Certainly, I'm not at all unhappy with it, it is a great complement to
the existing colored panels - I was just slightly surprised just
how washed out it got.

I'm thinking that's just because the smokey filter is lighter than the empeg filters. When the sun shines through the filter and then bounces back, it goes through the filter twice. When the display shines through the filter, it goes through only once. Therefore, the darker the filter gives better contrast, but worse brightness. It's a matter of balance, which is a matter of taste and viewing conditions.

-jim 080000260 w/18G in a Carrera