A7 toggle between screen and EVF?

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I fear the answer to this question is no, but here goes: is there any way to assign one of the function keys on the A7 to toggle between LCD and EVF? One of the annoying quirks of this camera is that, if you have it set to EVF only, and then hit the play button to look at your photos, the photos appear in the EVF, not on the screen. Which is...crazy? So I can't just leave it set to EVF at all times; I have to be able to toggle the two.

BUT it appears impossible to assign one of the buttons to this function, which is even crazier. There's the option to assign one to "turn off" the LCD, but it doesn't actually turn it off; it merely blacks it out.

 

[uhoh7]

Impossible. 🙁

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Wow, that's...it's hard to believe. Of all the options for assigning the buttons, they leave that one out??

I predict that my fingers are going to be memorizing some deep dives into the menus...

thanks, uhoh7!

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

You can on the A7Rii, see this blog entry.

I tried it on my A7, but the menu items aren't there.

 

[GaryLH]

Sounds like a fw update that will never happen on the first gen a7 cameras unless there is a big public outcry like the compress raw...from my experience w/ the Sony cameras I've had in the past.

Gary

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

vexing indeed.

 

[uhoh7]

To Sony, we are just ants.

 

[Emile de Leon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKRma7PDW10

 

[trisberg]

I would agree that some of the choices/restrictions for configuring the A7 make little sense. Has anyone found a way to adjust the viewfinder brightness outside of the menus? Looks like I can assign monitor brightness to a custom button but not viewfinder brightness. This also seems truly odd.

-Thomas

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I went back to Sony after all this time, having bought an A7ii, and just learned that this option is not available on this newer camera, either. You can do it on the A7Rii but not he A7ii. I absolutely cannot believe it. The custom buttons can be assigned to almost anything EXCEPT finder/monitor. I sold the A7 specifically because of this and honestly believed that the A7ii was different.

I’m not getting an A7Rii so I’m gonna have to live with this. Anyone out there have a means of coping?

 

[bayernfan]

i'm surprised you didn't confirm this functionality on the A7II prior to purchase.

i do recall, from my brief stint with the A7, being agitated by the inability to disable the eye sensor and have the EVF active at all times.

 

[Peter Jennings]

I got used to looking at recorded shots through the viewfinder and just keep the lcd off all the time. However, since my near vision has gotten worse since I got my A7 and I don’t usually have my reading glasses on while I’m shooting, pics are easier to see through the viewfinder, anyway.

 

[shimokita]

Just FYI: I have my Fuji x100t set for finder only (and can switch between optical and electronic finder by an external toggle switch), so the back screen is black when shooting. There is no display of the shot just taken. When I view previously captured images they are displayed on the back screen. Note: in the above mode, the menu is only seen via the finder... I haven't really explored setting options as it's the way I want to shoot.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Just FYI: I have my Fuji x100t set for finder only (and can switch between optical and electronic finder by an external toggle switch), so the back screen is black when shooting. There is no display of the shot just taken. When I view previously captured images they are displayed on the back screen. Note: in the above mode, the menu is only seen via the finder... I haven't really explored setting options as it's the way I want to shoot.

Yes, I do love this about the Fujis.