# Negative display?



## THEPATRIOT

Just curious,what does this mean?


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## OnTimeGabe

It's easiest to explain with a picture. Positive display on the left, negative on the right:









Pic by GavH

I personally think the negative displays look cool, but my eyes just don't read them very well. I went with the positive display for my Core.


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## kiwidj

Here's another example...










Positive display on the right, negative on the left...


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## gloster

I agree with Gabe. I like how negative displays look but find positive displays easier to read.


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## Carl.1

<|
It means a watch with a display that is harder to read in low light....

A lot of these are sold as 'Tactical' or 'Military'. I use a watch in tactical situations and find these absolutely useless!!

Try one if you're intrigued ....i did.......they were not for me.


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## Seamaster73

gloster said:


> I agree with Gabe. I like how negative displays look but find positive displays easier to read.


Generally speaking, I agree.

But it's worth pointing out that the readability of negative displays varies widely in a way that normal displays do not. For example, the negative display on my old Suunto Core was nigh-on unreadable in anything less than perfect light. The negative display on my Casio PRW-1300Y, on the other, is perfectly legible even in less than perfect light.










All other things being equal, I prefer a normal display. But there is just something so damn _sexy_ about a negative display, especially on a "stealth" watch.


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## digitalxni

Pic of my G-7710:









This watch and some others now come with adjustable contrast which can help increase the readability in low light. I've was very anxious about ordering this watch as I had never seen or used a negative display watch before. Those worries quickly dissipated when I started wearing it!


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## HenryLouis

Best example


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## kiwidj

Yep, very cool that one...b-)


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## THEPATRIOT

I have a European ProTrek 1300 on the way w/negative display.I hope i like it!


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## gloster

My Seiko ana digi (SNJ0009) has a negative display that is very legible and that I love. Yes, I realize I'm contradicting myself -- even though I love that display I have still never bought a pure digital watch with a negative display


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## MINIDriver

gloster said:


> My Seiko ana digi (SNJ0009) has a negative display that is very legible and that I love. Yes, I realize I'm contradicting myself -- even though I love that display I have still never bought a pure digital watch with a negative display


I think your Seiko will be my next watch purchase... I am digging the Sportura World Time ana-digi chronograph (It is a grey market import as Seiko does not sell it in the US).

I have 2 digital watches with negative displays:

Junghans Mega 1000 radio controlled watch:


















MINI "Motion" watch:









I have no reading issues with either. In fact, the Junghans Mega 1000 has 15 levels of screen contrast, and in my opinion, is one of the very best executed reverse display digital watches in the market today.


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## Isthmus

I have to agree with everyone else on this thread. Reverse displays are cool, but by and large, not very practical. very rarely have I seen one i which visibility wasn't an issue. Positive displays might be more mundane in appearance, but they are far more legible and unlike negative displays, allow for the use of multiple colors.


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## MINIDriver

Interestingly, the Junghans Mega 1000 watch with the non-reversed display is actually harder to read than the reversed display version:'


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## Queen6

:-d


Carl.1 said:


> <|
> It means a watch with a display that is harder to read in low light....
> 
> A lot of these are sold as 'Tactical' or 'Military'. I use a watch in tactical situations and find these absolutely useless!!
> 
> Try one if you're intrigued ....i did.......they were not for me.


+1 Absolutely, its just sales hype negative display watches are of no use to the military, the only tactical use for them is skirmishing across a well lit bar :-d

For those serving don`t be sucked in by all that "stealth" "Military" and "Special Forces" nonsense, just get yourself a regular cheap G-Shock, start taking about these "Tactical" watches to anyone seasoned, well you know what, if it applies

Great on a very sunny day; 05:17 on a dawn patrol, you would be better off with a sundial, seriously...

Q-6


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## ecalzo

i don't like so much negative displays......
too hard to read,,,,,,,
:-(


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## cal..45

well, it all depends on the quality of the negative display. the legibility of my G-7710-1ER for instance, is next to stunning (such is the whole watch):










note. this picture i took in low light conditions with no digital enhancement whatsoever.

actually i tend to think that a very good negative display is more useful than apositive one. it is better to read during daylight because of much less reflections. it doesn't shine like a torch when you put the el-backlight on, yet it looks much cooler.

regards, holger


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## MINIDriver

Here is mine:


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## Tag Mac

OnTimeGabe said:


> It's easiest to explain with a picture. Positive display on the left, negative on the right:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pic by GavH
> 
> I personally think the negative displays look cool, but my eyes just don't read them very well. I went with the positive display for my Core.


Sorry I still dont know what negative display is supposed to mean? I see two different watches. Why is one positive and the other negative?


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## Tag Mac

Does it refer to the colour of the screen? i.e negative is black with white number and positive is white background with black letters? There are so many differences in the photos its hard to actually know which one is supposed to demonstrate the positive/negative display.


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## Odie

Tag Mac said:


> Sorry I still dont know what negative display is supposed to mean? I see two different watches. Why is one positive and the other negative?


The one on the left is a positive display, the one on the right is a negative display.


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## Nakmuay

Positive display has black numbers on a light background, negative display has dark background with light coloured numbers (I find negative much harder to read)

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 4


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## Tag Mac

Odie said:


> The one on the left is a positive display, the one on the right is a negative display.


So positive displays have digits made from the number '8' pattern and negative displays have seamless digits? 
...I know that its colour of the background now but when I asked that it was because I didn't know _what_ made the left positive and the right negative. Initially I thought it was the way the digits were displayed. Sometimes the most obvious things are so obvious that you completely miss them.


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## Wally79

Both types use the same source the only difference is what angle the the polarizing film is at.
















Images borrowed from How to convert a plain G-Shock DW-5600 to a negative display


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