15.4 WSXGA+ CCFL panel 500:1 contrast ratio real?

[ssd_thinkpad]

The 15.4 WSXGA+ CCFL panel which is in the T61(p), T500 and W500 series has 500:1 contrast ratio (from tabook.pdf). Is this contrast ratio real? In other words: With dim backlight, is the screen easy to read? The smaller WXGA LED panels only have 400:1 and the WXGA CCFL panels have 300:1 contrast ratio. Is there a great difference between these displays in regards of contrast?

notebookreview.com T500 WSXGA+ CCFL