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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 00:34:51

Title: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 00:34:51
I bought one each of thick PBT keycap sets available via Feng on eBay (white, gray, and blue) and just thought I would post pics of the colors together and separately in various permutations that I liked—only because when I was researching them I wanted to see a simple comparison like this and wasn't able to find one. Thought it might be helpful to fellow n00bs. :)

FWIW, I have listed them in order of my personal preference. I would love to hear other people's opinions, however, on what looks best.

(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pPWxShSMKpbdUbaUT9_0yCD2ba4YFRDFosvwIMfYnFq42jiPspzLpx2mtcY87O4JZjtvVxTvFaXsVh8ki8vyKmhcVQe5WfaX3ji3K-Y-_nhM/20130906_2.jpg?psid=1)
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pH3furXagotWBPdgNIkz-6JPk0ioMdo7b_Jt_YtMFqOW63UpPDNt-pPwd3TLU7fEc-tYRFRwTG0PC_WXbcyi0N2qlTVPywHrpREqLaOibz5o/20130906_1.jpg?psid=1)
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2p-Eg1KmbhvHLv0nPU5ql_zCpJ3UlX7Btm3GuB5lOw4LNpMQIkHqseFmoUOs0wvpy_o21MvcM9OVQST3I4w0TablSaU-haRE70uLuMD9RiomY/20130906_3.jpg?psid=1)
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pAkQ-7SZilxlHw2YqXFH4TOcQvG9uBM6sDUodxzc2GpVc_5P6CLizasfKwW7TCHCgddWqUj7MM1VNwo47vVWpC2zA90Bwy9QnpAHBWxbAOXk/20130906_4.jpg?psid=1)

I actually really like the Starfleet-Medical look of the last combo, but I think it clashes with the black deck of the board. It would probs look awesome on a white Filco, though.


Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 00:50:02
Good stuff.. (http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/onion/014.gif)

Let's see it on a good keyboard though... none of this staggered qwerty rubb..
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: isaske on Sat, 07 September 2013, 02:39:14
Quote from: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 00:34:51
I bought one each of thick PBT keycap sets available via Feng on eBay (white, gray, and blue) and just thought I would post pics of the colors together and separately in various permutations that I liked—only because when I was researching them I wanted to see a simple comparison like this and wasn't able to find one. Thought it might be helpful to fellow n00bs. :)

FWIW, I have listed them in order of my personal preference. I would love to hear other people's opinions, however, on what looks best.

Show Image
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pPWxShSMKpbdUbaUT9_0yCD2ba4YFRDFosvwIMfYnFq42jiPspzLpx2mtcY87O4JZjtvVxTvFaXsVh8ki8vyKmhcVQe5WfaX3ji3K-Y-_nhM/20130906_2.jpg?psid=1)

Show Image
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pH3furXagotWBPdgNIkz-6JPk0ioMdo7b_Jt_YtMFqOW63UpPDNt-pPwd3TLU7fEc-tYRFRwTG0PC_WXbcyi0N2qlTVPywHrpREqLaOibz5o/20130906_1.jpg?psid=1)

Show Image
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2p-Eg1KmbhvHLv0nPU5ql_zCpJ3UlX7Btm3GuB5lOw4LNpMQIkHqseFmoUOs0wvpy_o21MvcM9OVQST3I4w0TablSaU-haRE70uLuMD9RiomY/20130906_3.jpg?psid=1)

Show Image
(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pAkQ-7SZilxlHw2YqXFH4TOcQvG9uBM6sDUodxzc2GpVc_5P6CLizasfKwW7TCHCgddWqUj7MM1VNwo47vVWpC2zA90Bwy9QnpAHBWxbAOXk/20130906_4.jpg?psid=1)


I actually really like the Starfleet-Medical look of the last combo, but I think it clashes with the black deck of the board. It would probs look awesome on a white Filco, though.
IS that the same white color on the 2nd and the last picture? hmmm..
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: terran5992 on Sat, 07 September 2013, 05:49:56
Never liked blanks
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: divito on Sat, 07 September 2013, 07:39:45
Quote from: terran5992 on Sat, 07 September 2013, 05:49:56
Never liked blanks

:o  - For me, I'm not sure I would ever not have blanks on current and future boards. The cleanliness and minimalistic nature are far more preferable to me than any type of legends.


