Banana Pi / Pro 3.5″ TFT LCD Module Review
Display quality
Here is a photo of the Banana Pi 3.5″ RGB LCD module sitting to the left of a Banana Pi.
(Click on image for larger version)
I had the Banana Pi plugged into my network so I could ssh into it.
You can also see a Parallax PropPlug, I hooked it up so I could watch the serial console boot messages, and if need be, log in serially.
Here is a close up shot, so you can better see how sharp the display is – and even this shot does not do it justice, the colours are more vibrant in real life.
Please excuse the moire patterns, they are due to the much higher sensor resolution of the camera I used to take the shot.
(Click on image for larger version)
The display had great contrast and vibrant colours. Note how cramped the desktop is – but that is to be expected on a 320×240 pixel display.
I was curious about vertical viewing angles – they are generally the bane of LCD displays.
(Click on image for larger version)
As you can see above, there is noticeable degradation in image quality at a roughly 45 degree angle.
(Click on image for larger version)
I was pleased to see that the horizontal viewing angles were much better – this photo was taken at roughly a 70′ angle from vertical.
Here is a close up shot of roughly 1/4 of the LCD screen – you can clearly see the pixel details, especially if you click on the image to see the larger version.
(Click on image for larger version)
I am very happy with the image quality of the 3.5″ Banana Pi TFT module.
Power Consumption, Price & Availability
In my Banana Pi Review, using a HDMI monitor and RF keyboard/mouse through an HDMI KVMI measured an idle power consumption of 250mA.
I thought it would be interesting to find out what the idle power consumption would be, idling on the desktop with the 3.5″ LCD.
LCD idling at desktop consumed 316mA, with just an Ethernet cable connected to the Banana Pi, a mere 66mA more!
Clearly the 3.5″ Banana Pi LCD does not need anywhere near the 250mA maximum power consumption it is specified to have.
I have not yet received price and availability information from Lemaker, but I plan to update this review with that information as soon as it becomes available.
Based on the pricing for other Lemaker products, I strongly suspect this little display will be affordable.
Update Nov.20: I contacted LeMaker, and all three modules are now available at the following sample prices:
| LCD size | Resolution | Sample price |
| 3.5” | 320×240 | $32.95 |
| 5” | 800×480 | $39.95 |
| 7” | 1024×600 | $54.95 |
(each, USD) plus shipping and handling
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