Finally, an integrated (sorta) PRS505 reading light!

[macphersondh]

Originally posted by DRMOZE
I am a bit concerned about scratching the plastic panel. I hope they sell replacement panels if it tends to get scratched.

Thought about a screen protector for the light panel? Isn't there now a screen protector available for the reader (was it on the SonyUK/Waterstones site?) - that may give peace of mind?

David

[tmaxkc]

I understand this light and cover are for the PRS-505 but does anyone who has seen it and also has a PRS-500 think it could work (with slight modifications) on the 500?

[MarciaCat]

Originally Posted by tmaxkc

I understand this light and cover are for the PRS-505 but does anyone who has seen it and also has a PRS-500 think it could work (with slight modifications) on the 500?

I don't have a 500 but I would have to say no given that the 500 and the 505 have totally different mechanisms for attaching the cover to the Reader.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by tmaxkc

I understand this light and cover are for the PRS-505 but does anyone who has seen it and also has a PRS-500 think it could work (with slight modifications) on the 500?

I checked, and the answer is no, alas. Two reasons. First, the screen on the 500 is lower (further from the top edge) than the 505's. So, if you try to align the 500 screen with the wedge, it sticks out of the top of the case. There's no way to shift the light wedge assembly within the cover, because the cylindrical part that holds the batteries runs along the entire length of the spine.

Even worse, the wedge (when removed from the cover) doesn't fit flush over the screen. The body of the 500 is a bit wider between the left edge and the left indentation of the screen. So, when you try to fit the wedge in place over the 500 screen, the left edge of the 500 hits the cylindrical battery holder. The wedge can't be placed flush in the opening of the 500 screen.

What I'm using for the 500 is the 3-LED Z-light. It's the one that folds very flat and thin, and provides a good illumination. (I think there are 2- and 4-LED versions as well.) It costs about $12 and uses those thin flat disc batteries, which last a long time (30+ hours per pair) and are cheap on eBay.

[DeanH]

I went to the Sony store and picked up a cover with the light built in.

... as an earlier post noted: there are no pockets in the the cover for storage of a business card, or memory card.

... (of course) they have the illumated covers displayed in a brightly lit sales area so it is hard to tell how well the screen would be illuminated in a dark spot. When I asked the sales person about this he did cover the reader and cover on the display stand with a bag, but it was still difficult to see how well lit the screen is.

[jakewastaken]

Just ordered one of these for myself for my birthday. Can't wait!

[ttate90303]

Placed my order today also. Enjoying the reader.

[tmaxkc]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

I checked, and the answer is no, alas. Two reasons. First, the screen on the 500 is lower (further from the top edge) than the 505's. So, if you try to align the 500 screen with the wedge, it sticks out of the top of the case. There's no way to shift the light wedge assembly within the cover, because the cylindrical part that holds the batteries runs along the entire length of the spine.

Even worse, the wedge (when removed from the cover) doesn't fit flush over the screen. The body of the 500 is a bit wider between the left edge and the left indentation of the screen. So, when you try to fit the wedge in place over the 500 screen, the left edge of the 500 hits the cylindrical battery holder. The wedge can't be placed flush in the opening of the 500 screen.

What I'm using for the 500 is the 3-LED Z-light. It's the one that folds very flat and thin, and provides a good illumination. (I think there are 2- and 4-LED versions as well.) It costs about $12 and uses those thin flat disc batteries, which last a long time (30+ hours per pair) and are cheap on eBay.

Thanks for your in depth description! I guess I'll do the upgrade to the 505 sometime for one of my readers. I really like the style of this new light.

I have been using the Great Point LED light which is similar to the Z light except it comes with rechargeable batteries and a recharging station. The charge on the battery lasts several days and I just keep one it the charger at all times.

If you have a Costco in your area (and are a member), you can get a package of two of these lights for $30 which is what it costs for just one light at Borders.

