T61 screen brightness - inside and outside (pictures!)

Hey guys,

When I was agonizing over buying a T61 vs. a D630, the screen was a huge deal to me. After I finally got my T61, I am VERY happy with my screen. I believe I have the LG model. I decided to take some pictures for the rest of you - both inside and outdoors - so you can judge for yourself. To me, the screen is very bright. When indoors, especially in the dark, I often turn it down to half brightness (not in these pictures though).

Anyway, I hope these pictures help some of you guys out.

WXGA+ screen, full brightness in all the pictures, on battery (screen brightness option on HIGH in BIOS - meaning that brightness while on battery is the same as brightness while plugged in).

First, the indoors pictures. Note the last one for the horizontal viewing angle...

 

Now, pictures taken while outside - but in the shade. As you can see, the screen is still very bright!

 

Finally, the screen outside - and in direct sunlight. In the first 3 pictures, the screen is tilted down to provide shade for itself. In the last 2, the screen is turned upward, so that sunlight is falling directly onto it. As you can see, not bad! You can still see everything pretty well.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with this screen.

 

Very nice collection of pictures. Thanks! Have you checked the model # to know if you got the LG or Samsung screen (I saw your comment, but no model #)? I don't recall exactly how to do this, but it's been posted in other threads. Also, what's the battery life like (on a 6 cell, ideally...) when you're going full brightness outside, doing web browsing?

 

neocryte, nice pictures. T61 look kind of large in the chairs outside. Is that the 14.1' or 15.4' T61?

 

chem, I remember comparing the model # to another posted here... it was the LG one. Here's my model #: LP141WP1-TLB7. The description of the LG screen (bright, good viewing angles - as opposed to Samsung's blueish tint) also corresponds to mine.

The battery life is decent. I have a 7 cell battery. Here's what I said on another thread about it:

"As another number for you guys... I got about 3.5 hours of usage with wireless on, browsing the web, downloading stuff, installing MS Office, and playing some GTA Vice City - with a 7 cell battery. Not too bad." This was at full brightness.

lskeys, it's the 14.1" model. The chair I used outside is actually deceptively small (not a normal sized chair) - sorry about that. When I first got the laptop, I felt that it was a bit big - significantly bulkier than my old T41. However, now, it seems tiny compared to my brother's 15.4" Dell D600. And now that I am using it a lot, I find the size excellent. The widescreen factor rocks not only in that the screen has more real estate - but in that, when you hold the notebook on your lap, you don't have to hold your knees very close together - you can relax and sit normally. I dig it.

 

How can you tell which brand of screen they put in ?

 

I found my screen model number by using third-party software (Lavalys Everest) - I am sure there are easier ways, though. And I think those model numbers can be matched to the technical spreadsheet that's been floating around (with the part numbers for the screens).

 

Bump for anyone else who may be going through the same thing as I was.

 

Another good program is PC Wizard 2007. Just google it.

 

I just checked that out - pretty nice, hyper!

 

I absolutely agree that the brightness of the T61 is top-notch. I hope this is lesson-learned for all the people spreading rumors about the T61 having a dim screen and promoting the Latitude D630.

 

man , u made me fall in love again with T61 when i'm starting too lean towards dell's m1330.....

 

Yeah brightness wasn't one of the problems I had w/the display. T 61 is plenty bright.

 

how about the light leakage?

 

Well I don't want to crap in this thread, which is about screen brightness, and I agree it is plenty bright.

Just do a search if you are curious about viewing angles and light leakage.

 

There is some light leakage at the bottom of my screen, but not much. I know some people have a lot. I guess I lucked out there.

The viewing angles seem pretty good to me. Yeah, the vertical angle sucks (the Dell D630 actually does a bit better here), but the horizontal one is great. Take a look at my last indoor picture that shows the horizontal viewing angle.

 

It really seems to be luck of the draw. My experience is the same as Neocryte's - very little light leakage and it looks great inside and outside. My wife has a recent D620 with the new and improved screen (same as D630) and they are very similar. The T61 is actually a bit brighter and I have to turn it down a bit. My T42 looks crappy next to it.

 

No TPM in the 1330 if that matters to you...that is a huge factor for myself.

 

What about the T61p ??? The one in the review is very good in term of brightness but how does it compare to this one. ????

the T61p is only 175 unit bright

 

Thanks very much for these pictures, neocryte.

 

I can post some pictures of my T61p's screen brightness later. I have some noticeable light leakage on the bottom, but overall the display is crisp and very bright. Indoors on AC I have it at 70% which is the most I can tolerate. Viewing angles could be better, but you can't complain for a budget display.

 

Thanks for the pictures. I am waiting for my new T61 (14", 4:3 SXGA+) ordered 10/08, est. shipping date 10/25) and the screen is what has me anxious about my decision. I hope it turns out to be bright. I am coming back to Thinkpads after buying my last laptop from Dell. My first laptop was a Thinkpad and the first thing I noticed about my Dell was that the screen was much brighter.

 

I will warn you that the SXGA+ screens are 150 nits of brightness. This screen you see up top is 200 I believe. My SXGA+ T61 is bright enough, but that is about where it stops. If you are looking for something that is super bright you will not find it in the SXGA+

 

I have the samsung WSXGA+ screen in my T61p and it sux in sun light. Even moderate sunlight coming in through the window makes the screen dark. I use maximum brightness and changed the bios feature so its always its brightest even on battery to cope dim screen as much as possible. I wish I had the LG screen that everyone seems to love. I wish their wasn't a panel lottery with Lenovo's, because it sounds like the LG is clearly a superior panel.

 

wot is resolution?
I'm ordering my with 14,1" wide and I want to get LG screen