As for the OP, I agree with your assessment of the black case clashing with the keys. A white or other color would be quite a nice combination. But the second picture is still my favorite. Should you ever wish to part with that keyboard/key set, I'd be all over it!!!!
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: SpAmRaY on Sat, 07 September 2013, 07:46:00
Very cool thank you for sharing!! That's quite the investment to make to see what you like but this is wallethack!! ;)
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 11:09:22
Quote from: isaske on Sat, 07 September 2013, 02:39:14
IS that the same white color on the 2nd and the last picture? hmmm..

It is. Do they look different to you?
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: isaske on Sat, 07 September 2013, 11:40:03
Quote from: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 11:09:22
Quote from: isaske on Sat, 07 September 2013, 02:39:14
IS that the same white color on the 2nd and the last picture? hmmm..

It is. Do they look different to you?
Yes, not sure why. Is that the WHITE white or the beige white?
Hmmm, i really seem to have a problem with colors :D
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: SeriouSSpotS on Sat, 07 September 2013, 12:12:58
They look the same to me
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 12:41:57
Quote from: divito on Sat, 07 September 2013, 07:39:45
:o  - For me, I'm not sure I would ever not have blanks on current and future boards. The cleanliness and minimalistic nature are far more preferable to me than any type of legends.

I'm with divito. The minimalism of the blank caps for me trumps anything. It took a bit of learning how to pick out a single letter when I didn't have my keys on the home row (comes up all the time when selecting tools in Photoshop while using my Wacom pen tablet with the other hand), but after a week or two I picked it up. I just memorized the relative position of my most commonly used tool shortcut keys with respected to the nubbed "F" and "J" keys.

I liked the white and gray best too at first, but there were two things that made me switch to the gray and blue: with the low cherry profile of these caps, you can see the gaps between the keys a bit more than can you can with OEM kaps, and the stark luminance contrast between the white keys and the deck of the keyboard only exacerbates this. Here is a top-down image to show the gaps issue a little more clearly:

(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2p9x5dhdpPSkd3bXdNBc7D08kvlTknXFzfr9jk09pAhv-IjKC6VyTVf0pvpJyISDqSSr9eQ7iQUy9oElgrMdtL_Wzy8e2lAC8ty7e3TBxX4jw/20130828_1.jpg?psid=1)

Secondly, as isaske points out...

Quote from: isaske on Sat, 07 September 2013, 11:40:03
Yes, not sure why. Is that the WHITE white or the beige white?

The white isn't super-pure bright white. I wouldn't go so far as to call it beige, but having it against a black keyboard with gray keys made the white caps look—I don't know—a little dirty, perhaps?

So, ultimately I chose the gray and blue combination as my favorite (for the moment anyway), since it tends to mitigate the above issues most.
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: jabar on Sat, 07 September 2013, 12:52:23
Quote from: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 00:50:02
Let's see it on a good keyboard though... none of this staggered qwerty rubb..
go away, you aren't contributing anything worthwhile
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: badcop on Sat, 07 September 2013, 12:54:48
blue and white look the best to me  :thumb:
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:01:07
Quote from: badcop on Sat, 07 September 2013, 12:54:48
blue and white look the best to me  :thumb:

I thought I would have liked this best too, but the (aforementioned) wide gaps between the keys owing to the Cherry profile cause the black from the deck below to show through, muddying the overall color impression, I think. That may not be obvious from the side angle. Here is a straight-down shot:

(http://cih0ra.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pbBwOdl-taivFeIzL_MIiZj3xq1JEkVwMNZcn1AQCylHH8ZQxmTgMeDcs5Ua-Kk11Sz2XK3jMImFACHJUUkSGUNfUINOQJ9QOLdY1MRQecYg/20130906_1-2.jpg?psid=1)

Hmm. Come to think of it, now I'm thinking maybe I should just spray paint the deck below the keys white and leave the the outer housing black.  :confused:
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:38:11
It's not about minimalism.

I don't mind labels..

But due my custom layouts, it's impossible to get labeled keys.

The DSA profile requires too much precision for relaxed typing.
Title: Re: Thick PBT (feng/imsto/KBC) keycap permutations
Post by: norbauer on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:54:57
Quote from: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:38:11
The DSA profile requires too much precision for relaxed typing.

Which profile would you say is most forgiving of imprecision? OEM?