Thanks again

[doubi]

well got my light in the post yesterday...not exactly the cheapest thing around at AU$120 delivered from an ebay seller but hey...not exactly easy to get one and since i use my reader so much worth it.

first impressions...build quality is good...fairly solid etc.

im coming from nightly use of a verilux so going from the very white light of that to the slightly blue/purplish light of the sony light is not a bad thing but just different. something to point out.

both light up the room almost as much in the dark

as with sea_los's post...

the main complaint i probably have for the light is that can be seen from pictures in this forum by other members is you can see that the first inch of the screen has some vertical darkish lines down it. almost like smudges.

its not due to the leds placement or light pattern but something inherent in the plastic wedge itself that can be seen by holding the wedge (while turned off) up to the light.

i dont think its a major distraction once you get into reading since you are looking at the words but initially for the price i wasnt fantastically impressed. have to spend more time reading it in the dark to see if it really gets on my nerves or not....

probably something that would not be there in a glass wedge (whole weight thing etc comes into it etc i know).

anyone else notice this??

thoughts/comments?

one more thing i noticed is i was using one of those 'dvd tins' you get sometimes (ezydvd) with a single standard dvd keepcase in them as a carry case for mine. was almost the perfect size and give the reader some reasonable protection for stuff all cost....however since the light cover is wider it doesnt fit anymore....have to swap it back to the old cover to fit it again...oh well get that i guess.

[astra]

doubi

How would you compare max brightness of Varilux vs. PRS505 reading light?

[astra]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

it needs to be over the Reader screen if you fold the top cover behind for one-handed reading.

That's what I wanted to know.
Thanks.

[dynamike]

Originally Posted by doubi

the main complaint i probably have for the light is that can be seen from pictures in this forum by other members is you can see that the first inch of the screen has some vertical darkish lines down it. almost like smudges.

(...)

anyone else notice this??

Yes, same here. The smudges are somewhat distracting. I've been using the new case for three night reading in bed. While I have no real trouble with "getting into the book"while using the reading light the overall image quality of the text does suffer. Besides the smudges the contrast of the e-ink display is not nearly as good compared to a situation with plenty of ambient light. The background is sort of grayish so that it puts more strain on my eyes.

I come from using a pocket pc device (iPAQ hx4700) which had the same contrast day or night, depending on the backlight level which needed to be adjusted properly. It's weakness was that using it in direct sunlight it did not work well. Also brightness uniformity was never a problem. But then the screen is so much smaller.

Another point is light leakage. In bed with no other light sources, the Sony Reader is much brighter than the backlit iPAQ hx4700 wich I was using before I got the Sony. Even on the low light setting it illuminates the room so much that it becomes distracting for my girlfriend unless she happens to be facing away from me. The excess light comes from the vertical edges of the wegde. The pictures posted in this thread show this fine. I will try to put some opaque tape on the edges to see if that helps and whether that affects the illumination of the e-ink surface. Has anyone tried this yet?

Overall I am not unhappy with my purchase of the reading light cover, even though it may sound that way. It is just that I had higher expectations towards the image quality. I find the build quality of the reading light cover to be excellent.

[DrMoze]

Let us know how the tape works. I was thinking that a reflective tape (or silver paint) might brighten the screen a bit. Not sure what % of light is lost from the edges though. The tricky part is covering both stepped edges around the wedge.

[dynamike]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Let us know how the tape works. I was thinking that a reflective tape (or silver paint) might brighten the screen a bit. Not sure what % of light is lost from the edges though. The tricky part is covering both stepped edges around the wedge.

Will do. Interesting idea to use reflective tape. I will test this will aluminum foil - just as a test to see how the light uniformity changes. It may give better results to use simple white tape which reflects the light more diffusely. Both is definitely worth a test.

[doubi]

actually the more i look at it it in part looks like the lines/smudges could be part of the light reflecting internally to the wedge off the bevel that is all around the edge.

maybe its hitting that and bouncing around a bit to create the appearence of light and dark banding within the plastic iteself....

dunno hard to say.

on the tape issue....heh funny been thinking exactly the same....contemplated (breifly about just using a black artline to carefully colour in the edge to stop the 'bleed' of the light around the top and side edges of the wedge.

ideally as others have suggested would be a reflective colour/cover on the edge and then black over that to colour code it to the reader a bit....

dunno have to think about it a bit...due to the wedge being plastic and the edge being roughened anything like a marker etc will be pretty hard to remove and cant just wipe it down with metho etc without being careful.

obviously the ideal would be a prs-605 that has the light wedge integrated into the reader itself....some may not go for it as it would cause the reader to be not so slim but could be a more elegant solution than that of the external light (not that im complaining that they went to the effort to make one).

anyway....overall ive tried it again last night for an hour and i think im getting used to it....is less distracting when you dont pay so much attention to it so cant complain too much.