a nursing home. About 2 years ago her daughter brought her here to visit and she'd lost her hearing and we spent a few days looking for a way for her to peruse books but nothing we tried worked. I recommended going to a city that has a lighthouse for the blind to seek help but she was too discouraged to try it.

Barry

[Wearever]

I have been using e ink devices for reading exclusively for a year or more. Then I recently read a book on my ipad mini. I was surprised by how much I liked reading on it again. I do prefer whiter with more contrast screens or blue tint screens best. I also like reading on my Voyage best, it's also the most tablet like screen. I wonder if others who read prefer blue tint eink also have no problem with reading on a tablet ? The only thing holding me back from reading on my ipad mini more is because it doesn't have buttons. I've gotten so used to them that it's my new preference for devices now.

[Tarana]

That was sad Barry. I wondered if they asked about cochlear implants? Medicare will cover them in instances like hers.